I get it, going to any .99 city on a Saturday night is usually asking for trouble. This location was no exception. It had its share of creepy crawlies People bringing pet dogs inside and people with knives on their waistbands, though that's pretty standard anywhere you go in East County.. The biggest failure with this place is that there are so many things that aren't 99 cents here. The items that are .99 are smaller versions of what's sold at other stores, factory defects, or are made expecially for .99 cent stores (cheapest quality). Shopping at .99 city used to be fun when everything was the same price, but now it's a hassle trying to verify what the REAL price is. What's good about this particular store? The aisles were nicely maintained and their products were nicely stacked. As always, the best thing about this store are their cheap birthday party supplies. Best deal I found - At $1.99, a glue gun seemed like a good deal. Tip - Two doors down is grocery outlet. Prices do cost more there but it's legitimate high quality product. Also, the clientele over there was vastly different. read more

99 Cents Only Stores - Good luck finding 99 cent items here... - Discount Store Near Me - Santee, California

I would give higher rating but I can't. First employee was helpful and pointed out where I can find face masks. They have a variety to choose from:white, purple, pink, or leopard print. I went with the white. I proceeded to the checkout line which was about 15 people deep with only one register open. After a few min they opened a second register and Karen jumped in and cut everyone else in line. As the line cut into two ibended up behind her and with her guilty conscience she told the cashier I cut everyone in line and shouldn't be able to buy what I needed. The cashier I didn't catch his name because he didn't give me my reciept(he was a very small man and wore a shirt that was 2 sizes too small) told her I was very inconsiderate and should care more about everyone else. If I wasn't so cheap I wouldn't come back but I love me some bargains. read more

This 99 cents store had some great finds today. I always know I'm gonna find something cool. This location is less crowded and more organized compared to the El Cajon location. The isles are fully stocked and clean. I found some great Easter basket fillers here today for my little cousins. Candy, slime and toys of course. I even found an awesome pineapple lollipop for myself, super cool. All the employees were friendly and helpful. Out of all the 99 cents store locations I've been to, this was the calmest one ever. read more

99 Cents Only Stores - I'm obsessed!!! - Discount Store Near Me - Santee, California

So happy with the new additions to the store at only $3.99 these shirts are what most of us are feeling what a great bargain. The Manager at Santee is great as well she and her staff are very friendly and helpful. Always nice to see a friendly smile. read more

99 Cents Only Stores - Cool shirt - Discount Store Near Me - Santee, California

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This location seems a little of a mess inside. A lot of turnover in staff. Great value in merchandise but store not clean or organized

There was a guy at the front holding hand sanitizer and pumping into customers hands as they walked in. The store was kind of crazy with so many people, boxes placed all over the aisles. Costumer service was great though cashier was fast efficient and friendly. read more

99 Cents Only Stores - Inside - Discount Store Near Me - Santee, California

I always find good things and today looking for garden things was a success. Very sad though to see when I was in line to pay, the cashier who was friendly, offer up their extra checkout item. They were trying to sell hand sanitizer for $4.99 when they usually have some for 99$¢. Incredible!! Not a bargain for anyone I would say. Not desperate to pay that price. read more

99 Cents Only Stores - 4.99$ hand sanitizer at the checkout ‍ - Discount Store Near Me - Santee, California

This location seems to not care about the closing hours its been a several times i come and its closed at 9pm like today when clearly online and on maps it says 10pm i dont know if its the night crew or if they haven't updated their hours read more

We just want to thank Marla for always being so friendly and helpful. She acts like she genuinely likes her job and the public. Please upper management show your gratitude to her. I'm sure she's the reason why many people return. read more

Honestly a fan, they have a good selection of decor, energy drinks, random cool Disney items. Employees are always nice at checkout.

I never write reviews except for excellent or terrible experiences. This place: Rude staff and trashy store. I've been to a few 99 cent stores, but this one has given me the worst experiences time over time. My most recent experience was today, and the cashier was very rude. She didn't greet me and didn't make eye contact with me until I told her she rang up an item that wasn't mine. It was my friend's, who separated her items from mine. She rudely said that she already rang it up and it was "only a dollar," so why don't I just buy it. She also said that about my friend's other item. Does it really matter if it is $10 or a dollar? Making me buy extra items along with her poor attitude and terrible customer service warranted this one star. read more

I go to this store daily for great deals.. What I loved most was how clean and organized it WAS. This store is starting to look cluttered, and messy like the other stores! The isles are starting to look chaotic, and cluttered with too many things dangling in front of the shelves.. extra displays in the isles, to where you're basically stuck if the person in front of you stops to look at an item. You can't go around them anymore because of all the EXTRA crap hanging. Things start dropping on the floors when you move them aside to get to the shelves! There is no more organization anymore! There's popcorn on one isle where the chips are... The same popcorn sitting in displays in the isles.. and even more of the same popcorn at the front of the store.. and yet more of the same popcorn on the end caps!! You have the same bread in the front of the store, back of the store, and again on a shelf some where else!! You literally have to go the entire store.. because you don't know which of the 50 spots what you're looking for may be at!! The fridge section has many bare holes.. What's going on 99 store? Management what's up with your NEW GHETTO LOOK? Did I mention the employees used to be pleasant and happy? Now they look miserable.. what happened? New boss? Corporate... Please don't let this nice, and tidy store turn into all the others!!!! read more

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This store is ripping off its customers. It has a sign advertising Naval oranges for 3.99 but has never ever had naval oranges they are selling Valentia oranges as naval oranges. read more

This store is hit or miss on what they have in stock, seems like some of the good deal items are rotated in and out. It feels like half the store is filled with items that are 2.99 3.99 4.99 etc. defeats the purpose of 99 cents only. There is no denying that the things for 99 cents are a smoking deal so I will give credit there. Usually only 1 register open which sucks because usually the line is 8 or more people long. Staff is very friendly! read more

This was the first time ever I have been in a 99 Cents Only store. I came to this Santee location for a specific item. I quickly located it, bought it and left. However, I could've and will in the near future, visit this store again. It looked like they stock just about everything. Groceries, housewares, beer, snacks, all sorts of stuff and all on the cheap. Don't be fooled by the name though. 99 Cents Only doesn't mean that everything is 99 cents. Not like the Dollar Tree where everything is a $1 (or less). Nonetheless it looks like there are some serious bargains to be had here. read more

I just wanted to give a shout out to Silvia, and Ethan, who work at the 99cent store in Santee. They were so nice, helpful, and had us cracking up. What a breath of fresh air! read more

This store has the nicest, friendliest employees i have encountered at a retail business in many years. With the generally declining quality of life these days that is much appreciated by me. But please keep the dogs out and carry more Hostess products. read more

Treated very unfairly by a "Hiba" that works in this store! She appears to be maybe racist because everyone else she treated nicely as I stood in line. To be clear she seemed annoyed that I wanted to exchange one item! Pretty sad if you ask me, your job is to scan items and be friendly and she wasn't capable of doing either. This is now my second encounter with "Hiba" it is a regular thing with her it seems like. Last time she was rude to my frail little grandma & I said nothing and then rude again to me for just being a customer. read more

Poor customer service at its best.. One cashier and a huge line with agitated customers. One older Hispanic man was called to help but just made things worse. No one there knew how to communicate with customers, just sad. A simple " sorry folks we are getting a register open soon" nothing, just ignoring upset customers is never a good idea. Unfortunately this happens so much at this location. read more

I hate everything because not everything is 99 cents.but the stuff there is good for a cheap price. the big pickle is good.

Great 99 cents store. It's clean, brightly lit, and friendly service. They actually have very good produce as well!

Review #200 wow can't believe I been to that many places . I always go to the big ninety nine cent store in El cajon however this one is right down the street from my house. I just wanted to get art and craft supplies for my seven year old and two year old . They had what we needed came home and the $14.00 we spent keep them entertained for two hours we even saved some crafts for tomorrow night as well. Who doesn't like this store you can find some pretty cool stuff for a dollar never had a complaint with price , quality ,or customer service my only complaint is I wish this store was bigger . So much stuff for such a small location . read more

I needed some cheap Tupperware to bring some items to a party so if I didn't get it back, I wouldn't care so I made a quick stop here. Parking was easy, it is in a plaza so there are a ton of spots. The location is also nice because this part of Santee has a lot of shops so you can pretty much everything you need and don't need during your weekly shopping trips. After getting harassed by people who want me to sign a petition even though I have done no research on what they want (no thank you) I walked in and I wanted to vomit. It seriously smelled like a farm in here. I know I'm pregnant and super sensitive right now, but it was awful. One good thing was, it got me through the store quicker. I looked in one area which had some great plastic bowls I picked up but I kept looking for Tupperware because I wanted lids. I finally found some on the other side of the store from where I was and it was perfect. There were multiple sizes and variety so I was able to quickly get a couple of packs, return the ones I previously picked up and no longer wanted, and head to the register. As I was cashing out the person behind me decided they could not wait any longer and NEEDED to take care of their cart that instant. The only problem for them was I was in the way because I was cashing out. I seriously bought two items. My whole transaction took one minute. They could have waited. However, they felt they couldn't, so in order to fix their problem they opted to put their hands on me to gently push me out of their way to get by..... nope, not okay. Don't ever put your hands on someone, even if you want to get by. Use your words!!!!! I certainly used mine after being touched and I won't repeat them because I'd probably get my elite status taken from me and blocked from yelp. Did I over react? Yep, you bet I did. But I'm pregnant and uncomfortable all on my own in a store that is making me want to vomit and I have some gross looking man who can be my dad that I have never seen putting his hands on me. Nope, nope, and nope. The cashier did nothing about it, which I'm not surprised by. She opted to stop engaging with me during the rest of my transaction and basically tossed my items and receipt at me. I should have known better. When you walk into a store that smells so bad you won't to vomit, it is probably filled with trash. Unfortunately, I got to deal with some of it. I won't be back to this location ever again and if I want into another one of these stores and it makes me want to vomit... lesson learned, I will turn around and walk out to find a different store. read more

Ugh A hoarders dream! Aisles are so narrow you can't use a cart. Merchandise hoarded up in aisles make it impossible to relax and shop. It gave me anxiety and I left. Hate this store read more

Shoped at this location today and at check out there was no paper bags to purchase.......they were pushing a 99 cent reusable bag with no explanation other then " DO YOU WANT TO PURCHASE A BAG TODAY FOR 99 CENT'S ?" And this was after they rung up all the item's .... No 10 cent paper bags available to purchase....... Plus the store was very under stocked with empty shelves etc. Looks like their going out of business. What a rip off!! If they ran out of paper bags its not the customer's fault, I shouldn't be strong armed to buy a 99.9 cent bag..... read more

We love going to the 99 cent store for snacks or for some small shopping. The chocolate cookies are very delicious.

Love this location! This is one of the best .99 cents stores that we've been too. We found a lot of great finds. As many people know, not everything is .99 cents inside of the store, but mostly everything is. The back of the store filled up quickly as their super cheap gallons of milk and dozens of eggs and it's first come, first serve. We spent a good $60 here mostly on snacks and home good items. We will be coming back to this location again. Many name brands and good amount of products that your getting for the money. Customer service was awesome and very friendly! Oh yeah, most importantly you can get through the aisles with no problems. Usually in the .99 cents stores, the aisles are very, very small and hard to maneuver through. No issues here! Parking seemed pretty reasonable and you shouldn't have a problem finding a spot. read more

Not my fav location, but it'll do in a pinch. The produce is almost always a little too ripe, if you know what I mean. Other than that, great selection of canned goods, seasonal items, and other misc. stuff you didn't even know toy needed. read more

Store was decently organized and clean. Workers were friendly and working on stocking some shelves. Made for cramped shopping but that's ok. Had everything that I figured it would. Cashier was friendly and helpful, was clear when something was over ¢99 before I bought the item. Helped me pack up my purchases nicely. Quickly and easy transaction. I would go back to this store for my ¢99 cent needs read more

New manager or whatever her job title is, sets a VERY POOR example for staff and customers. She wears her mask incorrectly, either not covering her nose or just letting in hang on her covering nothing. She may not believe covid-19 is real, but if you have a loved one that died, it is very real. read more

love this place, especially their produce and rotating stock. more than just another dollar tree. the lines can get a little backed up sometimes, but overall great experience. read more

Ok this is stupid your Santee store is so hot no ac on. You guys really need to fix it.

Just would like to say that your employee Stefanie is one of the nicest people, it is always so nice to see her great smile and she is always so helpful and knowledgeable. Your lucky to have such a great person working for you. Sincerely, Diane Gibson read more

I wanted to give 5 stars to the employee named Brittany. She was so professional, kind, genuine, and sincere. I believe she could run that store if she wanted to. 5 stars Brittany you rock!! read more

Huge store! My first time here and im so mad I havent been shopping here!! This location has cleanliness ,variety and endless aisles! I camr for grocery items and home decor. I love this place. I usually visit here before going to a big grocery store, they have fresh fruit and vegetables available for cheap price. #99er read more

Brand new store. The shelves were fully stocked. The aisles were super clean. Very nice to browse through. Good selection for a 99 Cents Only Store. One of the bigger 99 Cents Only Stores that I've seen in the area. Staff was nice and friendly. read more

Today I stopped after work to buy 2 balloons for a friend. It's been a while since I shopped at this store. The cashier that rang me up Erika was so sweet and had great customer service with the customer in front of me and behind me. Now a days it's hard to come across nice cashiers. Erika made my shopping experience great :) read more

Can't complain! After all it is a .99 cent store so my expectations were not high to begin with! However, the store was clean, I found what I needed and the staff was friendly! What else can you ask for? :) read more

I love this store, i get everything i need here. Just irritated with the false advertisement "99 cents only". Theres stuff in the store ranging from $2-$6 and sometimes i dont realize it until the cashier rings it up read more

99 Cents Only Stores - False advertising - Discount Store Near Me - Santee, California