The 99 Cents Store

I love a bargain, so it’s no wonder that I make a weekly sojourn to my local 99 Cents Store on 103rd Street. In it, I find all kinds of things I didn’t even realize I needed. Last week, I purchased a new kitchen strainer, a pastry brush, 150 straight pins, (no I didn’t count them) a 4-ounce jar of pitted Spanish olives (sans pimento), a jar of guava preserves, a recycled oversize tote bag, two hideous floral soup bowls, a three pack of white acrylic tube socks--and still received $1.29 in change from my $10. Okay the store is an eyesore--gondolas, cheap chrome bins, hand-written signs and indoor/outdoor carpeting. Who cares, I know it’s not Sephora!

I have never been a big fan of Bob Barker, or “The Price is Right,” but I’m certain I’d do well in the game where contestants guess what the manufacturer's suggested retail prices of many sundry items are.

I hate being ripped off, so it’s no wonder that when I make a weekly sojourn to my local (no name mentioned) grocery store, in it I find all kinds of things I realize I don’t need--at least at the manufacturer's suggested retail price, like Clorox bleach at $1.69 (only 99 cents at the 99 Centa Store), Renuizit Lavender Meadow Air Freshener at $2.39 (only $1.19 at the 99 Cents Store), Electrasol Dishwater Detergent at $3.89 (only $1.29 at the 99 Cents Store). You get the drift.

Just two blocks away from one another, the same items, possibly delivered on the same truck, are 50 percent to 75 percent off. Okay my math isn’t too terrific, but I still manage to save money.

My grocery store may not give a farthing that I’m skipping their aisles 8 and 9, but let me suggest that some smart grocery retailer might want to start their own 99 cents aisle in their store. Take a deeper discount on those items that are being sold competitively (fairly) just a few blocks away, without the huge profit margins. I might even drop a few dollars for a ceramic reindeer, a Santa Maria votive or a jumbo size box of Q-tips.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger