I keep seeing aspiring new sellers asking on Reddit if the Dollar Store (Dollar Tree) is a good place to buy inventory to resell online. Here’s what you need to know:

Back in the early 2000’s, The Dollar store, specifically the Dollar Tree, used to be a hit-or-miss but decent place to buy inventory. One major advantage is that Dollar Tree locations often carry a semi-unique selection, based on their demographics and geographic. This mean a Dollar Tree in Florida likely has a slightly different selection than a Dollar Tree in Michigan, which is a plus for the reseller. Additionally, The Dollar Tree does carry some designer brands. Now let’s discuss the problems:

1. Low Profit - On occasion you can find a super good deal, meaning a $5-$7 item. Assuming you pay $1 plus tax, plus listing cost, closing costs, shipping costs (including shipping supplies), you might make around $2, give or take… IF you find a $5 item and you can sell it at $5. However if you find a $5 item and sell it at $4 (because most people don’t want to pay full retail value), now you’re looking at $1 or less profit. While some businesses survive off low-profit, they have to sell, sell, sell like crazy to make it worthwhile, let alone a career.

2. Amazon - Amazon has become a major problem because of it’s low prices. If the item you are buying for $1.06 is $2.50 on Amazon, you are going to have to wait for Amazon to sell all of theirs unless you want to price yours at $2.50 or less. If you are pricing at $2.50 you are going to lose money with every sale, so clearly this isn’t going to work.  The reality is, Amazon is the wealthiest eCommerce site in the world (in history!).  They have buying power that no other company has.  As a reseller you cannot expect to compete with the deals Amazon personally offers. 

3. Junk - Ok, maybe “junk” is a little harsh, but there are some issues with many of the products (not all! But many) that range from:

- Partial Fills (lotion is only ½ full)

- Poor Quality Materials (electric cords that catch on fire, chargers that ruin a cell phone, etc)

- Dangerous Materials (toothpaste containing 10x the legal amount of fluoride)

- It’s Just Ok, at Best. (The Vanilla body wash smells like nothing. The canned green beans taste like cardboard)

- Small Portion. If you look at the quantity you may realize it’s actually not a good deal for the buyer. For example, a pack of 5 trash bags for $1.06 is not a better deal than a pack of 30 trash bags for $3. Equally, a .05-ounce tube of toothpaste for $1..06 is not a better deal than a 3.5oz tube of toothpaste for $2.99. 

4. Retail Arbitrage is NOT a good business plan!!!! Read The 5 Reasons Why Retail Arbitrage Doesn't Really Work