Dollar Tree Items You Should Never Buy

When you’re shopping at Dollar Tree, it’s easy to get carried away with their $1.25 pricing and end up with a cart full of items.

While it can be tempting to stock up on household essentials and seasonal decor for a fraction of the price you’d pay elsewhere, not all Dollar Tree items are created equal.

In fact, there are some Dollar Tree Items You Should Never Buy due to their poor quality, potential health hazards or for the fact you can get that item elsewhere for a better price.

Below I’ve gathered my top Dollar Tree items you should never buy and explain why they’re not worth the savings. So before you load up your shopping cart, read on to learn what to skip at Dollar Tree.

Make sure you also check out my list of Dollar Tree Grocery Items and Dollar Tree Items to Always Buy.

Dollar Tree Items You Should Never Buy

Batteries

Now, I know some people will disagree with me on this but let me just say, dollar store batteries never last as long as they claim they will. In fact, there have been studies done on the longest lasting batteries.

The brands that Dollar Tree sells is right at the bottom of those studies…

I’ve purchased batteries for my kids toys before from Dollar Tree and they always drain quickly and we are constantly replacing them costing us more money.

This is one item I will pay more for so in the long run, they last longer.

Paper Products

Paper products are something I either get for free using coupons or I stock up in bulk at Costco and Sam’s Club because it’s such a better deal.

The paper products such as paper towels and toilet paper at Dollar Tree don’t last long, are thin and tear easily resulting in you using more, and getting less for your money.

The same goes for paper plates. I’ve found that the ones from Dollar Tree are quite thin and you end up having to double or triple plates to use for food.

I’ll stick to buying these items in bulk at Costco or in smaller quantities at Walmart or Target.

Note: The one exception is the plastic clear plates you can sometimes find at Dollar Tree. These are great quality but I can’t always find them.

Laundry Detergent

Unless you’re traveling and need a small amount to do laundry while on vacation, the laundry detergent sizes at Dollar Tree are not worth the cost. They are such tiny amounts that you end up going through them quickly.

Again, buying laundry products in bulk will save you the most money in the long run.

Electronic Items

Any time I ever purchased any electronic items such as a charger or headphones from Dollar Tree, they’ve stopped working within days or weeks.

These items are just not worth the money. Spend a little more and get higher quality items that will last you a long time.

Basically Anything on this Aisle

Aside from the glass candle holders, skip anything on this aisle if you care about your health and well-being.

Many of these items contain toxic chemicals you would be releasing into your home and ultimately, end up breathing in.

These items can cause headaches and all sorts of health issues so just skip them altogether.

Bar Soap

Again, unless you specifically need a trial size of bar soap for a vacation, I’d skip buying these at Dollar Tree.

You will end up paying more per bar than if you buy these items in bulk even at Target or Walmart.

Trash Bags and Storage Bags

While Dollar Tree does sell name brand trash bags (Glad) and plastic storage bags (Hefty) these quantities are so low, the price doesn’t really make up for it.

You can often get store brand items like this from Walmart or Target that are better quality and you get more for around the same price.

I’ve personally noticed that the off brand trash bags and storage bags at Dollar Tree tend to tear/rip and end up being a waste of money.

Dish Soap

While Dollar Tree does sell Dawn and other name brand dish soap, these again are tiny bottles that don’t end up being worth the price.

I often find better deals at CVS or Walgreens that give me the full size bottles for $0.99 (watch for sales/coupons on these items) resulting in way more dish soap for less than the cost of these at Dollar Tree.

The exception here is, if you can find the full-size bottles of Palmolive dish soap – those are a great price and are worth it but I don’t always find them.

Shaving Cream

The same rule goes for shaving cream.

While Dollar Tree does carry name brand shaving cream, these are much smaller quantities so you can spend about $0.50 more at the grocery store and get double the amount of shaving cream for your money.

I also often get shaving cream for free or nearly free at Walgreens and CVS so this is not worth the cost in my opinion.

What items at Dollar Tree do you avoid?