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The economics of dollar stores

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Re: The economics of dollar stores

#161

Post by mcshicks »

proggy wrote: post #95
mcshicks wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are Daiso locations in the US (and I think many other countries now), at least in California. They aren't as good as the ones in Japan, and they have somewhat different items in one location than another. But they do have lots of interesting stuff, although most of it is $1.50 and up. The tool section is pretty neat as well as their stationary section.

As someone who’s spent time between California and Japan recently (2019-2020), I honestly think the differences between a Daiso in the US (Los Angeles) and a Daiso in Japan (central Tokyo) are very slight. I bought a lot of little gifts for people from Daiso when I was in Japan, and I’ve found that most of what I bought is also available in the stateside stores. Most of the everyday goods (household, serving ware, to…

Hey that could be. So yeah I didn't mean to imply the goods were different, just less selection. I mostly go to the ones in Oceanside and Keary Mesa, and the last one I visited in Japan was in Fujisawa early 2019. I haven't been to the one on Sawtelle in a while but I do seem to remember it being bigger than the ones in San Diego.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#162

Post by ghayes »

krm01 wrote: post #104
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #101

So if I can summarize the article, the economics of dollar stores are "sell things for more than it cost to buy them". I mean, it seemed like the article wanted to have some nefarious take, but offering smaller quantities of items so people can afford them, even if the per-unit cost is higher, doesn't seem like some unexpected malicious intent. I mean, I certainly expect to pay more per gram if I'm buying a travel si…

I too was under the impression that there was some kind of clever way these shops operate, based on the title. But the economics are exactly like any other shop.

There’s a good Planet Money on this from NPR. They imply that the real profit is from not stocking fresh goods and other items that 1) spoil, 2) have lower margins and 3) require employees to constantly restock. So they basically sell high-margin goods (negotiated in bulk) with absolute minimum costs. That’s it.

[0] https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/04/26/717665452/epis...

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#163

Post by xyst »

dollar stores are essentially a predator on the lower to middle class; and marginalized communities. also these stores are notorious for only carrying highly processed items, not exactly the best diet to feed your family on.

also, for those $1 toys they sell I bet the source of manufacture is dubious at best. if the nike sweatshops are bad, I can't imagine the working conditions for a dollar store sweatshop are any better.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#164

Post by jabbany »

mywittyname wrote: post #143
DangitBobby wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which doesnt apply to deodorant, toothpaste, cleaning supplies... or much of anything that Dollar Tree sells. Unless you are throwing it away for some reason other than that it went bad like you had to buy some because you are traveling, in which case, you are not at all the normal customer.

Sometimes it does. If you rarely use bleach, what is the point of buying a 5 year supply for $X when you can get a 2 year supply for $x/2?

Bleach does go bad though... If left too long it will decompose and lose potency... So not the best example maybe...

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#165

Post by qPM9l3XJrF »

dopidopHN wrote: post #11
kcorbitt wrote: post #2

I absolutely love dollar stores. I recently needed to buy a set of crayons for my son and the options were $5 on Amazon, $4 at Target or $1 at the local Dollar Tree (and the pack had 36 crayons, vs 24 from the other sources!). They're not the right place for everything, but for kids' art supplies, cleaning products, party paraphernalia, seasonal decor, etc, they can't be beat. They seem to have a pretty strong stigma…

Your whole country is exotic to me, and I formed my opinion on things as a old adult. For me dollars store are the reliable place to buy toxic stuff, cleaning supplies and in general non-food item. I like that it’s small and to the point. The food there make me sad, though. It’s almost exclusively crap.

My local Dollar Tree offers 12 eggs for a dollar, a loaf of bread for a dollar, a decent sized bag of frozen berries or vegetables for a dollar, 2 pounds of rice for a dollar, a 26oz can of baked beans for a dollar. That's not exactly crap.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#166

Post by thenanyu »

Liron wrote: post #90
kaptain wrote: post #35

It’s expensive to be poor.

On the contrary, we should appreciate that every single item in the dollar store is a marvel of modern economies of scale that benefits all customers, poor ones most of all. Show a modern dollar store to a Soviet Russian in 1989 or anyone from 100 years ago and they’d go nuts.

You’re never gonna get anywhere with that argument unfortunately. The hedonic treadmill is too quick and everyone you’re responding to grew up taking all of these modern miracles for granted. I remember what buying snacks was like growing up in China in the early 90s.

You brought your own rice and a dude on the side of the road would pop it for you in a lead pipe.

We shopped at dollar stores after landing in the US and it was mind boggling.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#167

Post by scarface74 »

DangitBobby wrote: post #136
powerapple wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not "expensive". Expensive is that I need to pay $1.99 for something and I have throw away half of it because I couldn't use it. I'd rather spend $0.99 for 1/3 the quantity. I am spending less money after all.

Which doesnt apply to deodorant, toothpaste, cleaning supplies... or much of anything that Dollar Tree sells. Unless you are throwing it away for some reason other than that it went bad like you had to buy some because you are traveling, in which case, you are not at all the normal customer.

The smell sizes are great for traveling.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#168

Post by RandomThrow321 »

Noos wrote: post #81

The article sort of conflates two different models. Dollar Tree is actual "everything in the store is a dollar" while Dollar General and Family General are mostly small retail stores that sell things at a variety of prices. They round prices to the dollar, but otherwise are traditional retail that just locates in unusual locations. Five Below is another "dollar store" in that blend, focusing mostly on goods for young…

The article calls out the difference between Dollar Tree (everything is a dollar) and Dollar General (low prices but not necessarily a dollar) in one of the images.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#169

Post by mixmastamyk »

LegitShady wrote: post #158
mixmastamyk wrote: post #147

One thing I noticed at our local 99 cent store, and didn’t see mentioned in the thread… cashier wait times. There’s a large number of customers of course and they keep costs down with fewer cashiers. So you are looking at twenty minutes standing in line for your $8 in goods. I did this a few times and (combined with needing to drive there) and decided it was not really worth the savings from our quick/overpriced mark…

a similar store near me replaced their 2 checkouts with 5 self checkouts, and has one person nearby to help/monitor.

Funny, because our expensive store did that, but the dollar store may not have the upfront capital for it.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#170

Post by okareaman »

kcorbitt wrote: post #2

I absolutely love dollar stores. I recently needed to buy a set of crayons for my son and the options were $5 on Amazon, $4 at Target or $1 at the local Dollar Tree (and the pack had 36 crayons, vs 24 from the other sources!). They're not the right place for everything, but for kids' art supplies, cleaning products, party paraphernalia, seasonal decor, etc, they can't be beat. They seem to have a pretty strong stigma…

They are great if you stay away from certain things like batteries, which are usually drained or near dead.
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