Two points:

1) If you buy from a dollar store, you should not be surprised if your purchase is not top quality, made in the USA;

2) For some items, you may be further ahead financially to buy them from the dollar store and keep replacing them from the dollar store as needed;

3) The market is flooded with Chinese goods for the same reason that McDonalds is in Europe: people are paying for them.

Sorry - I said I was going to make four points, and that's only one.