Dollar Tree vs Dollar General: What Consumers Say in Online Reviews

A Dollar Tree complaint has a similar tone, explaining that almost “every isle was cluttered with shopping carts, empty carts or store cards full of [merchandise] that needed to be stocked.”The aisles were so cluttered that the customer started to move them to access items on the shelves and was told, "Don't touch things."The situation escalated to the point that the customer was followed into the aisles, and police were called. The customer does not plan to return to the store and claims it is not the first issue with this particular place:

I'm fine with NOT going back to shop there. This is something I have heard from others within the last couple of years about just how bad this store has gotten [Montana].

Expired Products and Other Quality Concerns

The conflict over the better deals at Dollar Tree and Dollar General isn’t going to be solved by considering the freshness of the food items. Both stores have complaints about expired items being sold. 

For example, at Dollar Tree review #5321083, a customer discovered that they are "selling, expired milk" - the expiration date was 09/18/2023, and the accident happened "on Saturday November 11th." When she called, she also learned, "the phone lines are down so I cannot get a hold of anybody."

In a similar Dollar General complaint, a customer discovered that items they purchased at one location were expired. When she went to a different location, “the same products were expired also.”The customer called corporate, and the company called back a week later to reassure them that they "could dispose of the bad products" since the consumer had receipts. Unfortunately, later she was told

now that I didnt have the products (which was many many days later) that I couldnt get a refund…So Im just out of the money I spent at the store for bad unusable inedible products.

Raising Prices and Discrepancies

Comparing Dollar Tree vs Dollar General, they are discount stores, but both have their share of pricing questions and complaints. At Dollar General, a customer complained about the items stocked in the cooler, as well as rising prices on all of the merchandise. The customer couldn’t understand:

 DG prices are climbing higher than WalMart's prices, something that really surprised me. The reason I started shopping at DG was for the lower prices plus availability of products.

Dollar Tree doesn’t escape the complaints about prices, however. A recent reviewer claims in feedback #5518585 that the store recently 

Raised prices without notifications to public or stating on door of price increases.I was charged $150 more than I anticipated due to price increases.

Coupon Challenges

Many customers know that shopping with coupons can save quite a bit of money. When you combine Dollar General or Dollar Tree coupons with the already low prices, customers can save even more. While Dollar Tree accepts manufacturers’ coupons, per their FAQ on the company’s website, there are no specific Dollar Tree coupons for customers to clip. 

Dollar General, on the other hand, accepts both manufacturers’ coupons as well as specific Dollar General Coupons. On the company’s website, there are Dollar General coupons you can “clip” electronically and coupons that can be printed before shopping in the store. Perhaps it is these store-specific coupons that boost the number of complaints. Currently, there are more coupon complaints at Dollar General than at Dollar Tree stores.

One Dollar General customer accused the company of “ripping people off” when they tried to use a digital coupon that didn’t work in complaint #5514579. They explain 

a digital coupon did not give me a discount and there was no manager in the store that could refund me my money for the product. The customer service was awful and it happens every time I go in the store

Tips for Smart Shopping at Dollar Stores

Want to be sure you will have a positive shopping experience at Dollar Tree or Dollar General? Consider these tips:

Watch the price tags. Not everything is a dollar at dollar stores, and your bill can creep up quickly if you’re not watching the actual price on many of the items.

Use coupons. Use digital or manufacturer’s coupons to get even bigger savings on already inexpensive items.

Don’t look for quality. Dollar store items are cheap, and they aren’t made to last. Focus on finding items you are going to use quickly or only use two times to avoid constantly replacing something you need to use for years or even weeks.

Avoid temptation.  It’s easy to spend extra money in dollar stores because everything seems cheap. Work with a list and avoid browsing the aisles because you’ll easily pick up an extra ten, twenty, or fifty items that explode your final bill.

Finding What Works for You

Everyone likes saving money, but to make the most of shopping at dollar stores, you need to be practical, understand how the stores work, and avoid the temptation to buy things you don't need that might run up the bills. If you've had a great experience, or perhaps one that wasn't so good with Dollar Tree vs Dollar General, leave a review on PissedConsumer or join the conversation in the comments below this article. 

*Disclaimer: Ranking and statistics are based on our users’ review texts and Pissed Consumer posters’ reviews. Also, a company’s rating is calculated using a mathematical algorithm that evaluates the information in the profile, including users’ rating, the number of resolved issues, the number of company’s responses, etc. The algorithm is subject to change in the future.