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The economics of dollar stores

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Re: The economics of dollar stores

#221

Post by 41209 »

mastax wrote: post #190
bradleyjg wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would prefer a much more robust housing support system for lower income people. Almost all of society's problems could be fixed with more affordable housing. > When I was young I was able to find a $600 apartment, on the free market. Now the same place is 1200$. The issue is that the overwhelming goal of politicians at all levels is to increase the value of individually owned residential units above the rate of g…

California has made huge strides over the past year to legalize housing, so I have some hope that the winds are changing.

California's been too far gone for decades.

Literally no one but the rich, or those who like suffering should stay there. It's an absolutely beautiful state, but it's just so hostile to anyone who wants to have a decent life.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#222

Post by thomascgalvin »

mianas wrote: post #219
rootusrootus wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's useful information, even if it should be intuitive. I know a number of people who shop at the dollar store because they believe they're saving money. In particular I think it's nice to shed some light on the special arrangements the stores make with manufacturers to produce products that look like the equivalent of what you get in a normal store but only cost a dollar, while in fact containing so little…

The 'lower total cost, higher unit cost' problem is one of the reasons I love the way the EU mandates advertising prices. i.e. anything sold needs to have the price you actually pay on it (including VAT/other charges), and the cost per unit. (€/l or €/kg). This saves me an absurd amount of planning/thinking as I can compare an equivalent cost number whenever I see a substitutable product somewhere. Also saves you fro…

I wish unit prices were always per the same unit, too. Sometimes I'll see a single pack of something with the price per ounce, and a triple pack with the price per pound (or something).

I thought this was already mandated by US law, but ...

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#223

Post by cafard »

bradleyjg wrote: post #186
laurencerowe wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's definitely not true for all paperback books. I often buy remaindered paperbacks at Dog Eared and Alley Cat bookshops in San Francisco. You can tell they're remaindered because they're marked with felt tip. When I lived in the UK, Fopp was a great source for them (along with discount films and music.)

My knowledge of the subject goes back to a high school job in a bookstore. Things may well have changed since then. Back then we ripped the covers off mass market paperback and sent them back to the publisher for a credit. The books were supposed to be discarded but you did from time to time come across a paperback book with no cover at a thrift store or similar, so clearly that didn’t always happen.

Right. Many years ago, I worked for a department store or two that carried books. Some of those missing the front cover ended up where employees could take them. I suppose that this was not supposed to happen, but it did.

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#224

Post by canadianfella »

myself248 wrote: post #177
dopidopHN wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> cleaning supplies Yikes! Cleaning supplies and medical stuff are things I will _never_ buy from a dollar store. Most of the cleaning chemicals have more fragrance than active ingredients, they never work well but the place smells like you cleaned like mad. I have to assume the medical stuff is just as poor quality, but I have no way of assessing it. It also bothers me that a lot of the cleaning products are packed…

What is a lint trap?

Re: The economics of dollar stores

#226

Post by taftster »

IncRnd wrote: post #196
taftster wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"seemingly identical item" - Can you give a more specific example of this? Like if it's two different brands of "chicken noodle soup", then I'd assume the ingredient list could/would change. But are you saying that a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup in the dollar store is different from the Campbell's can at Walmart? e.g. the same brand ingredients change?

I meant the second. I can't say that happens in all cases, but I've specifically checked this for some food items at Dollar Tree, and the ingredient lists differed in those cases. It was about two years ago when I checked. I noticed an item in the refrigerated section at Dollar Tree, where the item was $1, yet I had just purchased the same item at the grocery for more money. I purchased the item at Dollar Tree and co…

Interesting, thanks.
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