How Dollar Stores Conquered America - Cheddar Explains

[@QuestionEverythingButWHY]

"Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor." --James Baldwin

[@CCW1911]

That is a fact, a pet peeve of mine is when well off people play at being poor, rich tightwads.

[@bcubed72]

...and this doofus wants to make it harder yet, by shutting down the discount stores, and replacing them with more expensive ones. But what do you expect from a woman who cannot understand why people shop at dollar stores, and not, you know, Whole Foods?

[@MrShaclakclak]

preach!

[@christopherrto]

@@bcubed72 If you watched the video, you'd see that some items are more expensive by volume/weight at Dollar stores, and that because of that the poor end up spending more money, not less, shopping there. But they don't realize it so they keep going.

[@christopherrto]

@@TheOuterWorlds2 While I don't disagree with you, consider it a different way. If I trick a senior into giving me his life savings, because he's too stupid to know better, am I wrong, or just being smart? Or the same with a child and their toys? In the same way, Dollarstores are taking advantage of poor people, and the fact that they don't know better. They should know better, but they obviously don't. Should we not protect them as we would a senior or a child from unscrupulous people? It's difficult where to draw the line, between allowing people to be victims of their poor decisions and protecting them from being taken advantage of, because every protection limits freedom and understanding, and punishes those who do know better. But at the same time those protections help those who would otherwise be bound by their poor decisions to be a little more free. It's a balance, and which side the Dollarstores are on is hard to say.

[@tealmer3528]

Of course they target low-income neighborhoods. For someone living paycheck to paycheck, they need to buy in smaller amounts. It's expensive to be poor.

[@tubester4567]

Im poor and I buy most things in bulk.

[@vincentwong1127]

@@tubester4567 maybe you are not poor enough

[@napalm_lipbalm86]

@@tubester4567 same here. My grandparents taught me that. Cheaper in the long run! And my great grandparents grew up during great depression so we know how to save!!

[@AlexMint]

@@tubester4567 Not everyone has that level of flexibility. People living paycheck to paycheck often don't have enough money all at once to buy 50lb bags of pasta/rice, for example.

[@tubester4567]

@@AlexMint They probably do, but they want to have nice $200 nike sneakers and brand name clothing and a packet of ciggies . I see a lot of poor people with little money buying groceries from expensive convenient stores. Just because its closer.

[@jabber1990]

"more people grocery shop at dollar stores than whole foods" not saying much when I don't know anyone who shops at Whole Foods

[@astrum0816]

seriously whole foods isn't a common place to buy food. In AZ we go to Fry's, Safeway, or Albertsons.

[@ixlnxs]

Plus, they compare one chain to all dollar chains.

[@weareorigin]

Whole Foods gotten better with pricing. But $30 for a medium tasty cake. Millions of Americans cannot afford $30 cake .

[@subsonic9854]

People who shop at Whole Foods: The people who made this video. And probably all their friends and relatives.

[@dariann1661]

Freddy DuVal I drive all the way to chandler for my Whole Foods lol

[@moomoomoo33ass]

But as a former store manager, it’s the worst place to work for! I got a salary of 50k and I was fine with that. But after 5 weeks of training, when I got my own store, reality hit. I was always understaffed and wasn’t approved to hire additional employees. Also, I was expected to work at least 65-70 hours a week, doing most of the stocking. I routinely was there 6-7 days a week. Keep in mind since everything cost a dollar, when the truck came , there would be over 1000 cases of product to stock once or twice a week! %90 of my time was spent stocking while I’d have a couple employees to run checkout. And the employees I had were always terrible because I could only pay minimum wage. Dollar tree is a terrible company that expects you to live at the store and neglect your family. Trust me , it’s a soul sucking company that even treats store managers like slaves. Don’t EVER work there unless you want a salary that seems good , until you see how many hours you have to work. Break down your pay by hour if you make 50K and you are working for peanuts! After 70 hour weeks, it broke down to $13 a hour!!! You can start at an amazon warehouse as a kid and make $15 an hour with zero experience! And with 15 years of management experience , for me this was a joke! A total scam! I quit after 2 months having my own store! Found a different store manager job at $50k and I work a normal 40 hours a week! And I’m properly staffed and I can pay employees more than minimum wage, so I can get quality people that won’t quit in a few months! Dollar tree is all about stock prices and investors! Nothing else.

[@tiajoseph7309]

As an assistant manager, I agree with all of this, especially the short staff. I always feel bad for my store manager who just like you, does nothing but stock and works like a dog all day. She mainly works 40 hours though. She's always exhausted, an despite the great job she's doing, corporate is always on her back about petty shit. I wish I could work somewhere else, but as of right now, this is my only source of income.

[@walterbrunswick]

@@tiajoseph7309 I actually prefer a cold refreshing glass of water 💦

[@walterbrunswick]

@Behavior & Handwriting Reveal the Truth I'm not in US I'm in Canada but I hear there is a huge shortage of nurses, I fully support this!!

[@MrShaclakclak]

this is every large corporate job I feel. I'm sorry and happy you went through this tho. these companies will never take responsibility for their actions. zero accountability leads to workplace conditions like this. I came from a giant hotel corporation, who did appreciate the people that held it together. we have the power as the consumer, as the person. when we all band together then change WILL happen. thank you for your story.

[@subsonic9854]

​@@MrShaclakclak It definitely isn't the same in every big corporate job. Companies are made by people like you and I, and just like us, they have to choose where to cut corners and take risks in order to maintain their competitive advantage. ie, sometimes we can't hang out with our kids because we have to work overtime to feed them and send them to school. We don't hate our kids. We have practical concerns for the family as a whole. Right now, this dude's company is able to get away with abusing its people because they continue to work there. If the company is forced to change its practices, it may lose its ability to make money and have to shut down permanently, taking cheap stuff and some jobs away from the people in that community. Just saying. I've had similarly bad jobs but I never felt that the decisions made were intentionally malicious. Some of my old coworkers chose to stay and moved up the career ladder cause they stuck it out. Some who left did much better elsewhere. I just don't think it's an injustice when the suffering is happening due to the free choices of the employees to stay.

[@possiblyadog]

As a poor person, the secret to being a smart and healthy shopper is to use grocery stores for select foods and produce and use dollar stores for everything else. There are definitely things you can get for cheaper at a dollar store vs a grocery store. But, any foods you buy in a dollar store will be loaded with sugar and carbs. If you are only eating dollar store food, you don't have a balanced diet.

[@octorokpie]

Yeah. Anything made of plastic or mostly sugar should probably be bought at a dollar store. The rest not so much.

[@AmazingJayB51]

My wife does that, she use Walmart or Dollar store fore everything else and because she’s a Prime member gets some of the Fresh meat on Sale at Whole Foods.

[@callizoom3894]

not all dollar stores. the 99 cent store has some good groceries in the back. veggies, fruits, spices, bread, etc

[@mikedenz30]

The secret is to shop at Aldi.

[@phonn6935]

@@mikedenz30 lmao yh

[@DAndyLord]

I hate how the interviewee says "they target low income neighbourhoods, and neighbourhoods of colour". Why TF would they target a wealthy sAsian neighbourhood? Those people are rich, they'll just go to Costco to stock up. They do target poor white/black/mixed race/whatever neighbourhoods, because poor people can't afford to buy 20L if washing detergent. There are plenty of dollar stores in poor sAsian 'hoods around me. And almost none in the wealthy sAsian areas. It's expensive to be poor.

[@Sinaeb]

Costco? No they'll order online

[@KRYMauL]

The Asians work to hard to go to a dollar store, plus Asian markets are cheap af

[@mufasaiam7794]

And Cheddar here is making it sound like dollar stores are creating racism for offering cheap products

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

I'm white & regularly shop at Dollar Tree. It's not just people of color who shop at them..

[@CCW1911]

This report is so slanted it's ludicrous, do they really think everything in a Dollar store is a dollar? How do you make a steak a dollar? It smells like the big box stores are behind this twisted story, Dollar stores fill a need in poor neighborhoods, poor people can't afford to drive across town to WalMart, if anyone is predatory it's the big box stores.

[@SuperPlayz]

I respect Dollar Tree for having at least having everything a dollar

[@TheRunningLeopard]

Truth to that, it’s the only reason I still go there. It allows me to cheaply pack up on snacks and quick meals without breaking the wallet.

[@steezy2695]

Dollar Tree > Dollar General

[@umberscore2051]

Ok but where are the trees for just 1$?

[@rhuttrho88]

@@steezy2695 no it doesn't, dollar general dosen't have everything for a dollar. I have both in my city. Actually all three. Dollar Tree is actually cleaner, and in better shopping centers. Dollar general and family dollar is mostly hood! Matter of fact, I'm about to hit up Dollar Tree for some snack Frozen Snickers, Frozen Minute Maid frozen lemonade, cherry, and orange etc. All for a dollar! Mmmm!😋🤷🏿‍♂️😁🙏🏿✌🏿

[@arthurbutt4589]

Dollar tree serves a different demographic than the other two. While DG and FD serves those in low income communities, DT is designed to target wealthier consumers looking to score a deal. All three is there to make a profit, and all three know exactly what they are doing when it comes to building their stores in the most profitable areas.

[@phills6732]

I lived in a small depressed town in Western PA that ticked all the points on the list: Walmart comes in on edge of town, too far to walk, which killed the local grocery store that was in the heart of town, easily walkable. Dollar General comes in and builds a location right by the old grocery store/now farm goods store. You could feel the relief that people had that they again had a place they could just run to for quick stops without making the drive to Walmart. Is their pricing structure predatory? 100% should they provide fresh fruits and veggies? 150% should we ban them outright? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@KayleeCee]

Sounds like what happened to my home town. They built the Walmart supercenter all the way on the outskirts of the town. It killed the 2 grocery stores that were actually walkable for those who couldn't drive. Now there's a Family Dollar near the downtown area which sells some groceries, but it's very limited. And they don't sell anything that's fresh. We have a convenience store chain here (Wisconsin) that's actually quite nice. They sell a really good selection of fresh meat, dairy, and produce. They built a large store near the downtown area recently, and it's helped fill some of the need in that area. But it's still not a replacement for a grocery store in an area that's accessible for those who can't or don't drive.

[@zoemartin1761]

Driving through northern PA it’s the only grocery store around. It is all that comes to small, rural towns.

[@RestingJudge]

I was lucky that my hometown had a local grocery store two blocks from my house. Most people who shopped there were like me & lived close or they just wanted to avoid going to walmart at all cost. Walmart killed Downtown though, the largest five story building literally collapsed three years ago.

[@Monsuco]

Honestly it sounds like the problem with your community isn't which retailers are where or who charges what. You describe your community as a depressed community. Thus the problem is probably that there aren't enough economic opportunities for the population of the community as a whole. Rather than banning retailers or requiring them to carry certain products it seems like your city should be focused on trying to attract new employers. Failing that, it sounds like the residents of that community should probably be trying to find ways of moving to places where they can have more opportunities. Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic probably isn't the answer.

[@astaschak]

I'm also in Western PA and I think I know exactly where you're talking about and if not then it's the exact same scenario. I live in a small ex railroad town a few miles from where I think you're talking about. DG came in, killed the local family run grocery store, ran the local family run hardware store out then DG shut down and moved 3 miles outta town to a bigger location and my town is left with literally no business or jobs except a Rite Aid and the police/fire department which share the same building and only have street parking.

[@johndoeanon445]

"Dollar Stores are most common in low-income areas" * Suprised pikachu face *

[@glennso47]

I will never shop in a Dollar General or Family Dollar store again. I have been kicked out of those places due to not wearing masks. They Harassed and shamed me because I wasn’t wearing masks And threatened me with arrest for trespassing. So screw them .

[@jalapenopoggers8310]

@@glennso47 good on ya

[@rileywilliams1984]

problem in american? blame it on racism!

[@wickedeternity2002]

Thanks kiddo!

[@ZaneDalton]

@@glennso47 I really hope you’re joking.

[@quito787]

The dollar stores fulfill a need. Take them away and where will people on a budget go?

[@PeterTMT]

One of the major takeaways from this video is that dollar stores trick people into believing that products are cheaper, but it's a lie. The packages simply contain less product . One example they used is paying $1 for a bottle of detergent. The bottle only has enough for 6 loads of laundry (at $1) which is 16.6 cents per load. You can buy a bottle with 100 loads for $10 or 10 cents per load. They do this with almost all their products. You buy inferior goods or much smaller quantities which ultimately cost you more in the long run.

[@chichitenango6020]

Also I think the goal of the video is to inform and then people take a stance on ether or not we need to do something to help those with like you said low budgets to get affordable fresh groceries

[@amandap9332]

They create a false sense of "need" Also a false sense of "value" Its a publicly traded company, look up the CEO pay and compare it to how much the average worker is paid. They are just a financial drain on people who already struggle with poverty.

[@COASTER1921]

@@PeterTMT It depends on the area. In Boston Dollar Tree is by far the cheapest option for shelf stable groceries if you compare unit prices despite the smaller quantities. Regular grocery stores are now all trying to compete with whole foods and have raised prices accordingly. We don't have Walmart or targets big enough for grocery either. I don't really know how they are still open though - Shaw's star market, the big chain here, routinely sells the same dry foods for twice the unit price and somehow still gets customers.

[@mattm5941]

I’m hip they got rid of the family dollar store in my place and it sucks that it’s gone those 1$ boxes of candy smacked

[@ogorangeduck]

There's a channel called TheWolfePit which makes videos about cooking good meals with dollar store ingredients and also talks about the unfairness of dollar store quantities (4 oz of chicken for a dollar, or 12 oz for 2 dollars, but some can't afford that extra dollar so they get trapped)

[@i_used_adblock_to_watch_this]

Moron

[@LittleRadicalThinker]

It's more expensive to be poor, unless you are poor enough to have government to take care of you.

[@Red5rainbow]

And, thus, we see the system encouraging people to stay under the poverty line and punishing them for making *juust* slightly more Y’know, you can’t really do that if you want these people to be able to get on their feet, they won’t be able to if there’s this huge wall in the way. It’s less expensive to be poorer but I know people don’t want to do that. But they literally can’t get any richer because once they do they’re put in this worst of both worlds situation where they don’t have much money but now they also have to pay for everything by themselves

[@keithkaitlinreynolds808]

I think another important factor is that while it is higher cost per measurable unit, some folks can't afford the upfront cost of something that's a better deal in the long-term. You afford what you cam when you can.

[@Tim3.14]

I'm not entirely sure what to think about this. It seems like everyone, including the dollar stores themselves, agrees that they aren't a suitable replacement for actual grocery stores. But limiting the spread of dollar stores won't necessarily bring more grocery stores to these neighborhoods. I'd love to see Cheddar do a video taking a broader look at policy proposals to address food deserts / retail redlining.

[@connerhemphill4249]

The town I live in, has offered any retailer a massive decade long tax break to bring a grocery store back into downtown after the Safeway closed 6 years ago. There is a small locally owned speciality store, but it doesn’t carry a lot of fresh foods. What is interesting is the Natural Grocers which was in the nice new part of town, recently moved downtown in an old car dealership building that was reconverted in less then half a year into a grocery store. The city is quite aggressive on brining business back.

[@Suzanne-f4x]

Food deserts are where the high crime is. Why would a grocery store, or any store, open up in that kind of area?

[@CCW1911]

I love my local Dollar store, evidently Cheddar has never been to one, mine does sell necessary groceries. You can get in and out quickly instead of walking all the way to the back of a huge big box store then wait in a long check out line just to buy a gallon of milk.

[@knightcrusader]

We have a Dollar General Market too, with meat, produce, etc. Actually, I've done the math compared to Kroger, Walmart, local grocery stores, Target, etc. and on Saturdays when they put out their $5 off $25 coupons, the prices at Dollar General beat all the other stores. I actually save money at the Dollar General if I wait until Saturdays and break my purchases up into separate $25 transactions.

[@mendonesiac]

My local Dollar Tree has zero produce. There's an entire isle of candy, but not a single fresh vegetable in the entire store.

[@tjl2836]

in my place all the dollar stores are always understaffed so lines take about 5 minutes

[@christinewatson1989]

Trader Joes is to Dollar stores what Target is to Walmart- similar price point but you can shop there and keep your pride.

[@A7exandersca7es]

I do not see them in the same price-point. Check your product weight and price comparisons

[@767rodrigoc]

Seriously. Target is hella expensive. I go there for the shopping experience not the price.

[@octorokpie]

What mystical Trader Joe's are you shopping at? Last I checked they're more expensive than a normal Kroger grocery store.

[@SlackActionBumble]

@@naddarr1 Target is all style and no substance. Higher prices for inferior stuff. Walmart has a better selection, too.

[@SWLinPHX]

@@SlackActionBumble Agreed. Walmart has a way better selection at lower prices. There's just no comparison. Target is the snob's Walmart.

[@uru86]

I love how that protest at 9:22 was all clearly upper middle class white people who are wearing L.L. Bean gear. Great job, Cheddar...

[@MichaelWhitman]

I made a video about this in seattle. If you live by one of these stores it's definitely not a good area to live

[@CCW1911]

So you think the Dollar store caused the bad neighborhood? It think you're confusing causation and correlation.

[@user-rx9ny4yo2e]

@@CCW1911 I think he didn't mean that. What I think he meant is that dollar stores are a simptom of a bad neighborhood.

[@thehoerabbit1303]

I live in a fairly wealthy neighborhood development with dollar general and family dollar ? Your point is invalid

[@Alvin_Vivian]

In Los Angeles, there's a gigantic Dollar Store that's very successful on Fairfax, which is in West Hollywood, a high-income neighborhood. Your point is invalid.

[@brendancole5679]

There is a dollar general and family dollar 2 blocks from my house and is actually in the more decent part of town terrible assumption that you made

[@Housewarmin]

I don’t get Dollar General...nothing is a dollar! At least at Dollar Tree everything is a dollar

[@walterbrunswick]

@@dylanselles3743 A dollar is generally everything

[@44bthknuckles]

This woman's an idiot do your research dollar general is not a dollar store

[@juliannehannes11]

Same

[@vivianloney8826]

When you don't have a car and live in a rural community you don't really have an option as to where you're going there's usually only one dollar store in walking distance if you're lucky if you aren't lucky you just have fast food and gas stations

[@vaderladyl]

They were never meant to be just a dollar for everything in the first place.

[@user-vn7ce5ig1z]

• Of course it makes sense that dollarstores would be built at a higher density in poor areas than in rich ones. Duh. ¬_¬ • How would poor communities be better off without dollarstores, how would they fare better if they were replaced with expensive grocery stores (or car lots or whatever else ends up in that space)? 🤨 No, blocking a dollarstore from opening won't result in a cheap grocery store opening there instead, it'll be a regular or expensive grocery store or something else. • Nobody sells steaks for $1. 🙄 • BTW, dollarstores are like other stores, some items are terrible deals and some are great deals; it's up to the customer to figure out which is which, so if the detergent can only do six loads (6‽ 🤨), then don't get that, get the 730g tin of Max1.5 coffee for $2.5 and get the 96-load Sunlight detergent for $6 elsewhere. Duh. Sure, it's more convenient to make only one stop, especially if you have to take public-transportation, but that's why you have to plan your trips to maximize time and money. Until you get rich and can afford the luxury of wasting time and money, you'll just have to make it work like plenty of people do. • The bit about grocery stores being unable to get capital to open in poor neighborhoods is the most salient part of this video. (Another factor is that capitalism inherently rewards greed, hence why so many stores have absurdly high marked-up prices. 😒)

[@FilmStains]

@Moon money ....I think everyone who read what you said is incredibly lost

[@chadwickhjones]

My family members who live in the south like dollar stores, because they don't want to have to go to a giant supermarket and feel overwhelmed.

[@jh8320]

The tone-deafness of some of the statements in this video. “More people shop at dollar stores than Whole Foods.” (Yeah let me just drive 170 miles to my nearest Whole Foods) “Target low income neighborhoods and neighborhoods of color.” (Yeah ok thats why I see dollar stores in all the wealthy asian neighborhoods in Huston and wealthy black neighborhoods in Atlanta. Sarcastic obviously) And the crime thing? Wow stores common in bad areas have more robberies than stores in good areas? Amazing. Where I live there are many many small towns that had NO alternative before a dollar store came in. Yeah they have issues and I’m not a huge fan but Dollar General has served me well many times, as I would have had no alternative. Also maybe actually talk to one black person while you go on about redlining and urban poverty.

[@draxgoodall3685]

I live in a village of 1200 people. The closet grocery store is 20 miles away and the closest walmart is almost 50 miles away. The only two businesses are a local gas station (which does really well) and Dollar General. Dollar General is serving my comments that no other business would even consider. Im pretty glad i have one so close

[@ReflectionEternal2]

I'll take a wild guess: Extreme poverty and wealth inequality.

[@ReflectionEternal2]

@Misanthropic Trilobite ok

[@FeebleAntelope]

The amount of wild responses to basic statements like "there is extreme poverty and wealth inequality," is just staggering. You mentioned poverty and wealth inequality and some dude comes on here talking about propaganda and blaming poor people for being poor. I said the government is corruptly connected to big corporations and the 1% and compared modern civilization to Rome, and some dude came in talking about how great capitalism and how I suggested robbery as a fix when I wasn't even talking about solutions. #thisiswhywecanthavenicethings

[@FeebleAntelope]

Dollar stores, which cater to the poor, have nothing to do with poverty. Got it.

[@deafleppard1812]

FeebleAntelope I’ve seen u blame society for ppls mistakes on many occasions honestly if a person doesn’t like dollar general then don’t shop their. If u rlly want dollar general to go broke tell them to put up blm propaganda. #GETWOKEGOBROKE

[@trillmixin6999]

@@deafleppard1812 punisher pfp. yep youre cringe and probably thibk Bernie is a communist

[@PalvoChekov]

As a former Assistant Manager for Dollar General at 3 different stores, I can safely say: people may not like the the idea of dollar stores but, when the surrounding area is poverty or extremely rural, people vote with their wallet. Not blaming them because, who'd want to drive 30 miles to a decent grocery store? I read My Father's Business while I worked there and it's another walmart scenario where the end-result, (not of the son but rather, then grandson) changed how big these stores became. However, (mom-and-pop shops aside because they're still necessary), dollar stores have necessary and unnecessary items that are affordable for the town and it's a double-edged sword. My bosses were actually people who'd left Target, a former Boscov's manager, Kirkland's DM and several Wal-Mart DM's. It's about the growth and profit and minimizing the payroll but, still trying to care. I was extremely forunate to be a part of a DG experience where the staff and community ACTUALLY cared. All were clean, organized and made it a fun experience to shop.

[@KenTheAdventurer]

You get less bang for your buck in dollar stores that's how these stores are successful

[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

Literally my other comment with no traction

[@smitajky]

I disagree. I look at the relative value. The theory of right wing economics says that stores should gravitate to what they do best and customers should not be loyal but should always expect value on any purchases. So if I did get less bang for my buck I wouldn't buy ANYTHING there. But I do get a range of things that I need there. If someone else has a better model for OTHER items then I naturally support them too. Make the system work for you don't you work for the good of the system ( the one that tries to screw you over )

[@philippecr]

The point is, some people can't pay "more" to have that bang of buck deals... They only can afford to buy "just enough".

[@JsRazza]

Blaming dollar stores for Inequality. Why am I surprised by Cheddar to twist their story this way? Always someone else's fault for others problems. That's the bizarro world we live in.

[@triclopsgamer5934]

Anything you do in an impoverished area and you will be blamed for spreading inequality.

[@yurika12]

@@triclopsgamer5934 and then you also get blamed for not doing enough in them. "people aren't investing in these areas enough"

[@justinfowich6662]

The fact that they sell less amounts of the products to keep them $1 is both totally expected and good. The benefit of a dollar store for a low income person is that they can go get 10 items they need for $10. They can't afford to go to Costco and get $300 worth of goods for $250. If they walk into Costco with $10, they may save money in the long run, but they will not be able to leave with many individual items. Edit: This isn't even considering they most certainly don't have a Costco membership.

[@rob_i208]

I want to open up a two dollar store called "TooTwo". Simply because I want people to say "I'm going to TooTwo". We would also sell tutus so people could say "I'm going to TooTwo to buy two TooTwo tutus" too.

[@Qce-i6d]

There's a store near me called 5 below. Has cheap tech and party gear and such. Catering more towards "tweens", aka a place where angsty teens can shop without their parents breathing down their necks about the cost. It's kinda fun for a cheap store, but recently they started selling items that are much more than 5 bucks. I think that might hurt their reputation a bit.

[@floxy20]

I'm going to TooTwo to buy two tutus for Benjamin Tutu.

[@mwbgaming28]

Kinda funny how the only people who complain about dollar stores are the people who can afford to go elsewhere

[@rook1196]

Dollar Tree is fine. Dollar General sells low quality trash that even Wal-mart wouldn't carry at above Target prices. The sooner Aldi and Lidl expand to rural enclaves the better.

[@frzBAW]

Everyone can afford to go elsewhere. Not my fault you can't see you're being scammed shopping there. Unless you have no transportation then there is no excuse to shop at one

[@mwbgaming28]

@@frzBAW not everyone can afford the higher prices

[@frzBAW]

@@mwbgaming28 you have no clue how any of this works. They even explained in the video. Stuff costs cheaper but it's because you are getting less of it. Do math

[@mwbgaming28]

@@frzBAW yes and if you can only afford the smaller packages?

[@larissatom6910]

One problem is shopping is a hobby in this country. I’m not a minimalist but most people have more stuff than they need. Instead of buying $5 of crap buy one good thing you need.

[@KayleeCee]

I live in a town with a population of around 2500. We just had a Dollar General store built here that's set to open in a couple of weeks. Almost exactly 1 year ago we got a Family Dollar store. There are 2 more Dollar General stores that are less than 10 miles away in neighboring small towns. These seem to be the markets they're going for. Towns with a large enough population to have a sustainable customer base, but too small for places like Walmart or Target to be interested in. I just hope that having these stores isn't going to hurt our small local businesses. We have a nice supermarket, hardware store, Mexican grocery store, meat locker, and cheese store. They're all owned by local individuals who rely on their business for their income. I'd hate to see them struggle due to an oversaturation of crappy dollar stores.

[@eitkoml]

I would say that $10 doesn't get you very much, even at Dollar General or other dollar stores.

[@woodduck2178]

asdfghjkl well except the dollar tree where at least everything is actually a dollar

[@randomtinypotatocried]

aidan aylward Sadly the Dollar Tree near me is starting to have things that aren't a dollar showing up.

[@eitkoml]

@@woodduck2178 Even when an item is a dollar the packages tend to be so small that they're not worth it. I also found that it is incredibly common to end up paying more per unit of an item. For example with laundry detergent, the small dollar general or dollar tree laundry detergent bottles tend to charge more per ounce than big jugs at other stores.

[@bigimskiweisenheimer8325]

If you go to dollar tree your guaranteed at least 10 items

[@Red5rainbow]

@@bigimskiweisenheimer8325 nah, you gotta keep tax in mind. So that’s 9 items. Or 10 food items since food doesn’t have tax (excluding water and soda because those have bottle deposits)

[@BlueZebraStripe]

“Next week on Cheddar: Why traffic lights are actually racist. Also something something inequality”

[@MrShaclakclak]

... this is true....

[@vincentwong1127]

well... most of the traffic lights are black and yellow, you never see a white traffic lights

[@AmazingJayB51]

There can be said taking traffic lights from Urban areas and put ting in Stop signs to save money, causing a public safety problem.

[@carultch]

There is a traffic signal intersection in Syracuse NY, where the people in the majority Irish neighborhood really saw it that way. The people refused to allow English Red to be above Irish Green. As a result, the light assemblies at that intersection are built upside-down, so the green light for go is on the top. It would confuse the hell out of color blind people who depend on the order of the lights to read its status.

[@carultch]

@@vincentwong1127 I've seen traffic signal assemblies where the housing is painted white.

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

99 Cent Stores has great fresh produce & good security. I'm on SSI & live in the Los Angeles area which is v expensive so Thank Gawd for them.!

[@Alvin_Vivian]

Fresh produce, yes. Eggs and dairy, yes. Unfortunately not fresh meat and seafood. Otherwise it would be a complete replacement for Ralph's, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc.

[@r3tr0nic]

Dollar General really has expanded in recent years. They specifically target (among other things too ofc) very rural towns, where a Walmart or other large chain is at least a 20 minute or more drive. Looking at a map, so many little towns these days seem to have a Dollar General. They have the funds to build a building and supply, and distribution network. And due to size and quantities, are able to reduce their supply cost and easily purchase property and build a new location. They effectively kill the locally owned little stores in these tiny towns, thus becoming a monopoly. They seem to thrive in these little towns. I'm no expert though, just what I have noticed when visiting family across the country in the past 5 years or so. I really do feel this small town strategy is one of the keys to their rapid growth lately.

[@michaelhurley3171]

When they started in the 30s a dollar was like 20 bucks. Imagine what a dollar could buy then!

[@seethroughthelies7070]

They were nickel and dime stores back then. They more or less disappeared by the early 60's.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

thanks federal reserve

[@michaelhurley3171]

@@UserName-ts3sp well said and I agree.

[@AliG-wl5bn]

‘Wow’ Everyone after watching Cheddar

[@safecracker112]

It’s crazy that they don’t even have a million subscribers, there are similar channels with lower quality content that gets tens of millions of views

[@Floedekage]

Yeah, it is pretty "wow" that a channel that constantly makes videos with insufficient research, heavy biasies and often plain nonsensical fluff despite starting off with a multi hundred million dollar starting investment is still around. Cheddar is very much the Qibi of KZbin, I guess they'll stay around until they've burned through the money...

[@semipenguin]

Back in 2004, I drove truck out of the Fulton, MO Dollar General Distribution Center. I went to way more small towns in AR, IL, IN, IA, KS, MO, and OK, than I did to big cities. Towns like Ulysses, KS had a DG. I also remember hearing that DG wanted to put a store in every town with at least 400 people. I had no issue delivering to DG stores. I did have issues with Werner. They’re a horrible company. They kept giving me out of route miles to get home.

[@JadedJassy21]

When you are broke....these stores are a gift! I won't stop shopping there!

[@jimleverington1348]

I think a lot of people criticizing dollar tree have never been in a dollar tree. They have a good selection of frozen fruit and vegetables. They also have all the basics like fresh eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. They also have tuna fish, dried potatoes, dried beans, and fresh bread. If you shop carefully you can have nutritious meals for around $3 per day per person.

[@Alex-zs3kn]

Cheddar: Banks don't invest in these areas because of RACISM!!! Also Cheddar: Dollar stores in these areas get robbed and their employees get murdered lol

[@Coolsomeone234]

Yes

[@zoemartin1761]

People don’t commit crimes for fun..... maybe if these communities were invested in they wouldn’t need to rob a store 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Coolsomeone234]

@@zoemartin1761 no it doesn't Work. Where I live there's this lower income subur b that has had tons of money poured in. Despite this it has the drug dealer reputation

[@octorokpie]

It's not that banks /are/ racist, it's that they were /EXTREMELY/ racist 60 years ago when huge portions of city suburbs were first established. Those neighborhoods became poor as a result and minorities to this day couldn't get the economic leg up to move out. Now the areas are still poor, and the results of that poverty are why banks have no interest in those areas now.

[@Coolsomeone234]

@@tati9867 exactly money helps but not the solution

[@nunya___]

We live in a nice rural area and have 2 dollar generals in 5 miles. Everyone I know loves them. We don't have to drive 25 miles round trip for milk or ketchup or motor oil or pay convenience store prices. ❤️❤️❤️ Your "targeting" is also called marketing and good business practices. These stores are the best of both worlds, price + convenience.

[@zacharyhenderson2902]

"Nobody's building grocery stores in our communities and almost nobody's hiring. What do we do?" "Let's prevent dollar stores from building stores and hiring people."

[@uthmanbaksh3530]

Dollar Tree is so enticing because You might go in there for one item and then after looking around the store, you can easily spend $10! Happened to me lots of times!

[@andyc9902]

Have control

[@IndellableHatesHandles]

"They target ... neighborhoods of colour..." Any poor person could tell you that being poor isn't an issue of skin colour. It's an issue of bad circumstances, bad habits, or a combination of the two. Any adult who happens to be poor can make steps to becoming a higher member of society, even if it's an uphill battle. Give up drugs, give up TV, et cetera.

[@clayblondin8239]

But those issues extend to people of color disproportionately. That’s the key word and it takes minimal effort to look into the many policies that have been used over the history of America to keep things that way. Straight laziness on your part

[@IndellableHatesHandles]

@@clayblondin8239 Tell me how, please. I'd like to listen.

[@FilmStains]

@@clayblondin8239 sure, there have been policies and laws that have disproportionately effected black people in the past, but we are talking about now. If there is not a direct correlation of race discrimination in any one give person, you have start asking questions of why any of the people are in poverty or why they stay in poverty. In case you just want to lash back and call me a racist and blind, I'd like to point out that you cannot attribute every black person's economic struggles to systemic or individual racism without direct proof, other wise you're just blanketing all black people in poverty as victims of "existence" so to speak

[@Red5rainbow]

“Bruh just give up drugs” dude I’m sure lots of people *want* to but the people selling drugs are targeting people by getting them addicted. Addiction is no joke.

[@Red5rainbow]

@Maxx B. what?

[@kevinconrad6156]

I shop at a small chain discount store, 99cent store. They have a large produce section, sell a greater variety of dry food than any other dollar store I have been in and have a freezer/fridge section. Plus they sell wine.

[@MsAngrybutterfly]

There was a 99cent store like that near my "survival job" It was the best! I used to make these things I called "dollar store fish tacos" that came out to like 25cents a taco! They had avocados, limes, fish, tortillas, hot sauce, everything! People complain about the small sizes, but a single person living alone NEEDS to buy in small quantities or stuff goes bad on you!

[@daviddavis4885]

I don’t see how Dollar stores are a problem? Like, why is cheap stuff a problem? It’s not their fault that poor people exist...

[@johnsmith1882-x2i]

journalists who never produced anything in their lives whine about a store providing affordable options for poor people

[@alexturlais8558]

The problem is that they often keep people poor and make it harder for real solutions to come in.

[@KRYMauL]

That the whole point of journalism, they write stories and their “product” is their columns

[@charmedx3219]

@Alex Turlais yess, as opposed too only having an expensive wholefoods at the only option where the whole budget is spent on a loaf of bread and quinoa. That will somehow make people have jobs will it? Solve the upstream problem not banning peoples shopping options. Who do you see as benefiting, the polotishons and company making "campaign donations" to reform the law.

[@Xachremos]

@@alexturlais8558 If my budget for food for the week is 70 dollars, you're getting jack shit at Whole foods. These stores serve a purpose. Are you getting less for more? Yeah, technically. But you arent blowing 10% of your disposable income on a bottle of shampoo.

[@alexturlais8558]

@@charmedx3219 whole foods is great but I realise its expensive. But even Walmart is often cheaper per unit than a dollar store, because the products seem cheaper but you get less for what you pay for. So I agree with you completely, my point is just that they often keep people in poverty.

[@narcolonarcolo]

I guess this explains why walking into these stores fills you with an unexpected sense of despair

[@DestinationMayhem]

While I respect most of the information provided in this video; there’s a huge gaping hole left in it: “99 Cent Everything” is a brand owned by Momentum Brands of Commerce, CA. By per capita communities, they serve many more people with a variety of fresh produce, dairy, eggs, fresh fruit, frozen food as well as all the other dollar store stuff.. and the Goya. They have locations all over the PNW and into the Southwest. I agree that the other brands perpetuate poverty, but I really think Cheddar should investigate the brand and do a follow-up. Additionally, I want to add that the parent company is a major supplier of dollar store merchandise to the entire industry... I learned that while googling them.

[@thehoerabbit1303]

Just be grateful that there’s even a DT,DG & FD during this pandemic damn

[@Leugim010]

The race card is always dropped in american videos these days

[@christinewatson1989]

It's the videos YT promotes.

[@Coolsomeone234]

I mean gotta keep them divided somehow

[@alexchrollo]

America is built on racism

[@giornogiovanna3934]

The sad part is they don't target race they just put the stores in any community they can benefit from

[@rawrbro69]

Because america is built on backs of racism

[@corey1854]

Based off the comments on this video, I think we can all agree that dollar stores are essential in poorer communities, but in reality they sell stuff that costs more in the long run.

[@NelsonRebelo123]

I bealive the issue is more with the lack of economic and finance literacy and the wealth gap in the US. Killing dollar stores won't make the problem go away, it will likely make it even worse given that your are not adressing the underling pronblem, only the symptoms

[@slowcarguy4808]

0:00 “Hmm this could be an interesting video” 0:50 Yeah never mind it’s one of those videos

[@DVeck89]

They should focus on shutting down payday lenders, title loan places, and lottery tickets if they really care about stopping practices that prey on uneducated poor people. Maybe dollar stores do, but there are way better things to focus on than them.

[@yurika12]

and the massive tax on cigarettes and alcohol.

[@جِبْرِيل-ح4ي]

Can someone tell where those strange off brand 99 cent stores came from

[@rebel063]

John F. Kennedy _ California

[@rawrbro69]

Rebel 06 facts lmfaoo

[@StoutProper]

Dunno but they're cheaper then dollar stores

[@RudieObias]

I live in Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, NY and there's a Family Dollar four blocks away from my apartment. This place is ESSENTIAL to my neighborhood!!

[@EverettBurger]

I've purchased stuff from my classroom at the local Family Dollar: poster boards, calculators for the kids, dry erase markers, etc.

[@thomaskettunen3699]

They somehow brought the "wage gap" into this video about dollar stores. Orange man bad

[@VelvetCondoms]

Dollar Stores took over for 2 rock solid reasons: * They actually bothered to open stores in underserved markets. * They acknowledged that poor people are the majority in this country now and priced as such.

[@ttrendxyz]

The person who did the background music and audio edits did a great job on this one. I kinda want a track of it

[@ericsimpson1176]

B.S. i live in a very small town in the Arizona desert...65 miles to the nearest grocery store. In the past 6 years we got two dollar stores, everyone who lives here is glad the dollar stores are here

[@TheGumKid]

I literally just went to Dollar General to pick up a few thinks because I’m college student living on a budget.

[@malenaboy]

I just moved back from Spain, there were three major grocery stores within a 10 min walking distance, two were smaller sized, one was a decent medium stock up size, I frequented them regularly but I also had a small dollar like store 3 mins away that was good for things that I needed in a pinch products were cheaper cause they usually came from outside of Spain in bulk but was also sometimes a bit more if you think of product size. I don’t like how dollar stores in the United States are though.

[@lazymusician10]

I love Dollar Tree more than Dollar General or Family Dolar. Cause in Dollar Tree things do only cost $1 unlike the other stores; I only got to Dollar Tree to get some essential things but I grocery shop at Kroger. I like there deal at Kroger.

[@Handicrafti]

I live in the middle of no where Pennsylvania. It was big news when the next town got a grocery store. There are three Dollar Generals and a Dollar Tree all on the same road within 10 minutes of each other. Dollar General has been popping up everywhere seemingly over night

[@JAY22_]

It’s bang when there near the movie theater so you can by a drink, chips and candy under 5$ rather then buying the expensive ass popcorn and drink for like 10$ if your not that wealthy

[@kj55]

I grew up poor and now that I have money it was hard for me to listen to this video I was very conflicted but 9 minutes and 10 seconds into it I realized that they are right. Just because I'm not paying the price doesn't mean that somebody else isn't and that is the truth about everything that we buy

[@llp1344]

This was very interesting until it became about race 🙄

[@yurika12]

Didn't you know that only black people can be poor, and its always someone else's fault? /s

[@frankpontone2139]

@@yurika12 This destructive mindset is even in black Kenyans when they blamed East Indians for being more successful than them and kicked the East Indians out of their own country. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pl7MYX2MntVshJY

[@electrofan1796]

I just took a lead sales associate position in dollar general last week. During the corona virus shit and other drama apparently sales have gone up 30 percent. It's perfectly positioned near a college area. In which I am a college student about to move into a student housing complex half a mile away. My store is about 1/3 empty all the time even after getting a truck in.

[@zkittlezthabanditt604]

there's hardly any dollar generals in my state that I've seen, however dollar tree us EVERYWHERE here in Oregon

[@jamesduncan1076]

I live in an upper middle class Silicon Valley community. The Dollar Tree is often crowded with multiple checkout lanes going. These places may have a general interest actually as far as I can tell and aren't just for poor people. Reading glasses for $1 instead of $12 for instance. Can't pass that up even though I can afford to. As well, a poor person can get their readers for just $1 instead of $12, which is not a bad thing.

[@EverettBurger]

"But, you can get steak for a dollar" Is this confirmed?

[@CCW1911]

No not true of course, not everything or even most things in a Dollar store cost a dollar.

[@EverettBurger]

@@CCW1911 yes, I know there are things that cost more than a buck at the dollar store. But, when the interviewee speaks in hyperbole, it hurts their argument.

[@davec1615]

Dollar Tree has steak for $1 and its not bad at all. Very edible

[@collecite-p5738]

The dollar tree down my road is kinda saving my life right now. I lost my job due to covid and now I can't get unemployment, and I can't get a job because nothing is open, so for the moment those little $1 "steaks" and such, are keeping me alive under $20 a week.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

More dollar stores than McDonald’s? Wow that’s insane

[@shinchanthebest]

our supreme leader is here, we would be nothing without you!!!

[@voteforpedro7332]

I had this Dollar tree store which was "Deals" back in the 2010s but it shut down they sold these delicious 30 pack corn dogs for only 7 bucks. I will never forget it

[@zazaza903]

damn l want dollar store in my country

[@alexturlais8558]

Did you watch the video? They're cheap but they also sell poor quality items and they often cost more per unit than other companies.

[@zazaza903]

@@alexturlais8558 Yes but still its good dill compared to the rest of the world.. When l was been in US l was been amazed by prices of literally everything.. dollar stores, walmart, shoes, clothes, all you can eat restorans.. that prices and that salaries omg thats the paradise 😂..

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

@@alexturlais8558 Yes & no but if it breaks I go. "Wtf, it was only a buck!" 👍

[@christinewatson1989]

The UK and N Ireland has a "dollar store" called "Poundland". The 12 yr old in my can't get over how funny that is.

[@alexturlais8558]

@@ROBYNMARKOW yeah but you end up having to buy 6 different replacements, instead of buying one $5 one that lasts longer.

[@blazertundra]

3 things: 99 Cent, Grocery Outlet, and ethnic supermarkets Those are the solution to the problem. If more people decided to shop at those places, and banks would quit making a big deal about "ghetto" zip codes, the problem would probably fix itself. Also Dollar Trees aren't targeting race. They just go where the money is. I live in an affluent, somewhat racially diverse city and we have one on every corner. But there's a mentality that if you own a shopping center and have a vacancy that you can't fill, then you just lease it to the highest (low) bidder, no matter what they are. It's created a healthy climate for small businesses and we still get to buy flimsy laundry baskets for $1.

[@snozzcumbers]

What a load of drek, by calling for a limit on dollar stores you're asking for price controls. Price controls cause shortages, how would this help low income people? It is not the job of a store to address whatever "deeper problems" you think exist.

[@New3DSLuigi364]

The main Reason I Like Dollar Stores & My Family likes them so much; Is solely BECAUSE of the Low Price tags! If there's a Place we can get as Low a Price as We can get for the things we need; We'll shop there!!

[@iwant007]

Wait so you're telling me that you get less product when you pay $1, the problem is not the dollar store the problem is that people are stupid.

[@thehoerabbit1303]

There is no problem, period only opportunity and the store saw it and they took it

[@SWLinPHX]

No, paying $10 for five times more than you need just because it's cheaper per ounce is not always wiser. Getting more than you need or want by spending more, even if less per unit, is also dumb. Costco doesn't necessarily pay off for single people on everything.

[@iwant007]

@@SWLinPHX depends what it is, but its a safe bet if its soap or toilet paper

[@SWLinPHX]

@@iwant007 I run multiple short-term vacation rentals. We stock enough "replenishables" (soap, shampoo, toilet paper, kleenex, paper towels & napkins, detergents, cleaning solutions, sponges, etc., etc., etc.) as a starter to last at least a week. We don't want to buy enough of everything for each rental to last a month -- not practical, necessary or affordable. Again, economy size is not always better -- spending more overall to get less cost per ounce. So Dollar Tree is perfect for things like that!

[@iwant007]

@@SWLinPHX You moron obviously not in that situation, under any context the situation changes. But we are talking for consumer worth and value bulk is clearly the better choice but a lot of people don't know that.

[@randomamateur1583]

It's irrelevant but, Dude, the dollar stores destroyed my country too. They're literally flourishing in Pakistan. Literally.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

In other words, everything changed when the Dollar Store Nation attacked

[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

Lol!

[@sanchitkumar6945]

Companies like Amazon which pay the least and have horrible work conditions are the biggest rivals for small businesses. Still they get the competitive advantage in the form of Zero Corporate Tax.

[@abercrombie4lyfe]

"The company has pledged $5 million dollars to support racial justice and education." --- That's nice... how about a raise for all of their associates?

[@jrhensel]

A 12-minute KZbin videos can't tie together socioeconomic changes, policy changes, market dynamics, zoning, and wage inequality into a nice package that leaves the audience with a solid understanding of how we got here. The prime example is the 2nd most popular comment/takeaway: "the evil politicians made this happen." It's just an insanely simplistic and uninformed opinion that means many learned absolutely nothing and so doubled down on what they already thought.

[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

Don't be first and early, wait 20 minutes for the comments to appear.

[@dayviduh]

Looks like you didn’t do that

[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

@@dayviduh yeah. Its part of the keys to getting popular comments. Being early or after most people finish the video is when the comments "explode" and when you find top comments, most people will like them.

[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

A

[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

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[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

I

[@zacharyhenderson2902]

Dollar General strategically places its stores as close as possible to public low income housing. It's brilliant.

[@johnsmith1882-x2i]

Who wants to open a store in a neighborhood where they loot the store when somebody dies in another state

[@DymaxionDon]

What about rural America? Not one word about how power concentrated in big cities has devastated this segment of our nation. Companies like Dollar General are one of the few large companies to show any interest in rural people.

[@StudioUAC]

remember kids. only shop at the hip trendy hipster grocery stores like trader joes.

[@Bulmaatthemecca]

Imagine being a business, conducting business, and people calling you racist for trying to expand wtf, Americans really fell off

[@enzomonti3625]

I wonder who is paying for this video, I see nothing wrong on dollar stores. Will love to watch a video from cheddar criticizing some e-commerce for destroying the whole traditional store type. Here in NYC lost of stores wasn’t able to open for months and e-commerce could continue selling everything they wanted. Essential and no essential products. Antitrust law doesn’t work with them?

[@mikehaughey]

Im not poor and I regularly shop at Dollar Tree ,. Lots of useful stuff if you know how to shop. I dont see any "targeting" or "Redlining " going on. I like the cleaning supplies, shampoo, school supplies, batteries, small kitchen items, seeds and bulbs, cheap but sturdy garden tools, greeting cards, food items , spices ets, etc. Convenient, quick, cheap ... no rip off,........ it is what it is ........ rather have a Dollar store in my neighborhood than a liquor store or McDonalds.

[@rgeipoj325]

Hi!

[@beforecuddlybunnylps841]

Hola!

[@leonarddurecki5988]

Only Dollar Tree is a true Dollar store, the rest are more or less discount stores where you can buy things like electronics and cell phones and seem to be undercutting the general stores, and there are actually upscale dollar stores in the richer neighborhoods while the inner city gets the smaller stores with less products available.

[@watchdealer11]

Cheddar: crying about income inequality 24/7 My family came to this country with $7 to our name. I retired at 34 with real estate and restaurant franchises. Work hard and stop complaining.

[@legowagfles7287]

Sure you did

[@alexturlais8558]

Even if you did that, congrats but noone cares. Income inequality means that occasionally you'll get someone successful, but the vast majority of people will be trapped in poverty.

[@theodoredalton3355]

@@alexturlais8558 Most people aren't in poverty in though.

[@alexturlais8558]

@@theodoredalton3355 no but economic inequality still harms the middle class.

[@TheRunningLeopard]

Sounds fake but okay. Also, if that is true then you are a capitalist who has created more harm then good by being a real estate accessory lmao.

[@dannyk847]

Here in Canada we got a dollar store called DOLLARAMA, but 90% or more is over 1$. Only chocolate bars keep below the dollar.

[@zoedanforth7932]

I think it's cause the worth of Canadian Dollar

[@AliG-wl5bn]

Bro this is just because we’re all broke

[@Omar-em7rl]

spending at the dollar store actually costs more than buying them at other places, just so you know.