One Of The Worst Items You Can Buy At The Dollar Store Is An Essential Household Item
You might feel like everything just keeps getting more and more expensive, and you're not wrong. According to a Bankrate analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, prices are up 22.5% compared to pre-pandemic February 2020. Despite hope that inflation might come back down, monthly Consumer Price Index reports have instead shown an uptick in inflation in recent months, with a December 2024 rate of 2.9%. In addition to the fact that stubborn inflation ensures consumer prices stay high, it also negatively impacts the possibility of interest rates coming down. Since the Federal Reserve aims for a 2% inflation rate, chances are good they will slow down or even stop their federal rate decreases.
All of this is to say, finding ways to save money on your essential purchases can be more important than ever. While there are a lot of different strategies that can help you save without sacrificing your quality of life, knowing the best (and most affordable) places to find your household essentials can be an especially important part of your monthly shopping budget. From clipping coupons to tracking sales at your favorite retailers, there are many ways to help you save money that don't require a ton of extra time to plan. With that in mind, one strategy in particular that some consumers might rely on more heavily when money is tight is shopping at dollar stores. While dollar store pricing can be appealing on the surface, there are some significant downsides to keep in mind and some products you should never buy from one.
Avoid batteries
While you might not think of batteries as having expiration dates, the older they are the worse their ability to actually hold a charge. Not only does this make them less useful to you as a consumer, but it also ensures you have to spend even more money to buy replacements sooner than you would otherwise. If you're wondering why dollar stores would have old batteries, the answer has to do with the way dollar store retailers get their products. As Brent Shelton, a shopping expert for fatwallet.com, told Reader's Digest, "Batteries may have been on a Target shelf for three years, and now they don't hit Target's standards anymore." This means that these older batteries are more than likely going to get sold off by Target to other secondary retailers, such as dollar stores. Shelton went on to explain that dollar stores, "are not ordering new batteries and pricing them well—they're taking old stuff off other stores' shelves."
Buying up old and outdated merchandise in bulk is the primary reason that dollar stores are able to offer products for such low prices. This can mean deals for consumers, but it can also mean a significantly higher likelihood of products being damaged, broken, or even more dangerous. Batteries in particular can have an increased risk of leaking the older they get. Similarly, since dollar stores are probably purchasing lower quality batteries in the first place, you will probably end up with more leak-prone carbon-zinc batteries rather than the kind of high-quality lithium batteries that don't leak.
Dollar store downsides to be aware of
As previously mentioned, the kinds of products typically available in a dollar store retailer come with increased risks. Since dollar stores are buying their products in bulk directly from manufacturers, other retailers, or even third-party vendors, there are often quality issues stemming from why, exactly, these sellers sold off their products in the first place. These products might be overstock, discontinued, surplus, or (as discussed) old and/or expired. Whether the product didn't sell as well as a retailer hoped it would, or a manufacturer has repackaged a product in a smaller quantity there is a higher chance of experiencing a quality concern with the products you might buy at a dollar store.
It's also important to mention the growing concern of toxic chemicals found in many dollar store products. A 2022 product screening report released by the Campaign for Healthier Solutions found hazardous chemicals like lead, phthalates, toxic flame retardant chemicals, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in children's products. Similarly, a previous report from 2015 found that 81% of the dollar store products tested contained at least one (but oftentimes more) hazardous chemicals. These chemicals are linked to things like learning disabilities and even cancer. In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration even issued a warning letter to Dollar Tree regarding its ordering of potentially dangerous foreign manufactured over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. While saving money can be crucial to your budget, it could be worth looking into retailers with great coupon policies instead.