Dollar General is not a dollar store any more than Target is a target store.
Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
161–170 of 261 posts
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#162Is Dollar General really considered a Dollar Store? When I think Dollar Stores, I think as bit lower on the product scale like Dollar Tree and its ilk. Dollar General is basically a compact Walmart.
It isn't and it really calls into question the rigor of the author, and also gives you a laugh about the hackernews crowd as well. Dollar General is _not_ a dollar store, its a general store where prices are not tied to "a dollar".
Though "dollar stores" have items that are not always only $1, the bulk of their inventory is keyed in on that price point, Dollar General has no such paradigm.
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know this is fiction, but is it really possible to have boots that last 10 years?
a decent pair of redwing boots will run $200-300 and last 18-24 months in a job walking daily before needing a resole ~150 that can be done 2-3 times. mine that I wear a couple times a week I got 18 years ago and have had to do a $50 re-heel of them is it. giving them 48 hrs to dry after wearing really extends the life of the leather
Also have some a few pair of Redwings Heritage boots. First real-leather shoes I bought were some Iron Rangers. I wore them as my main shoes for the first year I had them, nearly every day. Wore the absolute hell out of them. They still come out many times a year, and I treat them as work boots, so they get things dropped on them, I sit on the floor and crush them side-down for long stretches, et c. I also wore them up a couple mountain trails in the Appalachians maybe three years back, one a pretty damn long and high-elevation-change trail (do not do this, they are heavy as fuck compared to any modern hiking boot or, especially, shoe, it was a very bad idea) which beat them up plenty.
"Camp mocs", chukkas, and loafers have replaced them for everyday wear, for me, but that first pair of IRs still see some of my hardest-wearing days, probably 20-30 days a year.
Given the rate of wear for the ~2 years when I wore them very heavily, I'd say I could have gotten 5-8 years without babying them a bit (with a re-soling around year 4, probably). With my current usage pattern I expect they'll last about 20, with a re-soling at some point. If a person used shitty work boots for the really rough days to avoid abusing the expensive boots, and maybe kept some purpose-specific shoes for things like snow, heavy rainy weather (duck boots in both cases, perhaps), or hiking (god, just get a modern hiking shoe or boot, leather shoes are so heavy), 10 years of ~50%-of-days wear is very possible out of that boot style, I'd say. That may even be on the low side.
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#164Brings to mind Vimes' "'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness", from Terry Pratchett's Discworld: "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 a season or two and…
I know this is fiction, but is it really possible to have boots that last 10 years?
I’ve had that happen. I burn through heels, and need a resole every 3 or so, depending on use. Also a secret weapon is shoe trees. They keep away funk, and also seem to help the shoe last longer.
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would give 50 upvotes if I could for the Pratchett reference. And a good explanation to boot.
And I would give 50 downvotes if I could. The only thing that quote is good for this century is letting upscale consumers pat themselves on the back. Goods are so much cheaper than when that quote was written that using cheaper alternatives and treating them as disposable is often times cheaper in the long run for many classes of goods and usage patterns. These sorts of tropes and rules of thumb that have been stripp…
I also read a partial rebuttal which amounted to "Rich people pay less because they can buy more durable boots, but they also pay more because they buy fancier boots, and the increased expense from buying fancier boots is more than the savings from the boots lasting longer."
There's also the question of why the poor person doesn't take out a loan to buy the more expensive boots, and pay off the loan with the money that he saves from not having to continually buy pairs of cheaper boots. Many poor people still have credit cards, and even the ones who don't can often trade favors or get loans from relatives.
And even the response "they should save up for the boots" isn't obviously wrong. For obvious reasons it's hard for poor people to save, but how often is it so hard that something like this isn't possible?
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#166ITT: bunch of tone-deaf middle class folks who don't have the slightest understanding of the myriad of systems in place to keep poor people deprived, defending shitstain companies like DG.
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#167Dollar stores are for poor people. Americans are becoming impoverished. Elites are getting richer, thanks to Fed policy and our bailout economy that creates inflation at the expense of the saver.
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#168Brings to mind Vimes' "'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness", from Terry Pratchett's Discworld: "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 a season or two and…
I know this is fiction, but is it really possible to have boots that last 10 years?
Probably, if you take good care of them and most importantly avoid wearing them every single day. Leather shoes need resting periods.
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#169Earlier quoted context omitted.
After a couple of levels of indirection, I think the whole argument hinges on one anecdote. It might indicate a general pattern, but no actual authoritative sources back it up. Original Article quotes "growing evidence suggests these stores are not merely a byproduct of economic distress. They’re a cause of it. In small towns and urban neighborhoods alike, dollar stores are triggering the closure of grocery stores, e…
Dollar General comes in and offers local consumers a bargain that local consumers strongly prefer. Accordingly, local consumers vote with their feet. Unless the master plan is to run competitors out of town and then change to "Two Dollar General", it seems like Dollar General is good for consumers (at least if you judge by consumers' own revealed preferences).
These places exacerbate material waste and trivial spending.
Dollar objects get replaced much faster than better quality objects.
They’re manipulating that “new purchase” high similar to Facebook juicing us via likes.
Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.
#170Good article and discussion about the economics of these "Leeches of the poor": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27650477 TLDR: The products in Dollar Stores aren't 'cheap' in the sense that they cost less than other stores per unit - its just that they're (mostly) packaged into smaller units that people living paycheck to paycheck can afford.
Note the other stores mentioned: Walmart, Target and Costco--all discount stores. When you compare prices to convenience stores or drug stores the Dollar Stores are much cheaper. And when you look at Walmart, Target and Costco remember time is money. And it takes significantly longer to shop at Walmart, Target and Costco (the long walks to and from your car, the long walk in the store itself, the waits at the cashier…
I’d say it’s less about “time is money” and more about “I can afford 100 diapers with this week‘s pay check at 25 cents a diaper” and use my entire $25 budget if I go to Walmart, or “I can afford 25 diapers at 50 cents a piece and spend the remaining $12.50 on food - that will get me through this week” if I go to dollar general.
That’s literally the definition of living pay check to pay check - one’s outlook only cares about the next week or two, because you have to make trade offs between food, clothing, shelter, and essentials.