Skip these dollar store products

If you like to save money, you probably love the dollar store. But some things at the dollar store aren’t a deal because you can easily find better prices at your local bigbox store or supermarket.

Despite their generic name, what we call “dollar stores” aren’t a monolith.

The true dollar stores like Dollar Tree and the 99 Cents Only chain sell everything for $1 or less. But others like Dollar General and Family Dollar sell merchandise at a variety of price points.

Navigating those unexpected differences in price point isn’t all that hard. The real threat and challenge comes because you have to watch the product size of whatever it is you’re buying for the price you’re paying.

If you don’t, it’s easy to fall in the trap of loading up your cart at the dollar store when you could be getting a better deal down the street. This is especially true when you look at the unit price on food items and household necessities at Dollar Tree.

Tribune News Service is out with a new list of dollar store items that are routinely cheaper elsewhere. All prices are sourced by Tribune and compared with prices from other retailers’ websites. Here’s a look at some of the items listed:

1. Toothpaste

Dollar Tree sells a 2.9-ounce tube of Crest regular paste for $1. But Walmart sells a pack of three 6.4-ounce tubes for $5.

Which one is cheaper relative to how much product you’re getting for the amount you’re paying?

The truth is Walmart’s offer beats Dollar Tree because its triple pack has a unit price of 26 cents per ounce — that’s eight cents per ounce cheaper than at Dollar Tree.

2. Soap

The sudsy stuff sells for 15.6 cents per ounce at Dollar Tree when you’re talking about a pack of two 3.2-ounce Dial antibacterial soap bars.

But Walmart has a six-pack of four-ounce bars for $2.97. That’s just 12 cents per ounce!

3. Pain relievers

Dollar Tree sells 40 caplets of 500 mg acetaminophen for 2.5 cents per caplet. But Target’s price is only 1.4 cents per caplet when you buy the $6.99 bottle of 500 caplets.

The best deal of all, however, is at Costco. Their $8.49 bottle of 1,000 caplets prices out at less than 1 cent per caplet.

Consider this: You’d have to pay $25 to get the same amount of 500 mg acetaminophen caplets at Dollar Tree that you get at Costco for $8.49.

Now that’s a really headacheinducing thought!

4. Breakfast cereal

Love Cap’n Crunch cereal? Skip the 5.5-ounce box for $1 at Dollar Tree and get the 40-ounce bag for $4 at Walmart in its place.

You’ll save eight cents per ounce in the process.