@nottelling - Yes, stores like TJ, Marshalls and Homegoods are for those of us who like to shop as an adventure or “sport”…the hunters…not for everyone, that’s for sure. I do like to browse around those stores and look for treasure.
I only go to those stores if I have LOTS of time and energy to spare. The rest of the time, I prefer to buy online or at more predictable venues.
Guess it depends on your level of"good stuff". I can easily find many great buys of good labels - I usually have to pair down the goods I find!
Personally I think the trick is to buy and then return if it does not work. I will come home with bags of goods and try things out and then return, within a few days, anything or everything.
I rarely try clothes on-- just take them home and see them in a real mirror as I hate the mirrors at TJ’s. If is is a sweater I will take it back to the decor section and see it in a real mirror v.s. the distorted ones near the clothing.
Vases and lamps look different at home than in the store. That said, I am a hunter and do have an eye for color matching. It is a nice gift to have. In my great room I have a $19 lamp and a $275 lamp and people that I have asked have no idea which costs more.
Also, if I make a mistake and keep something I find I do not like it is never a great loss.
In my neck of the woods, TJ has a much better inventory of better known brands and higher quality goods than Ross. I don’t even go into the latter because I never find anything useful there.
Hopeful, not sure if it’s regional but, overall, I find the items at Ross to be of a lower quality. I find many more name brands at TJ Maxx. Thus, I don’t go to Ross anymore but I do periodically stop by TJ Maxx. It’s connected to a Home Goods as well and there’s almost always some treasure that I’m happy to purchase. Baking pans, baking sheets and jelly roll pans are always great deals.
There are two TJs that I’m familir with but neither is very convenient, so it’s not too tempting. That said, TJs is in the vicinity of Nordstrom’s Rack. I did buy a watch, pair of shoes and lingerie at NR (after finding nothing at TJs) for my birthday 6 months back. Prices were decent but not unbelievable or amazing. Did go back in December and D fond a pair of shoes she liked and wore to a party, also at NR–she chose not to bother with TJs. I didn’t find anything for myself but had not been really searching. D didn’t find anything else she fancied.
The Ross stores here are dirty, messy and poorly stocked. I have yet to find a nice on. Much prefer TJ Maxx .
Agree that Ross is disgusting. We have only one left that is clean. It use to carry designer clothes but now it is like our Macy’s --clothes on the floor and a jumbled mess.
Our Ross stores are awful. They look half empty and the stuff they carry seems to be several seasons out of date and quite a few pieces are ripped, torn, missing buttons etc. Our local Marshal’s is nice but the ones in the next city are even nicer. They tend to be well stocked and kept organized. The nearest TJ Maxx takes me past 3 Marshal’s so…I tend to not make it to TJ’s 
Arent Marshalls and TJMaxx owned by the same parent company?
Yes. TJ/Marshalls/HomeGoods. The newer Marshalls are quite nice. I used to feel that Marshalls was just a WEE less nice than TJ - not the new ones!
They now also own Sierra Trading Post. Hopefully they will open up some more stores. I don’t get to Reno or Cheyenne often (or ever!).
I just bought French process hazelnut oil at HomeGoods. I pretty much stop in to see what’s in the food area. At any of these stores, I’ll buy non-stick small pans and knives, spatulas, etc.
I got a great Calvin Klein dress for about forty bucks. Wore it to a charity event and felt great. I also get yoga and exercise wear there for good prices. Some good shoes. I have also bought a Columbia coat for my mom and a jacket for myself. Home goods is good for lots of things too, including little hostess gift type things.
Steve Madden “Troopa” boots for $20. Ralph Lauren lamps for the bedroom that were perfect…but I had to got to two stores to get a matched pair.
I got a gorgeous pair of Italian suede gloves, lined with cashmere, for $8 on clearance once. Just my size too! They were green with red piping and little buttons and we called them the Michelle Obama gloves because I found them right after the first inauguration when she wore that wonderful celery colored coat and gloves.
Just bought a down jacket, platinum color, on clearance last week. Had dinner with D1 Sat. night ( she and b/f were weekending about an hour from us on a ski trip) and she commented that she liked my jacket, wondered it if was new and asked me where I got it. D1 lives in Manhattan, loves to shop for clothes and can pretty much buy what she wants. I proudly said-- TJMax on clearance.
I also buy most of my exercise clothes at TJMAX.
I usually head for the housewares section quickly and see what kind of new stuff they have. I skip the tops/bottoms since those racks require major time investment to find something useful, quickly check the dress section and the tights/socks section. However, my latest purchase, a Calvin Klein cross body bag that was perfect for D’s trip to Spain, came from the bags/luggage section.
Once I lucked out and got 2 Tumi lightweight suitcases for 25% of their retail prices.
Recent bargain. $160 North Face jacket for $59. I buy mostly exercise type clothing there.