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Even if they accurately charged shelf prices, these places are still a ripoff targeting the vulnerable. The list price is low but the per-unit price is astronomical compared to grocery store prices.
an interesting contrast that i think about a lot: - in rural america, there are dollar stores everywhere that overcharge for small items. people treat them as a necessary evil and begrudgingly shop there. - in nyc, there are corner bodegas everywhere that overcharge for small items. they are generally seen as beloved neighborhood institutions. so... what's the difference? corporate owned vs family owned? length of ti…
Bodegas charge you a little bit more because a real human owner accepts the risk of serving a small community in exchange for being part of that community, and you pay that extra in order to make their existence possible. Dollar Generals charge you a little bit more because a huge chain has driven out all the competition and you have no choice. The people who work there do not benefit from the extra you pay, and the…
23% of items are rung up at a higher amount at the register than what it says on the shelf, yet North Carolina law caps penalties at $5,000 per inspection, offering retailers little incentive to fix the problem. In other words, regulatory capture at its finest, over the backs of the poorest in the country.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's called "dollar tree" for a reason, historically prices were and are a dollar unless otherwise noted.
They went up to $1.25 in '21 I think. It was extensively cover by the press.
I'd love to see a citation on that, since I think you're mistaken -- there's plenty of things that are still a dollar, mostly stuff like packages of napkins or plastic cups, cards and other sundries.
(What was extensively covered was that they were no longer a "everything is a dollar" store.)
At a certain point we have to acknowledge that a huge share of our economy is just raw predation.
Well, why don't the ethical non-predators open up shops in economically disadvantaged areas and offer non-predatory prices? The margins must be huge if they really are predators.
Hobbes arguments can rationalize any Nash Equilibrium.
I experienced this first hand maybe a year ago when I randomly walked into a dollar general to get something, their prices often times are pretty close to the "regular" versions of the product, but packaged specifically for dollar stores. I get why people shop at them in rural places because that's the only shop within 10-20 miles but in cities it makes no sense. Had prices been 20-30% cheaper but in a smaller size i…
an interesting contrast that i think about a lot: - in rural america, there are dollar stores everywhere that overcharge for small items. people treat them as a necessary evil and begrudgingly shop there. - in nyc, there are corner bodegas everywhere that overcharge for small items. they are generally seen as beloved neighborhood institutions. so... what's the difference? corporate owned vs family owned? length of ti…
As someone who typically only enters a Whole Foods or a Home Depot for her retail experiences, the one time I entered a Dollar General, I was struck by how depressing it felt. I would never go back into one. Yes, I know how out of touch this sounds.