10 Things We All Hate About Five Below

One of the best shopping hacks is to go to discount stores, where prices tend to be lower. However, not all discount stores are created equal.

Five Below is a level or two above true dollar stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General. As the name suggests, most of Five Below’s merchandise costs below five dollars, giving the company latitude to carry a broader spectrum of merchandise. However, while you might expect a little more from this chain, given that their price point is above most of their competitors, prepare to be disappointed.

Here are some of the common problems that Five Below customers have noticed. These issues remind you that despite the branding, Five Below is still a dollar store.

Like closely related dollar stores, Five Below found that having a price limit in your name makes things tricky when inflation hits.

To offer more products above the five-dollar threshold, Five Below introduced stores with a “Five Beyond” section, which offers items that cost over the five-dollar limit. This leaves Five Below without the distinction that attracted customers to them in the first place — that every item would reliably cost below five dollars.

This is a common issue at most Five Below locations, causing problems for customers as well as Instacart shoppers who serve them.

Redditor gephotonyc said, “Normally, I avoid Five Below. But … there are not very many batches here in New York City so I jumped at a biggish batch of 39 items. I found 36 and in the process, I felt like I had discovered new subatomic particles … I went 30 minutes over on the shop time. Never doing five below again!”

Okay, so we know that Five Below is a slight cut above dollar stores. But the merchandise should work for at least a little while.

The keychain I bought lasted less than two weeks, and it’s not like keychains get a lot of wear and tear. Redditor AttitudeandEffort2 says, “Everything at Five Below will break in days...”

Customers’ experiences range from being denied entry two minutes before closing time to hostility and racial profiling, according to Yelp reviews. While you might shop at Five Below for low prices, you probably don’t do so for the stellar customer service.

Five Below simply doesn’t have the same infrastructure to complete the online orders they offer on their website. Customers on Reddit have complained of orders getting canceled often because Five Below couldn’t fill them.

Alleged Five Below manager (who goes by the Reddit handle huevosconchorizo69) explains this phenomenon: “They get canceled because they don’t have the items or can’t find them. The website will say we have it, but chances are it’s in the back somewhere, and no employee is going to go back there and tear all the boxes open just to find your item.”

While this practice is common in some places in the U.S., it’s preposterous in others. One annoyed customer on Yelp complained, “Nothing like inconveniencing customers to charge for plastic bags. Increase your prices by a couple of pennies and stop haggling over a freaking plastic bag.”

At Five Below, you get neither the convenience of having an employee bag your purchases nor the autonomy to do it without a micromanager staring over your shoulder.

Instead, “assisted self-checkout” requires you to scan and bag your items under the watchful eye of an employee, who may just redo the process for you anyway.

A popular category at Five Below is home decor, including posters. But if you’re after a specific movie or character poster, keep moving. Odds are that they won’t have the one you want, and the slotted poster bin will be mixed up anyway.

Again, we know Five Below is a dressed-up dollar store. But the electronics section could use a little love. Chargers, headphones, speakers, and other devices are notorious for breaking quickly.

Redditor SoundH0le (allegedly a Five Below employee) observed, “I had this dude buy a speaker. I kid you not, he walked back in 10 minutes later to return it. It’s like this with every electronic.”

Between the flimsy toys, cheap electronics, and abundant packaging, the store is filled with all varieties of plastic. If you’ve got planetary health in mind, Five Below might not be the best place to shop.

Retailers like Five Below and dollar stores can have a place in your life for certain purchases. For instance, you don’t have to worry much about the quality of wrapping paper or birthday cards.

Whether you shop at a discount retailer for frugality or choose a higher-end store for quality, you can always stretch your budget using a credit card that rewards everyday purchases.

By developing savvy financial habits, you can determine when it’s worth it to shop at Five Below and when you need to pursue higher-quality options.