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A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

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Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#201

Post by newyankee »

rjdagost wrote: post #161
vraylle wrote: post #9

I don't know about other areas, but here in the middle of Oklahoma the Dollar Generals have been a real positive. There's a lot of rural areas where a Walmart came in, then folded later. It left a 1-2 hour drive to get buy any kind of "real" food. The DG stores here have been expanding to include an actual grocery section, including fresh produce and (limited) fresh meat. More is available frozen. They have excellent…

You are absolutely correct. I do long distance bicycle rides through rural areas. When you've been riding for hours without signs of civilization (other than the road itself), a Dollar General that pops up in the middle of nowhere is a godsend. You CAN get fresh food and healthy groceries there at good prices. Whole Foods it ain't, but I wouldn't expect that due to the different income levels of the shoppers of the r…

I was actually driving through rural Wyoming when on a roadtrip and could not find any store when i needed to pick up some essentials. Luckily we came across a Dollar general store in a desolate mining town where the only other establishments included a few gas stations, not even typical fast food joints.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#202

Post by skapadia »

akudha wrote: post #173
mawburn wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a lot of family in rural Arkansas and Dollar General has been a life changer for them. It's only about 30minutes to Walmart or a grocery store, but that can huge hassle for small things or late night medicine.

Lived in NYC for a few years - I had everything (bank, pharmacy, multiple starbucks, multiple restaurants, gyms, swimming pools ....) within half mile radius. I can't even imagine driving 30 mins to get groceries. Totally different world!

I agree - I live in a suburb outside of Philly, King of Prussia, where I get EVERYTHING I need, and more, within a 5-10 minute drive. In fact per capita there's an excess of options.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#203

Post by linkmotif »

sgt101 wrote: post #194
linkmotif wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very refreshing to see people posting this plain simple reality. Not only is there plenty of cheap healthy food, if people wanted more of it—BAM—capitalism would be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail to sell them whatever they want.

So, ban all advertising of processed foods. Run dense campaigns of public health adverts for fresh fruit and veg. Promote organic farming and tax poor quality foods savagely. Is this capitalism? Maybe not, but pretty quickly there'll be lots of folks looking to eat healthy.

Nope. They’ll resent it and do the opposite.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#204

Post by scruple »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #39
war1025 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here in rural Iowa, Dollar General also has claimed the niche of "less stuff, but also nearby". You can either drive 5 minutes into town and go to the Dollar General for most of your basic needs, or you can drive a half hour to the nearest city with a Walmart / Target / etc. I really quite like stopping by to grab a quick thing or two. Around here, there tends to be a local grocery chain in the same vicinity, so gene…

> You can either drive 5 minutes into town and go to the Dollar General for most of your basic needs, or you can drive a half hour to the nearest city with a Walmart / Target / etc. I'm intrigued by these time estimates. Living in a suburb of Santa Cruz (just south of the Bay Area), the choices are similar. Completely inadequate corner store (much worse than DG) locally, or drive to a location with real stores. That…

Which would be funny, because driving through the nearby Santa Cruz mountains can be reminiscent of the part of Appalachia where I grew up. Complete with trashed cars in the front yard and trash strewn about.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#205

Post by Tsubasachan »

vraylle wrote: post #9

I don't know about other areas, but here in the middle of Oklahoma the Dollar Generals have been a real positive. There's a lot of rural areas where a Walmart came in, then folded later. It left a 1-2 hour drive to get buy any kind of "real" food. The DG stores here have been expanding to include an actual grocery section, including fresh produce and (limited) fresh meat. More is available frozen. They have excellent…

Stories like this are a great read. I live in a country were everyone has at least three supermarkets in a 5 kilometre radius. Its easy to take fresh food for granted.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#206

Post by dorchadas »

iguy wrote: post #123
dorchadas wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. It's one of the biggest issues in trying to help people out of poverty. As Sam Vimes's "Boot Theory" sums it up: >The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. >Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for…

I like the boot story as much as the next guy, but is this actually true in the real world? By which I mean something like this: In what categories of products do rich people actually spend less than poor people? Are there any? It's certainly true that top-end clothing lasts longer than cheap stuff. But the people who buy it like nice things, and variety. Maybe car repairs? But probably a trick of counting the new-ca…

For cars, you have to look no further than the type of car a person can buy to see this in action. Poorer people can't afford as nice cars, which means their cars are likely to be older and more likely to need repairs and break. Which costs them more money. And they'll need to buy a new car sooner, which costs even more money. Even look at buying in bulk versus buying singly. It's more expensive right away, but often lasts longer and comes with more, meaning you have to buy less often and save money in the long run. It's pretty much all the same concept.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#207

Post by dorchadas »

iguy wrote: post #186
evgen wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A cheap used car will get you where you want to go, but will cost more in maintenance and fuel to get that job done. It will need to be replaced more frequently than the car purchased by someone who will buy new or who will purchase a 'new-ish' used car, and when the time comes for replacement the rich guy will probably have some residual value in the car while the cheap car is probably being replaced because it is n…

I agree that this could in principle happen, for some values of cars. It could also literally happen with shoes, you can walk a lot more miles in $200 hiking boots than in four pairs of $50 sneakers. And in GGP's example, someone with time to shop around, and a credit card could buy the exact same crappy microwave for $40 online, instead of $50 downtown right now. What I'm disputing is that this is anything like the…

The thing is that it all adds up, and poor people are constantly being forced to repurchase simple things. Yes, well off people might spend more on cars, clothes, etc., but they don't have to do it as often. Overtime, the fact that poorer people have to buy more often adds up to them spending more money. Plus, it means they don't have any time to save up the money, since they always have to worry about replacing something frequently as opposed to 10 years from now.

I've seen it with people buying jeans for work. Buying the cheapest quality jeans possible from a Rural King, and then having to buy another pair again in a few months. Same with tennis shoes from Payless Shoes, for instance, versus buying Nike.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#208

Post by wkearney99 »

mattnewton wrote: post #177
dcow wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speed limit is between 55 and 80 depending on the type of road anywhere that isn’t a town in Iowa. It’s perfectly safe.

Yeah, Iowa is flat and the people probably know how to drive in inclement weather. Just saying people here shouldn’t be going that fast :)

Iowa is not flat. It's not the Rockies, of course, but it's got a lot more hills than you'd think.

Try biking across it. I have and it ain't flat.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#209

Post by rudolph9 »

I never buy food at these stores but dollar tree is shit for random household stuff! Sponges, dish soap, batteries, baby wipes, light bulbs, you name it just a dollar. Don’t carry everything you need but if they do it’s usually about 1/2 the price at Walmart and 1/4 what it costs at Walgreens.

Re: A Dollar Store Backlash Has Begun

#210

Post by rudolph9 »

rudolph9 wrote: post #209

I never buy food at these stores but dollar tree is shit for random household stuff! Sponges, dish soap, batteries, baby wipes, light bulbs, you name it just a dollar. Don’t carry everything you need but if they do it’s usually about 1/2 the price at Walmart and 1/4 what it costs at Walgreens.

Ps dollar tree offers way more value for your “dollar” (pun intended :) than dollar general where things seems to rarely cost a dollar.
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