Jms's thread here got me thinking about this.


How do dollar stores do it, how do they sell what they sell for that price?


An example:

I needed a toothbrush the last time we went shopping and since we went into the dollar store for a couple of other things I figured I'd see what they had. I'm not fussy, so I figured I could save a few cents by getting one here. For a single dollar I got an eight pack, and not some plain jane toothbrush but the curved shaped head with the multiple length bristle and rubber handled type. I figured "what a deal" and went on my way.

Then we move over to the normal discount supermarket where we do the rest of our shopping. I check on toothbrushes figuring their bottom of the line 8 pack would be two bucks or so. Their best deal was a 2 pack for three bucks, and the brushes looked remarkably similar to the ones I had just bought.

How can the dollar store charge 1/12 as much for the same product as the international discount retailer it shares a shopping center with?

Both products were made in China so thats not an issue in their price.