Dollar Tree

I have never met any kind of dollar store that I didn’t like.

It’s hard to resist the crazy low prices for every single item. I can load up my cart with all sorts of things, like little crafty paint kits and other finds for our grandbabies, replenishing my greeting cards/gift bag supply, some household containers and even cleaners and so on (can’t forget the M&M’s) for $20!   

Now at Dollar Tree that $20 will be $25, according to rumblings about a price change that will make each $1 item sell for $1.25.

With rising prices everywhere, it’s unrealistic to think this place can keep to the $1 price tag for everything in the store – forever – that it committed to when it opened, in 1986.

A local resident on a Facebook community group I’m in posted her disappointment about this price increase, stating with her belief that once a dollar store, always a dollar store...no exceptions.

Others piled on, saying that Dollar Tree is making a mistake to change its brand, people will shop elsewhere, they shouldn’t just raise prices because other places are (although apparently not other dollar stores), what a rip-off, and so on. All of these things may be accurate but, the way I see it, it’s up to Dollar Tree to figure out how to stay in business, isn’t it?

While reading at least 25 comments attacking Dollar Tree’s decision, all I could think was Who cares? Why does it matter what Dollar Tree does for a measly $.25 per item? Let them do whatever they think is in their best interest and if we don’t like it, we don’t have to go there. This seemed to be a common feeling among other readers too.

Of course, I am sitting here in suburbia, and admittedly, that extra quarter per item for what I buy isn’t going to stop me from shopping there, nor will it make any difference to my bottom line.

The last comment I read was altogether different. This woman introduced herself as a teacher and said that Dollar Tree items (for $1) are a lifesaver. She explained that she stops by the store every couple of weeks to load up on supplies etc. for her class.  For each item she sets her sights on, she buys about 20 of them. The added $.25 cost for 20 items is $5. If she buys 4 per month, that’s $20 extra she’s paying, in addition to the $20 ($1 x 20 students). Her shopping trips set her back some $100 per month. This equates to what could be a few meals each month for her family. 

This of course is not the way it should be, that teachers are stuck having to spend their own funds when they already make salaries much lower than in the private sector. But, given that so many teachers do shell out their own money, I was pleased that this woman had been able to find what she needed for a relatively low price tag, and I also felt her frustration that the cost was going to increase the burden placed on her.   

As I thought about this “conversation” in days past, I was reminded once again that how we react to any given situation is the direct result of where we are standing. For me and some others who responded, the extra $.25 was NBD (No Big Deal). For others like her, teacher or not, this increase may be an unfortunate game changer.

It makes sense that our perspectives are driven by our own personal circumstances, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are people out there who feel differently than we do.