$1 Store Prices

[GRUMPA]

As a rule I don't go shopping with the other half as a rule, but needed to go into town for just a few things I needed. She went to the local $1 store to get a few things and I decided to kinda help her out with the cart. Both her and I noticed that the things that are always on her list of things to get are now not a $1 anymore.

She usually only gets things like tea and lemon juice and maybe just a few other small items but what was under $1 is now at a minimum 15% more than what it was just a couple of weeks ago.

It used to be one of here favorite places to go to get the cheaper stuff and now she's really starting to boil over now. She went out his morning to go into one of the other towns to get the things the other store now charges more for. And I don't think I'm going to like it much when she comes back either.

Anyone out their go to those $1 stores and notice the same thing? Could just be one of those local market things I don't know. Just thought I would ask.

[1911sw45]

It is happening every where. It inflation and we are just seeing the tip of it right now.

Adam

[Wally]

Another "technique" is to cut the count or the weight...look at ice cream---half a gallon (64 ounces), was shrunk to 58 then to 48, but the price remained the same---look at the packaging for ground Coffee ....same deal---how about toilet paper, paper towels or aluminum foil----yikes....I guess they never suspeceted that we would notice?

[frkelly74]

The stores are all full of stuff that comes in 12 oz one lb packages. same price more air.

[mongo]

I had purchased a couple of large spoons from the dollar store to use when smelting. Finished the first two pots of range scrap and everything was good. On the third pot while skimming the jackets off the top the spoon came apart. The spoon part was rivited to the handle and the rivet melted. Heck, What could you expect for buck. Im going to but another one and drill out the rivet and put a small steel bolt and washer to replace it.

[koehn,jim]

I use the 99 cent store and they are still 99 cents but last year they went up to 99.99 cents,

[Rockydog]

My wife and I are trying to lose weight and we are doing pretty well at it. Since January we've dropped a combined 70 pounds. We've found out one thing. It costs one heck of a more to eat right than it does to eat the way we used to eat. I don't know how people with families do it. Also wonder how much of our obesity in this country is caused by high starch diets just because they are cheaper. RD

[no34570]

Same thing here in Australia,we have a $2+ store,very really you get stuff for under $2.
And food companies reducing the amount,but charging the same price,it is a big ripoff.
So I know were your coming from fellas !

[John Ross]

Be prepared for Carter-era inflation or worse. The Repubs caved on the debt ceiling issue and we should expect the massive printing of money to have the usual effect. Look for the Dollar Store to become the $5 store. BOHICA.

[bearcove]

The debt ceiling issue wasn't an issue. It was do we honor our debts or default. Now the world seem to think we are concidering the American way ( default ) as a gov't option. Hope you bought puts.

[Bret4207]

It's not inflation as much as devaluation of the dollar, on purpose at that. We went and dropped of a lawn tractor today to a guy, picked up feed ($$$), then shot up to TSC for cheapy plastic baler twine ($10.00 less a bundle than sisal), then over to Savalot for some groceries. There was a day I'd never have set foot in a Savalot or Aldis (discount/low end groceries). These days we HAVE to. I don't know if I should have retired or not, but here we are.

better buckle up guys, the rides about to start getting rougher.

[blackthorn]

Around here we have "everything for a dollar" stores and nothing was more than a buck! Just awhile ago it went up to "everything for a dollar twenty five"! I asked the young girl who worked there if they gave her a 25% raise --- "yeah right" said she. A 25% raise for her sounded about right to me given we now pay 25% more!

[Ben]

Remember the question a few years.

Are you really better off now ?

That's a real good question..................

Ben

[Bad Water Bill]

And I am sure there will be NO cost of living increase AGAIN this year. If there is you can be sure that the cost of medi care will go up more than the increase so now you get less to eat but you also get to pay more taxes

Another way to keep you from reaching 80. Starve you to death.

[BudRow]

Pretty soon you will need a wheelbarrow of funny money to by a loaf of bread just like the Weimar Republic in Germany of the 1920s.

[Ben]

TROUBLE is coming................

A portion of it is here now.

[longhorn]

The 3 national chains of "dollar stores" are publicly held-and don't seem to be pleasing investors. And WalMart visits are down about 3% nationally (per the WSJ). I admit housing costs are down, but everything I buy seems to be going up-don't know why the supposed inflation numbers are so low......doesn't feel that way here. Weakness of the dollar probably plays a role, since so many consumer goods and foods are imported, I presume.

[MtGun44]

Bret is exactly right, this is devaluing the currency - inflating it intentionally.

Bill

[oneokie]

The 3 national chains of "dollar stores" are publicly held-and don't seem to be pleasing investors. And WalMart visits are down about 3% nationally (per the WSJ). I admit housing costs are down, but everything I buy seems to be going up-don't know why the supposed inflation numbers are so low......doesn't feel that way here. Weakness of the dollar probably plays a role, since so many consumer goods and foods are imported, I presume.

Because the .gov people took food and fuel prices out of the mix of things that they use to figure inflation.

Figures don't lie, but liars can figure.

[Bad Water Bill]

I also think they do not figure in electric, natural gas and heating oil.

To bad we do not get to add taxes in there.

[jim4065]

I just discovered a new (to me) way to rip-off the customers. Bought a can of pink salmon at the local Harp's grocery - got it home before I realized the damn thing is tapered! The top is "standard" but it has a constant taper to the bottom, which has a smaller diameter. Not too much - just enough to now make it a 14.5 oz can.

[zxcvbob]

I just discovered a new (to me) way to rip-off the customers. Bought a can of pink salmon at the local Harp's grocery - got it home before I realized the damn thing is tapered! The top is "standard" but it has a constant taper to the bottom, which has a smaller diameter. Not too much - just enough to now make it a 14.5 oz can.

That one is not as sinister as you think. The cans are tapered so they can stack the empties nested together; the salmon is canned on the boat and it takes up less space that way.

[jim4065]

It would have been nice if they held the volume of the can constant with the straight wall cans - seems like an opportunity to fleece the buyer (along the lines of "never let a crisis go to waste").

[41 mag fan]

Was just last yr Glen Beck was saying that cotton and food prices were going to inflate drastically. Looks like he's been dead on.

[GRUMPA]

As far as the smaller quantities of the packaged items the wife and I have seen that stuff going on for years. But we think of it on more than 1 level, is it because that no matter what a person does they are open to law-suites (sp) thus the burden of the award is being passed to the consumer? Devaluation of the current currency?
Or is it in fact greed? A person can really go in more than 1 direction as far as why, AND still not be right. We've noticed that type of smaller packaging on many things, tuna,coffee, chips etc. But as time goes on the ole phrase "stretching the dollar" is getting to the breaking point and there isn't enough tape on the planet to put it back together.

[ErikO]

Considering that the currnet group of crooks in DC are following Herbert Hoover's Slump Fighting Method, things will get better...in about 25 years or so.

Shame we got involed on five fronts before getting onto a war footing...

[Ed Barrett]

I remember as a kid (I'm nearly 70) we had 5 & 10 cent stores and dime stores and things were priced accordingly. One was Kresge's and the other was Woolworth's. Kresge's became Kmart I don't know what became of Woolworth's . My grandkids will see $50 & $100 stores, they can thank Obama that money isn't worth anything.
I saw what bad inflation looked like in 1964 when my ship pulled into Brazil, If you converted your money at the official rate there wasn't enough room in your pockets for $20. If you had greenbacks on the beach you could get twice that. People would spend their pay as soon as possible because the next day it would be worth less. We are starting to see signs of that today right here.

[ricksplace]

When WalMart came to Canada, they bought up all the woolworths stores, except the ones that were unionized. Twice in Canada, Wal Mart employees have tried to unionize. Both stores were shut down. There is not a unionized WalMart in Canada. I don't shop at WalMart.

[1Shirt]

Think that Bret has it right! It is deflation of the dollar. Getting to be like confederat money after the Civil War. Check the price of milk and compare with a year ago, then two years ago. And after that write to your senator and congressman, and thank them for Obozo's economy and the change we got and keep on getting! Sort of like an economic STD!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[hiram1]

thanks to naft we have to pay high taxes.and less plp working so it has to go up on us that are working to pay for plp that are not working and ss will go down the drain soon so hold on its going to get worse.i still wonder where the money i payed in went. i guess to pay for a porch monkey.to go to school and run for prez

[10 ga]

The salmon cans been tapered like that forever. And 14 oz for a looong time too. The cans are tapered so they nest together in the boxes. They are shipped by ship/boat to Alaska and BC for the canneries to pack. Take less space that way. Not much rail or truck service up that way. If you want to know what $ are really worth just compare them to "hard commodities" like iron/steel, gold, silver, copper, lead, Al, corn, pork bellies, wheat, plywood, lumber etc, etc... People out of work, can't find a job, gov. regulations make starting or running a business just about impossible, and the sock monkey still blames the "previous" administration. IT AINT THE ECONOMY IT"S BARRACK HUSSEIN OBAMA! Until he's gone, nobody is gonna take any risk or spend a $ that ain't absolutely necessary! Leastwise that is how everybody I know, self included, are doing things. No leadership and no confidence. I'd say that is my $.02 worth but with Obamaflation it's $.83 now. 10 ga

[blackhawk4545]

1Shirt - Obozo's economy, economic STD Now that there's funny!!!!

[mtnman31]

I picked up some silicone baking pans at the dollar store that I use for pan lubing small batches of bullets. I don't shop them often but the dollar stores usually have something out of the ordinary that I can pick up such as Beeman's and BlackJack chewing gum, 4 for a dollar.

Yes, it drives me crazy how manufacturers have decreased product sizes/counts but kept the price and packaging the same. The fact that they keep the pacakge sizes the same shows they are being a bit deceptive. Unfortunately, I think most shoppers aren't aware enough to notice.