Dollar General -- A new store in town -- any good?

[Ranger111]

Dollar General will be opening soon near me.

Only experience I have is with Dollar Tree (where everything is $1 or less and a lot of the brands are "Dollar Tree" brands).

Is Dollar General a wise budget choice? I know that things there can cost much more than a $1.

But, how are prices overall and how about the quality of any of their "own label" stuff -- or stuff that is not particularly their own label but a label you never see elsewhere?

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

We had a few Dollar Generals around when I was growing up and in the town where I went to college. I liked Dollar General, you just have to be careful about what you buy there (like Dollar Tree). I have their brand paper towels right now and they work fine, and I also have a floor lamp that's from my original college apartment that's still in perfect working order. I think they can be a wise budget choice for certain items, but I'd steer away from buying any sort of electronics there (had a few bad experiences with phone chargers and speakers from there in the past).

Their "own label" I've found to be pretty comparable to what you would find at, say, Big Lots. Not the best but certainly can be a smart budget choice for certain things. I've found that even their $1 items are usually a better quality than the same item at Dollar Tree.

Overall, I like Dollar General, but I'm careful when I shop there. I hope you have a great experience with your new store!

 

[loves to dive]

Do you have Family Dollar stores in your area? If so, they are similar. I guess I would compare them to the grocery section of a CVS but bigger.

 

[Ranger111]

Do you have Family Dollar stores in your area? If so, they are similar. I guess I would compare them to the grocery section of a CVS but bigger.

Kind of odd. Where I am in Oregon, only Dollar Tree, no Family Dollar, no Dollar General, not any CVS anywhere nearby (for 50 miles at least) that I am aware of anywhere. Even the closest Target is 45 minutes away. No Sam's Club at all, Costco is an hour drive.

The the new "DG" is a new experience.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Don't forget you can use coupons at Dollar General too, I've scored some pretty good deals at ours.

 

[Best Aunt]

Around here, Dollar Tree is much better than Dollar General in terms of selection, quality of merchandise and price. At Dollar Tree, everything costs one dollar or less. At Dollar General, things cost more than one dollar. They have a website; you can check out their weekly ad.

 

[queenofthehive]

Dollar Generals remind of a mini size Big Lots type store. They are super convenient when just need to run in quick for milk etc. I like to purchase greeting cards, wrapping paper, bows etc here as they are very inexpensive. As halfpintpeggy has stated above, you can use coupons. You can also download their app and download their mobile coupons to your account. When you check out, you just type your phone number on the payment keypad at the register and your coupons will automatically sync to your order. They do have good sales and are very reasonable for basic household items.

 

[biminibigblue]

Pay attention to sizes at DG. I have found at mine that something seems like a good deal, until you realize it's half the size that's sold at a regular grocery or walmart.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Dollar Genrtal

I do go there sometimes and buy like bread, candy and chips because it is convenient.

 

[MSPeeler]

Our Dollar Generals always reference the beginning on the end for a neighborhood here.... nothing ever comes good from them going up. In my area, there have been more robberies, shootings, and gang issues at Dollar Genereals than any other public area around. CRAZY.

 

[MSPeeler]

Around here, Dollar Tree is much better than Dollar General in terms of selection, quality of merchandise and price. At Dollar Tree, everything costs one dollar or less. At Dollar General, things cost more than one dollar. They have a website; you can check out their weekly ad.

I agree, Dollar Tree is 100% better.

 

[pens4821]

They have some really good deals but I never go in there to get a lot of things. mostly stop in to get a handful of things on sale then go to Walmart (they are very near each other where I live so it's convenient).

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Our Dollar Generals always reference the beginning on the end for a neighborhood here.... nothing ever comes good from them going up. In my area, there have been more robberies, shootings, and gang issues at Dollar Genereals than any other public area around. CRAZY.

Wow that IS crazy! Definitely not like that around here.

 

[mommajo143]

Generally the net food prices are higher, but Ive found a few deals...when comparing apples to apples I've generally found = cheaper total price but often smaller packages & the price per item is actually higher; otherwise they have an odd store brand of "cloverleaf" food I think that is generally cheap. Most of the other items are cheap & poor quality. Yes, you can get a water hose for $5, but it'll last a week...
I use dollar general for seasonal items that I need to send for kids to school & when I just need one or two things (say a bag of Doritos & some velveeta for nachos) & would rather pay more than go to town.

 

[loves to dive]

Our Dollar Generals always reference the beginning on the end for a neighborhood here.... nothing ever comes good from them going up. In my area, there have been more robberies, shootings, and gang issues at Dollar Genereals than any other public area around. CRAZY.

Here too. We have what looks like either a Dollar General or a Family Dollar going up about 3 miles down the road from our subdivision. My honey was very upset but I'm thinking since it's on a major highway, it's probably just because there are a number of subdivisions within 5 to 10 miles that currently have no options for the quick run because you don't have toilet paper, we live semi in the country.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We have both a Dollar General and Family Dollar about a half mile away. It's rare to visit either. Both are torn up like tornadoes ravaged them. I also have a Kroger a half mile the other direction and go there 4-5x a week instead. MUCH cheaper prices and cleaner.

 

[Ranger111]

OP here...

Anyone remember that old Cheers tv show with the theme song "Where everybody knows your name?"

Well, it is sort of like that in my semi-rural area. The police will pull you over on the street if they "saw your kid" doing something, like hanging out behind the hardware store (a notorious spot for 14-year-olds to smoke cigarettes). They would prefer parents handle such problems, as they would rather NOT give a kid a police record unless it really is warranted.

They will come to get you if you get snowed in and need to get to town for medicine or some other REAL need.

I don't expect we will have "there goes the neighborhood" problems. While I don't know everyone in town, I know a lot of them. I suspect, because we are on minor highway, and there is no real store nearby (closest grocery is about 10 miles away), they expect to make most $$ from passing through and the rest from locals who want $10-$15 dollars of sundries.

We are not Mayberry (some of you may need to look up that reference), but we still have a pretty cohesive small town atmosphere.

 

[gardengalB4]

I have found that when the stores first open they are clean & organized.
A few years later they seem to be cluttered & disorganized.(To the point of being junky).
Good deals can be found there...but you need to know your prices & they can be picky about coupons.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

OP here...

Anyone remember that old Cheers tv show with the theme song "Where everybody knows your name?"

Well, it is sort of like that in my semi-rural area. The police will pull you over on the street if they "saw your kid" doing something, like hanging out behind the hardware store (a notorious spot for 14-year-olds to smoke cigarettes). They would prefer parents handle such problems, as they would rather NOT give a kid a police record unless it really is warranted.

They will come to get you if you get snowed in and need to get to town for medicine or some other REAL need.

I don't expect we will have "there goes the neighborhood" problems. While I don't know everyone in town, I know a lot of them. I suspect, because we are on minor highway, and there is no real store nearby (closest grocery is about 10 miles away), they expect to make most $$ from passing through and the rest from locals who want $10-$15 dollars of sundries.

We are not Mayberry (some of you may need to look up that reference), but we still have a pretty cohesive small town atmosphere.

We have family members who live in a community which sounds a lot like yours. Their town had 1 small grocery store with other grocery stores being 20-30 miles away. When a Dollar General opened up in their town several years ago, it was a huge benefit for the community & continues to be so.

 

[Southernmiss]

Dollar Generals have been opening up here near almost every neighborhood. When one was coming in town the street, I thought there goes the neighborhood.

Once it opened, I am so glad it's there and stop in at least once a week. I love the convenience. I like to buy greeting cards, cold meds, snacks, hamburger buns, boxes of movie candy, we exchange the grill propane tank and dh loves their blankets. We've bought several for our home and dirty Santa gifts- very soft.

I have wished they had fresh produce and saw that a larger store had it! Maybe one day my local one will, too.