How Awesome are Dollar Stores? And Rock & Republic: headed to a Kohl's near you

The answer is that they are pretty damn awesome!

I mainly speak of this when I go to Dollar Tree.  I love that place and it loves me.  Now being a savvy dollar store shopper is not something that happens overnight.  The low prices confuse you and you go into a buying frenzy.  In the end you spend way more that you normally would have because everything is "just a dollar".

But be mindful and comparison shop.  Also it helps to bring a calculator along to help breakdown what a real value is and what a phony value is.

When first getting acquainted with dollar stores, shop around.  Different stores have different deals and different inventory, even if they're the same franchise.  Do not overlook small family-owned stores either.  They can be a treasure chest of goodies.

Also do not neglect your discounts stores like Ross and TJ Maxx.  They still have great deals if you look hard enough.  This goes for drug stores as well.  Most of the time you can find items sale priced for cheap.

Also, bring cash if you can.  It makes it easier to control spending and is guaranteed to be accepted anywhere.

So now then.... onto Rock & Republic.  While I think paying over $150 for jeans is stupid, I do admit to buying them for the equally stupid amount of $80+.  About a year ago I went to a sale for Rock & Republic.  I ended up buying 4 pairs of jeans and have yet to wear one to this day (yeah it's a sickness).  Now I am wise enough to know that when a brand offers heavy discounts that they usually aren't doing so well and are trying to liquidate.  This happened with Goldenbleu and now it's happened to Rock & Republic.  The brand was sold by the owner and they are now in the works of setting up a clothing line at Kohl's.  Now I give Kohl's props because they have a great selection of designers including Vera Wang.  

But what do all of us suckers do with our overpriced denim?  Can we really feel good about rocking them when soon there will be an affordable option available?

Will the value plummet further down or will they become collector items?

They also have a cosmetics line that was stupid expensive as well for a non-established brand in cosmetics.  Would I pay over $200 for bronzer?  Rock & Republic though people would.  And although the packaging is very pretty indeed, could anyone really justify that?

These are also being sold off at steep discounts on their site and on flash sale sites such as Hautelook.com if anyone is interested.  Not too shabby at all.  I got a lip gloss and 3 eye shadows for less than $30 after shipping and tax.  Still a bit high for some, but reasonable for me.

Folks, get whatever liquidated stuff you can get your hands on (if you're interested) before the whole empire collapses.