Safe And Unsafe Dollar Store Products
There are so many articles online about what things are good to buy and what things should be avoided at dollar stores. Dollar stores are popular because they’re great places to get certain products for less money than a name brand store.
It’s a common misconception that all brands are knock offs, but you can find name brand products for a dollar. Many of the bad products are knock off products with names sounding like familiar products, those products could be harmful.
Good Buys:
Top buys from the dollar store include cleaning supplies, such as soaps and detergents and kitchen items, such as mops and brooms.
Other products that are ok to buy are shampoos and other hair products. Some places carry name brands for less money.
Party supplies are great buys and much cheaper than name stores or party specialty stores. Party munchies can also be purchased for less at dollar stores. Name brand chips can be bought cheaper than regular stores and they’re still well within their expiry date.
Unsafe Buys:
Items that should be avoided with good cause include vitamins and electrical cords and equipment. Since you eat vitamins, knock off brands are poorly made and may not even contain the listed elements. Many electrical cords and components can get by without passing safety standards and can cause fires or other electrical mishaps.
Obviously there’s the problems with toys in regards to lead paint, choking hazards and strangulation problems, but they aren’t exclusive to dollar stores.
Batteries should also be avoided. Many are knock off brands and are known to leak, including batteries already included with toys. The mobile phone toy I got didn’t work and the batteries were plump and most likely ready to leak.
Be a Wary Dollar Store Shopper
In these bad economic times, more people are likely to flock to dollar stores to save money. It’s just a matter of knowing what is saving you money and what could cost you more in the end.
Basically, if a brand sounds familiar, but you think it might not be an actual brand, skip it until you can find out for sure and if the product can cause serious harm then you should reserve those buys for a regular store.
Read the entire channel 2 story here.
I have used the dollar tree brand of batteries for over a year. Never have they exploded or leaked. They are used in all low level devices, such as my timed lights throughout the house. I change them every 2 months. Also my remotes. They get changed every 2 months. I spend at least half as much and I’m twice as satisfied. They’re sunbeam batteries.