Hard Times at Dollar Tree

Several months ago for Jessica's birthday my mother decided to get her a gift that would leave a lasting impression, so she went to Dollar Tree (of course) and picked out a lovely 19" teddy bear. Full success. We were all impressed, and we felt that 19 inches worth of bear was a great value for one dollar.

The other day we went to Dollar Tree, and I was surprised to see that these days a dollar only gets you 18 inches of teddy bear. Now I recognize that the economy is going through some hard times, but come on Dollar Tree--a whole inch!? Could the price of batting and fake fur materials really have increased that much? Or is it the cost of shipping that extra inch of bear that's straining Dollar Tree's budget?

I like to remain optimistic and believe that Dollar Tree has replaced the 19" bear with the 18" bear temporarily to generate interest and excitement for the return of the 19" bear.