Why Are Name-Brand Snacks So Inexpensive At The Dollar Store? - Chowhound (2024)

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Why Are Name-Brand Snacks So Inexpensive At The Dollar Store? - Chowhound? ›

First, the chain offers snacks in smaller sizes than those found at retailers like Target or Walmart. Second, dollar stores bulk buy from suppliers to get products at a lower cost. Third, dollar stores source liquidated items.

One strategy is offering products in smaller sizes than those found in larger retailers like Target or Walmart. This smaller size allows dollar stores to keep prices low, but it also means a lower volume of product, potentially leading to higher costs for less product in the long run.

Instead of selling items in bulk, Dollar General sells small quantities of items to keep the cost of each transaction down.

Dollar stores sometimes package foods in smaller quantities, so what looks like a good value might be more expensive per ounce compared to a similar product at a different grocery store. You may not find everything you want on the dollar store shelves, but you don't have to be concerned about the quality of groceries.

Purchase Cost

Dollar stores buy a lot of inventory at a time so they can sell things cheaply. Much of the inventory dollar stores purchase cost less than a $1 because they're damaged. But it's buyer beware with items like toys, which can break easily at times.

Dollar Tree, Dollar Stores, and Dollarama source their products from a variety of suppliers, both domestic and international. They often purchase overstock, discontinued items, and surplus goods from major manufacturers.

Since stores don't spend money on national advertising campaigns for their products, and the packaging is kept relatively basic, they can sell for less. To put it in perspective, when you buy a national brand product with a generic option available, you are essentially paying up to 30% more for a pretty label.

In fact, Walmart cost less than Dollar General in our price comparison. We checked prices on a basket of common goods in their online stores. Walmart was cheaper overall, and beat Dollar General in 10 out of 12 of the items in our basket.

Dollar General sells products from America's most-trusted brands such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg's, General Mills, and PepsiCo.

The store locations are often located where rent is cheaper. They'll carry out of date/overstock/surplus items. They have a smaller, lower wage staff.

Is it safe to buy groceries from Dollar General? ›

Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews, said there's nothing wrong with purchasing groceries at the dollar store, but it's important to know what to look for and what to avoid.

In the DOJ matter, Family Dollar pleaded guilty to storing food and drug products in unsanitary conditions and agreed to pay a $41.675 million dollar penalty, which is the largest monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case to date.

The biggest savings usually comes from buying things like party supplies, wrapping paper, seasonal items, books, utensils and other kitchen items. You can also score bargains on greeting cards, picture frames, storage containers and name-brand cleaning products.

No. Dollar Tree is a US-based, publicly-traded company. Their shares trade on the NASDAQ. Their ticker sign is DLTR.

Dollar stores may have low prices, but you need to pay attention to how much of the product you're getting. You may have to replace dollar store purchases more often. You may fall victim to impulse spending due to the lower price point.

Not unlike big box bulk stores like Costco, dollar stores source their product from other stores or brands looking to sell off merchandise in a hurry, either because they want to make room for new product, or because the items weren't as popular as the purchaser thought they would be.

Long gone are the days when everything at Dollar General costs a dollar, but the discount retailer still lags behind some of its competitors when it comes to low prices. According to a new study by Bank of America, Walmart and Aldi have the best prices on food and other basic necessities.

Not unlike big box bulk stores like Costco, dollar stores source their product from other stores or brands looking to sell off merchandise in a hurry, either because they want to make room for new product, or because the items weren't as popular as the purchaser thought they would be.

When it comes to certain dollar store items, the price ultimately corresponds to quality (or lack thereof) but there are some real deals to be had if you know what to buy. The biggest savings usually comes from buying things like party supplies, wrapping paper, seasonal items, books, utensils and other kitchen items.