Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
It’s no secret that shopping for groceries and household items takes a big bite out of the monthly budget. With food prices always creeping upward, a lot of people turn to discount grocers and dollar stores to make their money go further.
Discount grocery stores, which are also known as salvage and surplus stores, are different from regular grocery stores or even no-frills grocers like Winco. They carry a more-limited stock of items, and don’t feature grocery store amenities like in-house bakeries or butcher counters. Some of the products they carry may be a little rough (dented cans, slightly torn boxes), or approaching “best by” or “sell by” dates. Other products are overstock items – stuff grocery distributors simply have too much of and need to liquidate to make room for other products. Discount grocers also sell plenty of non-food items, like garden supplies, cosmetics and vitamins.
Dollar stores are exactly like they sound – everything they sell is $1. Items range from greeting cards and party supplies to cosmetics and household cleaners. Most feature food departments, including frozen and refrigerated items in some. Some items that end up at dollar stores are seasonal items that other stores didn’t sell, but are still perfectly good. Other items might have blemished labels or dents. Are items safe to eat? Yes. Whether you want to eat them or not is a matter of choice.
On the surface, it seems that if you don’t shop at these discounters for some items, you’re throwing your money away. But are the deals all they’re cracked up to be? And is the quality of what you’re buying up to snuff?
We recently scoured the shelves at Grocery Outlet Bargain Market and Dollar Tree, which are the Portland-area's biggest discounters on food and household items, and found some surprisingly good buys on a number of items. We also found some deals that aren't as good as they seem.
Here are 48 things you should – and shouldn’t – buy at discount grocers and dollar stores.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Items with "Wow" discounts
When Grocery Outlet scores a particularly sweet deal, it marks these specials with signs that say “Wow.” And that’s usually how you’ll react. Recently, they had 2-pound bags of Halos mandarin oranges for $1.99 – a screaming deal! We picked up a bag, and they were easy to peel and perfectly sweet and delicious.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Organic soups
Discount grocers don’t carry as much inventory as regular grocery stores, so you may find yourself limited to one or two varieties of particular items. Case in point: Amy’s organic soups. On a recent visit, they only had cans of split pea and chunky vegetable, but at $1.99 and $2.49 a can respectively, they offered significant savings over regular prices.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy (with reservations): Mystery brands
Discount grocers and dollar stores are filled with mystery brands you’ve probably never heard of – College Inn chicken broth, Echolake Farms frozen waffles, Banquet mayonnaise, Betty Baker macaroni & cheese – often for a fraction of the cost of their big-name counterparts. If you’re not brand-loyal, the savings add up quickly. If you’re not sure about the quality, buy one item and try it out. If it tastes good, you’ll know to stock up next time. If it’s terrible, toss it and consider it a lesson learned.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Sad-looking lemons and limes
During a recent visit to Grocery Outlet, we saw lemons and limes that looked anemic, priced 2 for $1 – the same or more than you would pay for better-looking citrus as the grocery store.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Wine
Grocery Outlet has a wine section filled with deeply discounted bottles, many of which are sold at grocery stores at significantly higher prices. They even have Northwest pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot gris. Not sure if you’ll like a wine? Attend one of their regular in-store wine tastings, when you can score even deeper discounts on the wines you try.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Gourmet cheese
Grocery Outlet’s specialty cheese case is small, and doesn’t offer the variety that you’ll find at the big Murray’s counter at Fred Meyer. But you’ll find good buys on organic string cheese, Dubliner Irish cheese, and Alouette garlic and herb cheese spread.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy (with reservations): Vitamins and supplements
At Grocery Outlet, they have an impressive range of vitamins and supplements, most under the Naturalist label. Think of these like generic drugs – they probably have the same potency and active ingredients as major brands, but at a fraction of the cost. The same can’t be said of dollar store vitamins, many of which are manufactured in China. If you need calcium or iron supplements for your bone and blood health, do you really want to spend just $1?
Grant Butler | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Deceptive look-alike products
Dollar stores are notorious for selling cut-rate products in packaging that looks nearly identical to big-name brands. On a recent visit to Dollar Tree, we saw cans of shaving cream and bottles of liquid hand soap that were doppelgangers for Edge and Softsoap. You might mistakenly pick these up, thinking you’re getting a high-quality product for a song, only to discover it’s nothing but sour notes.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Personal-care cosmetics
Both Grocery Outlet and Dollar Tree offer name-brand toothpastes, deodorants, shaving creams and mouth wash at great prices, though selection is limited. If you’re married to a particular variety of Crest or Colgate, for example, you may not find them here.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Toothbrushes
Toothbrushes are a great dollar store find. You’ll find brushes by brands like Reach, Aim and Colgate, sometimes in multi-packs of two brushes.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Dried herbs and spices
Fresh, potent herbs and spices are a cornerstone of good cooking, and the cut-rate seasonings we tried had disappointing flavors. While many Grocery Outlet products deliver high quality at low prices, here’s a case of getting what you paid for. And the dollar store spices we picked up looked and tasted like they were ready for an AARP membership.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Local beer and hard cider
Grocery Outlet sells an impressive selection of beer made in Oregon and Washington, including brews by Laurelwood Brewing Co., Base Camp Brewing Company, and Rogue Ales, all at $1-$2 less than grocery stores.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Household cleaning supplies
Discount grocers and dollar stores both carry name-brand cleaning supplies at significant savings, including dish soap, scouring pads, laundry detergent and even Earth-friendly cleaners.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Pet food and toys
Grocery Outlet has popular brands of dog and cat food, along with kitty litter and chew bones, though selection is limited. At dollar stores, you’ll find perfectly find supplies like collars, toys and pet food lids that you’d pay a lot more for in a regular grocery or pet supply store.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Out-of-season food storage
Who cares if it’s April and your zipper freezer bags feature snowflakes and gingerbread men? It still feels like the holidays in your freezer. And the money you save can go into your Christmas fund.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Regularly-priced pasta
You can score a pound of off-brand pasta for about a buck at both discount grocers and dollar stores. But why? Pasta is one of those items that’s always on sale at regular grocery stores for a 10 to 25 cents less than the discount stores, and at the grocery store, you’re getting good buys on proven brands like Ronzoni and Barilla.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Sparkling water
Flavored sparkling water like Talking Rain or the Italian-import S. Pellegrino are almost half the price of what you’d pay at the grocery store. Sorry, there aren’t any discounts on the 10-cent bottle deposit.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Frozen foods
Discount grocers have large sections of frozen dinners, frozen fish and meat, and frozen vegetables at significant savings. You’ll even find some expensive specialty items, like Beyond Meat vegetarian squash chili for as much as 75 percent off regular prices. And as long as they remain frozen, frozen foods are usually good well past their “best by” dates. You’ll also find frozen foods at many dollar stores, though the cases are likely to be filled with mystery brands you’ve never heard of.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Non-organic rice and beans
Grocery Outlet has plenty of non-organic bags of white and brown rice, and dried split peas, black beans and garbanzos. But you’ll find all of these for a lot less in the bulk section of most grocery stores, particularly no-frills stores like WinCo.
Grant Butler | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Organic grains and seeds
You don’t have to drop a bundle at Whole Foods or New Seasons to get hot power grains and seeds like quinoa, chia and freekeh. Recently, we saw 28-ounce bags of a Sonoma Valley Farms blend of barley, freekeh and bulgur for just $4.99, and 24-ounce bags of Just Foods hulled hemp seeds for $11.99 – about 60 percent less than grocery prices.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Tea
You’ll find brand-name teas from Stash and Lipton at discount grocers, along with off-brands at dollar stores. If your taste in tea doesn’t lean towards expensive brands, you’ll probably find something you’ll like here for a lot less.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Jarred pasta sauce
You can find jarred pasta sauces from Ragu and Bertolli for about $2 at any grocery store – one of them is always on sale. And at regular grocery stores, you’ll have more selection. If you’re at Grocery Outlet and you need pasta sauce, go ahead and pick up a jar. Just don’t make a special trip for it, or fool yourself that you’re really saving money over regular grocery prices.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Tortilla chips
Grocery Outlet sells Santitas tortilla chips for 21 cents under the $2 asking price that’s printed on the bag. They also offer significant savings on 15-ounce and 24-ounce “Fiesta size” bags of local favorite Juanita’s.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Single-serving bags of chips
At dollar stores, you’ll find 1-1/2 ounce single-serving bags of potato and corn chips – the sort you buy out of the office vending machine for 99 cents.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Canned tuna
No pantry is complete without some canned protein for meals on the fly, and chunk light tuna is perfect for in-a-flash tuna salad or weeknight tuna casseroles. And it’s one of the best buys at Grocery Outlet, where it’s just 79 cents for Starkist (even less if you buy three and get one free).
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Canned refried beans
Here’s a pantry protein you should buy at the regular grocery store. Grocery Outlet offers only one variety of Rosarita refried beans, priced 10 cents higher than the everyday price you’ll find elsewhere, so you’re paying more for less selection. You can save on the Finest mystery brand, but we can’t vouch for the quality.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Vegan refrigerator case products
On a plant-based diet? In addition to those jaw-dropping deals on organic grains, Grocery Outlet is a go-to place for vegan cheese and soy chorizo, which can boost the flavor of tofu scrambles or veggie tacos.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy (with reservations): Fresh meat
Don’t expect to find premium cuts of ribeye or New York strip steaks at discount grocers, but you can find good buys on budget-stretching cuts like skirt steak and top sirloin, which are good for making Thai beef salad or stir-fried beef and broccoli. There are good buys on chicken, but if you’re picky about things like antibiotics, and pasture-raised meat, you’ll need to shop elsewhere.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Local brown eggs
Grocery Outlet carries Omega 3 cage-free brown eggs from Willamette Egg Farms for $3.99 a dozen.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Dairy
While stock is limited, discount grocers feature dairy cases with brand-name yogurt, including Greek-style versions, and dairy-free alternatives. You’ll also find Oregon-made Tillamook cheese, and other dairy items at significant savings. On a recent visit, expiration dates for everything we looked at were far in the future.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Mushy avocados
On a recent visit to Grocery Outlet, we found two-pound bags of tiny avocados that were soft and mushy. No thanks! We also spotted large avocados, which were in better shape, but priced at two for $4 – the same price you would pay at most grocery stores.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Big bags of potatoes, onions and garlic
Discount grocers are a great place to stock up on produce items with long storage life, like potatoes, onions and garlic. 5- and 10-pound bags of russet potatoes, for example, are about a dollar less than you’d pay at the regular grocery store. Just make sure to look the bags over closely to make sure that you don't see any signs of decay, and store them in a cool, dry place once you get them home.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Unripe bags of bananas
At Grocery Outlet, there’s a big sign trumpeting “Banana time” over three-pound bags of bright-green bananas. Well, giving how far these have to go to ripen, banana time won’t be for four or five days. And priced at $1.99 a bag, they pencil out to about the same price you would pay for non-organic bananas at a regular grocery store, where you can pick out ripe ones to eat now, and green ones to enjoy in a few days.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy (with reservations): Fresh bread
Both discount grocers and dollar stores feature loaves of fresh bread, but look closely at the “best by” dates on the package. On a recent visit to Grocery Outlet, there were loaves of Franz 24-grain and seeded breads for just $2.99. But they were within a few days of their “best by” date. If you’re making a bunch of sandwiches for a picnic or a car trip, this is a good buy. But if it takes you a week to go through a loaf of bread, the last few slices from the bag may taste dry or stale.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Sugary kids cereals
OK, allow us to get on our soap box for a minute. Discount grocers and dollar stores have a limited selection of cereal, and almost all of it is loaded with sugar and aimed at children. And who knows what's in those $1 boxes of cereal at the dollar store. Even when you’re trying to save money, this stuff is bad news. Sermon over.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Greeting cards
Dollar stores are great places to buy greeting cards. We were surprised at how extensive the selection of cards is at Dollar Tree, where you can find something for every occasion, ranging from birthday to sympathy. Many are printed on heavy card stock, and there are even some pretty clever greetings. If you send seasonal cards, you’ll find boxes of a dozen Christmas cards for just $1. That’s less than 10 cents a card! Email is handy, but there are times when an old-fashioned greeting card is more appropriate. But saying you care this way doesn’t have to cost a bundle.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Wrapping paper
At birthday parties, baby showers and on Christmas morning, colorful wrapping paper is a delight for about two seconds before it’s torn off and tossed aside. Why pay a premium when you can find nice wrapping paper, bows and ribbons at the dollar store.
Grant Butler | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Party supplies
Here’s another dollar store no-brainer. Kids birthday parties can get expensive if you go all out with decorations, gift bags and noise-makers. On a recent visit to Dollar Tree, we found a great selection of party supplies in a variety of themes appropriate for both boys and girls. Sure, “Frozen”-themed décor may feel a bit dated, but it’s just $1. The best party supply buy: $1 Mylar balloons, already inflated. No party supply store or florist can match that price.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Toys made in China
Don’t let your kids talk you into cheaply made toys that were manufactured in China. Dollar store toys often feature lots of small parts that pose a choking risk, and bags of plastic action figures are so poorly rendered that you can’t tell whether they are supposed to be cowboys, soldiers or ninjas. These toys are destined to be played with once before they are discarded or forgotten.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Canned soup
We were surprised to find cans of brand-name soup at Dollar Tree, including deeply discounted Progresso and Campbell’s. These Campbell’s chicken & noodle soups are $1, but contain 25 percent more condensed soup than the 10-ounce cans that go for $1 at mainstream grocery stores. That’s bankable savings if this is a type of soup you regularly buy.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy (with reservations): Boxed macaroni & cheese
Parents and college students know that boxed macaroni & cheese dinners are a time-saving meal for busy nights. At Grocery Outlet, you can find boxes of organic mac from Horizon for about 25-percent less than mainstream grocery stores. Want to make your mac & cheese dollar stretch further? They’ve got boxes of mystery brand mac for just 39 cents – dorm-room denizens, this one’s for you!
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Storage containers
Here’s another great Dollar Tree deal: Betty Crocker BPA-free food storage containers, which come in packages of three or four containers for just $1. They have a wide variety of sizes for portions of leftovers large and small, as well as containers designed to be used in school lunches.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Gardening supplies
Don’t expect to see a garden center’s variety of plants and supplies at Grocery Outlet or Dollar Tree. But check out the deeply discounted bags of potting soil, tomato cages and growing stakes that will set you back a lot less. That leave you more money to spend on heirloom seeds and vegetable starts.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Plastic wrap and aluminum foil
Dollar Tree has tubes of plastic wrap, parchment paper and aluminum foil from big-name makers like Glad and Reynolds, for just a buck.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Dollar store meat
Dollar stores with freezer sections routinely feature a special of frozen 3.5-ounce top sirloin steaks for $1. Do the math: That’s more than $4.50 a pound, which is hardly a screaming deal. There’s also small packages of frozen chicken and fish from producers you’ve never heard of, but when you pencil out the numbers, you can get higher-quality meat from regular stores from producers that are a known commodity for just a little bit more money.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Hot sauce
Dollar Tree has big bottles of a variety of different hot sauces for just $1, including Texas Pete, a less-vinegary take on Louisiana-style hot sauce that you’ll want to pour on rice and beans, jambalaya and just about everything.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Buy: Ramen noodles
College students, you can score five packages of Top Ramen for just $1, offering a cheap way to tap into the hot ramen craze. Just ditch the packet of nasty seasoning, which is mostly salt and artificial flavors, and cook them with your own broth, fresh veggies and ramen toppings of choice.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Don't buy: Checkout line candy
It’s no secret that all stores put items in the checkout line to tempt you into impulse purchases. Resist this urge at the dollar store, where candy like M&Ms and Hershey bars sell for $1, when they are usually 75 cents each or 2 for $1 at regular grocery stores.
Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive
Did we miss your favorite bargain?
Did we miss one of your favorite finds at discount grocers and dollar stores? Or do you think it's too much trouble to hit multiple stores to maximize your savings? Share your favorite money-saving tips in the comments.
Looking for more grocery shopping tips?
Looking for more ways to be a smart grocery shopper? Here are some products we love (and some we absolutely loathe), along with money-saving strategies.
- 51 best Oregon groceries that show why this is the tastiest place to eat.
- Fed up! 23 dumb groceries that make our blood boil.
- 8 strategies for saving with bulk foods.
- 6 strategies for cutting costs on pantry staples.
- Are you one of these 14 grocery store jerks?
-- Grant Butler
503-221-8566; @grantbutler
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