While dollar stores are generally known for selling lesser-known brands for lower prices, sometimes customers can find usually higher-priced items for a steal, something that TikToker @mizzmimbz discovered at a Dollar General location during a recent visit to the store.
In a TikTok video, she says that she found 5-oz Ghiradelli White Chocolate Caramel Squares for 25-cents a piece, getting other users on the platform excited to know exactly where she was able to locate such an enticingly priced find.
@mizzmimbz They’re still on sale #fyp #fypシ #deals #finds #candy #ghirardelli #happy ♬ original sound – me personally….
The TikToker writes in a text overlay of the post: “Since they were twenty five cents, I did a wrap around.” A voice in the video can be heard laughing and then saying, “You know I had to double it,” as @mizzmimbz grabs a package of Ghiradelli White Chocolate Caramel squares.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain shortage, and record-high levels of inflation in the United States, the budget retail chain has become a hot topic of conversation online. Many longtime Dollar Store shoppers, like those who frequent Dollar Tree, have criticized the store for “shrinkflation” i.e. the act of charging more for products by reducing item quantity/weight while simultaneously raising prices in some instances giving shoppers less bang for their buck.
Various outlets have delineated why stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General are traditionally able to sell its items at such a low cost, and this is due to several factors. Fun Cheap or Free says that the companies’ selection of retail locations have a lot to do with its ability to cut costs: “Dollar stores can sell the SAME items as grocery stores for cheaper because they have class-B or C locations, so they pay much lower rent than class-A locations.” The outlet would go on to say that because Dollar Tree generally doesn’t offer high salaries for its minimum number of staffed employees per store, its able to pass those savings onto its customers: “They also have a small, low-wage staff, that’s usually only about 10 employees per store.”
Reader’s Digest also delineated several other reasons why Dollar Tree is able to offer products at such a steep discount: The chain expects its customers to make bulk purchases as many of their items are priced so competitively, so store profit margins are earned incrementally over several purchases. The outlet states that Dollar Tree traditionally doesn’t offer brand-name items that cost less than better-known competitors’ products.
Business Insider has reported that Dollar General in particular can keep its item prices down because it offers a “no-frills shopping experiences” coupled with locations that are generally of a smaller size, which helps to keep overhead costs down. Another way the chain helps to keep its supply chain down is by handling shipping and transportation of its products in-house, i.e., Dollar General manages its own fleet of trucks.
So what about the Ghiradelli Caramel Chocolate squares that the TikToker listed for 25-cents a package? Why is this Dollar General able to sell it for so little, when the same package retails for about $7.85 per 5-ounce bag on Amazon? That’s because these stores, according to Reader’s Digest, will often purchase food items that are nearing their expiration dates or items in mass liquidation sales. This explains why the store has a revolving door of items and offerings that often feel like the “luck of the draw” for customers.
Users who saw her post wanted to know the exact location of where @mizzmimbz was able to locate the chocolates for so cheap: “No fr whereeee cousin,” one TikToker asked. Another commented, “Thanks for not mentioning where. Super helpful.”
She did mention that she spotted them in a Dollar General, but another user chimed in and said that the chocolates went down even further in price since she made her post: “they’re 10 cents now but I can’t find them in stock,” they wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @mizzmimbz via TikTok comment and Dollar General via email for further information.