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Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

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Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#131

Post by reginold »

handrous wrote: post #104
koolba wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likely through shrinkflation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinkflation Next time you’re at the supermarket check if the bacon brands you remember are still a pound. I bet many of them are now 12 ounces.

My wife's preferred brand of pre-made iced tea recently slightly changed the packaging for their large-sized bottles. Checked, and sure enough, they dropped from 64oz to about 59oz. [EDIT] Oh, and in the case of Everything's a Dollar (used to be better than Dollar Tree, dunno if it's still around) and similar: as someone who got a lot of toys there as a kid and has been in a handful of times in the last few years for…

What are the economics like on prepared drinks? Seems like transporting a bunch of water around is wasteful and expensive. I guess the revenues are so much greater than costs it doesn't matter - but here we have them shrinking the portion size.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#132

Post by ineedasername »

ruined wrote: post #91
qq4 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> deeply unsettling Care to elaborate? What about the logo makes you feel this way?

it's those beady little °s

That's just keyboard elitism. You wouldn't be so bothered by them if they had a proper shift-key/fn-key press. Maybe you should step outside of your ASCII bubble an realize there's a whole world of Unicode to explore that can't be encompassed by a double key-stroke.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#133

Post by hahamrfunnyguy »

smt88 wrote: post #6

Not much is still a dollar there, and they use that gimmick to charge people more than other stores anyway[1]. 1. https://boingboing.net/2021/08/17/this-chart-reveals-that-do...

This isn't a very good comparison. It singles out certain products that are probably the worst deals in the store. I am a very value contentious person and there's so many things that are great values at Dollar Tree. To name a few:

1. Dishwasher pods 10/$1.00. The best deal I've found anywhere. 2. Seeds packs 4/$1.00 - local hardware store sells the same seeds for $1 a pack. 3. Office supplies - 10 packs of ballpoint pens, 8 packs of steno-sized paper pads clipboards, poster board, foam core 4. Pasta and beans are cheaper than most of the grocery stores around here. 5. Kosher salt and other spices 6. CA (superglue) in various bottles add pack sizes. 7. 100% cotton t-shirts 8. Mylar balloons and other party supplies 9. Ziplock bags, sandwich baggies, etc. 10. There's often random bulk buys that get orders of some name brand thing in that's a really good price ($1 for a $5 or $10 item, for example).

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#135

Post by ceejayoz »

asdff wrote: post #113
koolba wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likely through shrinkflation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinkflation Next time you’re at the supermarket check if the bacon brands you remember are still a pound. I bet many of them are now 12 ounces.

When you go to the grocery store now, at least locally, seems that there are more varieties in package sizes of the tiny 7.5 oz cans of coke vs the full size 12 oz cans. If you want the tiny cans a six pack or a full case is available, if you want the large cans you have to get the entire case of 12, no six pack sold. If you convert the price per ounce you get a pretty raw deal on the tiny cans. IIRC the 12 pack was…

Those used to be 8oz cans, too, I think.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#136

Post by htek »

14 wrote: post #44
paulpauper wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

by charging huge markup on per unit cost by reducing quantity. 3 pills of Tylenol for example for $1 instead of a bottle which may have dozens for $6 . The brands create special mini-sized packages specifically for dollar stores. Big business.

With often same great sized packaging only with smaller amounts inside. Very wasteful. Deodorant, chips, pills, etc all look like a normal sized bottle but in reality is a smaller size for dollar stores. I have also heard things like canned goods of say a brand of soup they have special made for places like Costco that demand higher quality ingredients where the dollar store would get lower quality versions. Perhaps…

This reminds me of an argument I had a few Thanksgivings ago with an aunt who loudly proclaimed that the $0.49 can of black beans from the bargain store is exactly the same as the $3.49 can of black beans from the supermarket.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#137

Post by ceejayoz »

toxik wrote: post #128
123pie123 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ever so often I get that crazy look from the store assistant when they offer me (something like) double what your're buying for a few pence more and I say no thanks - typically I'm holding my belly whilst saying no

Imagine if bartenders offered alcoholics 20% off if they bought two

That’s sorta what happy hour is.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#138

Post by willcipriano »

chrisseaton wrote: post #117
willcipriano wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a business is unable to grow at a rate that is faster than inflation, that would mean it's shrinking in real terms. Why am I sticking around in a firm that is shrinking dramatically? Either the industry is dying or the business is being poorly managed. Working longer hours and throwing additional value on that fire doesn't seem like a great plan. You are probably better off spending your effort looking for a new j…

> If a business is unable to grow at a rate that is faster than inflation, that would mean it's shrinking in real terms. But - again - you aren't paid a salary based on how well the business is doing. When a company's profits double do you think they double everyone's salaries? Of course not - surely you know that? You're paid based on what the market for you is, and what you produce and how valuable it is to the com…

The business isn't doing any better if it grew by 6.2% this year, the currency they are receiving and paying you with has reduced in value by 6.2%, so it is breaking even. I'm not saying this in a "capitalism is bad" sort of way, I'm saying this in a "capitalism is good" sort of way. Wages are up in the majority of sectors, unemployment is falling, if your company or industry can't do 6% this year you likely have other options that can. Use at will employment to your advantage.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#139

Post by NotQuitePls »

gkoberger wrote: post #126

I don't think that people in this thread appreciate how prevalent grocery shopping in dollar stores is. In the US, half of shoppers buy groceries from a dollar store. They do it because it's literally all they can afford anything else. There are more dollar stores than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. "Kyle Dishman can’t afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General,…

Whenever an article says cheap food is bad, just close it.

You can get a loaf of whole wheat bread for $1, or you can buy a TV dinner for $1.

Efficiency Is Everything website has researched this.

This is a low information problem, not a capitalism problem.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#140

Post by ceejayoz »

reginold wrote: post #131
handrous wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife's preferred brand of pre-made iced tea recently slightly changed the packaging for their large-sized bottles. Checked, and sure enough, they dropped from 64oz to about 59oz. [EDIT] Oh, and in the case of Everything's a Dollar (used to be better than Dollar Tree, dunno if it's still around) and similar: as someone who got a lot of toys there as a kid and has been in a handful of times in the last few years for…

What are the economics like on prepared drinks? Seems like transporting a bunch of water around is wasteful and expensive. I guess the revenues are so much greater than costs it doesn't matter - but here we have them shrinking the portion size.

The bottling plants for soda etc. tend to be fairly local. Syrup gets shipped further.
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