Are there counterfeit products at those discount dollar-type stores?

[aquariuscsm]

I’m sure it’s real products maybe made for a certain company. My friend believes Walmart gets counterfeit oil because they sell it cheaper than the parts stores so he refuses to buy it because he is crazy. And that’s a ridiculous thing for him to assume. So I would safely say no it’s not counterfeit.

I remember a few years back when Walmart I’m guessing had 5 quart jugs trademarked. They all had the Walmart logo on them and said “Recycle your used oil at Walmart Super Centers”. And the parts chains only sold the 5.1 quart jugs or something like that. Maybe in the early 2000s?

 

[AutoMechanic]

I remember a few years back when Walmart I’m guessing had 5 quart jugs trademarked. They all had the Walmart logo on them and said “Recycle your used oil at Walmart Super Centers”. And the parts chains only sold the 5.1 quart jugs or something like that. Maybe in the early 2000s?

I don’t remember that at all actually lol. But when was the last time I bought oil or even looked at oil from a parts store lol.

 

[Hall]

They all had the Walmart logo on them and said “Recycle your used oil at Walmart Super Centers”

I remember when some packaging from different oil producers, i.e. Valvoline, etc, added that to their labels but don't remember anything about trademarking 5-quart bottles or parts stores having 5.1 quart bottles.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Yep Walmart was the only place to buy 5 quart jugs. Maybe around 2003? I was still buying Syntec at O’Reilly for $1.99 a quart. I didn’t even know Walmart sold oil back then. Then when I started buying it there,they had the 5 quart “Walmart” jugs and all the parts chains had the 5.1 quart jugs. That was when all the speculation started that Walmart was selling interior oils because of the different packaging. There was a lot of talk here on BITOG about that back then.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I found some things online that mentioned the 5.1 quarts but none of them mentioned that Walmart had a patent or trademark on the bottles.

 

[SeaJay]

Name brand grocery stores have been doing the smaller size thing for years. I am old enough to remember when a standard size can of coffee was a full 16 ounce pound, when mayo was sold in full quart sizes and ice cream was in a full half gallon size. Shoot, Hagen Daz used to be a full pint.

No more on either of the ones I've listed, and a whole bunch of others. The dollar stores are just one-upping the name brand grocery stores.

 

[4WD]

Name brand grocery stores have been doing the smaller size thing for years. I am old enough to remember when a standard size can of coffee was a full 16 ounce pound, when mayo was sold in full quart sizes and ice cream was in a full half gallon size. Shoot, Hagen Daz used to be a full pint.

No more on either of the ones I've listed, and a whole bunch of others. The dollar stores are just one-upping the name brand grocery stores.

The Dollar Tree has so many under sized things that’s it handy for the bay house etc …

 

[y_p_w]

You notice that quite a few now barely recognizable brands that were heavily promoted years ago are sold at those places. “Macclean’” toothpaste “Palmolive” soap and such. Quite often they are manufactured by a company with “Evergreen” in its name.

Palmolive (from Colgate-Palmolive) is still a big brand sold at major retail chains. However, a lot of these things are specially packaged for dollar stores. I wouldn't worry if it's at one of the big chains like Dollar Tree, Dollar General, or 99 Cents Only (which ironically isn't). They often have their own house brands. At Dollar Tree it will say "Greenbriar International" with an address that happens to be Dollar Tree's HQ.

It's kind of tricky. Someone noted the independent stores that might buy from a lot of flaky suppliers. The toothpaste mentioned by someone else was found at some place called "Dollar Plus". I believe the locations are franchised and there's a certain amount of flexibility for the owner to purchase from its own suppliers.

Colgate Warns of Counterfeit Toothpaste in U.S.

Colgate-Palmolive said Thursday counterfeit "Colgate" toothpaste that may contain a toxic chemical had been found in discount stores in four U.S. states.

www.cnbc.com

 

[01rangerxl]

So do major manufacturers make smaller sized products specifically for dollar-type stores?

Yes, that is exactly what they do. They figure out the size of package that they will make money on, while appearing almost the same size at first glance. The product is the same. If you look at the cost per unit of measure it's generally the same or even higher than other stores. If DG, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, etc were intentionally selling counterfeits, the manufacturers would sue them out of business.

"Full size" quantity items in these stores are typically off brand/generics.

As someone else stated, you're most likely to find counterfeits with small individual businesses that do not buy directly from the manufacturer.

 

[01rangerxl]

The Dollar Tree has so many under sized things that’s it handy for the bay house etc …

Not only do they have the slightly undersize stuff, they tend to have a good selection of travel size packages too, usually all in a specific travel sized things section.

 

[y_p_w]

Name brand grocery stores have been doing the smaller size thing for years. I am old enough to remember when a standard size can of coffee was a full 16 ounce pound, when mayo was sold in full quart sizes and ice cream was in a full half gallon size. Shoot, Hagen Daz used to be a full pint.

No more on either of the ones I've listed, and a whole bunch of others. The dollar stores are just one-upping the name brand grocery stores.

The gallon sized Vlasic pickles jar sold at Wal-Mart for $2.97 was the big one. They kept on telling WM that they were losing money and would like to change the size, but WM held firm. Eventually they agreed to reduce the price and the size.

The Wal-Mart You Don’t Know

The giant retailer’s low prices often come with a high cost. Wal-Mart’s relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force them to send jobs overseas. Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?

www.fastcompany.com

 

[Electromotive]

So do major manufacturers make smaller sized products specifically for dollar-type stores?

I'm thinking that may be the case.

 

[alarmguy]

They are real products, no way counterfeit from national chains anymore then any other national chain regardless of price.
As far as smaller sizes at lower cost, yes, depending on the product.