Daiso - Japanese Household Goods — Attraction in Oceanside

The kids and teens love this store. I think it is alright. This seems like an oversized convenience store you would find in Okinawa or mainland Japan, or pretty much most Asian countries. The majority of the store is home goods, the remainder is toys and food/drinks/candy selections. They have a pretty good selection of things most people like, but the prices are terrible. They are severely inflated, banking on the anime craze of America’s youth. The stuffed animals are a better cost than many other places, but still price gouged at a 50%+ increase. The tags are only marked in yen and when asked, the staff said the store has its own set prices from yen to USD and that it does not follow the market value of yen. Of course they cannot keep changing the prices every single day, but a baseline should be kept, especially since the value of the USD and the yen seem constant with minor fluctuations. Attached are photos of two large stuffed animals of nice quality advertised for 1000 yen each, which is a little over $6 US. In actuality, they were about $12 each. This is just under a 50% markup in price from yen to USD. I like the quality of these items, but they should have some signs posted everywhere to illustrate the stores price list so there is no question. The selection of food and kid desirables could be better, much of the store seems very specific to Asian households. Then again, it is a Japanese store specifically marketing Japanese goods, so I get it. Overall, an ok store with fair offerings, especially since no one is flying to...

The selection of various things such as stationary, household items, and makeup were wonderful, but our moods were spoiled when during our first visit to Daiso, the cashier passive-aggressively corrected us on a small mistake, for we did not notice that a sticker offering a BOGO soda discounted deal stated they had to be the same flavor. We didn't protest even as we hadn't noticed anything stating such, dealing with the fact that the offer wouldn't apply to two differently flavored cans. It wasn't an inconvience whatsoever, and nothing to fuss over. It's a drink. After we had already checked out with our items and our newly swapped-out soda can, he unnecessarily went as far as walking all the way to where the snacks are kept only to come back and let us know it DID read they had to be the same soda flavors. It was irritating to hear when we were already on our way out, and his way of wording felt like he was attempting to act like a smart alec. There were three of us there, and the three of us hadn't noticed the text.

20 minutes into our second visit to Daiso, for back-to-school shopping, security in disguise began following us around. We weren't behaving suspiciously. With how much there was to see in such a cute Japanese dollar store, of course anyone would take their time looking around! What would be the point of stealing when everything is $1.50???

We don't intend on returning to this...

So surprised to see a Daiso store in the US. BEEN to many in various cities in Japan. They are the equivalent of Dollar Stores or 99 cents stores in the US. However that's where the similarities ended mostly. Yes they have many cheap products made in China which is what comprised of most discount stores like these. Look closer there are some made in Japan ones also, usually of higher qualities. The store is brighter and more cheery and generally better looking clienteles. Product mixes also geared more towards Asian goods--novelties, snacks, food, drinks, household goods etc etc. Price structures are also different. Pay attention to what the Japanese Yens printed on the package and there's an equivalent chart to US Dollars hanging everywhere which range from $2 up to $15. So don't assume everything is $1. And if it's not marked in Yens then just...