Village Discount Outlet — Local services in Lake View Township

I have been a regular shopper at this store, visiting 1-2 times per week since moving to the area in 2020. After my recent experience, I no longer plan to shop at this location. Do not expect this location to follow the advertised sales. Almost every item I attempted to buy at their winter sale on 3/20 was denied by their manager watching over the checkout lane. This included a fuzzy fleece zip up. If that didn't qualify as a winter item then I don't know what was supposed to qualify. I was stunned.

I get the sales alert and was excited to see they were offering 75% off for coats & sweaters, a winter flash sale. Screenshot included. There was a lined coat I had my eye on previously, but they wanted $60 for it - way too much! I was happy to find it again on this trip thinking it would qualify in the sale. The prices at this location are laughable while some gems are priced very well. In the last year this location has gotten so GREEDY! Over pricing items and things that should really not be priced as high. My best guess for overpricing is now the current management.

I spent two hours selecting about 25 items. Went to check out and the older gentleman manager looks over and says NO those items don't qualify. Only heavy thick coats for this sale and he points at the sign. The sign said "lined" coats, but he didn’t honor any of the coats that had lining that I had. The text message promoting the sale did not specify any restrictions on coat or sweater types. None of the sweaters, hoodies, or zip up fleece items counted. This lack of clarity in the sale's terms and signage was frustrating and misleading. This business is making a profit on items that were given to the store for free and yet they can’t be bothered to actually honor an advertised sale? At this point none of my selections qualified for the sale according to the manager. While I understood that not all my items might have qualified, the majority should have been eligible. The managers quick disregard and brushing it off as he counted the cash drawer made him come across as arrogant and unprofessional. The sales associate also looked confused by his quick decision to say no to every item she held up. I’m not the type to argue. This should have been a well over $150 sale for the store, but instead I bought one item. I bought one hoodie aka a sweater that was not honored in the 75% sale thanks to the manager, for my mom. It was great timing for my $5.00 reward to come up. (Their rewards are 1 point for every $1 spent. You have to spend $200 before you get $5 off! - better than nothing I suppose but it showed that I shop at village discount often. I paid the store 99 cents for the item and paid 10 cents in tax. I wouldn’t recommend this location any longer. I’ll drive out of the way to spend at a location that treats their...

The only explanation I can think of for why the prices are so high is that this location forgot it's a Village Discount Outlet. $16.99 for a solid yellow IZOD crewneck? $35.99 for a standard Green Bay Packers sweatshirt? $200 for a USED Carhartt jacket, which, by the way, you can get brand new for $100 at Walmart. I know inflation is affecting everyone, but give me a break. I saw a Nike shirt with a stain on it for $25.99. Again, it had a STAIN ON IT. Jackets priced at $50 and above.

Random shirts from someone's family reunion or suburban little league team will be priced around $15 (Seriously?!), when just a few years ago I could get an actually cool graphic t-shirt for $3.25, tops. Anything with a pattern? $19.99 or more.

Can someone please remind the manager or whoever prices things that the store got these items for free?! The entire time I was there, I thought I had missed the memo that Village Discount Outlet was now a luxury vintage boutique and not a dusty, musty thrift store.

I've been going here for 7+ years and have NEVER seen prices like these. Save yourself the trouble and go to literally any other location because you're not going to find a "discount" here.

To the new owners, please think of the families who shop here because they can't afford not to. Not everyone who thrifts is a wealthy teenager or reseller. And while you're at it, get a grip. The greed and price gouging is disgusting. Mark my words, you'll be out of business...

One of the worst shopping experiences I've had in years. The store is PACKED full, the organization is terrible, stuff is everywhere, and the isles are terrible to navigate. I could easily look past that if the the prices weren't INSANELY high. Egregiously expensive.

This used to be one of my favorite spots- and now I would recommend avoiding this place at all costs. Even if you can afford the price points- it's a much better shopping experience to go to a curated thrift or the brown elephant down the road. I would avoid this place on principle alone. The recent price changes are insulting to the community.

VIP $5 off coupon you get when signing up doesn't work until you spend $200 and there is no mention of that requirement until you're at the register.

Terrible terrible place that's bad for customers AND ultimately bad for business. With a store that packed you have to price to sell. It is obvious there is no business strategy beyond price gouging, which will tank any profits they intend on receiving with these changes anyway. Not to mention the damage to community rapport.

So...