You never really think twice about the 99¢ Store when you’re home, do you? If you need something, and you happen to be near one, and what you need happens to be the kind of thing that they’d carry, and you happen to have time to kill, and you happen to find parking, and the stars are lined up, then you may go to the 99¢ Store. Otherwise, it’s not really something that you consider in the real world, and something you probably consider even less when you’re on vacation. But you’re wrong, and I’ll tell you why.
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Anyway, I just recently discovered why the 99¢ Store can be your friend while traveling:
• It’s not in the touristy areas. When was the last time you stuck to the tourist neighborhoods and saw a 99¢ Store? You haven’t. Why would they set up shop there when they can gouge you for more? A half-liter bottle of water next to the Duomo in Florence is 4€, but the same bottle, a few blocks away at the 99¢ Store is, you guessed it, 99¢. Oddly, they also have 1 liter bottles for 99¢. I guess you have to comparison shop within the store. But it’s literally 1/4 of the price after a 5 block walk.
• You know all of that stuff that the TSA won’t let you bring on your flight? Get it at the 99¢ Store! Toothpaste, shampoo, razors and shaving gel, a small knife to cut fruit and cheese, corkscrews, screwdrivers, exacto knives, and all kinds of liquids and gels that are more than 3 oz in size, you can find them all at your friendly neighborhood 99¢ Store.
• Going on a day trip or need some kind of snack to throw in your daypack so you don’t starve to death while standing in line for something that TripAdvisor told you to see? The 99¢ Store has all kinds of options that don’t require you to buy a whole box of snacks. Some of them may even be edible!
• Does your room smell funky because you ate street meat from a local vendor? The 99¢ Store has air freshener!
• Want to throw together an impromptu picnic? The 99¢ Store has plates, forks, knives, and everything you need to make your picnic look fancy without actually spending real money.
• Need to fix a tear in your pants that you got during your picnic? They have sewing kits!
• Feel like cleaning your hotel room for some reason? They have brooms, mops, and cleaning supplies!
Sure, you can go somewhere else and get all of this stuff. But the 99¢ Store is more likely to be in a neighborhood frequented by locals, so you can grab some authentic lunch after you finish shopping. You could go to the 1€ store, but personally, I think their stuff is overpriced.
As of this trip, I’m a 99¢ Store man. I’m sold. And my soul was bought for the low, low price of 99¢.
