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Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

(www.theguardian.com)
510 points bookofjoe | 1 comments | 07 Dec 25 14:37 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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parpfish ◴[07 Dec 25 16:30 UTC] No.46182908[source]▶
an interesting contrast that i think about a lot:

- in rural america, there are dollar stores everywhere that overcharge for small items. people treat them as a necessary evil and begrudgingly shop there.

- in nyc, there are corner bodegas everywhere that overcharge for small items. they are generally seen as beloved neighborhood institutions.

so... what's the difference? corporate owned vs family owned? length of time in community? presence of cute cat at the register?

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1. inglor_cz ◴[07 Dec 25 16:33 UTC] No.46182933[source]▶
Once upon a time I lived near the Prague city centre, and if the intent of such a corner shop is to rip off tourists and one-time visitors, the locals don't mind - at least as long as cheaper alternatives off the most notorious areas exist and are usable for them (Lidl etc.)

Quite to the contrary, the locals are sometimes happy to have such overcharged options at hand, for example if they are throwing a party and find out that they are short on vodka+cigs, and it is 1 am and all the regular shops are closed.