Atlanta , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Want to boost your spending power ? Try giving your wallet a break by shopping at a dollar store . Americans have embraced the four leading chains -- Dollar General , Family Dollar , Dollar Tree and the 99¢ Only store -- in droves during the recession . This year , Dollar General 's sales were up almost 10 percent quarter-over-quarter , and they 're opening 450 new stores , according to The New York Times . Dollar Tree , meanwhile , planned to open 235 new stores this year . And Family Dollar 's early 2009 numbers pointed to sales being up 6.5 percent year-over-year . But despite the booming sales , Consumer Reports ' Money Adviser has taken a close look at this hot retail segment and found that not everything is a deal . Before I tell you what they say to stock up on and what to pass on , I want to clarify something . There are important distinctions to note among the chains . Dollar General and Family Dollar both price the majority of their items at $ 1 , but they also offer some merchandise at higher price points . Dollar Tree and the 99¢ Only chain are the only true dollar stores where everything is $ 1 , with no exceptions . So what did Consumer Reports find ? Cotton rounds , gift wrap , birthday candles , paper bags , composition notebooks , plastic cups , security envelopes , napkins , foam plates and tissue paper are among the best deals . Yet they advised against buying jewelry ( too much lead content ) , electrical products ( possibly fake UL labels ) , medication ( expired products ) and vitamins ( probably not to be from reputable sellers ) at any dollar stores . Now , I 've routinely bought medication like ibuprofen at dollar stores and have not found it to be past expiration date . Of course , some would argue that I can get a better deal on ibuprofen at a warehouse club . But unless you 're in constant pain , who can use all those 12 million pills in the bulk container before they expire ? ! The research that Consumer Reports did reminded me of a similar report in Good Housekeeping several years ago . At that time , the women 's magazine compared four knockoff products from the dollar stores versus four brand name products purchased elsewhere . The products included generic glass cleaner , body lotion , dishwashing liquid and detergent . The brand name products were Windex , Lubriderm , Dawn and Tide , and they proved to better than their generic counterparts . For example , a teaspoon of Dawn washed 19 dishes , while a teaspoon of the dollar brand washed only six ! As for the detergent , the dollar brand failed to wash out a mustard stain that Tide did . So the message is , let the buyer beware at the dollar stores . Certainly , there are some deals to be had , but you 've got to be picky .
Recession has boosted sales at dollar stores . Cotton rounds , gift wrap , and candles among the best sold . Not all dollar stores are equal ; some have more expensive items . Some retail products from dollar stores failed tests against brand names .