13 Items You Should Never Buy At Idaho Dollar Stores

2024’s been a rollercoaster year for Dollar Tree. Locally, they took over the defunct Tuesday Morning location near Boise Towne Square Mall back in January. It was an ambitious choice, considering they already had a store less than a mile away near Barnes & Noble.

Two months later, Dollar Tree, Inc. announced that they planned to close at least 1,000 of their underperforming stores between their two brands: Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. They anticipated shuttering about 600 Family Dollar stores during the first half of the fiscal year. After that, they’d close 370 more Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree locations as the leases expired at those locations.

Idaho didn’t escape from the closures unscathed. While that fancy new store by the mall AND the location by Barnes & Noble are both open, the Dollar Tree on Collister and Family Dollar on State Street closed with little notice.

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Then in May, the brand acquired 170 of the 99 Cents Only stores that were slated to close when the California Based company filed for bankruptcy. That seems like a strange move for a company that was just planning to reduce their footprint two months earlier. But what do we know? We’re just shoppers. Not business people.

Image via Google Maps

We’re just happy that they still have a presence in over 25 Idaho cities! From pool noodles and holiday décor to craft supplies and toys, the store is still a great destination for bargains…even if the prices jumped to $1.25 per item a few years ago.

For example, the Dollar Tree fish bowls we used to make these cute snowmen cost more than double the price per bowl at Hobby Lobby when they weren't on sale. Depending on which ribbon you pick, Hobby Lobby’s gonna give you less yards for more money.

Michelle Heart, Townsquare Media

That said, not everything sold at dollar stores are a great value. Several major publications looked at which items you should skip for safety and financial reasons. Here’s what they say you’re better off buying at a bigger retailer like Albertsons, Fred Meyer or Walmart.