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Since dollar stores became mainstream shopping channels for consumers, the big companies have been striving to get their products into them.

Most of the time, that's a good thing for shoppers, giving us both the quality we want along with lower prices. Unfortunately, we're not always getting the best deal.

Often, in order to be able to sell their product in a dollar store and still make a profit, the big brands must offer their products in smaller packaging and it behooves us, as smart shoppers, to compare how much product we're actually getting for the $2 price tag.

Which brand names cost more at the dollar store? Here's a random comparison of six products.

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There are some things I just never expect to see in a dollar store and my favorite facial toner is one of them. Yet, there it was, Olay refreshing toner for two bucks a bottle.

The two bottles I bought still cost me a lot less than one bottle of the same stuff at Walmart. Olay had designed new labels for their product so Dollarama got the residual stock sporting the old labels.

Read on for more brands you know and love at dollar store prices. Some, as with the Olay toner, are only temporary until stock runs out. Other top manufacturers seem to be supplying the dollar store on a regular basis, as evidenced by labels being printed with Dollarama product numbers on them.

As dollar stores shake off the stigma of being nothing but junk stores and more and more shoppers are looking to these retailers for savings, top manufacturers are no longer hesitating to have their products associated with the humble dollar store. A walk up and down the aisles of my local Dollarama revealed these more recent additions to the growing list of brand names being offered at the store.

In recent months, I've bought full size Dove body wash for $2, a 467ml bottle of Spic and Span multi-surface cleaner for $1.50 and a package of eight 3M Command poster strips for $2, all at Dollarama. If you've ever wondered how Dollarama is able to stock big-name products for so little, read on.

According to Paul DeLaplante, a Public Relations Consultant for Dollarama, the key to the store's success in getting brand names from the likes of Unilever and Proctor and Gamble, is simple. Dollarama's buyers deal with companies directly.

When Dollarama decided to start selling stuff priced up to $2 last year, people complained that it wasn't a true dollar store anymore. But, let's face facts; inflation happens and I think the folks at Dollarama were smart not to stubbornly resist that reality.

Things that had disappeared from shelves, like dish drainers, began to reappear priced at $1.25. Dishpans that were getting a little floppy from the use of thinner plastics, are a bit more pricey now, but sturdier. That's a good thing. And yeah, some things, like tea lights that used to come in a package of 20 for a buck, now cost the same for a package of 16. That's the way of the economic world, wherever you shop.

The two buck price point means that Dollarama can now offer a greater variety of merchandise and it's quality stuff, too. I, for one, love the decorative items like the glass vases. And just look at the variety of full-sized brand name health and beauty items turning up on store shelves.

Dove Deep Moisture Beauty Body Wash, 354 ml costs $4.72 at Wal-Mart. I got mine for $2.

You can go online and order 50g Oxy Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15 for $14.69 but it's out of stock at this writing. I got the exact same thing for two bucks at Dollarama.