5 things to avoid at a dollar store

5 things to avoid at a dollar store

Full story:

https://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2004078946_consumerdollar18.html

By the Editors of Consumer Reports

An aluminum baking pan. Lip gloss. Sewing scissors. Every item $1 or

thereabouts.

Picking through the merchandise at dollar stores can seem like a treasure hunt.

But investigations by Consumer Reports’ researchers have turned up some dicey

deals. And let the buyer beware: Dollar shops and closeout stores have become

destinations for shoddy products, as manufacturers have sometimes cut corners on

safety, trying to meet demand for rock-bottom prices.

Here are five items you should think twice about purchasing if you’re shopping

in one of these discount stores.

Vitamins

Some multivitamins bought at dollar stores didn’t have one or more nutrients

listed on the label. Some did not dissolve properly, so pills didn’t break down

fast enough to be absorbed.

Get this instead: A better buy are name brands such as Centrum or Bayer

One-A-Day. In CR’s tests, those brands dissolved properly and all had the

claimed nutrients. Or simply look for a label that says the product is verified

by U.S. Pharmacopeia or NSF International.

Electrical products

Be wary of off-price items such as Christmas lights, extension cords and fans —

they could have fake labels vouching for their safety. That means the product

could, for example, have undersized wiring that can overheat and cause a fire.

Get this instead: Seek products certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and

other independent labs, such as Intertek ETL Semko and the Canadian Standards

Association (CSA), which ensure conformity to safety standards.

Look for the UL hologram to ensure the certification is real . (The label must

generally be tagged or embossed right on the product.) You can also check the

UL’s Web site, at http://www.ul.com, to see if a product’s brand name is certified

(click on “consumers,” then “certification”).

Toys for kids under 3

By law, toys with small parts or sharp edges must be labeled as inappropriate

for children under 3. But some imported toys, particularly those made in China,

might be mislabeled or unlabeled.

Get this instead: To be safe, stick to toys with larger parts. How large? If any

piece of the toy is small enough to pass through the tube of a toilet-paper

roll, it could be unsafe for toddlers. That’s good advice, no matter where you

buy toys.

Soundalike brand names

When investigators visited one dollar store, they bought Dinacell batteries

packaged to look like Duracells. They later leaked acid. Counterfeit goods

sometimes have brand names that imitate well-known brands, says Travis Brown

Jr., general counsel for BuySafe, a company that guarantees online transactions.

For example, a fake Louis Vuitton bag might be labeled “Louis Vitton.”

Get this instead: The real stuff. You need to look closely at the packaging to

make sure you’re not getting a fake.

Soft vinyl lunch boxes

Several brands of soft, insulated lunch boxes — even those found at regular

department stores — have sometimes tested positive for lead, which can transfer

to unwrapped food and your children’s hands.

The lead levels in these products alone are unlikely to be high enough to cause

lead poisoning, but exposure is cumulative, so lead should be avoided whenever

possible. Although several states have issued recalls for these lead-bearing

products, CR has found them in dollar stores.

Get this instead: Look for soft lunch boxes lined with nylon, not polyvinyl

chloride, also known as PVC or vinyl.

Wherever you shop, be cautious of extraordinary bargains. Products that are far

less expensive than comparable items sold elsewhere could be cheap because

they’re counterfeit or otherwise defective. And avoid no-name products. A

manufacturer’s name and address is no guarantee of safety, but it does mean that

you or the authorities can track down a legitimate corporation to remedy

problems.

Information

Consumer Reports: http://www.consumerreports.org.