99 Cents Only Store

You really can get things for 99¢ here!
I usually just run in for some refills– paper towels and toilet rolls.
BUT! If you’re looking for that special something, they do carry a singing toothbrush.
That’s right. It sings.
It sings… Justin Bieber tunes!
I didn’t pick it up.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to be serenaded with Justin Bieber in my mouth.
It’s just too intimate.
Other than that, I don’t think I’d go here for much more than basics. For instance,
I probably wouldn’t pick up their off-​brand snacks, dish soap or
cleaning supplies. (I feel like they might be interchangeable.)
It’s usually pretty empty, so check-​out is pretty fast…
just like Justin Bieber’s career!

If you’ve ever driven down this portion of fairfax with the windows down you have probably noticed the foul smell emanating from this store. Some say it’s the tar pits– some say it’s the vast array of homeless that seem to protectively swarm this location. Either way– it makes actually setting a foot in this store quite unnerving. I’ve bitten the bullet a few times– usually to collect cheap party supplies or diy goods.
In order to set foot in this store you have to find a path through a dense barricade of homeless people. There is always a man poached on the sidewalk having a 99 cent feast/​picnic on the concrete, taking up all walking space. He likes to yell at people as they pass by. Oh and there also seems to be a woman dressed in hospital scrubs made out of tin foil who burbles deliriously. The products themselves aren’t bad-​nor the employees– just the massive stench and defensive trek one has to encounter in order to shop.

I love the 99 cents store to buy cheap trash bags, soap, and candy. Why spend a lot on basics? Well this store is terrible… Reeks of Raid and spoiled produce. The clientele is scary. Sketchy homeless people buying a 2 liter bottle of fake orange soda. Messy and disorganized store. The old men in line around me kept interrupting the cashier to ask how much things were. The cash register froze up when I tried to pay with amex. The manager came up and just opened another register without addressing the problem on the register I was at. Nightmare.

This place is one of two location located on the same block (practically). I often come to this one because it’s smaller, less crowded and also has parking.
This store is more messy than the larger one nearby. I’ve seen many homeless people walking and wander around yelling. The staff isn’t very friendly. These chains in general are great but this particular store needs an uplift.

This 99 cent store is in very close proximity to the other one on Wilshire.
It is way less crowded, but the employees here are awful. They are not helpful, and are actually kind of rude. I wouldn’t even bother asking them for help, because I would probably be better off on my own.
This store has almost everything the other one has, but just less of it. The selection isn’t quite as good, but it is good enough. This is the one to go to if you are in a rush, and just need to grab a few things.

I have never understood why this store exists.
No, I am not referring to 99 Cent store as a whole; the idea of such a place is a great one, and you can find some really cool stuff in these places (liter bottles of Zico coconut water? Steak knives?!? TUPPERWARE?!?). I love the 99c store on National, downtown by Washington and Maple, and especially the one on Wilshire and Fairfax, perhaps one of the biggest, cleanest, and most interesting 99 Cent stores around.
Which brings me back to this place: why in God’s name does it exist?!
There is literally a much better 99 Cent store about two blocks away, if you walk up Fairfax from 6^th street… to Wilshire, the very next street. Actually, that’s less than two blocks. But that would be okay, in fact that would be golden, if this store had anything more to offer than that superior location.
But of course it doesn’t. The products are roughly the same from store to store; the only difference being that this location, from the outside, smells absolutely horrid, and it has for as long as I can remember. It’s also smaller here, more cramped, less organized, with less friendly staff and an overall muckier atmosphere than that wonderful store on Wilshire. I simply do not understand why this place exists (my only guess is that, seeing as several homes are around this area on Fairfax street, perhaps it’s a matter of convenience? Wait, no, that’s silly. I still just don’t get why two of the same exact same store need to be so close).
Overall, if you want cheap Shasta soda or whatever, just walk an extra few minutes to Wilshire street. Everything is beautiful over there, and nothing ever hurts.

Maybe you heard about it, the «Great Recession»? It’s the economic meltdown that hit us all a few years back.
Right, right, yes, THAT recession. Yes, remember that weekend in October 2008 when suddenly the whole U.S. economy was in danger of utterly imploding if the government didn’t bail out the banks or something? The stock market crashed and wiped out most people’s investments and savings and that was followed by mass layoffs and then foreclosures and on and on and time went by and here we are in the «new normal.» Broke, that is (which is where a lot of folks are these days). But coping! We’re coping!
As the song says «ya gotta make the best of a bad situation,» so the thing to do is just cope and get smart about how you spend. All of which takes us to The 99 Cents Stores. The 99 Cents Stores have been around for a while, and with good reason. These stores get the job done, bargain-​wise, because, that’s right, nothing in these stores is more than 99 cents! (Some things are less, like ice tea or a can of cat food for 59 cents, etc.)I usually go to the store at 6^th and Fairfax, over by the LA County Museum. There is a larger one close by on Wilshire, but it attracts more shoppers so it’s kind of frenzied in there.
I like the one at 6^th, as it has a little bit of everything. The cleaning products are a real deal, as are the bath soaps and bathroom items. They have name brand toothpaste for 99 cents, and it’s the same brand sold at Ralph’s and other stores for $ 3 or more. I mean, come on! They even have fresh vegetables, like asparagus, for, you guessed it, 99 cents! My strategy is to go to the store about every three weeks or so, and get all the cleaning items needed for the month. It’s amazing how many useful things you can get there for $ 15! Okay, one caveat here. This store, given its location by the LaBrea Tar Pits, has a strange smell that emanates from the street outside, which I’m told is methane gas. It’s a rotten egg smell and it isn’t very pleasant. It’s not the store’s fault, but it does make shopping less fun there. Okay, shopping at the 99 Cents Store obviously isn’t a glamorous experience, but it does get the job done, which is really what shopping is all about, right? If you want to save money, check out the 99 Cents Stores.

Well I’m one of the people who will often frequent the small, foul-​smelling store without convenient parking when there is a larger store with a neutral odor and attached lot nearby-​partially out of sentimentality but mostly because there is a great selection of inventory. A bonus is that it is less of a madhouse during the busy shopping time, so it is easy to get around and less waiting in line.
I’ve parked at the Wilshire store lot without problems.

Holiday Headquarters? You betcha!
Snagged some seasonal basics like parchment paper, there’s no way I’m paying over $ 4 a roll, regardless of the square footage, in the grocery store for this essential, disposable baking tool. Also purchased classy gift bags, tissue and ribbon for quick wrap-​ups, all for under $ 15!
Unfortunately, this tiny, jam-​packed-​with-​merchandise, store didn’t have shot glasses a party «must have» for my signature, holiday, cold soup amuse-​bouche. A smiling sales associate suggested I try 99¢ Only Store’s larger, Wilshire location.
Fortunately, I parked west of Fairfax on the north side of 6^th Street in a two-​hour zone. Quick package drop off, I sprinted through the alley (stores are that close) in hope of completing my list. To be continued…

Why is this still here?!
This has got to be one of the Seven Wonders of LA. So there’s a huge 99 Cent 50 feet away… yet people still actually take the time to drive past that to visit this dwarf version. Is there some sort of history attached to this building I’m unaware of?
Outside the building it smells like pure dog shiz. Literally, it’s worse than an outhouse. Probably because the bums use it as one. Speaking of which there are plenty inside and outside of this place.
Inside it’s cramped, and they have exactly what the other joint has, only less of it. It’s stuffy and gross and the overall atmosphere just sucks.
Parking sucks just as much, by the way. The one across the alley has like 3x as much. Once again, why the f is this stupid thing still here?

Never again.
I typically love 99 cents stores, but this location smelled so bad that I was could not in there for longer than a minute. My germaphobic tendencies suddenly elevated more than ever. My chlorox wipes and hand sanitizer were much needed. It looked dirty and felt dirty primarily because of the awful smell.
My attempt to save just led me to Target and not even want to check out the other nearby locations that day.

A few blocks down is my 99 Cents Only Store of choice. The other one is bigger. I thought I’d check this one out and they do have a few items the other ones doesn’t have, mostly stuff I don’t need. Balloons, gardening stuff, and some other random stuff. It’s not necessarily worth the extra walk though. I like how this one isn’t so busy. Anyhow, I’ll go here only if I happen to be up the street. I live closer to Fairfax /​Wilshire, so that’ll be the one I mainly go to.

I refer to this location as the «small one» because the one on Wilshire (less then 2 blocks away) is bigger, but not necessarily better. Don’t let the small size fool you; they have everything you need & more. This particular location carries many name brand items.
The name says it all — everything is 99 cents — correction, they changed it to 99.9 cents (damn this economy!)
A word of caution: It’s very easy to go overboard; I mean «it’s just 99cents, Right?!» True, but «running in» JUST for ouch less hair bands & a roll of paper towels could easily lead to a free for all, leaving you with items you may never use but got «just in case» or because your «moms, sisters, co-​workers best friends son would love!»
They recently started carrying helium balloons, for many occasions @ a MAJOR fraction of the cost of what you would find at a local gift shop. Just make sure they seal the filled balloon correctly.
For those of you that like to be the first to check out new merchandise, shipments come in on Thursdays.
If you’re a hand sanitizer user, I recommend passing on the one they usually carry. It smells like a vodka martini, but hey, maybe that’s your thing.
Let me fill you in on something. It smells like rotten eggs right outside of the store. If you’re feeling adventurous, take a whiff, otherwise, hold your nose until you enter, where you will be safe & where the fun begins.
Happy Shopping!

Not all 99 Cents Only stores are the same. This one is much smaller and not quite as fabulous as its sister store around the block on Wilshire. But it’s still a 99 Cents Only store, so it gets 4 stars. Plus, this is the location where I once found a full shelf of clear acrylic candy dishes shaped like the state of NJ. As a Jersey girl, I was excited. No other state was represented; just NJ. I bought two and wish I’d bought more. A friend pointed out that, without other states to show scale, if you flip the silhouette of NJ, it might look a bit like CA. Whatever the reason it was at this location, it was mighty cool.

Measurably less ominous an experience when shopping out of cheap-​assness rather than necessity: if you’re visiting the land of misfit merchandise because you can’t afford the overpriced produce at Pavillion’s, the 99’s avocados might shapeshift into unplugged grenades. But if you’re there on a whim, unpursued by the sinister poetry of poverty, you can happily find unlikely bargains and usefully odd bric-​à-​brac. Specific location gets congested enough on the weekends to turn cart navigation of the narrow aisles into a primitive videogame, and the check-​out lines at this location often erupt into heated arguments, so keep cool about any queue controversies that crop up if you want to stroll with complacence to your car.

This is my favorite of the 99cent stores. It has the most name-​brand deals and fun little suprises. (I got a bunch of really cute Bazooka Joe baby clothes and accessories there once.)
I also had my cell phone stolen there, and it was a pretty shitty cell phone, so be wary of pick-​pockets.