The attraction of Honest Eds completely mystifies me. Yes, it's kitschy and the sign is iconic. A lot of people seem to find the experience of shopping here nostalgic; it reminds them of the days before Wal-Mart I guess. I never went to Honest Eds growing up so my judgement isn't clouded by sentimentality. I see it for what it is: a hideous, monstrosity of a store selling outdated, low-quality merchandise.
Apart from the famous sign, which I do think is cool, the store and the window displays are ugly and badly in need of updating. Inside, Honest Eds is a total maze. It's okay if you're the type that enjoys wandering around trying to find what you need but good luck if you have something specific in mind. The staff are sparse or nonexistent.
The merchandise is of dollar store level quality, i.e. it's crap, and half the stuff appears like it's been sitting around since sometime in the 70s. I'm sure there is good stuff to be found if you have the patience to sort through the garbage. I don't.
I only see two potentially redeeming qualities for Honest Eds. First, it's dirt cheap. With those low prices come low quality though. Even if everything was free I still wouldn't shop at Honest Eds. Second, you can avoid shopping at Wal-Mart and support a local business. That's fair enough but I'd rather support a local business by going to my local dollar store.
Avoid at all costs unless you go for purely entertainment value.