NPS Store - Orem — Local services in Orem

This place is awesome if you know what you're stepping into, so here is a beginner friendly guide to what this store is and some tips/cautions:

This store is overstock and a way for businesses to liquidate inventory. They get items from Amazon returns, display items, inventory auctions, etc. Almost all of it is new, but some of it may be damaged in shipping or by other shoppers. This because it is a discount store, do not expect it to be as organized as even a TJ Maxx or Ross. It is kind of like a thrift store but most stuff is new. It might not be sorted correctly, brand names are hard to find, and some things are in unmarked boxes. Be ready to google barcodes and names on boxes to find out what is inside because one rule is to not open any boxes.

The tips: The grocery is actually pretty good. Especially if you look for some shelf stable stuff, you can find things for very cheap. They also get some fresh food when other stores might have a surplus and can't sell it all. I've gotten many things like strawberries, gluten free oreos, canned coconut milk, and soy sauce for under a dollar each. The rotating sales categories are good to note. They are posted on the website, printed in the store, and sometimes they have little flyers if you ask an employee Students get a 10% discount every Tuesday if you bring an ID Check the prices on multiples of the same item. I'm guessing this happens when they get the same item at different times, but the same item is not always priced the same. The price you see on the sticker is the price of that box, but another box of the same thing could be cheaper for a number of reasons. There were game controllers for $22 right next to the same controller priced at $12. Go to collectibles first because you can't bring other merchandise there. This is where a lot of name brand stuff goes. It looks like just clothes from the outside but there is a lot more once you walk in

The cautions: Like I said earlier, try to make sure an item isn't damaged before you buy it. If it's in a box, look for tears and such Some tags say AS IS. That means you can't return it, so keep that in mind if you are buying something more expensive. Check with customer service before buying something if you are unsure Because of the markdowns, resellers love this store. Unfortunately, that sours the experience and selection for regular people like me. Try to beat them to the punch if you can. For example, try to go on the first day of a sale on a section of the store. They change about every month so if you go towards the end of that time frame, everything will be picked over. Also, because of resellers, if you see a good deal you need to buy it immediately. Don't expect anything to stay on the shelves for long.

Anyone who rates this store low because of reasons like "it's unorganized" or "there were long lines at the register" or "I bought something and they didn't let me return it" just don't know what they are walking into. It's a bargain store; adjust your expectations accordingly and have fun...

I used to absolutely love this store. Three years ago, I was here at least three times a week. The sales were clear, the deals were good, and it was one of my go-to shopping spots.

But lately, I’ve noticed something that feels really misleading. Almost all the sale signs in the store work the same way: you see “40% off school supplies” or “30% off kitchen” and you know that percentage is taken off the sticker price at the register. That’s the pattern.

Now there’s a big “70% OFF” sign on certain clothes that have been sitting for months, and naturally I assumed it worked the same way—70% off the sticker price. But it doesn’t. That “70% off” is actually just the price on the pink sticker, with no extra discount. It's easy to think it’s like the other promotions.

Even the employees are confused. I’ve had cashiers ring it up as 70% off the sticker. The store manager said, “No, that’s the final price.” The 2 cashiers overheard the conversation and asked "so wait, its not 70 off the sticker?". They and I were so confused its like we had to ask twice and she said it even more sternly the more you asked for clarification. The store manager even said they “got in trouble” for giving the actual 70% discount. If that’s the case, why hasn’t this been explained to staff?Why are staff even asking about it, in front of customers, if there was "trouble"? Seems like there needs to be a store wide team meeting. But there's an easier solution, take down the 70 off if that's not what it stands for.

Here’s the thing—if it’s already marked down, why even use a percentage sign? Customers know that a percentage sign means you take that amount off the sticker price,this is the theme throughout the whole store. If that’s not how it works, don’t put “70% OFF” on the sign. Just put “Clearance” or “Final Price” so people won’t assume it works like all the other discounts around the store.

When every other percentage-off sign in the store works one way, but this one works differently with no explanation, it feels like it’s playing with customers’ expectations. It’s frustrating. I hope they fix the signage so it’s clear and consistent—for customers and for their...

I have found some great things at NPS and I like what they’re trying to do, but I wanted to share a very frustrating experience I had yesterday. Over the time the store has been open, the return policy has changed a couple of times, so before buying a suit for my son, I asked the cashier to verify it could be returned. She said yes, as long as I had the receipt. The suit didn’t quite fit my son, so I took it back a couple of hours later to return it, but was told that because the tag said “As-Is,” it was not returnable—no exceptions. I didn’t know that “As Is” meant no return—that’s why I had asked their employee! (It would be more helpful if the tag said “Final Sale” or “NO RTN” or something clearer like that.) The employee at the desk said that I shouldn’t have asked an employee about the return policy, I should have read their return policy for myself—a full sheet of small print that she showed me they had on display at the front desk. She said that their employees can’t be expected to know the return policy, because some of them are new, etc., and so it was on me to have read it. She agreed to call over the manager and I explained my concern to him, but he also was unwilling/didn’t have authority to make a return. If I’d known the suit wasn’t returnable, I would have waited and brought my son to try it on before I bought it. On the other hand, every time I’ve been there recently, the fitting rooms have been closed—so I guess without the option to try it on before buying, nor to return it if it didn’t fit, I actually wouldn’t have bought it at all. I want this store to succeed and stay open, so I hope they can work out their issues with staffing, policies,...