7 Things You Should And 7 Things You Shouldn't Buy At Dollar Stores

Dollar stores are, for the most part, thriving whereas thousands and thousands of big-name retail stores are losing business or closing. Discount chains like Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are not only cheaper than most other retailers, but they're sometimes more convenient considering two of the major chains have some 30,000 stores across America's rural, suburban, and urban communities, CNN Business reported. Though dollar stores were once seen as "dumping grounds for liquidated and off-brand merchandise," according to The Washington Post, nowadays these dollar store chains stock major brands, like Coca-Cola and General Mills, at discounted prices.

But are these prices too good to be true? Should you really be buying meat for $1.50 a dollar store? Or what about over-the-counter drugs and pregnancy tests? Well, The List did some digging and discovered things you should and things you absolutely shouldn't buy on your next trip to the dollar store. 

Regardless of how much money you may save, buying meat from your go-to dollar store chain is not the best idea. You might not think about Dollar General when it comes to buying your meat, anyway, but with a visit to one of its stores, you may be surprised to find a 3.5-ounce Great American ribeye steak costs less than $2. Yes, it seems like a great deal, but is it too cheap? Especially when, as of this writing, Walmart is selling a ribeye steak for $8.97 per pound?

It is important to note that Dollar General's ribeyes are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to the packaging label, so it can't be that bad, but one Dollar General online reviewer did say the meat was gray and ended up tossing it in the trash. Eek. Another reviewer, however, actually praised the quality, saying, for the price, it makes for a good steak sandwich. The Penny Hoarder contributor Joshua Pramis took one for the team and tried dollar store meat and said this: "I'd sooner hit up the McDonald's dollar menu for a cheap red-meat fix." 

Just because a product is cheap doesn't mean it's worth your dollar. That's the case with batteries, according to Kiplinger. Dollar stores tend to sell carbon-zinc batteries, which are more prone to leaking and don't last nearly as long as, say, their alkaline cousins. Though it may seem like a bargain initially, you may end up needing to replace the batteries more often, thus paying more in the long run.

While dollars stores, like Dollar General, do sell brandname alkaline batteries like Energizer, the price is about the same as those sold at Walgreens — and they may not be as good. Batteries lose charge over time, so that dollar store pack you think is a good deal may have actually spent years on a Target shelf. "[Dollar stores] are not ordering new batteries and pricing them well — they're taking old stuff off other stores' shelves," online shopping expert Brent Shelton told Reader's Digest.

You probably should avoid buying over-the-counter drugs at any dollar store chain. Why? A months-long undercover investigation by the New York State Office of the Attorney General found that the Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar were all selling expired over-the-counter drugs. As a result, all chains were required to pay $1.2 million in damages in 2019, according to the NY Attorney General's office. "New York consumers have a right to expect that products on store shelves are safe, fresh and suitable for their advertised use," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release. 

That same year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to Dollar Tree for receiving "adulterated drugs from manufacturers that received FDA warning letters in 2018." The previous FDA warnings to Dollar Tree's contract manufacturers included violations such as "not testing raw materials or finished drugs for pathogens and quality," according to the press release from the FDA. The warning letter to Dollar Tree outlined violations found in the production of Dollar Tree's Assured Brand over-the-counter drugs and other drugs sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores. 

You can buy groceries at your nearby dollar store, but should you? Dollar General sells everything from bread to milk to eggs, although most of its grocery options, like that of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, are processed and packaged goods, CNN Business reported.

Before you buy any groceries at any dollar store, though, you may want to look at the expiration date first, Cincinnati's WCPO 9 News advised. In the TV report, Shaquanna Hines said that her daughter purchased a bag of trail mix from a dollar store that ended up being nearly six months past its expiration date. "When she opened them, she realized they were stale; they tasted weird," Hines said.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food products are marked with a Sell-By, Use-By, Best if Used By/Before, or Freeze-By date. However, this shouldn't necessarily discourage you from buying food from your local dollar store as long as you look at those dates. College student Amanda Olivero discovered that it's cheaper for her to buy groceries at a dollar store, though not all options are the healthiest. In an essay for Spoon University, Olivero managed to purchase five days worth of groceries for just $35. 

Every dollar store has at least one toy aisle. It may be a haven for your kids if they accompany you on your shopping run. However, be careful with what toys you let them pull off the store shelves. In 2019, a doll sold at a Dollar Tree in New York was recalled after it was found to have "246 times the level of a chemical substance than federally allowed," according to the The Virginian-Pilot. The substance? Phthalates, aka "known endocrine disruptors," which are typically used in production of plastic materials and can be especially harmful to infants and toddlers. "This toy poses an unacceptable risk to our kids and should not be on store shelves," New York State Secretary of State Rossana Rosado said in a statement (via Syracuse.com). 

If you do purchase toys from the dollar store, the New York Department of State's Division of Consumer Protection recommends you do the following: Carefully read the labels, throw away or fix broken toys, and make sure fabric toys are labeled as either "flame-resistant" or "flame-retardant."

Baby food can be expensive so it's only reasonable to look to save some money. However, you may want to think twice before buying from your local dollar store — or other stores for that matter. The nonprofit organization Healthy Babies Bright Futures purchased and tested baby food from 15 different retailers — including dollar stores Family Dollar and Dollar Tree as well as other retailers like superstores and grocery stores — and found that 95 percent of the baby foods they tested "[contained] toxic chemicals that lower babies' IQ."

The study, which looked at a variety of baby food, including apple juice, formula, cereal and rice puffs by some of the major baby food brands (including Gerber, Similac, and Enfamil), found different types of chemicals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. The report stated that these chemicals are generally found in all human food and are typically caused by environmental pollution. However, babies are more "sensitive to the toxic impacts."

What should you do? "Parents can protect their babies today by choosing nutritious and affordable alternatives to the most contaminated foods," pediatrician Philip Landrigan told The Arizona Republic. 

If you're going to a dollar store to score a deal on canned goods, you might want to skip the trip. The Dollar General, for example, sells brandname goods like Green Giant and Bush's Best — but don't be fooled by the price tag. "At Dollar Tree, you might find cans of soup or veggies selling for $1, though you'd find the same items priced lower at the supermarket or on Amazon," Doug Whiteman, Money Wise's personal finance editor, told Reviewed.

Not only is it not much of a deal, but it could end up being hazardous to your health. According to a press release from the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, toxins have been found in the canned food sold in dollar stores. Tracy Gregoire with the Learning Disabilities Association of America said in the release that their testing on Dollar General food products revealed "BPA in canned food."

According to Healthline, BPA (bisphenol A) is "an industrial chemical" that's utilized to create epoxy resins, which are "spread on the inner lining of canned food containers to keep the metal from corroding and breaking" and has been linked to a number of health problems.