If stopping by a dollar store is on the to-do list in the coming weeks, don't be surprised if you have to dig a little bit deeper into your pocket or purse at checkout.
That's because prices, just like everywhere else, are now going up.
For three decades, Dollar Tree was the one store where bargain shoppers like Willa Davenport knew everything would cost $1.
Signs outside and inside the store said, "Everything $1."
Last October, she found canned food for a dollar, greeting cards for a dollar and party supplies for a dollar.
"I just got paper towels and a birthday card for a dollar each," she said at the time.
Prices Going Up
The "Everything $1" signs have since been replaced by $1.25 signs.
Larissa Liss, a frequent Dollar Tree shopper, says she understands the need to increase prices considering the soaring costs of shipping and materials.
"Prices go up for everything," she said. "You can only get things for a dollar for so long. I knew it eventually was going to happen."
By May, Dollar Tree says all its stores will have raised prices to $1.25, with a few items costing even more.
However, CEO Michael Witynski said the store is still providing "an undeniable value." He added that the store offers great deals whether the item is $1.00, $1.25 or $1.50.
Shopper Diedre Harris says $1.25 is still a bargain.
"It's still worth it," she said.
But other shoppers, like Shannon Carr, are lamenting the loss of one of the last holdouts to rising prices.
"That's why we go there — because it is a dollar, not $1.50," Carr said.
One nugget of good news: greeting cards are still $1, which is one-fifth the cost at chain drugstores.
And that way you don't waste your money.
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