Dollar Tree.
It used to have been an unreal experience witnessing the existence of these stores when they came out. Everything for a $1. No joke. The quality of some things have had corners cut and the quantity might’ve been laughable, but there was a good solid purpose for these stores.
And then I started seeing the signs after a few good solid years of shopping there. The first sign was how they stopped selling eggs. This was before the Bird Flu. They stopped selling eggs because they simply couldn’t afford to buy stock and then the price hike to $1.25 happened.
And now they’ve hiked the prices again to $1.50 for some products in a handful of stores. Additionally, they’ve incorporated items going from $2 ~ $15 so they have long lost the role and title of being the most affordable places to shop.
Gone were the days.
I went to Disneyland for the first time as an adult a couple of years ago. The first day we did not purchase the Geniepass, and observed that unlike the old (free) Fastpass, they would not simply give each line equal priority but instead would let scores of (paid) Geniepass holders through before one regular ticket holder would be let on, regardless of line length. So basically they’ve raised the price of entry further except as more of a hidden fee so some people simply get a much less fun experience than others