Jul. 6--Attention bargain hunters: If you're looking for ways to keep a little spare change in your pocket, consider the dollar stores and other discount outlets that offer deep cuts on everything from pots and pans to potato chips.

For a buck, you can buy a pregnancy test kit or scoop up a jar of peanut butter at one local dollar store. You can also find batteries, light bulbs, cleaning products, greeting cards, chewing gum, and cough drops, all for a dollar or a small multiple of that amount.

The tradeoff is there's no guarantee what you might find at a particular store on a particular day. In the name of bargain hunting, fans of Tide laundry detergent may have to settle for a generic brand. Tomato-soup seekers may only find cream of broccoli.

While the discount retail stores have typically modest storefronts, their inventories contain, in the lingo of the trade, "extreme value." They accomplish this by shopping at salvage sales, finding deals on close-outs and buying in quantity.

"When we buy for one store in New Hampshire, we're actually buying for all 6,700 stores in the chain," said Josh Braverman, spokesman for the Family Dollar stores, based in Charlotte, Va.

Braverman and other industry representatives said they've seen an increase in sales in recent months, although shoppers are putting off buying anything but "basic items" like household cleaners, paper products and food.

"It's not enough for us to go and buy over-stock," said Rob Claxton, senior vice president of marketing for the Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots, a Fortune 500 company with 1,350 stores nationwide.

According to Claxton, Big Lots purchases more than 60 percent of the items it sells from close-outs, "over-stocks of America's top brands." The company buys directly from manufacturers, purchasing over-stock and products with packaging changes.

"Our customers love to shop and find bargains," Claxton said. "They're treasure hunters, and we make sure there are treasures there."

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