While we here at Dollar Store Crafts looove the dollar store, there are some items that aren’t great buys, or in some cases might be dangerous. I found this video from CBS that talks about some things to watch out for while shopping at the dollar store. While these tips aren’t specifically crafty, they’re still good to know! Remember to use common sense with any items you buy at the dollar store (especially if you are using them outside their intended use).
The video reminds you to:
- check the price tag (not all dollar stores sell EVERYTHING for $1)
- avoid toothpaste as a lot of counterfeit toothpaste finds its way into dollar stores (and it can even be harmful)
- avoid medicines and vitamins (some are close to expiration or do not contain the ingredients they are supposed to)
- watch out for some children’s toys (can be choking hazards or contain lead)
What items do you avoid at the dollar store? Do you think there is any merit to this video’s advice?
21 Comments
Julie
This seems more like the type of news that they report on to scare you (and retain viewers). There are various types of dollar stores with various standards of quality. While a lot of the big-name dollar stores had recalls in the past couple of years, so did many of the big-name retailers that sold any sort of children’s jewelry.
I have had disappointing experiences with a few of my dollar store purchases, but they were issues of quality rather than issues of safety.
heather
@Julie, I agree, it is somewhat scare-tactic-y, but it’s still good to think about things when you’re shopping at the dollar store. My kids put a LOT of random dollar store stuff in their mouths – probably not a good idea.
Mindy
I don’t think the segment told me anything I didn’t already know. We just need to use common sense and care when making dollar store purchases. But we need to do that no matter where we shop. The only dollar store I frequent is Dollar Tree because it seems to be more reputable than some of the smaller mom and pop dollar stores in my area. Also, everything is truly a dollar or less (plus tax). Even so, I rarely buy food items (sometimes I do buy name brand candy) and I don’t have small children, so I don’t buy toys. I purchase hand sanitizer and hand soap on occasion, and generic nighttime acetaminophen (which is probably something I shouldn’t do, but it works better than Tylenol PM for me for some reason, AND it’s a buck!). I have purchased cosmetics for myself and my teen daughter there in the past, but the quality was poor, so I won’t again. It was a creamy Covergirl eye shadow and a Covergirl eye pencil that I had also seen on clearance at the grocery store and drug store, so they were probably non-sellers that CG closed out to Dollar Tree to get rid of. For the most part, I stick to the decorations, cleaning products, craft items, school supplies, baskets and paper products.
Gail
I’m disappointed the video didn’t address food. This is a growing area of Dollar stores and I’ve always wondered about the quality etc, especially the name brand stuff we see.
Sophia
Okay, this is a pet peeve of mine. If the FDA is doing its job, all food and medicine should have to go past them, right? If they know there’s toxic toothpaste sitting on store shelves, why don’t they go after the retailers?? I don’t buy it, not for a minute. [Disclaimer: I only shop at Dollar Tree, which might be one of the more reputable dollar stores.]
There’s no such thing as “fake” name brand toothpaste. If it says Crest, it’s Crest. There would be HUGE lawsuits out if companies were putting inferior toothpaste into Crest packaging. (And it wouldn’t be good business sense on their part, either, because you’d form a bad impression of that name brand.) You won’t find tartar-control toothpaste at Dollar Tree, but you’ll find plenty of good brand names. The cheap stuff might be designed to LOOK like the big brands, but they cannot use the same name and packaging. It’s pretty easy to spot if you can read.
As for the vitamins and pain relievers, I don’t generally buy vitamins at the dollar store. Even store-brand vitamins aren’t all that great (some are, just not all of them), even though they cost 5 to 6 times more than you’d pay at the dollar store. (You can find out if you’re able to absorb it in time by performing a dissolve test on it. Google it, and you’ll find the directions.)
I did get a fabulous buy on a really expensive name brand of glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM at Dollar Tree a few years back, and it’s because they had added an energy booster to the mix and it was expiring within the year. Buy what you’ll use before the expiration date, if expiration dates mean that much to you. Big deal.
I use the dollar store’s ibuprofen all the time, and it works great for me. I’m pretty sensitive to medicines, too.
We use the cheap dollar store batteries in our kids’ toys that require 50 million AAs, and I have absolutely no complaints. They usually last about half as long as the toy does, which is a great value considering what the big names are charging for their AAs. Sure, I’ll replace batteries once for that kind of savings.
As for the “dangerous” children’s toys, I think we parents have a lot more common sense than the media and government is giving us credit for. I can spot choking hazards pretty fast, and I’d bet most moms are the same way.
Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now. :) Don’t let them scare you out of the dollar stores. As someone else mentioned, there’s a lot of inferior stuff at Wal-Mart, you just have to pay more for it. I don’t see anyone doing a TV segment on Wal-Mart’s brands …
mombrud
My kids have learned pretty quickly to stay away from any electronic toys because they break easily and don’t last. But it has given us the opportunity to discuss that sometimes you get what you pay for! Otherwise, we love Dollar Tree. In fact, last week, the checkout guy told me he thought I had just set a record for money spent at Dollar Tree. After reading here, I didn’t believe it for a second! :)
sarah
my mom tested the dollar store batteries and they lasted as long as the regular ones. not sure what the shelf life is like though. and a usb cable as a fire hazard? really? i’m skeptical of this whole report.
Jessica
Didn’t see the video. But people should use common sense shopping anywhere, not just the dollar stores!
As a rule I don’t buy anything that would go in my mouth at dollar stores or Big Lots. I bought things occasionally at pic-n-save (now Big Lots) to eat for me and my pets and none of it turned out to be edible. Years later I bought food again at Big Lots thinking maybe they’ve changed their standards, I was wrong. I just don’t trust these “discount” stores with food stuff nor would I trust them with anything else we would put in our mouths.
Sevara
I love my local dollar stores and discount stores. I actually buy cosmetics and food at Big Lots and Dollar Tree. Because I trust the brand. For example, I just bought a bag full of CoverGirl and Maybelline cosmetics from DT, and really, there is no difference, but for the price. I also buy some cheap food items, soda, cookies and chips, I just check the expiration date. As for the cleaning supplies, there is no cheaper place than Dollar Tree.
Meghan Anderson
Please. Food is food. You either like it or you don’t. Just because you buy it at Walmart or Albertsons doesn’t mean it is safer. The FDA monitors food and drugs at all stores. Some things like vitamins are not regulated no matter where you buy them. Ibuprofin is Ibuprofin. If it was a fake, there would be lawsuits.
Lindsay
I did buy some cometfrom there that gave off a really strong chemical odor. After one use and a headache, I threw it away. I bought comet from Wal-Mart just to see if it smelled the same, but it was perfectly fine without that crazy odor.
I also bought some Zest bar soap that had a strong, almost funky smell to it, too.
I guess it just depends on what kinds of products you buy. I still shop there, but not for cleaning products or bar soap!
Caitlyn
i’m not sure i trust the fda to take care of it all – they have limited resources and don’t always catch everything. but yeah, it mostly sounds like scare tactics,
the one thing i’ve refused to use is the dollar store baby spoons someone got for me. there’s just too many things that could be in softish plastics (lead or other heavy metals, bpa, phthalates, etc) to make that seem like a good idea. Besides, we’re doing baby-led solids (babyledweaning.com) so we rarely use spoons.
Caroline
As most people have said you need to use some common sense.
Generic medications are regulated by the FDA but they’re not required to have exactly the same amount of active ingredients as the name brand (there’s an “acceptable” variance allowed), and the inactive ingredients might vary as well. I’ve had my doctor’s office tell me this about perscription medicines and Wikipedia talks about it too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug
And as far as there not being such a thing as fake brand name toothpaste, there is. Google fake Colgate toothpaste and you’ll find that Colgate and the FDA were working together to track it down about 3 years ago. The boxes looked almost identical, except there were a few spelling/grammar errors on the fake ones.
So, education is the key.
Amy
The only problem I’ve had with dollar store stuff is I gave my dog a rawhide bone from Dollar Tree and it made her sick.
For medicines, just look for the expiration date! I actually buy a lot of OTC meds at Dollar General because they have a good selection of generics.
Rachel
I love the Dollar Tree. It is somewhere I shop very often. I have bought from just about every area of the store. Some of my favorite products are hard to find in “regular” stores and I can find them at DT. Ex: Mean Green cleaner (amazing!)
I have even stumbled upon my absolute favorite eye liner (costs $7 in other stores) and I was so shocked I bought $10 hoping they would be a winner! The actual mechanics of the product were a little different. You had to twist the pen differently and after I figured that out I determined that was the only reason they were there at DT – bad mechanics.
I’ve also bought food there too. Their chips are actually very good and you can’t beat the price for a SAME SIZE bag of tortilla chips! :)
I’ve saved so much money shopping there!
niki
I whole-heartedly agree with Commenter Sophia. Just like at any other store, you use your own intuition and common sense.
You always look at expiration dates.
And sometimes you get duds. That can even happen at regular stores. Sometimes a shipment might have sat for a long time in the wrong temperature, hence things that melt, turn color, take on an odor, or otherwise go bad. Most grocery stores have policies that they will replace items that this happens to for free, so it is a common problem even at regular stores. It happens.
mellowknees
@Sophia – there are plenty of counterfeit products out there, toothpaste included. Otherwise, I doubt that Colgate-Palmolive would have had to issue a press release back in 2007 when counterfeit Colgate toothpaste was being sold in Dollar Stores:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/281323/colgatepalmolive_issues_warning_about.html
I love shopping at Dollar Tree, but I do not buy any food, personal hygiene items, medicines, or vitamins from the dollar store, nor do I purchase anything plastic that is going to be used to hold or store food or drinks. Basically, I avoid buying anything that’s going to be ingested or that would be absorbed bodily (like lotions and things like that). It probably seems overly paranoid, but I have extremely sensitive skin and am very sensitive to many chemicals, so I try to limit this stuff anyway.
Mostly what I get at the dollar store are things like planters, vases, candle holders, wrapping paper and other household/craft stuff.
I would much rather be safe than sorry.
:o) mg
I agree with the folks who commented saying they thought this was a scare tactic news piece.
Also, you have to consider the source (CBS) who have often used scare tactics to “sell” us on a lot of other bunk.
Jenn Erickson/Rook No. 17
Thank you for sharing this important consumer information. While it’s basically just common sense, filed under the “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” category, it serves as a good reminder.
Jess
I agree w/ Sophia. It was very subjective (?), not sure if that’s the right word….but she gave a lot of opinions, rather than facts. The info about the medical products, okay, that makes sense, but for her to say something “might” be a bad quality, or the batteries “might” not last as long, etc…. were not good reporting. Even Harry jumped on the bandwagon when he said, “oh yeah, remember that thing about that stuff in China a few years back?” A bunch of hype if you ask me. Poor journalism.
YelliKelli
I have to add this…I grabbed a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup from the check out isle in my local Dollar General, (the TV commercial is very influential) on impulse while waiting in line. When I bit into it, it was so bitter and OLD that it was disgusting! I threw it away. Considered returning it, but the hassle and wait to return something at our store is not worth the .65 cents. I think it was way outdated. My daughter got some Skittles at the same time, they were past the expiration date! I called the 800 number on the Reese’s wrapper…it said the number was invalid. It turned me off to the $$store for candy, and I have been buying for my kids class there for years!
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