Dollar General Stores

[bullwinkle]

They pop up all over the place around here.

We have one about a mile away that's fairly new.

I'm mixed on it-on one hand we're not particularly far away from proper grocery stores(Schnuck's, Wal-Mart Marketplace, and for the budget mined Aldi and Ruler) and larger general mechandise stores like Wal-Mart and Target are not much further away.

Still, though, the location is convenient. They are an easy walk from several apartments and such in town, and there's really nowhere else in town aside from overpriced stuff at Casey's down the street. They really do serve a valuable purpose, IMO, for people who for whatever reason are unable or unwilling to drive, especially since the larger stores I mentioned would not be an easy walk from here.

At the same time, it seems like their prices have gone way up compared to a few years ago. I use to go to Dollar General or Family Dollar to buy things like wash tubs and the like for the garage. I knew I wasn't getting the best quality stuff, but it was hard to beat for the prices I use to pay. The last time I went in there, I bought 3 18qt wash tubs and they were something like $5 each. My wife looked and found 20 qt. ones at Target for something like $4.50. That's just one example I can think of, but I don't really consider them a place anymore to get a bargain on things like this.

As another side note, about a year ago my wife and I found ourselves staying ovemight in a VERY rural area of Missouri. She'd wanted to visit Marceline, MO for a while, and we took a weekend trip there. There really was not much in the town after they closed up at about 4:00PM on a Saturday, and we ended up driving 30 miles or so for dinner. Across from our hotel, though, was a fairly large "DG Market." We went in there just to walk around and look since, well, there wasn't anything else to do. They had a pretty surprising selection of groceries and such. They weren't CHEAP, but they were certainly better than convenient store prices, which would have been your only other option in the town. I just did a bit of poking around and the closest I could find to anything resembling a "real" grocery store was a Wal-Mart that's 30-something miles away. These "DG Markets" were all over the place, and I imagine they do provide a real service to the people who live in all these little towns.

Yes, they built one of these around 45 miles north of me, in Camden, OH. Camden’s only real grocery store closed a few years back, and the DG Market is reasonably nice, has a decent selection, and is a lot more convenient than driving 20-odd miles to the nearest Walmart, etc.

 

[bullwinkle]

I stop into a DG once in a while for the convenience. While not poor I blend in easily with the usual clientele there.

I’m not really poor, I just try to blend in as much as possible. It’s cheaper that way, and I’ve had a life-long opposition to the “keep up with the Joneses” syndrome!

 

[Rmay635703]

Dollar stores are just Costco in reverse. Bulk quantities cost less, while smaller quantities cost more.

Exactly, most of the DGs seem to have setup where former Pamida/ Shopko Home stores were.

Rather have Pamida, unfortunate an incompetent hedge fund took over Shopko

All the good dollar stores went out of business in the early 2k and Big Lots converted into a furniture store

 

[WeyounDS9]

Poor driving habits, manners, and financial well being have no correlation.

But they do have a significant statistical correlation.
Why do you think car insurance companies consider your credit rating when calculating your rate and/or acceptance?

Are there exceptions?
Absolutely.
I been poor before yet a courteous driver but the a great many dangerous drivers are those who cant be bothered to learn the rules of the road, or display courtesy to others in traffic.
These same behaviour deficits translate into an inability to hold down a quality job.

I know there is this meme of the "arrogant rich" guy or lady who is rude and arrogant on the road. but its a meme and statistically you are in much greater danger from low income drivers.

 

[Hermann]

I’ll go to the DG sometimes when I only need a few items (paper towels, waters or something small.) It is closer and faster the grocery stores. But that said, like WM I do have to mentally prepare myself cause I know I might see some wild $#*&!

While I don't hang out at DG, probably there 1 or 2 times a month. Mostly just going in with the Lady Friend, so I get to look around while she shops. I do think they serve a need. What I never see is all the exaggeration about wild antics going on in DG or any other stores like it. Or someone with way to many tats. Probably the worst I've seen is women who didn't put a bra on before going to the store.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Walmart is my "Dollar General". Then I shop at ... Oh! there is no other store to shop at.

No Grants
No J.M. Fields
No Caldor
No Circuit City
No KMart
No Sears Roebuck

Hmmm.

 

[ATex7239]

While I don't hang out at DG, probably there 1 or 2 times a month. Mostly just going in with the Lady Friend, so I get to look around while she shops. I do think they serve a need. What I never see is all the exaggeration about wild antics going on in DG or any other stores like it. Or someone with way to many tats. Probably the worst I've seen is women who didn't put a bra on before going to the store.

Definitions can vary from person to person. Example: Tattoos don’t bother me, but could be utterly ridiculous to others. I would say where (geographical location) are you shopping plays a huge role in what you see regularly. I know of one particular WM that is near a sketchy trailer park. There have been shootings in the parking lot, attempted kidnapping by human traffickers, and there are known drug deals going on. Now, there is also another store a few miles down the road where none of these things happen. It is in a much nicer area. I would call shootings, kidnappings, and drug deals wild $#*&. YMMV.

 

[Hermann]

Definitions can vary from person to person. Example: Tattoos don’t bother me, but could be utterly ridiculous to others. I would say where (geographical location) are you shopping plays a huge role in what you see regularly. I know of one particular WM that is near a sketchy trailer park. There have been shootings in the parking lot, attempted kidnapping by human traffickers, and there are known drug deals going on. Now, there is also another store a few miles down the road where none of these things happen. It is in a much nicer area. I would call shootings, kidnappings, and drug deals wild $#*&. YMMV.

Hate to be so blunt, just don't go to the one that is unmanaged.

 

[ATex7239]

Hate to be so blunt, just don't go to the one that is unmanaged.

I assure you, I do not. And I also assure you the wild antics are not exaggerated there.

 

[dumkid]

They built a dollar general 5 miles from my house, and the hardware store that's been there forever also got updated (better selection of bolts and tools) previously the options were 30 minutes on the highway to the city, shell (extremely overpriced) and the hardware store before it was revamped (they didn't have much) dollar general has been very useful.

Now all I need is an AutoZone near me and i wouldn't have to drive to town

 

[KenshinHimura]

Yeah, nah.
Not in Ohio and not in the home of Danny Quayle and Mike Pence to our west.
Anyway, most of these folks drive their clapped out beaters as though they were factory 911 RSRs.

Out towards Akron, they used to have minimums posted in the freeways

 

[4WD]

We have one - I treat it like a convenience store bcs those have been ruined by the scratch off gamblers …

 

[Hall]

I'll snap a picture of the oil selection in my local DG the next time I'm there.

They sell their own brand of oil and it's Dexos approved, Mobil 1, Castrol, Valvoline, etc. They also sell a few choices of ATF including Valvoline Maxlife and others.

 

[K-Man]

They sell their own brand of oil and it's Dexos approved, Mobil 1, Castrol, Valvoline, etc. They also sell a few choices of ATF including Valvoline Maxlife and others.

DG has a fair amount of store-brand stuff. A lot of it, such as the motor oil, would surprise you.

 

[fantastic]

Some of these posts ... "I saw a woman with a tattoo" "my gosh the horror! HA

I will say that one thing I've ran into with some stores is the fact my wife uses a backpack that I bought for her b/c it's easier on her back than a purse. Some will tell her "You can't have that bag inside the store" which is not a place I'd like to shop at then. I'd thought about telling my wife to be smart & put one shoulder strap over her shoulder & say "See now it's a purse" to see their reaction but I'd never put the wife in that position though. That has been my major peeve with some stores we visit.

 

[Hall]

DG has a fair amount of store-brand stuff. A lot of it, such as the motor oil, would surprise you.

I'm willing to bet there's a lot of uninformed, "I heard" comments about DG here. Like almost all stores, they do sell their own branded stuff (and some of it is just fine quality) but also sell national, name-brand products and the prices are lower than the small-town grocery store we have or CVS across the street.

 

[Hall]

Some of these posts ... "I saw a woman with a tattoo" "my gosh the horror! HA

How did I miss that post ? If that's a shock to a person, it shows how out of touch with reality they are.

 

[fantastic]

How did I miss that post ? If that's a shock to a person, it shows how out of touch with reality they are.

While my post is a bit of an edit it was the nuts & bolts of what I collected from it (the post). There really are people out here like that... I know.

 

[bbhero]

I'm willing to bet there's a lot of uninformed, "I heard" comments about DG here. Like almost all stores, they do sell their own branded stuff (and some of it is just fine quality) but also sell national, name-brand products and the prices are lower than the small-town grocery store we have or CVS across the street.

Exactly right Hall…. You nailed it. Hope you and your family have a good Christmas..

I’m glad the DG stores are out in the country… They are actually needed out there.

 

[vavavroom]

The only thing I buy at Dollar stores is UHT milk because nobody else carries it. My milk consumption is minimal but sometimes I require milk when baking. It's nice to have UHT milk handy at the beach shack because I may not spend time there for days or sometimes weeks. I have 4 quarts of UHT milk in my pantry. UHT's shelf life is close to one year.