'Nine Dollars Is Insane' — Dollar Tree Shoppers Weren't Ready For The Price Of This Kitchen Staple

If you regularly shop at Dollar General, Family Dollar, or Dollar Tree, there's a good chance you refer to them as the dollar store. You go there to buy stuff for a dollar. Or you used to. In the last few years, we've all seen prices go up. Dollar stores sell things for $1.25, or $1.75, or even $3. Now Dollar Tree has pushed the envelope for some customers with one seemingly innocuous item — Bounty paper towels. You better believe they don't cost a buck. They're selling a pack fo $9.

These aren't just any old paper towels that Dollar Tree is selling. It's a four-pack of Bounty Essentials Select-a-Size paper towels which, based on paper towel math, is actually four triple rolls, or 12 rolls. While dollar stores have been raising prices for years due to broader economic trends, customers on forums like Reddit feel this increase may be a bridge too far, even though buying expensive paper towels may actually save you money in the long run.

Dollar Tree started rolling out significant price changes in March 2025. Many items previously priced at $1.25 became $1.75.This increase was never publicly announced and was just phased in quietly. Other items hit the $3, $5, and $7 price points. Customers took note, and there are serious complaints about some of the more drastic prices, in particular the $9 paper towels.

Dollar Tree's first price increase dates back to 2021, when prices went up to $1.25. Considering the difference in prices between 1950 and today, that's not so bad. The 2025 increase raised prices on existing items and also introduced new items at higher price points. This is where products like Bounty paper towels fit in. Dollar Tree never offered those for a dollar before, so it's not like this was an egregious price hike. There was no lower-priced version. This was part of their effort, as detailed in the Dollar Tree SEC filing, "to expand our multi-price product assortment."

To be fair to the Dollar Tree, they are offering these paper towels at a deal compared to other retailers. You'd pay nearly $3 more for the same thing at Target, and even more at Walmart. Inflation and tariffs have been blamed for the price hikes across the board. Even though these paper towels are cheaper than they would be at Walmart, the optics still don't look right to a lot of customers.

Since the price increases were never well explained, stores often have confusing labels as well. A sticker on a product might read $1.25 while the shelf says $1.75. Other signs say "$3 and up" which can be confusing as well. However, the CEO has said that thousands of items still cost under $2, and there are plenty of hidden gems you can find in the Dollar Tree, even if you have to forgo the $9 paper towels.