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Dollar Tree confirms ‘sneaky’ cost change as employees reveal more are on the way – look for ‘red’ warning sign

DOLLAR Tree has confirmed that a price switch-up is quietly being rolled out at the chain’s thousands of US spots, forcing customers to shell out more cash for the same products.

As the discount giant marks up its prices once again, employees have revealed that more cost jumps are on the way – just look for the warning sign.

An employee works at a cash register at a Dollar Tree Inc. store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Dollar Tree released earnings figures on March 4. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Dollar Tree is once again rolling out price increases[/caption]

Dollar Tree store is seen in Chicago, United States, on October 17, 2022. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Dollar Tree is one of the largest discount stores in the US, with over 9,000 stores across the US and Canada[/caption]

Dollar Tree, formerly named Only $1.00, originally started with a fixed price of just $1 per item.

After 35 years at that price, the chain jumped to selling items for $1.25 in 2021, also announcing it would expand merchandise to include $3 and $5 items.

Dollar Tree has continued bumping up its prices, with stores increasing their base price from $1.25 to $1.50 for some items, also raising the maximum price to $7. 

Shopping expert Jeff Rossen shared a Facebook reel discussing the recent “sneaky price hikes” that Dollar Tree was secretly rolling out.

Employees at the dollar store had told him that while customers were used to most items being priced at $1.25, that was “over,” as several items were climbing in price by 40%.

The base price of many items is now $1.50 or even $1.75, with Rossen noting that shoppers were already seeing the same products costing more.

He shared that prices had gone up on cleaning supplies and faux flowers, with employees alerting him that more product categories would see price jumps in the next week or two.

“But Dollar Tree hasn’t officially announced it. They’re doing it quietly,” said Rossen, telling his viewers to keep their eyes peeled for a warning sign: red price stickers.

“If you see a price in red, that means that item’s price just jumped,” he said.

Facebook users expressed their frustration at the thought of paying more for the same products, with one shopper saying that Dollar Tree was “slitting its own throat” by raising costs.


“The consumer is getting ‘tree-mendously’ ripped off,” joked another customer, as a third commented that the chain should switch its name to “Money Tree.”

PRICE JUMP

Dollar Tree began raising its price cap to $7 in March 2024 in an effort to expand its multi-price assortment.

The chain also hoped to boost its profit by offering items at higher price points, including goods priced between $1.50 and $7.

At the time, Dollar Tree also increased the base price for some items from $1.25 to $1.50.

Dollar Tree’s Biggest Price Hikes

A number of Dollar Tree products are now costing shoppers more than the base $1.25 as the discount chain grows its multi-price assortment in an effort to raise its profit.

For example, shoppers have spotted cleaning supplies such as brooms, dusters, and mops rise from $1.25 to $1.50

Floral products have jumped from $1.25 to $1.75, while some customers saw food items like ramen, bread, and buns increase from $1.25 to $1.50.

Kitchen products including aluminum foil and foil pans now cost $1.75.

A variety of other products may soon become more expensive, including glassware, batteries, plastic storage containers for food, and plastic cups.

The company planned to roll out more than 300 new items with prices ranging from $1.50 to $7 as Dollar Tree expanded its multi-price assortment in over 3,000 stores.

Former Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling revealed last fall that he was satisfied from the results of the chain’s pricing strategy.

“We are encouraged by the continuous progress we are making in the transformation underway at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, despite immense pressures from a challenging macro environment,” he said in a statement.

“Customers are responding favorably to initiatives like our expanded multi-price offering and we are already seeing a meaningful sales lift at the 1,600 Dollar Tree stores that have been converted to our newest in-line multi-price format.”

Contrary to the CEO’s comments, the price changes did not sit well with a number of Dollar Tree fans.

“Just call it 7 below… No longer a dollar,” complained one customer on Facebook.

“Dollar Tree not even a dollar anymore… what has the world come to??????” cried another.

Dollar Tree’s top boss announced at the time that thousands of locations would convert to the multi-price format.

“With thousands of stores left to convert, we believe we are still in the very early innings of this rollout, with many years of runway left ahead of us,” said the CEO.

The price hikes currently underway are the result of increased costs and the need to maintain profitability in such a volatile inflationary environment, with tariffs on China also cutting into profits.

Although Dollar Tree is charging consumers more money for the same products, fans still flock to the discount store for all its deals.

For example, a former Dollar Tree worker revealed that she still shops there for a must buy $1.25 item that everyone overlooks.

Plus, candy is flying off the shelves after going viral on TikTok – but there is another place to get all the flavors.

Dollar Tree pricing

Despite the name of the store, Dollar Tree recently added items that cost more than $1 to its inventory.

Most items at the store cost no more than $1.25, but items in the Dollar Tree Plus section cost up to $5.

Dollar Tree introduced Plus aisles to 100 locations in 2019 as part of an effort to diversify its products.

By 2022, Dollar Tree had added the items to over 1,500 locations.

“We believe testing additional price points above $1 for Dollar Tree products will enable us over time to expand our assortments, introduce new products and meet more of our customers’ everyday needs,” president and CEO Michael Witynski said in a statement.

“Our brand promise is that customers get great value for what they spend at Dollar Tree. We will continue to be fiercely protective of that promise, regardless of the price point.”

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