$20 Dollar Tree? What’s Going On with Dollar Tree Prices?

If you are a regular customer at one of the 20 or so Dollar Tree locations in Atlantic, Cape May, or lower Ocean counties, you may have noticed some recent price increases.

From the rumblings I have been hearing, it's not that items have gone above a dollar.

That's old news. Now, some Dollar Tree customers are talking about some items marked up to $10 or $20.

This isn't just happening in South Jersey, either.

Dollar Tree Prices Are Up

If you are a bargain shopper, chances are you are a Dollar Tree shopper.

The discount chain has over 5000 stores in the U.S. and Canada now, and many in South Jersey.

Heck, there are four Dollar Tree stores in Vineland. Mays Landing has two Dollar Trees, and so does Barnegat.

Lately, what they all seem to have in common is that the merchandise costs much more than a dollar.

In 2021, Dollar Tree announced that all items would be increasing in price to $1.25. Most people took it in stride. Inflation was hitting everywhere.

Then, according to MSN.com, the discount chain began to list certain items in the #3 to $5 range.

There was more grumbling about the prices not fitting the name of the store anymore, but the higher-priced items were of a better quality, and that did seem to justify the price increase.

Higher Prices Written on Labels Over Lower Prices

This week, Tim Weisberg from WBSM Radio in New Bedford, MA, went into his local Dollar Tree and found that Halloween inflatables had doubled in price, with the increase written on red labels that were stuck over the previously lower prices.

The $20 inflatables were actually marked $10 underneath, meaning Dollar Tree was charging twice as much as the price printed on the box.

As Tim said in his article, 'We knew inflation was going to continue to be a problem, but I don’t think anyone expected Dollar Tree to become Twenty-Dollar Tree".

Tim says he is still waiting for a response from Dollar Tree's public relations department, but he hasn't heard back yet.

What's been your experience?  Tell me in the comments.