I just don't get all the hoopla surrounding this place. When I first discovered it, around five years ago, I got some really unusual and useful glass serving bowls and dishes. That department is now a ghost of its former size. To me, the store is just a repository of cheap Asian junk and overpriced shoddy furniture, with a few other countries thrown in to justify the "World" tag in its name. I had a $10 off coupon (requiring $30 purchase), so I figured I'd give it another try, especially since I wanted to go to Ulta nearby.
The first item I picked up was a tiny bottle of Prosecco. It had no price, and the shelf tag was torn off. A guy was working in the next aisle, and when I asked him to get the price, he told me to take it up front to the register. Shouldn't he have offered to do that? When I got to the only open register, the clerk was packing up a customer who was buying many bottles of wine and water, and some wine glasses. The clerk was searching for a box, and told me to wait for the price until she'd finished with the customer. That took f****** forever, since each bottle and glass had to be wrapped individually. I was not a happy camper.
But the price was right (assuming use of the coupon), so I went back for a few more bottles. Then I spied a six-pack of Pear Cider, which I love. Again, no price anywhere! This time I had to wait until two clerks were finished helping someone turn a huge piece of furniture on its side. But that clerk shlepped the cider to the front and got the price, which would have been okay, except...after spending an hour in the store, I suddenly realized that my coupon was useless: I couldn't use it for alcohol!
Total waste of my time. I can get the cider cheaper at almost any other place that sells it. Oh, and a wine stopper I picked up also had no price anywhere. I was not about to go through the hassle a third time.
With Total Wine, Lee's, and Trader Joe's competing for the wine market, that part of Cost Plus isn't worth a second thought. The rest of the merchandise is not compelling, except for possibly the imported foods, but I wasn't into that today. That section, though, earned it an extra star.
My criterion for a store is how much I'd miss it if it closed up tomorrow. In this case, not at all.