I have passed by countless Five Below stores, but never ventured in. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the name. Five below what? If you don't give me a unit or something that qualifies the entire meaning of your brand, I won't get it.
This Five Below is a five-minute drive from the hotel. I decided to check it out.
There is a lot of parking in front of this store. It's next to Ulta Beauty. I backed my car into a spot with flurries happening and walked in.
It occurred to me that it's like an upscale dollar store, except that most items are $5 or less. There are exceptions, though. You can get a record player (some don't get record, but understand vinyl) for under twenty dollars, for instance.
The best find was seeing Squishmallows plushies going for $5 each. OMG! So cheap. So cute! I picked up a penguin and a koala.
I saw Squishmallows as headphones. They looked cool, but it made me wonder how on Earth you clean them when they get dirty.
If you like candy, there's a sugar rush section. Highly deadly. I loved seeing pizza candy and M&M's.
There is a lot to look at in this store. You can get graphic t-shirts for $5 each. The Play-Doh Fun Factory reminded me of the Play-Doh Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop that I had as a kid. You basically create hair or fur for your characters with the Play-Doh, and you can style it. It brought back fond memories. And, no, I did not get the Fun Factory!
I saw Ice Cubes gum and got a container of raspberry sorbet. I love this gum so much.
I would have rated this place higher until I went to pay for my items. There were two females staring at their phones and chatting. One of them eventually helped cash me out.
I had placed my mittens and phone on the lower right corner of a rather large counter. She placed my two Squishmallows and gum in a bag. She pushed the bag all the way forward such that my phone dropped onto the floor. I was not impressed.
I made it clear to her that she had pushed my phone onto the floor. Had I had not explicitly let her know, she wouldn't have known. First, the counter had a lot of space. Why push the bag like that? Leave it in the middle of the counter or something. Second, I am not an American with a phone from a US carrier. Had my phone died from this fall, I'd have to get a new one. Expensive and complicated.
Thankfully, my phone still worked. Her ridiculous action would have been the equivalent of my pushing the payment kiosk towards her and having it land on the floor. It was such a weird, unexpected action on her part.
I'd return again because the merchandise is cool. If you put stuff on the counter, don't. You are at risk of having a careless staff member push your belongings onto the floor for no sound reason other than carelessness and stupidity.
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