The dodo dollar store. ( Archived) (13)

I grew up going to what was called the Five and Dime. Woolworth and Schultz Dime Store. Now perhaps long before my time, things were actually a dime or a nickel. I remember the nickle coke which was a little shapely glass. But, things were cheap even if not a dime.
There are stores like the .99 cent, where as far as I gather, nothing IS .99 cents. There is 5 Below where most merchandise is five bucks.
There is Dollar General which I guess hide items that are a buck and has some sales where they almost give stuff away.
What is in my town now is the Dollar Tree. When they started, there was no itemized receipt, it just rang up 1,1,1,1. Then to do inventory, they started to scan stuff so the receipt shows what you paid a dollar for,
I can blow $50 to $100 in that store the few times a year I shop. Some stuff is a rip...that bag of dollar candy? Check the weight. So it takes 4 bags to equal the box store. So to get the same, costs $4. They also like to water things down. Like perfume. Gee, the bottle smells great. Wear it and the scent lasts exactly 27 seconds.
They stock stores by sales. So the coasts get tons of cool stuff that the midwest never gets. Or long after. Some is made for them, some is store dumps and insurance liquidation. So never know what you may find. Like Dunkin Donuts cereal. Gee, wonder why that didnt sell.
Now prices are going up, shipping is stuck at sea. And I hear the Dollar Store will become the dollar and a quarter store. Or the dollar fifty store. Still comparing to Hobby Lobby or other craft stores, still cheap.
As long as they do an even amount. No .99s or .67s or weird stuff. I can still total those extra quarters. I will still shop. But maybe put some stuff back. Borderline for a buck, out for any more.

I like there incense sticks and scented pretty candles..I think I'm thinking of the reject shop..Not sure why my stuff is rejected because there's nothing wrong with them..Has to be the reject shop I'm thinking of because they cost more than a dollar..

Is it the same thing?

I saw some pages from the Sears Christmas book, 1945. I am aware of wages in times past. So when I see prices like fifty cents, I consider first the wage scale of the era before going wow thats cheap.
The perfumes shown were near the $4 price range. I saw a covered kettle that was over $4. Many items ran 1.50 to 2.
I dont think wages were that great in 45.The country was exiting, barely, a great war. In the years after, America hit boom times. But, it seems to me that to afford a $4 kettle in 1945 would have taken months of saving up the butter and egg money for some housewives.
When one sees a $4 perfume back then, I feel it put them in the range women pay today for designer scents.
Mom was offered to buy into a cosmetics factory when a young woman. She was given a tour of the place. She saw a huge vat of red and asked what it was. Lipstick. They explained that the same formula was poured into tubes and then sent to labeling. And that the label might be for a high end, expensive tube...or the low end drug store brand. Mom said so the only difference is the label? Yep. So the gal shopping at the Dime store got the same product as the gal shopping at Macy's. Mom said she regretted not investing as the cosmetic field turned into a huge cash cow.
I started out working for $1.35 an hour. I could go to the grocery store and come home with two sacks. Jeans cost a few bucks. I had a $5 mad money amount that bought a 1.25 paperback, some magazine that cost 50 cents, some makeup and whatever. Try THAT today!
People never get it. Every time wages go up, companies jack prices up. No way a company will cut their profits. The consumer ALWAYS pays in the end.
I went through the gas wars..28 cents a gallon for gas. Unreal now. But, we drove in to the gas station and said fifty cents please. Or if rolling in wealth..a buck. And the attendant glared because the rule was...put in gas, open hood, check oil and belts and wash all windows and headlamps. Everyone got the same, rich or poor...fill it up or a buck. One time we stopped with a station wagon. This was years later. Owner set the gas nozzle and proceeded to do the windows. My husband was in a hurry and asked me, wouldnt it be faster if he just gave me a car wash!?

I like the dollar tree store, now that they build
one close by, I don’t have to go to target
all the time, the family dollar store some of
there stuff is different prices but still ok