Vincent Cheung

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Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Dollarama

How do these guys pay the bills? I went to a Dollarama for the first time today and was shocked to see the stuff that they had. It wasn't your usual dollar store where it's mostly crappy stuff and sometimes the stuff is more than a dollar. No, here, there was genuinely some cool stuff and the stuff didn't look like it came off the ground and would break about 5 min. after using and everything was $1 or less (Canadian nonetheless!) It reminded me of the days of "Everything's a Dollar" when it first came around in the States. You're tempted to just grab everything off the shelves b/c it's so cheap :p. Of course, some stuff is a total rip-off like drinks, chips, and chocolate bars (unless you compare to a vending machine). The funniest was packages of gum selling at 2 for $1, but the packaging said 45 cents... But there are definitely some good steals.

One lucky person, perhaps even one of my regular readers, will be a receiving no less than 5 gifts during the "$5 tacky gift exchange" come Saturday :p. Shhh... don't tell anyone where I got the gifts from :p.

27 Comments:

Bob said...

that reminds me.. i gotta pick something up for that too! dollarama sounds like as good a place as any.. i wont tell if you wont ;)

Anonymous said...

:P :P Why so many of those?

Anonymous said...

I think people shopping at Dollarama should get there heads checked out all the stuff are junk that fall apart within 1 min. Do you think you are getting your dollars worth? Get real. People should shop at discount store where the items do not fall apart and if they do, the store will exchange the item of course with a receipt, at least those stores respect you. ie the Buck or Two, The $1. Store Plus, The Great Cdn Dollar Store they Rock.

Oh! Yes not to mention almost every day their is a write up in Canada Health Hazards the danger of some items, and you should dispose of it. Not to return it to Dollarama. Because everything you buy at Dollarama is final sale.

Anonymous said...

haha thats cuz all the dollarama stuff is made in china...everything that is cheap is made in china.. damn chinks :P and hey dont diss dollarama they gots good junk hehe

Anonymous said...

that's because it comes from China, exploited people make the stuff.

You pay little for immense inhumanity.

Anonymous said...

Sure, some of the things that Dollarama sells may not be up to snuff but some things are equal to, or better than, the same things sold in the regular stores. For instance, pencil eraser toppers (i.e., when you can buy them). The rubber is softer than regular toppers and do a much more superior job of erasing. Also, their instant glue is excellent.

Anonymous said...

I know! I couldn't stop screaming "Holy crap! It's a dollar!" I saw the signs, but I felt compelled to clarify multiple times .. it all seemed too good to be true ...

Ms. Ly said...

i can't believe this has been the first time you stepped into dollar heaven!

Vince said...

Well, I had gone to dollar stores before, just not Dollerama...

Funny... this post is almost a year old!

Ms. Ly said...

thank reader for my visit to such an old post. it showed up in google reader for whatever reason! haha.

Vince said...

I see that you've subscribed to my comment feed then :)

Ms. Ly said...

since day one!

Anonymous said...

accctually... i work at dollarama and that gum that is labelled as 45 cents isnt 2 for $1.. its 3 for $1.. working out to be around 33 cents instead of 45 cents.. just so you know :) n chips 2 for a dollar and chocolate bars are 65 cents.. not bad i think lol

Anonymous said...

i work at dollarama and yes, there is a no exchange or refund policy. for good reason, everything is a dollar! i have had my fair share of pissed off customers freaking out over $1.14.. ive had glass snapped in my face, threats to sue me over their $1.14 that i wudnt refund, the list goes on. but really, i quite enjoy the products we sell. some are crap, but the majority are actually pretty good and are real brands, ive got a lot at home :) either way, dollarama is great.. its the wal-mart of discount stores, thats how i put it

Anonymous said...

hahahah! u guys are so funny making a good comment about this crappy store. seriously...only dumb people goes to dollarama store. all these sick psychopaths go there, well...not all...hahha, mostly. e

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

if you think all is crap at Dollarama think about it, do you REALLY need to pay more than 1$ for a simple spoon ? fork ? plastic spaghetti/salad spoon ? and the list goes on...they even have empty CD cases... doest it need to be in titanium to be worth YOUR dollar ? it's a damn plastic casing...

you can buy pretty much anything there and have a good time with it, as long as there is no "mechanical" features attached with it... I got all my dishes there... and guess what ? paid them 1$ each...if I break one, I don,t start crying... it's a stupid 1$ to replace... glasses are the same... spoons, forks... and it don't have to be ONLY poors and psychopaths that go there to buy stuff... i'm an IT technician since more than 9 years now... so what ? because of that I have to buy basic stuff more expensive? this is ridiculous... i'm not going to pay a single fork 5$ just because it looks "better"... I don't give a ***t about the looks or the "quality".... it's only a fork after all... and as long as you don't clean them in the dish washer they stay clean as new...

so if you want to spend more money on basic stuff that's your choice mate ;)

Anonymous said...

I love Dollarama. When you go into some "dollar stores", the food products are not exactly fresh. At Dollarama, they move their products very quickly, and nothing is left setting around. Their candy, like Jubes, and Licorice Babies are always fresh. Even if you buy them in a grocery store or drug store on sale, it's usually old stuff they're trying to get rid of. Not at Dollarama. The tools, such as screwdrivers with multiple heads are definately worth $1. If I lose or ruin one, who cares. It's $1. I can also pick up a cheap toy for my neice and nephew, knowing they're gonna destroy it in an afternoon no matter how much I pay for it. And occasionally you can find brand name toys, like Star Wars action figures.

Whenever I need something, I always check Dollarama first. Whether it's mechanical pencils, or envelopes, or a pair of scissors, or cookies, or picture frames, or candles, or a cheap-o public domain DVD, or a calender, or shoe laces. Eventually you figure out what you can and can't buy there. Even if you get a crap item occasionally, the money you're saved makes it worth it.

Anonymous said...

wow, this 2-yr old blog turned into a heated discussion of economics, society and ethics. nevertheless, i agree that dollarama has the "best" stuff of all the dollar discount stores. so far, i haven't met a poor psychopath at my local dollarama, but i look forward to discussing this with them.

Anonymous said...

I also work at dollarama.
Does it really matter. Its a fricken dollar. Theres not much to complain about. People always go. Nooo its 2/$1! Who cares? You only save $0.50. lol.

Anonymous said...

I work at Dollarama....its SUCKS big time only if you people knew how they treat us then maybe you wont shop there.............................

Anonymous said...

I love Dollarama, it certainly increased our standard of living and has also generated a lot of income for China as well. You must also be aware that not all the stuff from dollarama is from China. I have seen many made in Canada items.

Go Dollarama!!

Anonymous said...

I was at Dollarama today:)

I picked up Dryer mate laundry balls, which they sell at Zellars for nearly 10 bucks, Tide Laundry detergent which was written in Chinese writing, facial cleaning wife which I am totally addicted to and John Frieda hair conditioner which was not a knock off(yea they sometimes have brand name stuff)

I think all food product except brand name stuff, spices and snacks, I probably will not buy, however everything else like daily essensials are good enough from dollar store:)

No complendes

Anonymous said...

I worked at Dollarama and I can tell you that they treat their staff like crap. Their goods are worth $1.00 or less. They cut back at production to make it so it can be sold at $1.00 so all you are doing is wasting your money.

I had people say that their party was good well I can tell ya it is just plain junk. They pretend that they are happy to see you but really they just complain that you are coming and bothering them especially when looking for items.

Yes people do demand their money back and we are told to smile and tell them to apply to montreal and send the goods there and they will decide on whether they will give the money back.

I have worked in more than one Dollarama and finally I had enough and walked out along with many of my fellow collegues.

Would I recommend them NEVER!

Anonymous said...

In fact, Dollarama is a lie in a very huge way. Much of the "name" brand products, from candy, to cleaning products, are special reduced sizes made just for them. they show a clear or what the customer thinks is a clear advantage. But in reality, the customer is cheated into paying 20% more than the going rate. Good on ya Dollarama, you steal from the people who think you are doing a service for! koko

Anonymous said...

Very short example here about "Brand Names" I guess most people don't know the Company with that name really didn't make it but hope some of you who state that, never have to experience the Uh, 'side effects' of a very dangerous switcheroo. Compare 2 of the same product from Dollarama and an honest retailer and you'll see what you've NOT seen for far too long. Think the Colgate toothpaste scam awhile ago was the end of all this b.s., think again....

Anonymous said...

I work in a dollarama. And let me tell you, the superiors there treats their people like crap. My old boss was nice tho. But he quit last week because the superior treated him like shit (they, in fact intentionnaly did so to get rid of him, since he was well played thanks to the 22 years he worked for them) Now, the situation is far worse. We get an insane ammount of pressure, the new boss has no respect at all for the emplyees. So little respect that a guy intentionnaly hurt himself (but disguised it as an accident) just to leave. The new boss also managed to get one of my co-worker in a state of burn-out, and thanks to that, a third co-worker quit. They send us over 60 cases of pop-corn, then when we complain we got far too many, they say it's OUR fault for not taking the ''on hands'' correctly.

And the customers aren't helping at all. To add the enourmous ammount of pressure we already get, we have those custommers that cry over their 1.13$ Hell there's one who complained because he said I stole FIVE FREAKING CENTS. He yelled at me for five f***ing cents!

A word for veeryone

1: Don't encourage this store. Even if you have to pay more, go to somewhere like a more local store (I'm not saying wal-mart 'cause I know they also treat their staff like crap)

2: For your own mental and physical health, NEVER EVER apply in a dollarama if you're looking for a job. You will stay at minimum wage to be treated like crap. Also... ever heard of christmas bonuses? Well, Dollarama's christmas bonus is... 10$ (yeah a mere 10$) worth of stuff!

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