What will a dollar really buy?

By JOANN JONES

For the young female in the family, hair barrettes and pony tail holders.

For the busy male athlete, a 20-ounce Gator Ade.

For youngsters, coloring books or erasable markers.

For the cook, McCormick’s Chili Mix, four utility knives, and a spatula.

For the family member with a sweet tooth, Little Debbie Swiss Rolls or some thin mints.

For the handyman, a package of foam brushes.

For the canine member of the family, a bag of steak snacks.

What do all these items have in common? They can be purchased for just $1 at a so-called “dollar store.”

Because of rising prices and the need for families to pinch pennies wherever they can, shoppers are visiting dollar stores more frequently for everyday items such as hand soap, toilet paper, paper towels, storage bags, shampoo, and dental floss.

The ubiquitous Dollar General, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree stores, as well as some lesser known stores, have offered bargains to shoppers for years. And although the $1 prices in these dollar stores have gone to $1.15, $1.25, or even $1.50, many of these products, some name-brand and some off-brand, can still be purchased for $1.

Julie Naples of Columbiana is one of those who said she shops for everyday items at various dollar stores.

“I buy brand-name wax paper like Cut-Rite and Reynolds Aluminum Foil at the dollar store,” Naples said. “I also get my dish soap and hand soap as well as brand-name shampoo.”

Naples, the mother of three young children, said dollar stores are also great for seasonal items.

“I ... bought a package of Halloween plates for $1,” she said, adding that she buys Christmas gift bags at dollar stores, too.

Malynda and Jonathan Linko of Canfield, parents of two boys, said they also buy Christmas and other gift bags at a dollar store.

“The big bags are just $1, and the smaller ones are two for $1,” Malynda Linko said. “We also get a lot of school supplies there.”

Malynda Linko is a special education teacher, and Jonathan Linko is a high school band and choir director. The two look for bargains that they can use in the classroom.

“At Deals, a discount store in Austintown, I can buy sentence strips for $1 a package,” Malynda Linko said. “At any other place, they’re probably $5.99.”

Her husband said he found one of the most unusual and inexpensive buys ever at the Dollar General in Boardman.

“I was just going through the front display, and I found composer busts for $1 each,” he said. “I bought ten of them. And then I decided it was such a deal, that I bought another set so I could have a display at home and at school.”

Lori DeHoff of Austintown also finds dollar store and Marc’s discount store a great place to buy supplies for school.

“I can get 30 pens for $1 and composition books for $1,” DeHoff said.

Pens, notebook paper, coloring books, crayons, and math flash cards line the shelves of dollar stores, still listed at the $1 bargain price.

But smart shoppers can find $1 items for almost every area of the house as well as for every season.

Customers can still get window cleaner, copper pan scourers, kitchen and bath bleach cleaner, a box of sandwich bags, and four General Electric light bulbs for a dollar apiece.

Personal hygiene items such as shampoo, lip gloss and lipstick, Chap Ice lip balm, clear plastic bandages, and shaving cream haven’t risen above one dollar. Neither have packages of wash cloths or Kleenex Splash and Go Wipes.

Laurie Springer of Sebring said she buys her paper products at her local dollar store even though she can’t get them for just a dollar.

“I buy Bounty paper towels and Charmin toilet paper at the dollar store all the time,” Springer said.

She also buys bags of dog treats for her German Shepherd, and for those she does pay only a dollar.

But some of the biggest bargains at most dollar stores today are the greeting cards that sell for four, five, or six dollars in other stores. Dollar General, which now displays a much larger array of cards than it did several years ago, sells some cards for a dollar and many two for a dollar. For people who buy a lot of cards, that’s a huge savings.

“At graduation time, I have to buy 12 to 15 cards every year,” Jan Fugate of Beloit said. “I can get some of them for a dollar, and others two for a dollar.”

Thus, even though a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew is now $1.15, salad dressings have risen to $1.25, and a small package of paper plates is $1.50, there are still enough $1 items available that “dollar store” is not yet a misnomer.