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Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

theguardian.com

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Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#681

Post by micromacrofoot »

tadzikpk wrote: post #643
jefftk wrote: post #372

> Red Baron frozen pizzas, listed on the shelf at $5, rang up at $7.65. Bounty paper towels, shelf price $10.99, rang up at $15.50. This very rarely happens in MA, because when it does the store has to give you the item for $10 off, including if that makes it free. And they have to post a sign at the register explaining the law, which means when you're invoking it all you need to do is point at the sign. https://www.…

I live in MA and wish that this were true, but do you have data / evidence to support that it rarely happens? Also, I don't know if you have tried to get your $10, but it's not like the sign is always obvious and every time I've tried, it's not like the cashier says "oops" and gives you the thing for free - they call a manager, the manager argues with you, other customers complain about the checkout delay you've crea…

If this happens you can file a consumer complaint with the attorney general's office... https://www.mass.gov/how-to/file-a-consumer-complaint

They do follow up with serial offenders.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#682

Post by brendoelfrendo »

kccqzy wrote: post #655
harimau777 wrote: post #624

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like it's basically the grocery equivalent of the boot theory of poverty. Poor people have to pay more in the long run because they can't afford to buy in bulk.

It’s slightly different for groceries. I am not poor but I also don’t want to buy perishables in bulk. I can choose to buy one week’s worth of lettuce to be eaten in a week, but by the seventh day the lettuce has visibly degraded. I want fresher produce, so I am willing to buy smaller amounts every two days.

When they say "groceries" they're not just referring to fresh produce but also to things like cereal, dried goods, canned goods, or other foods you might find at a dollar store. Though some of these stores like Dollar General do also stock fresh foods like eggs, meat, dairy, and produce.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#683

Post by mystraline »

phil21 wrote: post #349
mystraline wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> yet North Carolina law caps penalties at $5,000 per inspection So, have every agent in the state inspect them. Fine 5k. Immediately inspect again, different goods. Fine another 5k. Keep doing it opening hours. Treat them like an inspection money piñata until they fix their ways. State gets a big pile of money to do better, and massive fines at 5k a pop for a few weeks punish the company and their bottom line.

Why are we taking this whole “the $5k fine is nothing” thing at face value? A long time ago I used to help manage a couple retail stores. A $5k random expense would have put that location into the red for the month. Perhaps not the volume of a dollar store chain, but certainly not small either. I have a feeling that if the $5k fines were basically guaranteed to happen with some regularity you’d see this cleaned up pr…

> Why are we taking this whole “the $5k fine is nothing” thing at face value?

Because the current country's idea of fines against egregious business practices mainly amounts to a 5% fine of the profit they defrauded those against.

It turns a punatative action into a "cost of doing business". Look at right now with Dollar General - 25% of their goods are priced higher at register, defrauding people. And what can be done? Leave. Because many states are completely ineffectual in strongly attacking this.

And although North Carolina caps inspection fines to $5k, how many times were they even inspected? And were any fines even submitted?

My guess is no.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#684

Post by jefftk »

tadzikpk wrote: post #643
jefftk wrote: post #372

> Red Baron frozen pizzas, listed on the shelf at $5, rang up at $7.65. Bounty paper towels, shelf price $10.99, rang up at $15.50. This very rarely happens in MA, because when it does the store has to give you the item for $10 off, including if that makes it free. And they have to post a sign at the register explaining the law, which means when you're invoking it all you need to do is point at the sign. https://www.…

I live in MA and wish that this were true, but do you have data / evidence to support that it rarely happens? Also, I don't know if you have tried to get your $10, but it's not like the sign is always obvious and every time I've tried, it's not like the cashier says "oops" and gives you the thing for free - they call a manager, the manager argues with you, other customers complain about the checkout delay you've crea…

I've done this many times, and it usually takes about 5min (which sounds short, but isn't really that short). There is social pressure, but it's even stronger on the store than it is on you as a customer.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#685

Post by brendoelfrendo »

randerson wrote: post #641
ineedasername wrote: post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'll bet 1 share... I won't be your counterparty on that bet, you've already won: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/09/15/trump-wants... One of the reasons cited? All the work it takes. Which is just an insane response. If your business is so poorly run and organized that reconciling things each quarter represents a disproportionate amount of effort, something is very wrong. It means you definitely don't kn…

I rarely agree with Trump, but I'm a former exec at a public company and he's not wrong. You need a horde of lawyers and accountants and investor relations and SOX compliance people and auditors etc for the earnings reports. SOX adds burdensome processes at every layer of the organization. Your CFO and CEO will be preoccupied by earnings. It's a real disincentive for a small/medium cap company to go (or stay) public.…

Worth noting, though, that the SOX "burden" came out of Enron and WorldCom. I'd be willing to debate the actual mechanics of the burden and see if streamlining the regulations for modern companies is possible, but I won't accept that the burden is unjustified.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#686

Post by CPLX »

c16 wrote: post #553
CPLX wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Private equity is far worse. It means 100% ownership by a group of sociopaths who are executing on a plan to extract as much cash as possible quickly with no other goals at all. At least public companies have some diversity in ownership and agenda.

I think this checks all the above boxes, but for a public company. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyk6kvyxvzo

This is utterly disgraceful. With that said he did ratify it with shareholders so it is what it is.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#687

Post by CPLX »

dzjkb wrote: post #571
CPLX wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I see these private equity takes on HN frequently and am really baffled by the ignorance. Probably a good time to note that you’re posting this comment on a website created by a private equity firm for promotional purposes.

quite the opposite actually, your comment adds nothing to the discussion

If someone is baffled that the tone of a private equity company’s message board is pro private equity then I think it’s an excellent reminder.

I think it’s useful to point out that Silcon Valley is a rapaciously predatory and financialized business climate precisely because because they spend so much time and money on PR to convince everyone otherwise.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#689

Post by raydev »

regera wrote: post #116

Dollar stores are private equity with a checkout lane. In 2025, Dollar Tree sold Family Dollar to a group of private-equity firms: Brigade Capital Management, Macellum Capital Management and Arkhouse Management Co. https://corporate.dollartree.com/news-media/press-releases/d... It’s a business model cosplaying as poverty relief while quietly siphoning money from the people least able to lose it. They already run on a…

Family Dollar isn't a dollar store though.

Re: Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

#690

Post by FireBeyond »

voxic11 wrote: post #573
guelo wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is alcohol the only exception?

It's in the article linked > When buying groceries—food and non-alcoholic beverages, pet food or supplies, disposable paper or plastic products, soap, household cleaners, laundry products, or light bulbs—you must be charged the lowest displayed price, whether on the sticker, scanner, website, or app.

In Australia, when scanners became common, the law was "in the event of a mismatch, the consumer gets first item free, and any subsequent items at the lower price".
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