3 Things to Know About Shopping at Dollar Tree Online

The Dollar Tree has a world of bargains available to those who want to keep their credit card bills down. I love shopping there and visit regularly to see what deals I can score.

If you prefer to shop online rather than in person, the Dollar Tree also makes that an option. However, while having access to an online dollar store is great for your savings account due to the bargains you can find, there are some things to know about purchasing from the Dollar Tree website instead of your local shop. Here's what you should be aware of before you start clicking.

1. You'll typically have to buy in bulk -- but not always

If you want to buy Dollar Tree products online, you'll generally need to buy large quantities. Typically, you must purchase a case of any item that you order.

The actual amount of products in each case varies by item, though. For example, if you want to buy removable tile decals online, the minimum you can buy is 24 packs of tiles. If you're interested in purchasing slotted plastic storage basics, on the other hand, you can't purchase fewer than 36 of them online.

There are some limited exceptions, though. If you don't want dozens of Dollar Tree items, you can check out its Smaller Quantities Department. There, you can find everything from games to crafting supplies to catering equipment that you can pick and choose from. Even in this category, though, you'll typically need to purchase at least four of any item.

2. You'll pay shipping unless you have the item sent to your local Dollar Tree

Shipping your items from the Dollar Tree can add to your purchasing costs. You can choose to have them sent to a local store, in which case pickup is free. If you want the items sent to your home or business, you'll pay a fee calculated based on the distribution center location, number of boxes, size, and weight of your order.

Your shipping fees are calculated at checkout and can be quite substantial. For instance, shipping a 12-pack of dishes to your home would cost $19.99 -- more than the cost of the actual dishes!

If you decide to do in-store pickup, there's no guarantee you'll actually be able to ship to your closest store either. There are 12 distribution centers for the Dollar Tree, and each local store is assigned to a specific distribution center. If the center for your store doesn't have the item you want to buy, free shipping to your store won't be available.

3. Help is available

If you run into trouble while placing a Dollar Tree order, there's a customer service phone number to call for immediate order assistance. You can reach out to 877-530-8733 for help placing your order, or you can submit a customer help form.

Now you know some key facts about shopping at Dollar Tree online, so you can decide if it makes sense for your personal finances to buy large quantities of an item and have them shipped to your local store or pay shipping for them.

Often, you're better off if you can find your desired items in store rather than buying online since you can then buy exactly the number you want -- and, of course, buying online isn't really more convenient since you have to go to the brick-and-mortar location to pick up your purchase anyway unless you want to incur an extra cost.

But if your store doesn't have enough of something, online purchases can make getting your items possible -- and customer support is there to help you complete your transaction if you need it.