20 Items to Buy at Dollar Stores (And 20 Items to Avoid)

Dollar stores, also known as variety stores, can be a great place to stock up on essentials if you’re looking to save some money. With thousands of products at rock-bottom prices, there are certainly some great deals to be had.

In some cases, however, you might be better off shopping elsewhere. Some dollar store products are simply a waste of money, no matter how inexpensive they may be. Some items are just not durable enough, while others don’t work the way they’re supposed to. Sometimes, they may even pose significant health and safety risks.

Read on to find out what items you should buy at dollar stores, and what items you should avoid at all costs.

Buy: Hair accessories

Dollar stores typically carry a wide selection of hair accessories. While some fashionistas might scoff at the idea of buying their brushes, headbands, or hair ties at discount stores, there’s absolutely no reason to spend more money on these items than you need to!

Unless you’re looking for something of a particular style or quality, dollar store hair accessories can be just as good as those that you would find elsewhere. Why pay more for something that you’ll likely end up losing after using it a few times?

Avoid: Body wash and shampoo

Unlike supermarkets and drugstores, dollar stores usually only have a limited selection of body wash and shampoos, most of which are lesser-known brands. You are more likely to score better deals at other retailers, especially if you have some coupons in hand during a sale.

Besides, would you really place your faith in cheaper, lesser-known products? This would be fine if you don’t have sensitive skin or easily damaged hair, but if you do, you’d probably be better off choosing the more trusted brands instead.

Buy: Coffee filters

Though coffee filters don’t usually cost that much, it’s still an expense that can add up quickly, especially if you drink several cups of coffee a day. To save money, consider buying your coffee filters at a dollar store instead.

A coffee filter is a coffee filter, and its price won’t have much of an effect on the quality of your cup of joe. Cheap ones can function just as well as pricier ones, so go ahead and grab that $1 pack of coffee filters.

Avoid: Coffee

If you’re simply looking for a quick caffeine fix and don’t really care how your coffee tastes, then dollar store coffee should do the trick. However, if you’d rather not have coffee that tastes like dirt or pencil shavings, then you might want to look elsewhere!

Dollar store coffee isn’t usually very good, and the choices tend to be quite limited. You’d likely only find either unfamiliar brands or packs of coffee that look like they’ve been sitting on the shelves for weeks. If you want good-quality coffee, check out other retailers instead.

Buy: Socks

Most of the clothes that you would find at dollar stores are typically made of poor-quality materials and are not worth buying. If you want to buy clothes that’ll last longer, there are tons of better places where you could shop!

Socks, however, are an exception. They are one of the most disposable types of clothing anyway, so why bother buying expensive ones? Head to your nearest dollar store and look for socks made with acrylic or spandex to get the best bang for your buck.