Some locations are better than others when it comes to Five Below stores. My review here applies to the Germantown, MD store only.
This location seems to sell third party items inside, not just what comes from corporate. Why they would do that when other stores have great items in stock from corporate that they don't have, I have no idea. Don't know what the rules are on this, Captain Below (that's probably the CEO's name, right?!) might want to weigh in on the matter. It comes off as shady, but we're here looking for deals, so I'm willing to have some faith and continue shopping.
I know to be cautious. Most items are mass produced so occasionally I've bought something that's a little wonky. Pro tip: try to get a good look at each item and make sure it works as it's supposed to. There's likely 20 more on the shelf in perfect condition, but you won't know that if you just grab and go, and are then disappointed once you get home. Even though their items should be quality, when I end up with a dud, I'm mad at myself for rushing, much much more than I am at the store for selling it or employees for a lack of QA.
In this particular instance, I bought a shrink wrapped movie off of a display that said "pre watched". It claimed to have a digital code inside, but had a phone number to call on the outside if there were any issues, so I took the gamble. Sure enough, there was no code. There was also no answer after calling for weeks at different times of the day and leaving multiple voicemails even though the prompt was timely and sounded legitimate. Speaking of gambling, if I had to bet, I'd put money on the idea that I wasn't the only one swindled by this "deal". read more