If you ignore the service of their personnel, it's a great place to find bargains. Why pay full…read moreprice for everyday things like shampoo, toothpaste, cleaning supplies, canned foods, snack foods, etc. It's also a great place to look for bargains on items like toys, towels, kitchen supplies, decorative things, and so on. However, you're best experience will happen when you know the cost of the items you're looking to purchase. Sometimes there's a huge price break and sometimes there's barely a savings (if any at all). If you know what is and is not good quality you're going to be in good shape.
They have furniture but most of it is pretty inexpensive and the quality varies greatly. They recently have tried selling higher end items, but I don't know if that is really meeting the needs of their typical customer.
I go there for office type supplies (tape, glue, pens, binders, paper, paper clips), bathroom items (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, cotton balls), snack foods (chips, candy, crackers, cookies), seasonal items (lights, decorations, ornaments, party favors), and all types of other things.
I like the fact that I can pick up DVDs for about $3. Granted, they're usually older but I can find great kid videos on the cheap and the kids don't care how old they are - as long as they're interesting.
I've found some great bargains in the kitchen area - my favorite cereal bowls, my favorite coffee cup, and an excellent cutting board all come from Big Lots.
I found amazing Revlon make-up products. I have found three lipsticks packaged together for less than the price of one in the regular stores.
My linen closet has several tubes of Tom's all natural toothpaste that were less than $2 each.
Just keep in mind that their inventory is constantly changing. And, you often have to look to find the high end items at a really good price. If you see something you like, take it home because it might not be there the next time.
My only complaint . . . Big Lots is starting to suffer from what I call the "Pier I Syndrome". That's where a store starts as a lesser known place to find interesting and unique things at great prices. Then, it starts becoming popular and they start advertising, upgrading, and rasising prices so it's more like a good deal instead of a huge bargain. They now have a lot of their own "Big Lots" brand merchandise. They are usually a better price than what you'd pay for a name brand in another store. However, the best deals at Big Lots still seem to be the national brands at discounted prices.