The single-price retail era is officially over. Dollar Tree raised its baseline price to $1.25, introduced $1.75 tiers, and rolled out multi-price inventory reaching up to $10.00 across store aisles.
The last true single-price national chain, 99 Cents Only Stores, liquidated all 371 of its locations in 2024.
Dollar General, meanwhile, reported 20,959 stores as of February 2026, and it never capped prices at a dollar in the first place.
While discount chains offer geographical convenience, certain product categories carry hidden financial penalties or documented safety risks. Smart shoppers must separate genuine bargains from items that compromise household safety or waste hard-earned money.
Well, it’s obvious you folks writing this article are pretty well off! Like, go to some other place, clip coupons, etc. Well, what you don’t understand is maybe you only got a buck and no way to get across town to a “better deal” or maybe you don’t have a paper to clip coupons anyway! I know you make a living by pointing out awful mistakes people make by shopping at where ever, but it’s better buying something there than getting mugged on a bus to a better deal. Also some of us like cheap stuff. If I knew you and you were sick I would go to the Buck store and buy you a get-well card for 50 cents. I would feel I did my duty and I’m sure you throw all your cards, especially some cards, away immediately so we both would be happy, and yes you could drive me across town in your new SUV to buy a really good hammer! I’m sure you do that all the time for folks like me just there to buy a cheap bar of soap!
Thank you for the info — I will pass it on to my daughter who shops at dollar stores
for many items — I am aware of less than adequate sizes and products !
I appreciate the low cost of a few items though !