The RISE and FALL of Dollar Stores

[@FutureProofTV]

Visit ground.news/futureproof to access diverse perspectives all in one place to stay fully informed. Subscribe through my link for as little as $1/month or get 40% off unlimited access this month only!

[@bmeht]

Waste of time

[@luckyloonie1359]

#Dollarama is stronger than ever! For better financial services #TDBank💳 is present... 🌎💘💰

[@okaycola2]

No

[@okaycola2]

You're saying dollar stores are creating profits for billionaires while asking for a dollar. The nerve

[@wstlndiesel]

Total AD BAIT channel! ❤

[@robinoconnor553]

As a retired teacher, I can definitely say that a good chunk of my paychecks went to Dollar Tree. Mostly classroom supplies, but pretty much everything else as well. Most of my teacher friends were the same. Now, the new baby teachers aren't using their paycheck to fund their classroom. They're also far, far more willing to just walk away from the job. Yes, the system is dysfunctional as hell and more power to them.

[@junyaiwase]

as a 21 year old i remember a lot of your kind... the ones who would always remind us that you pay out of pocket for supplies.. salute to you and all the other teachers who helped raise us, enjoy your retirement

[@sIosha]

Most municipalities are fixated on lowering property taxes (even though they keep going up) and paving asphalt every year. Spend a penny of that on education or healthcare, though, and it's one slippery slope towards a socialist dystopia🤦

[@jerrymiller9039]

They don't get the pay and benefits and retirement that you got

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

@@sIosha Watch Second Thought and More Perfect Union.

[@coloradohikertrash9958]

🍪 here you go! All of the old Boomer teachers LOVE telling everyone how much of their own money they spend on their classroom.

[@rinna3719]

It's astonishing how shareholders and ceos and whoever go all pikachu face when it turns out that the cancerous eternal growth business model turns out to be not so eternal.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Amen.

[@alexyu6621]

They know exactly what they're doing. Ever increasing profits really means extracting ever increasing value from consumers and they're ok with that - they can't think sustainably because they can't be "left behind" by the rest of the market

[@FutureProofTV]

Weird eh? Who would see that coming 👀

[@sacragon]

Look Dollarama stock, it's going well.

[@seabreeze4559]

@@alexyu6621 boomers just need to retire, they literally tell us they know when they say I'll be dead when that happens?

[@crash_test_dummy_1]

I was in Dollar Tree yesterday and the store looked barren. The cashier said they were low on manpower. I said I know someone looking for a job. He said they had plenty of people who _want_ to work, but corporate won't give them enough hours. Just a shitty business model.

[@Haffmatthew]

I’ve seen similar scenarios here at the chain grocery store chain I work for. Our labor budgets keep getting cut meanwhile they expect more and more. We make do but for the part timer seniors who have this as their sole income (aside from their retirement or SS) it’s become a nightmare especially with inflation and corporate price gouging.

[@hellsbells5389]

Yepppp

[@MsGabriel1880]

Spoke to one about this and they were hiring but won’t give enough hours. They don’t want to have to give you benefits.

[@sweetkitty3249]

Even the Goodwill has jacked up their prices to ridiculous level. I stopped donating to them. I give items to a small store that helps veterans.

[@erichanson426]

MY local Goodwill is half thrift and half a discount store as over half the items they sell are new.

[@AyAReI00]

The ceo of goodwill Made LAST years 750k ... Nooooo is a business, that is based of people free things ... Isnt that absurd

[@Elizabeth-xo9sn]

Same.

[@-IE_it_yourself]

this is the way

[@matt3024]

That's a result of the economy. Once again coming from someone who obviously doesn't rely on them. As someone who does I can tell you that those are a godsend to people who are struggling. They allow people with minimum funds to dress nicely and with some dignity not to mention many of them are charity run anyway. And the veterans administration quite a few of them. Also Goodwill salvation army numerous others are entirely non-profit. As of recently there's a lot of them that have emerged that aren't and regardless, the affordability makes them irreplaceable for a large percentage of our society. An FYI you can get brand new clothes in most with labels still on them. Thrift stores in dollar stores are major arteries we can't afford to lose. The real tragedy would be if we allowed armchair snobs to make decisions on whether they existed or not.

[@KarmasAB123]

Levi: "Let's take a moment of silence" KZbin: "Sounds like a good time for an ad break"

[@NickiMinajNewSongs]

Ad blockers!

[@SemekiIzuio]

​@@NickiMinajNewSongs on mobile?

[@basmca1]

Creaters can pick where in the video ads are shown

[@mycodingchannel9690]

@@SemekiIzuio if you have an andriod you can

[@iLuseMy1v1s]

What ads??

[@jackbruno4748]

I was a worker for our local dollar tree at one point. It was 50 cents higher than minimum wage. I had to quit and find another job that paid better because I absolutely could not pay my rent and bills and also feed myself.

[@KRich408]

My theory is the CEOs are not seeing the profits they want. This is typical to pull the plug on things when they can't increase their financial portfolio enough off the consumer.

[@e3vL1]

Seeing the increased cost of goods due to inflation, they could either increase prices or lower the quality of products even more. Most of which are low quality to begin with

[@matthewcaldwell8100]

@@e3vL1 You didn't watch the video, did you.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

@@e3vL1 The real problem for them is the cost of labor. They can no longer afford to hire people at the going rate. Thus, they must often run stores with one or two people and endure high turnover rates.

[@AnimeBeefRandoms]

Dumb theory. Pull the plug and lose their job?

[@matthewcaldwell8100]

@@AnimeBeefRandoms They don’t leave empty handed, you goon.

[@2Scarhand]

Current Dollar Tree manager here that literally just put in my two-weeks notice. Just wanted to add to the video. First, the thing I think y'all will find the most interesting, DT is also failing as a concept. The stores that are staying are abandoning the idea of selling everything for $1(.25). The store I work at became the first in the district (iirc) to become a "Dollar Tree Plus". This meant that there were 3 prices for items: $1.25, $3.00, and $5.00 (plus some rare items for less than a dollar), with the more expensive items in their own section. Simple. Since then, various suppliers have raised their prices to match. Known brands like Coke, Pepsi and Redbull increased their prices to range from $1.75-$4.00 and their products are found throughout the store. Apparently there are plans for other brands to follow suit; every section will haphazardly have more expensive items by the standard ones. The thing that kinda broke me, though, was a couple weeks ago we got a new item. 19" box fans. For $20. Dollar Tree is dead. What you see now are just walking corpses. Second, I just want to touch on how the place is run. We currently have 12 employees (around 6 people have left in the past year), all but 3 being part-time, generally only have 2 working at a time, have a hard time meeting corporate's unreasonable expectations, highly variable hours with tight shift changes (our cashiers need to be on register as soon as they walk in and stay on register to the last second of their shift, which is our Store Manager's fault), and we recently got an email from higher up saying, "Stop asking for more hours. Use them better." There's also constant theft and a nearby homeless camp (though I partially blame the city for that one). I'll also mention here that most of the employees need the job. I was flat broke, literally $0, when I started, and get a constant stream of sob stories involving shitty apartments, broken cars, and way too many expensive health issues. My most constant comment is "Jesus Christ, y'all are falling apart." All except for our Store Manager, who's the same but also somehow goes on a pair of week long vacations every year. Kinda fucked up to discuss that in front of the guys that can't afford a car, dude. As for me, it's been entertaining, at least. It's honestly the shitty customers and bad scheduling that's irritated me the most. Up until the price hiking I was happy with a decent selection of our products, though to be fair I was raised on the stuff. (Something, something, cycle of poverty.) I've been cutting A LOT of corners in my personal life, but I'm in decent health and have enough savings now to last for months without a job. So I'm heading out and plan to live a little before getting back on the grind. And with the extra time, I can definitely hunt for a better position. Anyway, I'll get off my soap box. Thanks for reading and awesome video.

[@HourglassTones]

Definitely try delivery apps in the meantime! Walmart Spark, Amazon Flex, UberEats, DoorDash, and tons of others are legit ways to at least cover some costs. Got me by during job hunt

[@PolarisMidnightSoldierLux]

Former Dollar Tree employee here, the managers are treated like slaves there. One time I saw my manager have an emotional breakdown over the phone with the district manager about our chronic shortstaffing and towers of boxes in the break room. They quietly let me go during my study abroad even though it was okayed 🤣

[@FutureProofTV]

Fuck that's awful. Hopefully you're in a better spot now 🙏🏻

[@phil42]

Same at DG. I at one time listed 40 different "job titles" I was expected to perform including but not limited to janitor, stock person, floor crew, HR (yes I performed HR functions), IT, maintenance, and of course great customer service to the shittiest customers. So glad I'm in a different line of work now

[@gregkareem9824]

​@@FutureProofTVstop cursing its a sin dude

[@gregkareem9824]

​​@@phil42stop cursing its a sin dude.

[@joycef8443]

@@gregkareem9824I think only if you “take the Lord’s name in vain” last time I looked , the name was not Fuck

[@casualsuede]

People want cheap stuff, not cheap crap.

[@erichanson426]

Thank you

[@tablescissors]

And lately, what I see in places is way overpriced cheaply made crap.

[@modestoca25]

Which most everything from China is

[@mrbeaverstate]

Temu is doing fine, sadly

[@gregkareem9824]

​@@modestoca25proof?

[@vvitch-mist20]

I've been shopping in dollar stores since I was a kid, and the dumbest thing they ever did was stop being a dollar. Dollar Tree going up by 25% was the biggest insult in the world.

[@FutureProofTV]

"Dollar 50 tree just doesn't have the same ring to it" 😔

[@NickiMinajNewSongs]

Dollar general and family dollar shouldn’t even have dollar in their name when they’re more expensive than Walmart

[@d0lpher812]

If gas, rent, car payment, groceries got more expensive through out the world, what makes you think dollar stores are inmune to it? lol

[@SemekiIzuio]

That and having $3 and up products that dont belong at the dollar tree!

[@NickiMinajNewSongs]

@@d0lpher812 they’re not forced to keep buying same product, buy smaller sizes keep products $1

[@story3877]

Dollar tree helped me set up my first apartment kitchen (dishes, silverware etc) back in the day but I always wondered how they could ever afford to sell me a plate for a dollar. Over the years I began to realize that so much if what they sell is actually LESS than a dollar at other stores and that much of the food (which I didn't buy, but I know many of my low income students did) was also over priced when you factored in things like net weight. It's just so many of us have poor financial literacy, have never been taught to budget and/or are living pay check to pay check and so the quick cheaper option just works better, especially for some of my students who did not have the ability to get to the real grocery store in town. They couldn't afford bus passes and didn't have cars, a few didn't even have bikes and the walk (with groceries in tow) was easily 30-40 minutes by foot one way, but the dollar store was 10 minutes tops. I did eventually stop shopping there and I try to convince others who can do so as well. I'm also a proponent of teaching others about local food banks and consignment shops to help make healthier choices than the dollar stores. Oh and I eventually replaced that dishware with newer (and surprisingly lighter) items. I got a little freaked out about their safety and quality. There's a lot of lead paint and other freaky low quality crap in those stores. Yet another reason to try and help folks find alternatives when possible.

[@Aubreykun]

Very true. Plenty of grocery delivery services now also offer discounts for people with EBT so there's way more options now too for people at the low end. And the dollar store food is not just a net weight issue. Nutritionally the food is on average substandard, with lots of fillers and other stuff tossed in, or from dodgy manufacturers. Sometimes they get unsold stock from other stores so you're getting items that are either much closer to their expiration date, and they have an icky FOMO element because you won't see it again in there.

[@foechicken8023]

People think they are saving, but per ounce, the DT is more expensive.

[@-IE_it_yourself]

me too, but dont you sometimes wish that you have bought it on craigslist instead? and buy doing that we gave our money to the wrong people?

[@story3877]

@@-IE_it_yourself omg yes. I wish I had gotten into thrifting years ago. So much money could have been saved and I'd have such better quality stuff. Although you got to be careful, older items have lead. Then again so does cheap crap from China so, I guess you're flipping a coin either way 😆

[@bethlovesben]

Dollar stores aren’t closing because they’re failing. They’re closing stores because the market is oversaturated. That can happen within any market. There are simply too many stores. I’m not on the side of the inhumane practices, but they are not failing. When they shrink stores and there’s less internal competition, they’ll bounce back financially. Realize they also compete with Walmart, who is also very aggressive with their prices. However, the video is correct about how the system fails us as a whole. But, it won’t be ending anytime soon.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

They cannot hire enough labor, and their core demographic and low income customers are increasingly trying new delivery services anyway.

[@bethlovesben]

1. Everyone has staffing issues; that’s not unique to their businesses. Hospitals have staffing shortages. Walmart has staffing shortages. Restaurants have staffing shortages. 2. They’ll have an easier time maintaining staffing once they have less stores. Less stores = less staff needed overall. 3. They’ll have less staffing issues once they can implement more self-checkout options. 4. There is a lot of competition, which is why I said the market is oversaturated. But, many dollar stores are still very profitable. There’s just too many, and so, we’re seeing shrinkage within the market as a whole. 4. Literally no business has a target demographic of selling to people with no money. Discount store’s target demographic is not low income people. It’s not people who have to choose between eating and paying their power bill. No one creates a business model to sell to people who have no money. Discount stores are marketing to middle class people who can generally afford to exist but want to save where they can. For example: “I can afford to buy Costco wine glasses, but I can save money buying Dollar Tree wine glasses. Saving money is important to me, so I’ll buy the DT glasses.” - That person is their target audience. I’m sorry if this upsets anyone, but retail businesses cant make money off the poor. They have to focus on middle class and higher to make a profit. ​@@unconventionalideas5683

[@gailhollenbeck5160]

@@bethlovesben Your points are right on. I run a small restaurant, can't keep help, even though I pay a competitive wage. Product principle same as stores closing. Bottom three sellers are deleted from menu each month to try to make room for something that may catch on. If it's not profitable why keep it.

[@Aubreykun]

@@bethlovesben People often mistakenly say "poor" when they really mean "high time preference." The two correlate but aren't synonyms. Someone can be poor and judiciously read everything before they buy it so they know they're not being wooed by empty marketing, and someone can be poor and just grab anything that "looks good."

[@grantmillard8387]

Unfortunately, people often cannot afford to make the best choices for society's long term benefit. They have to make the best choices they can for their own immediate survival. Telling them to buy local exhibits an ignorance of the level of the general public's current and growing desperation. While people in the US scream that their government is trying to disarm them by taking away their guns they are actually being disarmed by an economy that is taking away the strength of their choices.

[@Aubreykun]

Paying for a box of 90% filler and 10% food is a terrible deal and feigning empathy by treating it as anything more than a trap option in order to soapbox helps nobody.

[@bethaniejify]

Well said.

[@larissabrglum3856]

That's why he said "If you are one of those lucky people who can"

[@adspur]

Dollar General isn’t cheap at all

[@subzero-ku2wx]

Exactly. They didn't do their research on this one. Dollar Tree is not comparable to Dollar General.

[@SemekiIzuio]

Yup its an actually regular store just like Family Dollar. They both stop being cheap a long time ago but it has been more successful

[@TigerTT]

Dollar General is literally the same as Target but much much smaller.

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

​@@TigerTTand nowhere near as nice

[@crash_test_dummy_1]

I have found some items to be cheaper at Publix than DG, and Publix is not known for low prices.

[@horrorghoul]

I live in a food desert with a dollar general and I shop there a lot. The best tactic is to use the coupons on the app and combine it with shopping on the Saturdays for $5 off $25. You'll save a lot. They also have weekly ads. It's doable to buy from them without breaking the bank

[@mathiasjensen4434]

In Denmark shopping locally is such an integrated part of the country. Big chains are more franchises than big stores, where the onces owning these stores sponsor local events and more. Money and growth is so integrated into America

[@unconventionalideas5683]

What I will say is that, in he US anyway, Walmart and Target have figured out how to do enough delivery for cheap enough that even with the proximity advantage, it is hard for Dollar Stores to stay competitive with them. Additionally, labor shortages mean that Dollar Stores are lucky to find more than one, maybe two people to run the whole store. This means that it is super easy to rob them: just wait until everybody has to go to the back, run in, grab whatever you want, run out, and drive off before anyone even knows you were even _in_ the store. The Dollar Stores' very cheap supply chains also permanently broke after COVID, and new, more expensive ones had to be developed in their place.

[@LuluZ007]

I had a friend who worked for a dollar store and the manager used to take all the additional shifts and only allowed herself to clock in overtime. She restricted shifts for others. I didn’t realize poor treatment of employees was a dollar store endemic

[@rainaraspberry4945]

i commented this on your other videos as well, but if there has been a shift to ending these videos on a more positive note, i’ve definitely felt it. your videos make me feel more empowered to keep being better and not give up. thank you.

[@FutureProofTV]

That's awesome to hear! We take all feedback really seriously and are always looking to improve, glad it's resonating 🙏

[@hellzbelle229]

Dollar stores were cute when I was a kid because they were novel. Even then, I wasn’t buying “serious” stuff, just things like snacks and cheap lip gloss. Fast forward to today when my neighborhood is overrun with them, and while I still use them for cheap gift bags, party supplies, and other things I occasionally need on short notice or for short-term use, they now seem to be the standard replacement for drug stores, grocers, and other businesses that are much more useful. They aren’t a terrible idea in themselves, but they’re too plentiful and will never be a real substitute for truly essential businesses. The main artery near me has three Family Dollar stores and two Dollar Trees within about a mile and a half!

[@mattorama]

Yes it's cheaper to buy in bulk, but somebody who's broke can't afford to buy in bulk.

[@xSaraxMxNeffx]

i would absolutely love to be able to get that bulk discount; sadly, with my finances the way they are small weekly trips ($30 to $50) are all i can truly handle if i want to have any perishables at all.

[@mattorama]

@@xSaraxMxNeffx Cooking for one can be extremely challenging, if you don't want to be eating the same thing for days.

[@jenniferd264]

I can’t afford 1 item, I sure as hell can’t afford 10 of them

[@Socrates-b9n]

you said it bro!

[@8luvbug]

This guy has a lot of cassist and privilege takes.

[@BoudicasQuest]

I started reading Ground News thanks to one of your ad spots. Thanks for the tip.

[@Dretroz]

They also have that big issue where recently they were outed for items being more expensive at the register than advertised on shelves.

[@kvol1668]

I moved to rural Louisiana in 2020 from a metro Northern city. Dollar Tree and Dollar General are where most people buy groceries here. There's no corner stores or gas stations, and Walmart (the only other grocery store) is 30 minutes away. An actual grocery store is 90 minutes away. There's no public transportationhere, and the stores are always built next to trailer parks, apartment complexes, or RV parks because they have a clientele guaranteed to walk there.

[@larissabrglum3856]

That's awful, rural food deserts don't get talked about enough

[@braukorpshomebrew6039]

Gah, I'm surprised you did not cover the class action lawsuit Dollar General is facing due to purposely having incorrect pricing on products, overcharging customers all over the USA.

[@g_willow]

Just a reminder on stuff ringing up more than the shown price on the store shelf. Pay attention to how much what your buying is marked at and what it rings up for. If it rings up at $8 but the shelf said $6, tell them and show them the shelf price. Stores legally have to sell it to you for the six dollars they have it marked at on the self regardless of what it rings up as, it is literally the law.

[@foechicken8023]

And they do it all the time. That is why I do not shop at DG. I use the Family Dollar. We don't have many options in my little town.

[@gailhollenbeck5160]

Dollar general in our area has empty shelves and terrible cluttered aisles. Elderly mom cant get down them with walker. Usually only one staff member in the store at a time. That is too much work for one person. Why open a new store every mile when you cant keep ones fully staffed that are already open? Bottom line, DONT shop places if you KNOW they do not treat their employee properly.

[@Maverickgouda]

Understaffing is completely intentional. Basically part of the dollar store business model. Even at Walmart, people go for the lower price, but then wait in a longer line at the few open registers. I agree the dollar stores are over-saturated. I’ve seen some

[@8luvbug]

A lot of people can't afford to do that

[@Bloomkyaaa]

Can we start bringing more Daiso stores to America...?

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Yes and no. Yes, I want them here. No, because they have cute stationary stuff and I'll probably never leave the store 😂

[@Ella-g2m]

Daiso is astonishingly better quality than american dollar stores. God bless Japan.

[@ACC-2929]

They’re popping up everywhere here in my city in TX 🙌🏽

[@ahppple]

I agree!!! Daiso and other 100 yen stores in Japan are on another league.

[@4-kathryn]

I like Daiso. Got some nice origami paper to mail to my friends far away.

[@Timbeon]

I'd also wager that part of why dollar stores are starting to fail is just the simple fact that their business model depends a lot on cutting corners to be profitable, and they've run out of corners to cut and have cut so many that stores literally aren't functional anymore.

[@tangyorange6509]

I’m not sure if you have, but buffets I see are disappearing everywhere

[@realdavidpain]

Jimmy is not there any more, but Warren is better than ever?!?

[@bluephreakr]

Something particularly wild is how I was able to buy plates and bowls from my local Wal-mart for fifty cents in _this_ economy to replace the bowls I bought at a dollar tree which had since moved. Weird times we're living in.

[@joshd108]

I’ll miss 99cent only stores but I’m definitely better off without it

[@nslouka90]

I do too but they were starting to turn into Dollar tree.

[@weegee_hates_the_blind]

I miss being able to shop knowing that everything is a dollar no matter what. Now I’ll see something and think “oh cool they have this“ only to see a seven dollar price tag…

[@redstoneactive6589]

The stores also destroyed many small towns. The local family Dollar drove our grocery store out of business due to out competing it with price. You can no longer buy most vegetables and fruit without driving 30 miles.

[@Roxor128]

Some towns in the US responded to that happening by opening a council-run grocery store, and it's proven massively popular in those towns.

[@redstoneactive6589]

@@Roxor128 sounds like a really cool idea, but our local government would never go for that. small government conservatives don't like state intervention, even if it would help them. the rich people (the people who run for office here) also don't want to help pay for it.

[@Socrates-b9n]

I'm a university lecturer, hired by the course, awash in student loan debt: read extremely precarious employment prospects for the foreseeable future. A friend of mine, a tenured professor who is a department head to boot, was very critical of my shopping at Walmart (I didn't fess up to patronizing the dollar stores, horrors!) due to its utterly pernicious treatment of workers and producers. She doesn't seem to get that I CANNOT afford to shop at higher end stores due to my abysmal wages. She was shocked to find that we had both bought the identical (right down to the brand label and nursery of origin) clematis plant. She paid $40; the regular price in Walmart was $10; and in the mid-summer sale I paid $5. A rearrangement as to who gets what in terms of wages and assets, with more being diverted from the very rich to regular folks, is the only way to solve this massive problem of end-stage capitalism, in my view.

[@chillindylan6497]

I am a shameless Amazon shopper. I try to shop local when it makes sense but honestly I don't like going shopping for anything. People are more rude than ever and, at least in my town, they drive worse than ever. I don't think they are bad people but I definitely do think everyone is distracted more than ever.

[@hardyorange]

As a compromise between online and in person, I've shifted back to shopping online at stores that have physical locations. Sure, Target is not at all a "small" or "local" company, but their website isn't flooded with so many knock off duplicates that I can't even find the original, and because every product could also be sold on the shelf where a person could pick it up and inspect it for quality, I find that my honestly very few extra dollars spent per item is actually saving me time and money, since things last longer and I have fewer returns. For super basics (toilet paper, rice, national brand names), Walmart is cheaper and I do go to them for those, but I've discovered that as soon as I'm reaching for anything even slightly "fancier" than bare bones items, like ice cream or pasta sauce, Target's prices are right in line with similar items from Walmart and cheaper than Kroger!

[@RaphaelChan888]

The vicious circle here in this system, is that if a business is too good at creating products, and their product lasts and works well for a long time, they suddenly loose revenue for future purchases as the market saturates and people either don't need to upgrade, or are satisfied with second hand versions because of their reliability and usefulness.

[@DOCTORJAN714]

You don't even need the stories online to tell you that the dollar stores are closing down. You can tell just by the locked doors and empty shelves when you go there.

[@JoeyRoo]

Meanwhile in Canada Dollar tree starts at like $2 😭😭

[@xXBLAKGOATXx]

But its a fucking steal they got such awesome prices and everyones complaining about the dollar 😂

[@FutureProofTV]

gotta love having the weaker dollar 💪💪

[@drmodestoesq]

@@FutureProofTV If no one wants to pay taxes the government will just impose taxation via inflation. Just think of all the good things the government spent that money on.

[@dannydaw59]

It's going to be called "Couple Bucks Tree" 😂

[@NickNab]

A Buck Or Two used to seem like a weird name in the 90s. Now not so much.

[@s.s.8029]

As someone who works in education, we rely on dollar stores for affordable prizes and presents for our students. When prices went to 1.25, that meant an extra dollar (plus tax) spent on every 4 items we bought. Yes, I know they aren't usually great quality, but when you need a quantity, it worked. I live in a very small, poor town and and our Family Dollar just closed, but we have two Dollar Generals in town, plus Dollar Tree. Go just 5 miles either direction out of town and there are two more Dollar Generals and a Family Dollar. It is convenient not to have to run back into town if we are coming either of these directions, but I feel that having a Dollar General and a Family dollar in the one town is just excessive. I do have to say that these are relative well kept and organized, way better than before. We have one mom and pop grocery store in our town (and they are expensive for most items), and our only other option is WalMart and Aldi. We can only do so much with what we have access to. Things are expensive everywhere. Sometimes I go for the best price, sometimes I go for convenience. Most big corporations are corrupt, so we are usually stuck either way we go.

[@cellgrrl]

Our local small town Family Dollar was converted to a "DG" store. Literally. There was many upgrades. It was cleaned up, there were more employees and they added a refrigerated food section, I mean like produce and meats, some even organic. Their prices seemed about Walmart level. I didn't shop dollar stores, but this was a pleasant surprise.

[@joycef8443]

I have been a Dollar Tree shopper since 2009. I now live in a rural area and when I go into a larger town, I shop Dollar Tree to buy craft supplies for me and my grandchildren and food items to stock our church’s little food pantry. I buy cereal, laundry detergent, small pkgs of sugar, flour, pepperoni for the pantry. Canned veg are purchased at Aldi.

[@opineno]

I love how much you agree with my trusted source of news, John Oliver. 😉

[@Crypto_Circus]

I think these stores provide a service to everyone not just the poor. They help keep overall prices of certain items lower then they would be

[@therealjulia]

that part where you misread the script at 11:27 freaked me out lol... I was like damn is buying a house even harder than I thought?

[@matthewwynne939]

There are two kinds of people in this world; those that believe everything at the dollar store is a bargain, and those that realize most everything at the dollar store is only worth a dollar.

[@naenre21]

The dollar tree in my town has had a broken window they boarded up with plywood for 3 years before they finally replaced it this spring. It was hilarious.

[@errantstitch9220]

I try as best as I can to just not shop at any of those stores. Family Dollar and Dollar General are easy-we have other options and I never set foot in them. Dollar Tree is harder, especially during the scouting season when I buy the most from them for my meetings, but there are more options I am finding and I’m still going there less even during scouts. Nothing in that $3-$5+ section is actually worth it and I’m so tired of them shrinking the sizes of what is still $1.25. I go there now for gift wrap, LAs Awesome cleaner, kitchen utensils, plates and that’s about it. These things are still much more expensive at Walmart and not worth the trip there.

[@doingtime20]

Something needs to change soon people, we all know it and we all feel it.

[@Interestingfeats21]

My wife work at Dollar general and its not that bad of a job she a manager on duty and it's definitely not the worst job I've seen.

[@subzero-ku2wx]

Comparing Dollar General and Dollar Tree means you didn't do your research. Dollar General, on average, is more expensive than Walmart. Completely different business models. Dollar General is actually opening up new stores.

[@williambrasky3891]

I dunno. That seems like a stretch. He clarified Dollar General had significantly cut back on the rate of new store expansions. It seemed clear, through the editing & the script that stores like dollar tree were the focus here.

[@subzero-ku2wx]

@@williambrasky3891 The "stretch" was putting Dollar Tree and Dollar General in the same category. Dollar General is like a miniature, 25% more expensive version of Wal-Mart. Regardless, cutting back on expansion means they're still growing, not consistent with any Rise and Fall narrative.

[@williambrasky3891]

@@subzero-ku2wx I know what Dollar general is. I also happen to know that their business strategy targets the exact low income & rural demographics as Dollar Tree. This is why someone might see significant relative declines in both businesses as indicative of a demand shift within said consumer segment. FFS, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t seem to understand dollar general’s strategy. Yes, on a pound for pound basis DG is more expensive, however, they tend to stock items packaged in smaller quantities than Walmart. Meaning the purchase price for, say, a bottle of shampoo is lower than the same brand of shampoo at Walmart, which is larger & includes more shampoo for less per unit cost but at at a higher purchase price than the smaller, cheaper bottle of the same shampoo at DG. Again, they target the same market segment. You are confidently wrong. You’re also wrong in a very pedantic way, which is the worst way to be wrong. You’re harping on one detail without understanding fundamentals. You’ll go far. The world is run by uncritical fools just like you, just smart enough to recite the talking points without ever stopping to think about what they mean. You’re gonna be a great asset to some horrible people one day.

[@ttopero]

During the pandemic, I felt like a scoundrel going into my local Dollar Tree when the plastic curtain between the customer & cashier was so thin it had to hang, & thus waved in the air from the loud HVAC! I still shopped for a few select items but didn’t feel good doing it!

[@xGanchanx]

I love this new Ground News youtube channel

[@SamanthaTotimeh]

Oh wow I didn't know Dollar shops are closing! We have Poundland here but I haven't seen any closing around me. We like them here lol

[@user-ux7jk4dk8n]

Poundtown

[@claudiweather]

I used to shop at Poundland alot as a broke university student - but even then (2014-2017) alot of stuff wasn't just a Pound. I'm assuming its situation is similar to that of the American Dollar Stores (T . T )

[@larissabrglum3856]

I only know about Poundland through Ashens, so my impression is not positive lol

[@Pinkrosesandagraveyard]

I use to go to dollar tree every week. Now I barely go once a month. The increase in price and trying to be more like Five Below has been their downfall.

[@Thesuitelifeofsuni]

Great video 🙌🏽 keep pushing out great content like this bro

[@chapman1569]

At last! A clear explanation of what everybody thinks about these corporates practices. And you also provided some alternatives. I think that bartering is the only recourse to get corporations out of providing us with what we need.Thanks.

[@dyskelia]

0:45 I love the dollar store that was obviously a Walgreens in the 2000s 😌😌

[@jimbowling8528]

Dollar tree sells a can of beans for $1.25. Food Lion, Kroger, etc. sells the same size can for $0.89 on sale (almost every day).

[@foechicken8023]

Exactly. Per Oz is still cheaper at the grocery store. People think they are saving but they aren't.

[@lisahoshowsky4251]

8:05 we have Dollar Tree in Canada and it started at $1.25 and it upped to $1.50 and we get nowhere near the stuff America has. The price hikes are unsurprising though, we saw this like 15+ years ago with Dollarama which was our comparable dollar store. It was all $1 for most of its history and then it was $1-2 for a good chunk of time and now every year to two they increase the top price. It was shocking when $3 items came in but in the last 5 years we’ve already hit $4 and then $5 as the top price. It’s rare to find anything for a dollar and most stuff is $2 plus. I think a lot of people have also shifted their cheap stuff obsession to temu and other cheap online retailers.

[@CreatingSelfCarePlans]

I think in addition to what you said at the start about dollar stores coming in and taking out competition (as any other franchise would do to local businesses), as someone who lives in a very rural area with the nearest Walmart 30 minutes in any direction, I think the real reason they do well is when they seek out communities that are underserved and make it super convenient to just drive a few minutes to the Dollar Store to grab that one thing you forgot (and leave with way more items you didn’t need). Yes that sentence was wonky but I’m not fixing it. lol Y’all get what I’m saying. 😊

[@oliviao2238]

In Ohio, a dollar store offers cream puffs for ten dollars each. They are quite delicious, and the profits are shared among the employees at the end of each shift. This is an excellent practice that could serve as a model for others.

[@disc_lord]

Ten dollars for a cream puff!?

[@oliviao2238]

@@disc_lord A local initiative was implemented to encourage employees to stay, and it proved successful. Predominantly, upper-middle-class patrons would purchase a significant amount, and the employees would divide the profits at the end of the day. Each employee would receive approximately $211 in cash at the end of their shift.

[@disc_lord]

@@oliviao2238 They must work at Harrods

[@yosefmacgruber1920]

A lot of the problem is obscenely overpaid CEOs who are actually quite incompetent, and way too much debt leverage that leads to layoffs at the moment that the debt becomes unmanageable or the economy goes a little soft.

[@Aubreykun]

Companies got terrified of the peter principle so nobody gets promoted into corporate management positions anymore. You have to job-hop to do so, and narcissists refuse to hire people who could threaten them. So there's this combo of brain drain, disconnect with the actual service or products the companies made their name on, a requirement of brownnosing to extremes to get ahead, and the knowledge that if it goes belly-up they can just jump to a similar position elsewhere.

[@CarolinaCycloneJames]

Ive learned that often times walmart has it for the same price if not cheaper. But your looking for peak budget options. Support your local outlet grocery stores. They often get products that were "damaged" from a semi accident or are about a week away from expiring. However the price is well worth it. You can get a weeks worth of food for under $40 at those instead of walmart where its $75 at minimum

[@PhilippBlum]

I started my own company for that very reason as well. It's just so frustrating and exhausting.

[@greatestcait]

I used to work at a Dollar Tree. They are just the absolute worst. Even before Covid hit, they only ever scheduled two people at a time to run the store, we were chronically shortstaffed (which only got worse after Covid hit), and the expectations were sky high. I saw the effect that those expectations had on the store managers (we went through four in the four years I worked there, not including substitutes for when we were training a new store manager), and all of them got chewed up and spit out. I never wanna work or shop at a Dollar Store ever again.

[@unknownhours]

The CEO of Dollar General spoke at my graduation. He spent an hour talking about how rich he was.

[@SkinnyPigDesigns]

I really think that being based on the idea of being "cheap" is a terrible business model. With inflation, costs only go up and then when they have to raise their prices, people are in an uproar because everything is only supposed to be a dollar. I don't see how that could possibly be a viable business 🤔

[@brightmoon7132]

There aren't many Family Dollar or Dollar General stores in my area. There are plenty of Dollar Trees though. But I figured them out long, long ago, way before the pandemic because I shop with a list in one hand and my phone calculator in the other. Yup. It's easy to think you're getting a good deal until you start doing a little arithmatic 😉. Let's say your favorite dish washing liquid is 1.25$ for 8oz at Dollar Tree. Great, right? Hmmm. Over at your local midsize grocery store the same dish liquid is 2.29$ for 18oz. Which is cheaper? Yup, the grocery store bottle is cheaper. It's not a huge savings, but as you hopefully know, those pennies and nickels and dimes add up. And Dollar Tree does this with just about everything they they sell. Allergy medicine?✓ Aluminum foil?✓ Dog food?✓ Etc and etc. You pay less at Dollar Tree because YOU GET LESS. My sentiments are probably a little too realistic for Future Proof. But I learned through bitter experience that in a world where "business" is as ruthless and vicious and exploitive as it is now, the consumer has to be just as vicious. Funny that name, "business." They used to call it robbery.

[@Aubreykun]

The dollar store items also tend to be worse. Thinner or just flimsier material, fillers in the food, dodgy origins... You aren't just getting "less" in sticker-quantity but "less" in total. If you compare canned food you have to a bit more of an obscure way to compare them - pick one nutritional element, multiply it by the servings in the container, and then compare both brands. The can of tuna with less protein total is more water, the can of fruit with less fiber is more syrup! Different goods list different serving sizes so you gotta do it by the total.

[@daughterofthestars08]

I used to shop at dollar tree for fun to get crafting materials and little things I needed, cause I could get retail therapy with a full basket of fun things and only $20 at checkout. Now it's not even worth it to go there because the items have gotten smaller and the prices have gotten bigger...

[@aprildawnsunshine4326]

Shop local can't be the solution because so few of us have that as an option! My local farmer's markets have less than 5 farmers, many have none! Even if I wanted to go local there just aren't any local businesses here in the suburbs. They aren't in the rural areas I've lived in either and I can't afford to drive into the city, over an hour, just to grab a few necessities. What are we suburbanites supposed to do?

[@Aubreykun]

Some health food/organic stores retail local options now. Whole Foods is owned by amazon but they do sell local items as well.

[@aprildawnsunshine4326]

@@Aubreykun yes some do, but they're all located in the city. The nearest whole foods to me is over half an hour away and requires me to drive through 3 towns to get there. Plus then I have to take the extra time to figure out which products are local and then hope it's good my family likes and will eat, which it often isn't. Nobody's growing things locally and then selling it to the grocery stores and ime the one thing that I can find that's truly local is honey. Not exactly worth the effort of all that.

[@Aubreykun]

@@aprildawnsunshine4326 Sometimes there are retailers that you can find via google maps. A lot of suburbs are structured so that all the businesses are way off the main road (these are USUALLY things like manufacturing, but not always). Another option is sometimes - again, depending on location - delivery. Amazon does deliver stuff from both their Fresh stores and WF, but not everything and there's order minimums and all that. People with EBT or Prime get better rates on it. Not saying these are necessarily the best options or that you should use them (everyone has different circumstances) but they're things that could be advantageous in some scenarios.

[@randomthoughts6680]

That reminds me that the only "dollar store" in my city that is currently doing good is one that lowers the price of products that came damaged or missing parts. Like, they really lower the prices, we got a big laundry bucket for around 2 dollars (10 reais) because it was missing the lid and one handle was broken, the normal price was around 5 times it's price. It's still in good condition, we use to store rain water to water the plants. We still have it in good condition after 5 years. Those products are usually discarded in most stores, but this store specifically sells them at very lower prices to avoid losses, they also re-sell artisanal items produced by the community and gives the artisan's business cards for customized orders. This store is not a big franchise, they have two stores in opposite sides of the city, and one in another city, so it's not really big.

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

Supporting local businesses is all fine and good, except they're excessively hard to find these days, especially when good places keep getting plowed under...

[@larissabrglum3856]

That's why he said "If you're able to"

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

@@larissabrglum3856 I was just saying it would be nice if it wasn't so hard..

[@chapman1569]

Support the businesses that support YOU! That is an important saying!! Thanks

[@Artofcarissa]

99 cent only stores are all going out of business in SoCal. I would only really go to dollar stores to get wrapping paper and other stuff that doesn’t matter if the quality isn’t the best, but I’ll admit I’ve been shopping at them less and less over the years

[@anthonygillette]

As a James Stephanie Sterling enjoyer, I will quote them because it fits in every video about capitalism. “Corporations don’t want to just make some money they want all of the money”

[@Rob_F8F]

If the people who were going to dollar stores for their essentials can't afford to go there anymore, where are these people going?

[@xSaraxMxNeffx]

no where. they're going without. they're hoping social safety nets will catch them.

[@Aaron-ui9tj]

They are still going there. Dollar store just over extended themselves. I usually like these videos but this was just feels like “doom bait”.

[@seabreeze4559]

online

[@wysteriafox2977]

5:09 this is also true of walmart. Most of our people get every meal and break stuff here. And then shop for more stuff after shift. Source: walmart employee here.

[@xXBLAKGOATXx]

Am i the only one that benefits from the dollar store ? I save so much money on cleaning supplies and misc stuff that comes up plus its a block away idk i see dollar stores as a better version of a convenience store like yea alot of it is garbage but they sell alot of useable stuff that some people couldn’t afford my old town literally runs off of the dollar store bc of the high poverty rates if it wasnt for the dollar store they wouldnt be able to afford the food or the hairspray to huff 1:01

[@theyuritheorist]

It's interesting that dollar stores are closing, here where I live, they built around 7 or 8 more in the last year or so and even this year they added one more

[@musingwithreba9667]

I get doggy poop bags at the dollar store. Why pay $9.99 at Pet Smart for something I'm just picking up poop with, if I can get it for $4 for the same number of bags? It's poop, and going directly in the bin! And I get packing tape there. Because I'm moving. Again. 😂

[@xXBLAKGOATXx]

Wait wtf the dollar store was like the greatest thing thats happened to my town it brought in alot of jobs idk what your talking about but theres usually 5 or more people on shift sometimes closer to 10 and my friends worth there but its different people working different days so there must be like 20+ jobs its made plus giving the poor people options to spend there money

[@Erica-en2qz]

I'm glad that it's run well in your town. I've heard so many horror stories and seen a couple of bad examples myself.

[@divinemotherwisdom6611]

It would be interesting to see a video that discusses whether retailers in general (including various kinds of coffee shops and chain restaurants) get themselves into trouble by having a business model that assumes the business will always continuously expand the number of stores/locations when, in fact, the public may enjoy the business and its products but has no need for that many locations. Wondering whether a more sensible way to do things would be gradual expansion (as appropriate) while also monitoring how well existing stores are doing instead of wild over-expansion and then having to close down many stores. (I think I remember seeing recently that Starbucks is one of the businesses planning to close quite a few locations in the near future.)

[@gamestian2824]

I love your videos! Keep up the great work! But could you turn the volume up a tad bit?

[@IronicCliche]

The economic mechanism that didn't allow big businesses to think about the consequences of their actions was the ultra low interest rate the fed was giving. Right now, we are suffering from inflation thanks to us printing money.

[@Immudzen]

From the economics papers I have read most of inflation right now is driven by excess profits. Especially energy companies which have some of the highest profits ever and that drives up every other cost.

[@IronicCliche]

@Immudzen who are you reading? Base level supply and demand would invalid that argument outside of utility companies and those are government regulated prices because of their monopolistic nature. I suppose if we deregulated the energy market to allow for more competition and drilling while tightening the allowable profits where there's no opportunities for competition, that would fix it. MS in Econ by the way

[@Aubreykun]

@@Immudzen Inflation is caused by an increase in the money supply. This occurs when either the gov spends too much in proportion to the tax burden it levies on the population or when lots of idle money that wasn't having any impact starts being used. Banks handing out loans left and right (creating money due to fractional reserve) also has an impact.

[@robtimuscron1126]

Was at my local Dollar Tree today. They're phasing out a lot of the $1.25 items and replacing them with regular retail items that cost more than they do at Walmart. Dollar Tree's days are numbered.

[@11FBA11]

Everything he said to describe the growth of dollar general was the same story for Walmart. And Amazon is trying to do the same thing to Walmart.

[@richdobbs6595]

Meh. There are some items for which dollar stores were selling you for a dollar something that was being sold at Walmart for three dollars. Now the dollar stores are selling that item for $1.25 and Walmart is selling it for $2. There were other items where you paid a dollar for something like dishwasher detergent that was $4 at Walmart, but through "value engineering" no longer cleans dishes without leaving residue. Maybe in rural areas they are paying $7.25/hr, but my kid in high school just got their first job for $17 somewhere else, so my guess is they are going to have to raise wages. Sure, dollar stores have a big impact on rural towns and slums, but most of the expansion has been in areas where they are a choice for consumers. They were profitable, so they expanded. Now they have reached saturation. You are reading too much into this.

[@Aubreykun]

Sometimes you pay 1.25 for an individual item that's 4$ for a six pack at a normal store as well.

[@richdobbs6595]

@@Aubreykun Yeah, I'm pretty selective about what I buy from the dollar store. Many things are too salt, too sugary, to sketchy. But I find it worthwhile to spend about 5 percent of my shopping dollars at Dollar Tree. When my kids were young, it was an acceptable place to let them go wild and spend the pitiful allowance that I gave them.

[@zsigzsag]

I love my local Dollar General, just a couple of blocks away, I use less gas. Many of their items are still $1. My store now sells produce, being Vegan it works for me. They usually have 2-3 employees working and have never seen vermin of any kind there. Yes there are boxes in the isle at times but it is a high volume store and always busy. I still shop at Publix sometimes, like that store too but prices are much higher for the same product in DG but love buy1 get1 free specials save money. I've heard good things about Aldi but it's 15 miles away. When I'm in the area I shop at Thrifty Produce, a huge store with more selection and lower prices than other grocery chains.

[@Mason_Walsh]

I'm glad you made this video. I almost felt optimistic today.

[@Kloops]

A dollar tree/family dollar combo was built last year or the year before in Minco, Oklahoma and it’s now closed. The dollar general was built a few years before across the street. And it’s still open and seems like it’s doing great.

[@iLuseMy1v1s]

My local dollar stores have removed self checkout because of theft. That is the only reason i went for 1 or 2 items. I will not wait in like for 10 minutes because they have 1 employee doing the work of 3.

[@lonewolfsstuck]

See why people shop at dollar stores tho the price is more than bulk prices, if you dont have they money upfront to buy bulk and store it, then you pay a bit more per unit when you need it and dont have it.

[@NightmareRex6]

i mean some things seem chepeast at dollar tree like caugh medacine. unless your gonna buy i think like 2000$ or more in bulk thats cheapest.

[@lonewolfsstuck]

@@NightmareRex6 Im just saying, starve for a week to buy bulk to buy a weeks worth of food next week or buy now at a slightly higher price and atleast *have* something to eat. and as a single guy im not bulk buying stuff cause i dont need to store it for weeks at a time, i just need something now thats good enough to get me by until i need it maybe next time.

[@TheobaldLeonhart]

Funny timing, KZbin I went to Dollarama, earlier today. It's a dollar store, where the most expensive thing (not counting gift cards), is $5 (Canadian) And sure, they sell a bunch of plastic containers. And their electronics tend to not last long They also sell name brand stuff. And that can be cheaper, then in stores like London Drugs or Walmart

[@therarestphoenix5254]

They got greedy and took advantage of the loyal customers. We all said they would start losing business once they increased their prices. Then they started making their products with cheap materials, making food smaller and with less in it.

[@absp2006]

What of the local/family discount stores or, what we call in NYC, the 99¢ store?

[@FutureProofTV]

we talk about those getting squished like a bug by larger corps unfortunately 😔

[@ttopero]

I was disappointed when the Dollar Tree within walking distance of my home & near a train station wasn’t allowed to renew their lease. That said, I typically buy only greeting cards ($0.50-$1 each, even after price increase), which makes holidays more expensive or more of a chore to get to the remaining suburban locations. I have occasionally purchased landfill items because I only had a single use & didn’t want to spend $ to keep something I wouldn’t use again-which is where a “lending library” or community supply outlet would be great! They have their place but need to be put in it!

[@mabelmartian]

So much recession today! Dollar stores feel so much more necessary now! Really, what do we do? STOP INFLATION!!!

[@ItsaRomethingeveryday]

We have numerous dollar stores here in northern Iowa, we frequently shop at them and ove the last three or four years their prices have went up significantly to the point it cheaper to go to Walmart rather then Family dollar, dollar twenty five tree, and dollar general