Dollar Store Deals?

Most of you know my love of dollar stores. I consider them to be treasure troves of bargains, where you can always expect the unexpected value. As I alluded to yesterday, there is a downside to dollar stores and the rest of this post deals with some items including, but not limited to grocery.

Have you ever pondered if the items in a dollar store are really deals? If I'm honest, some are and then again some are not.

So then, what should you be looking out for to get a true bargain when shopping in a dollar store? What items are best avoided?

1. Keep an eye on the quality. Be on the lookout for items that are well made and appear to be of good quality. In general, some of the products are well made and some are not.

2. Watch for name brands. Most dollar stores carry generics to keep prices down, but name brand merchandise from closeouts show up frequently. While generics aren't always a good buy, they can be if the quality is high...give them a try, you might be pleasantly surprised.

3. Watch for short dated product. Most dollar stores now carry food items, some with a full grocery section including frozen foods, dairy and produce. You can run into product with very short dates of only a day or two, so plan purchases so that you won't waste what you bought.

4. Lookout for toy safety. A good portion of the toys and kid items found on the toy aisle are imported from China. There have been some recent concerns about the safety of both children's toys and pet items manufactured in this part of the world. I'm not implying that all of the toys found at dollar stores are unsafe, just be aware and keep your eyes open for hazards.

Here is a good list of the 20 best bargains in the dollar store.