If it's Very Cheap, It Probably IS
By Mr.e
Behold the ‘Dollar Store’, latest reincarnation of the ‘Five
& Dime’ theme.
Perhaps the name was been changed to keep up with inflation. Or it was a name
of an actual store of that kind and now through the power of jargon and other
retail or God forbid marketing lingo, all such enterprises are now called that.
I really don’t know.
A fair number of these purveyors of low quality goods litter our neighborhood,
attracting customers like so many flies. Shiny plastic things stacked outside
on sidewalks claw at the roaming eyeball, hoping to lure a paying customer into
the shop itself.
The allure of cheap stuff is almost irresistible to many. From those birthday
cake candles and plastic Jesus statues to that box of assorted hook screws (many
don’t even have threads) and assorted food stuffs, this kind of store can
entertain and hook even the most discerning shopper. Hey, this writer once found
a pretty cool little item, a metal toy actually.
One of these stores around here literally has not enough room inside to display
all of its wares. The outside display has to be set up every morning just to
allow passage down narrow and floor to ceiling isles of stuff. Even the ceiling
space is put to good use. Every inch of it is hung with a wide assortment of
baskets of varying sizes. Come to think of it, I didn’t see any fire extinguishers
for sale or hung in strategic spots. If you like shopping and spelunking this
could be the store for you. It’s a tad claustrophobic for me.
Shop once, shop twice, heck buy the darned thing three or four times. Remember
the set of rubber spatulas you bought. The first time you washed them they warped
and disintegrated in the dishwater. You just don’t know what you’ve
got ‘till it’s gone.
The real dilemma with buying cheap plastics and other household items of low
quality is just that. Because the kitchen goods don’t last very long they
are constantly being added to our overburdened landfills.
Over the course of recent dollar store history, some changes have been noted.
Disturbing changes to the names. This past week I spotted another plastic eyesore
store with the name of ‘Top Quality Twoonie Emporium’. Guess the price
of kitsch is about to be indexed, eh?