Big Lots
Reviews and Complaints

I just attempted to get the 9" Android Tablet on sale for Black Friday at a cost of $79 (Oklahoma City Store). I got in line at 4 AM as the 8th customer in line. Doors were scheduled to open at 6 AM, but at 4:30 the manager peeked her head out and asked for all that were interested in the tablet to step forward as there were only 15 available. I stepped forward to get a voucher that stated "TO PURCHASE TAKE THIS TICKET TO CASHIER. PANDIGITAL 9' ANDROID 2GB TABLET. CUSTOMER #8. LIMIT ONE PER CUSTOMER."
When I got in the store I picked up a few other items but thought I had a sure thing with the voucher. I got to the cashier only to find out that they were "sold out." I asked how it happened and the rude cashier kept saying "we're sold out." The manager that gave me the voucher tried to ignore my inquiries but finally acknowledged me by asking for my phone number so she could give me one if one happens to be returned! The other stores are sold out as well.

I agree. I saw a flyer for their Memorial day sale and went to buy some stuff. I was there in the store as soon as it opens and asked one of the employees to help me finding the listed item. She told me that the item listed is sold out. The flyer clearly said the sale is for Memorial day weekend and I was in the store on first day of the sale. If they dont have the item why are they listing it in the flyer and giving an attractive price for that item?

my product was found to be broken when I opened it .I don't have the receipt so I have to keep it. The store should give exchanges under certain conditions.

I bought a queen size airbed with built in pump when we tried to pump it up it doesnt hold the air my fiancee threw the box away but we have the receipt it suks bc the bed should of worked in the first place 35 dollars down the drain i want to return it and get my money back but big lots on fist st in el cajon is giving me a hard time returning it with no packaging the box is not the problem its the bed what should i do

I just purchased 4 fall scented candles. The white pumpkin ginger. I have never had a problem with their candles... Until now! The wicks turn a glowy orange color, but will NOT produce a normal 🔥flame! I am taking them back to the store and will glady show them what's going on! I spent $24.00 on these and can't use them. I would Love to do an exchange. Who would have thought you would need to keep a receipt for candles? Right?

I purchased this chandelier a week ago on monday, with anniversary money we received as a gift on sunday, the day before. tonight makes the 3d time I've turned it on. it wasn't bright to begin with, but it made nice mood lighting over my two chairs. that orange stick in the top photo is how poorly the lightbulb looks now, after 3 times. I do not have the receipt, because it WAS working, I thought I was good to go. now I'm apparently stuck with a faulty product that does nothing.

What if I don't have the receipt but I have the credit card I paid for the item?

This is the worst policy! I bought baskets and they still had the tags on. They didn’t fit the shelves at my house so I wanted to exchange them for something else. I lost the receipt and now I’m stuck with the baskets. Not even a friggin exchange. Very disappointing!

I recieved a gift . An item I already have." be nice and give it away or sell it?"Loss prevention at your store is of no impotance to me...nor are your signs.Too bad you feel the need to have RUDE employees - they treat us as garbage rather than customers.We are spending our money there.We deserve respect. You are not the only one who works.

Obviously you have never received a gift you didn't like, was wrong size, or a duplicate. Big lots should offer store credit. Every store at least offers store credit. Good luck in the future, I see you working at Walmart to support your family with your negative attitude when big lots folds you should fit right in.

It's stuff that was overstock somewhere else that didn't sell, and they bought it on the cheap. Not a secret hidden truth, that's what they tell you. Not hard to realize.

If I recall it's not my job in customer service to paper your f***ing ###. Be a man and ask and realize that retail it's a busy job all the time. Take done f***ing initiative and call another store yourself you Lazy f***.

In Regards to "Whocares1111" -- it would depend on the Code Reason for the decline -- it is likely there was not enough Postive information for the purchase not necessarily negative information. I am a former Big Lot's Manager and my check was declined when I had a relatively new account. Also the were some issuse in the past with certain Banks being decline. I could make some guess but the best thing to do would be to call Cetergy (they should have provided you with a little "card" to call them (Sorry I just checked and I just deleted about a week ago). Big lots is not alone in using Cetergy (Many Retailers do) --- if they do have negative information you would want to get it corrected so do not have any other problems.

The only thing I can say is that Certegy has negative information on you. So you should check your credit report and make sure someone has not opened a checking account in your name(very easy to do online) They can never verify your account balance, so it is something else. If you contact them they will tell you what it is. They may have you mixed up with someone else.

Certegyey uses your credit history - just because the money is there now, doesnt mean it will be there when the check finally gets to the bank - so stores who accept checks use this service and they go off your credit score / history.

[protected] is the kmart number. write in ur complaint, & then never go there again...i guess...

[protected]

You could also try and not care about what other people say. You should remember that the general demographic of people that shop at Big Lots fall into the "lower middle class and beyond " category (don't take that statement personally as it's not an attack on you). With that will come the demographic of people that work at those types of stores. For example, look at the 99 cents store and the people that work there. If you go to Big Lots to save money then you should just "turn a blind eye" (or deaf ear I guess) and just get your shopping done. I doubt you making a phone call will have any impact on what type of people work at these places. You might get that one guy fired but then you will bump into him again at Walmart.

I am a reatail Store Manager and issues like the one stated above happen all the time. Is becomes a Health and Saftey issue to let children climb on furniture. If the young lady would have fallen off the chair the Mother would have been asking for the Managers head on the plate! WE who work in retail do not want have to deal with upset customers just as much as you do not want to be asked to leave the store.

The bottom line is no manger should act like that it was very unprofessional, kids come and jump all over our beds and some more stuff but our manger handled it in a proper manner, doesn't matter how the kids were acting .

i think we are missing the point people ...the point is that this ..."so called mom" let a stranger attack her kids in public like that..i know as a father i wouldnt of let someone do that to my kid

Maybe you should re-read the story again...the girls were not being dis-respectful to the store manager and further more it was not like they were jumping and climbing on the furniture, they were simply sitting in a way that the store manager did not like. The job of a store manager is to set a standard of excellent customer service not to be-little customers not matter what age they are. If she felt the teen was being disrespectful then should have paged her parents and complained to the parents. I have worked as a manager for over 10 years and I have seen just about everything over the course of my career and not once have I ever treated a customer, let a lone a CHILD, in that way. Maybe if the store manager is that miserable at her job then maybe management just isn't the job for her. Now on the other hand, the parent to these two girls should have went over to her daughters the moment she heard the manager talking to them instead of listening from one aisle away and at that point she could have resolved the issue right away. As a parent if I hear someone speaking to my children in a matter that is offensive I would not sit a aisle away and listen.

Call Nobama, I am sure he can add it to the other bailout ###. You can almost hear the original poster say hmmm I was supposed to read all that stuff that came with the card? I thought I could just spend spend spend.

You were late. They charged you a late fee. I'm sure that the account came with a pamphlet explaining the term of the account.

Honestly, you should have expected the calls.

The moral of the story: You were late making a payment.

Under chair mechanism totally inadequate ! Bought at BIG LOTS ! Never again. A waste of $400 + tax of $33.00. Watch what you buy at BIG LOTS... most items are items that no worthy store name would carry.
Under chair mechanism failed within 30 days, but, no help in exchanging or repair.

We purchased a sectional made by stratolounger from j c penneys in july of 2008. Withing 8 months all cushions were sinking, especially the one on the recliner side. Called penney's and was referred to another number. Long story short, it took over two and a half months to get the replacement cushions in and the one on the recliner side and the far right side is sinking again. The replacements have only been on about 4 months and am now told by j c penney that because it has been over a year since we purchased the sectional it is no longer under warranty.

We were told that it doesn't matter that the new cushions have only been on a short time. They go by the date of original purchase.

We have a lemon law in the state of Missouri and feel this qualifies.

We would like to have replacement cushions but am to the point of wanting our money back as this is not the quality of furniture we expected from a well known brand and store.

Any suggestions as to how we can get this resolved.

Stephanie Holm
Springfield Missouri

Need repair for my my Strat-o-Lounger recliner.

I worked at store 4490 and constantly had issues with exp. food. Not to say there weren't counter measures in place like checking food for dates and what not. I mainly worked furniture but at night would be apart of the recovery team to which I did have some food aisles to go through. Almost weekly I would reach in to look at some cans for dates or check some chips for dates, and almost every week I found some fruit or soup or salsa or chips that were waaaaaaaaay expired like 6 months or better. One time a manager brought to my attention a bag of bird seed that actually had live maggots or worms or something of that nature in the unopened bag. Now obviously we removed the products as we became aware. When coming across expired food or contaminated products we did our best to contain the situation, but when you have employees who are oblivious to most stuff and mainly don't care, you WILL have this problem . I would have to say also the bathrooms were a joke, there is NO ventilation so as soon as someone takes a ### it stinks for like an hour or more. Also some issues such as the restrooms are not all the employees fault, it's the garbage broke cheap customers that come in and want something for nothing, and when that doesn't happen they go take a crap and wipe it on the seat or the walls or piss on everything. As far as all these complaints I read about, "well I couldn't get a return or I can't exchange or my product doesn't work" what the ### do u expect from a close out store they buy overburden or junk ### equipment and sell it for an even cheaper price. You wonder why u can get a tv for 200 bucks or less, prolly cause its a refurbished piece of ###! In all honesty like Big lots is not a bad company but its like this, you get what you pay for and don't expect otherwise, if I would have just went to bestbuy and spent the extra 100 bucks you could get that quality merchandise you want so badly. And one more thing its not the employees fault if an item is out of stock EVEN if its the first day of an ad. The employees have no control over what gets sent to stores it's ALL corporate who is rarely even in the store to see what a store needs, I think they go off store counts so they believe whatever their computer screen tells them to. Just remember this if u remember anything from this rant, which is you get what you pay for!

yes i also work at a big lots.We markdown to halfprice 2 weeks before exp. date .If it doesnt sell then we mark out of stock;-]

GOOD LORD! I don't know which location you work for.. But at our store that is a major no-no. We go through all of our food twice a week to check for food that has expired, and we have a markdown schedule and specialized clearance area for food. Also, if a stocker/recovery associate notices something is nearing it's expiration date they will mark it down/out of stock in accordance to the markdown schedule. Now I admit, there are times when some items are overlooked.. Our store has quite a bit more food than most locations.. But for the most part we're very good about our markdowns.

It's intriguing that your manager would tell you to leave the expired food on the shelf. That is just wrong, not to mention disgusting. There are lists sent to the stores with item names, and skus which may be about to expire at each store. Do they not receive them, or do they just ignore them?

Weird. Well, remind me not to shop at your location. But don't make generalizations like that. Not all Big Lots are managed in the same way. Many locations have an excellent staff, who actually care about the customer. Because that's what it's all about right? The customer.

... Considering the fact we're working in retail.

I bought house shoes and took back to exchange for smaller size 2 days later. Thought my recipient was in purse but it wasn't. Was told I have to take a 20% loss without a receipt. They refund item less 20% and do another transaction for another pair. I ask can't I just do even exchange for a dif size? Answer was no.

So I said I'd go home to see if I can find receipt first.

I purchased a love seat at Big Lots, gave my then couch to someone who needed it. couldnt pick it up for a week but when they came to get my large couch, they then drove to Big Lots to pick up my love seat.. someone gave them the wrong love seat! So Big Lots was going to deliver mine and pick their mistake up because it was their fault the wrong love seat was given to me. That took three weeks. then 3 women in a pickup truck brought it to me, not being able to carry it, scooting it on the cement. Only damage done was one arm of the couch was just a little smashed, I could live with that after all the trouble and frustration there was getting the right one to my house. The love seat had an odor to it but assumed it because of storage and in that thick plastic it was wrapped in. well it still not smells, it reeks! when I sit on it I wear the smell of it. I called and was told I would have to deliver it myself back to the store, in a very aggressive tone of voice more than once. Then was told they would tell the manager, but that he would just turn it over to her, I am presuming her as shift manager of furniture, or something like that. I still have not heard from them. My living room, quite small, is filling up with this odor. I do not feel like I should have to deliver it back to their store, but what ever it takes. I just would like to hear from someone about it. I tried to call the main office and after 45 min, was disconnected. any advice might be helpful?

WHAT ABOUT if I purchased a FAULTY recliner! the return for this I am being told is 30 days for an item of furniture that is not working because of a faulty mechanical switch. That is NOT fair.

I was shopping in Shawnee Big Lots on Oct. 11 2012 and my child seen a female manager hanging all over some guy. Not something that should be allowed to happen. It was very inappropriate and I will never shop there again.

I have bought many items from Big Lots and yes, sometimes I have had problems with the items and have had to return them. Most of the time the merchandise I have bought is good and I've found great deals on items that are more expensive elsewhere, but when it's not I'm not surprised because I kind of expect that. I know the type of place I'm buying merchandise from. Although I've had good and bad experiences with customer service I won't complain about the return policy. I've always followed the 30 day policy and when I've gone past it I have received an exchange or store credit. When people say things like "in this day and age stores should not have a 30 day policy" or "I didn't read the receipt", it just makes me laugh. In this day and age, who is not capable of reading a receipt? A lot of Big Lots stores are just plain filthy and terrible looking and customer service sucks at most, but I'm not going to complain about Big Lots having terrible customer service because of the return policy. One has nothing to do with the other, but I'm sure many are going to argue that point. Places like Best Buy have a 14 day return policy and there you are paying far more than you ever would at Big Lots. Yes, it would be great if the policy was more then 30 days but its not. Yet people posting here continue to shop there. Also, I don't blame the employees for defending themselves. I've been in many retail stores and watched just how ridiculous and juvenile adults will behave in public when they don't get their way. I'm sure everyone here has either seen that or is one of those people. I always speak to people in a respectful manner and when I have a return issue I do the same. I've always been able to work something out with the retailer because I don't kick and scream to get my way. I think if more people here would behave better, especially in public, they wouldn't have the horrible experiences that they do. I'm sure this will be very complicated for some to understand and comprehend but it doesn't change the fact that its still true. You may now fire away as I'm sure you will.

Yes, anyone who would log on to this website and defend a 1 month return policy is an employee at their corporate building. Notice the tone they use toward people who make conplaints. When you buy from big lots you are supporting a culture that needs serious restructure. Why would the average consumer log in and attach someone who is simply stating how bad their return policy is? There does not exist a looser with this much free time on the Internet. They would be up at big lots hanging out with the rude employees and laughing at all the customers who did not scour their receipt upon purchase. Big lots needs to have this at the check out on a sign so the consumer can put down any item likely to break but not in 4 weeks. This board has shown me the problem is all the way up the chain and a philosophy at corporate. So much for complaining to them, they are too busy defending their policies on complaint boards.

I went to return an iron made by singer when it broke after 3 months of use. They would not trade the product so I will not shop there again. Saving $5 on an iron has now cost me $60. I have learned time and again that you get what you pay for and yesterday was yet another lesson that was my fault for going into the junk store. Walmart from now on as I don't return things enough to over use their return policies.

I Purchased 2 wii dj hero items from big lots in alexandria, la. and they had never been open and i had my receipt well the ex.date was july 3rd i don't live in town and don't go as often well the asst.manager yvonne told me there was nothing they could do ...well that is crapp if you have a receipt an items weren't open you can take it back there return poilcy is a piece of s**t ...i used to shop there alot when i went into town but they just lost 4 customers that shop there and everyone that ask me about big lots i will talk DOWN on them ... they really must be hurting to start putting expiration dates on there receipts ..and lots of people do not realize that so they will go under after awhile ...who do they think keeps them in business ...WE DO !

Any store in this day and age that does not have a flexible return policy, does not have me as a customer.
I purchased a Rowenta iron at Big Lots (did not read my receipt..figured they were up to speed on customer satisfaction return issues as are most reputable stores), brought the iron back - price tag and bag from the original purchase and I was told of their policy. I graciously told the underpaid sales person that I was truly disappointed, but understood but would no longer be a frequent customer. I've never had to take anything back in the MANY years I've shopped there and at their other locations.
There are too many other places to shop. Burlington Coat Factory used to have a similar policy until they saw a drop in sales, they now accept returns with or without a receipt.

Big Lots policy is what it is. If you don't like it, simply do not shop there. The policy on returns is very straight forward, you have 30 days & must have a receipt. I do not understand why people get upset at the employees for following the policy. They are only following the policy Big Lots has put into place. If they do not follow policy they risk their job. I cannot stand when people throw fits or yell or are just mean to cashiers because they want to return something without a receipt. Especially for gifts. You shouldn't be returning a gift in the 1st place. Also, Big Lots offers gift receipts for exchanges within 30 days, if its the wrong size or not your taste. Basically, if you want hassle free returns, spend the extra money to shop somewhere else.

@ stang cobra
That's because Big Lots is not so much as a "discount" store as it is a Closeout store.

Please be aware that comments from "stang cobra" that target deezga7 and youdontmakesense are trolled across multiple complaint threads. If you click on his/her name and previous comments, you can see that this is recurrent.
Also, did you post "I Agree" to yourself?

Anyhoo, the refund process is controlled/monitored by the MARS register Point-of-Sale system. When peforming a refund, the manager must provide the transaction data to the machine in order to return the merchandise into the inventory. If you (the customer) know at which register and the approximate time of the transaction, the manager MAY be able to retrieve this necessary data. The "No Receipt" option is meant to be used with store credit. My manager tried this; IT DIDN'T WORK! The "store credit" cards (not store "credit cards") have been disabled, and henceforth discarded under orders of the corporate offices in Ohio and have nothing to do with the manager you were trying to appeal to. The refund policy is written clearly on the back of each and every receipt, as it always has been. What many people fail to realize is that ANY transaction you make with Big Lots binds you in a (however weak) legal contract (as outlined in the not-so-fine print) that gives the company full discretion on any matters of interpretation therein.

In short, three words: Limitation of Liability - this basically means that just because you didn't read the information, doesn't mean that you didn't agree to it. Sort of like when you "accidentally" break a law and they tell you that ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Also, has "I have my credit card statement" ever worked? Did you read the return policy on the receipt/hanging above the service desk? Do you even listen to those horrid commercials they force us to hear 100 times a day about returns?

One man was told "We can't give a refund without a receipt", to which he actually replied "I've never heard of a policy like that before. No one else does that, at least I know Wal-Mart don't". Then he tried to buy something with food stamps. The end.

I Agree

Big Lots return policy is really bad compared to other discount stores.

Please be aware that comments from "deezga7" and "youdontmakesense", that defend Big Lots, are probably employees. If you click on their names and their previous comments, you can see that they constantly defend Big Lots, and only that store.

"youdontmakesense", why are you so upset? LOL. It's clear that you are the one with an attitude and personality worth 99 cents. LOL

I understand store policy, but if you can provide a credit card receipt with the purchase details that should be fair proof of "purchase" . It's bad business to be so inflexable, use the "no receipt, no exchange" as a guide, it shouldn't be written in stone, though. You pay a store manager to be able to use his/her judgement, you have to give them some room to make an individual judgement.

Big Lots has a right to have whichever policy they so choose. Why are you so upset? The terms are set forth, and by shopping there you agreed to them.

You must have your original cash register receipt for all returns OR exchanges, and it must be within 30 days from the date of purchase.

It's quite simple, actually. Just because K-Mart gives store credit without receipt doesn't mean that Big Lots will... People just tear me up sometimes.

THERE IS A BIG LOTS STICKER ON THE ITEM. This means that it came from Big Lots. It doesn't mean that you PURCHASED THE ITEM. The receipt that BIG LOTS issued you at the time of purchase is the proof that BIG LOTS REQUIRES FOR THEM TO PERFORM A RETURN OR EXCHANGE.

Big Lots wants to make sure that you in fact purchased this item from them.

SCENARIO #1

A customer could, hypothetically, walk into the store and take a sticker off of a Black and Decker coffee maker that costs $40.00, and go to Dollar General and find that same coffee maker is on sale for $19.99. The customer could in turn place that $40.00 sticker on that coffee maker, and go inside Big Lots and say "I purchased this from your other store yesterday, and I've lost my receipt. Please give me a store credit."

SCENARIO #2

During a busy day a customer could walk into the store and pick up that coffee maker for $40.00, walk to the customer service counter.. and say "I've lost my receipt, please give me a store credit."

I'm not saying that everybody is a criminal. But there are SOME PEOPLE out there that will do this. AND YES, it has been done. So it's a case of where it's easier just to change the whole entire policy.

So for the honest guys, who still have their receipt. It's no problem at all.

Well your attitude and personality is worth about 99 cents so yeah, you should shop at the 99 cents store cause you fit right in. Maybe you should get more organized and keep receipts like smart people do. If you received a gift, maybe you should be upset with your friends who gave it to you without a GIFT RECEIPT. Ever heard of one, try looking it up online, it would help you in the future. Oh, and if you think any other retail store is different, well you got some more harsh lessons coming your way.

well what else is new with Big Lots? I ought to know I worked for them for 15 years. I think they do a lot of recruiting under bridges for their managers

Gee, why don't you tell us what you REALLY think?

Maybe she is in a bad situation. Give her a break. Have mercy and be happy that you are not her. Stop your whining and get a life. Life is too short for you to be a crybaby like this.

Go now and sin no more.

Hi Mike