Marukai 98 Cents Plus Superstore

Closed, some months ago
was a great source for odds and ends and organizers
went from 98 cents to $ 1.59 to $ 2.69
but it is gone, I’m told the other store is still open

They should seriously consider changing the name… 98 cents? I purchased like 20 items. and not single item turned out to be 98 cent, what kind of odd is that? Purchase non-​98 cent items knowingly and «as long as the prices are clearly marked». I must have been blind, I don’t even remember seeing anything else (telling the prices) otherwise. It is a rip-​off, very unclear pricing method and, most are not even close to 98 cent. A bag of Chinese candies 3 dollars??? A bag of somen noodle almost $ 5.00…: (
Everybody, I won’t tell not to shop there, but PLEASE watch out the prices, double-​check all items at the cashier… I trusted them too much, did not even realize that I was paying 3, 4 times more than I thought I was paying.
For the prices I ended up paying, I don’t even see any bargains if I had known the prices. Sorry, this place used to be 98 cent store, but as of now, it’s almost deceiving and tricky.

What the hell… how can this place close down? We’ve been shopping here for years, buying little knicks-​knacks made in Japan. Now where are we suppose to go buy stuff like that?
It’s not like Office Depot, Staples, Target carry items like Daiso.
:(

Store is closing, which is surprising since it’s not in a bad location and they have good parking. The day that I went, it was 40% off everything, but the selection was small.

Meh. I remember when this place sold everything at just 98 cents — when it was really Marukai 98. The stationery and origami supplies were really worth it.
Sadly, all good things come to an end and now they sell the same things for 0.98, 1.25, 1.50, etc. Somethings are still worth it, like some of the plates, but now you should be careful what you buy.

I was there just to kill some time while I was waiting for my friend.
I saw the sign, saying «all Daiso products are $ 1.99+tax» and I picked the one which was not Daiso product.
When I brought it to the cashier, the price showed $ 2.17 which was for Daiso product. Cashier seemed to be a new employee, and he tried to get some help from other employees. As he called one of the employees names, she totally ignored him. Cashier kept calling her name, and finally she said «what! what do you want?» in front of other customers. That old female employee was very very RUDE. She came to the cashier and just said to me loudly «you pay whatever the price shows!»
I was speechless on her attitude… Both cashier and I just wanted to make sure if the price was entered correctly. I don’t think I never want to go back there.

japanese pens, cheap cookware, party supplies, knick knacks, toys and all sorts of other stuff.
its called 98 cents plus– emphasis on the ‘PLUS’ part. most of the things in here are oddly priced like 1.09 or 1.89 or 1.98– what the heck! i would have to work here when you have to do a price check. but with all the weird prices be careful of all the things that you are picking up and putting in your basket. it sure adds up!
as a amateur cake boss– i like that this place has tons of cute cupcake paper cups, bundt cake pans, little spatulas and plastic containers to carry your tasty treats in. i just made some cookies and i like putting them in little paper bags– they are in the gift bag section!
as an elementary school teacher– i like that this place has a wide variety of school supplies. rulers, markers, construction paper, notebooks, staplers, erasers, calendars, you name it! plus i like to spoil my kids so i like to pick up fun stuff for prizes and incentives on tests and projects– cute japanese erasers that are shaped like food, little toys, key chains and other random little gifts. definitely a teacher’s paradise because teacher supply stores are too pricey for my budget!
ive been to japan and this is definitely not a «daiso». the dollar stores in japan are amazing– this is just kind of amazing! some people can hate all they want and call this place a swap meet of junk– but trust me, once you find some weird cute little notebook or some japanese sushi keychain– you will change your mind.

People weren’t kidding. This place is full of junk. I thought I had hit the jackpot when I saw this on Unilocal,but Daiso it is not.

Really, this should be called the $ 1.98+ Superstore — when I looked at my receipt, almost nothing was less than that, and almost everything was that exact price. But you know what? WHATEVER. THIS PLACE IS FREAKIN’ AWESOME.
I’m usually really good about not impulse buying, but that pretty much flew out the window here (I could have easily spent $ 100 without trying; as it was, while the checker pulled things out of my basket and I watched my total grow and grow, I didn’t even remember grabbing so much stuff). This is like the best dollar store EVAR, and it’s organized well. You can find everything you’d ever want — stuff for gardening, a giant selection of kitchenware (plates, mixing bowls, knives and cooking implements, chopsticks, a heart-​shaped pancake maker, cutters for bento box shapes — someone please love me enough to make me a fancy adorable bento lunch), snacks, bathroom goods, beauty (ladies, Western beauty standards are stupid, and the glue/​sharp stick to create epicanthean folds is creepy), office/​school stuff (SO MUCH), stationary, crafty stuff and an extremely cool selection of gift bags. They’ve got an enormous selection of plastic boxes of varying sizes, as well as folders, for all you organizational folks — perfect for crafting supplies (Marukai carries beads, yarn, various sewing needles, too), office stuff, sorting nails and screws, or who knows what.
It would probably be best to go with a set amount of cash and no credit cards on you, especially since this Marukai’s policy is no refunds or exchanges. Bring your credit card and you might end up like me: hey Jessica H., part of your birthday present is actually for your dogs…

Cool store. I had time to kill and I decided to check it out. I found quite a few useful items and some more obscure things I have been looking for like o-​bon kachi-kachi’s.
Something I don’t understand about stores like this though is when they have a limit price in the name but go beyond the limit on some items.

They close at 7 but they turn the lights out at 6:30! I asked the woman who works there if we could keep shopping and she just grumbled! As a former retail manager, I would NEVER rush out customers like that! It makes me never want to shop there again!

I think this place is actually called Super M Store but is still one of the Marukai stores. Think 100-​yen shop, but stuff isn’t 100-​yen. As you walk in, you find inexpensive Japanese dishes and cups and some junky furniture. Then you get into the real junk, little plasticky (sp) stuff you find in 100-​yen stores in Japan (this is junk even in Japan). I suppose there is some novelty at first, but it wears off after about 4 minutes. This is one of the «non-​membership» Marukai stores, which means you do not have to be a member with Marukai to buy stuff or get «member pricing.» For example, the big Gardena store requires you to be a member to buy stuff. This location does not. On the whole, I would recommend the Gardena store on Artesia if you are interested in Japanese stuff like dishes and furniture. They also have their share of junk, in case that’s what you’re looking for. The supermarket selection on Artesia is definitely above-​average. If you are not a «year member,» you can also do a one-​day thing for $ 1. Make sure to ask at the Membership counter inside the front entrance. As for the Super M store, I will not be coming back anytime soon. Some Chinese woman at one of the registers was very rude last time when I arrived 10 min to closing, yelling «no, we close, we close» and making an «x» with her arms. Well, with shitty service and in this economy, no matter how cheap your stuff is, you’ll be saying that a lot real soon.

pretty much the best place on earth. this place is like a f@#$ing amusement park ride. The second you step in your mind is captivated by bizzare Japanese kitch. But its a ride that lasts over an hour, no lines, tons of party favors and little money spent. i can not express the endless amount of gems i have acquired from shopping at this place. pretty much anything ridiculous i can think of is for sale at Marukai. Ummm you want a plac that reads «my best friend» and displays a mirror so you can gaze at yourself, check!
i MISS when they had some thrift store looking clothes on sale there for a while, it was just a pile of sweaters and tops in a cardboard box. I got the sweeeeeetest sweater with three areobic bears on the front.
i have actually taken pictures of amazment of items mostly becasue i was stumpafied about what some of the products were actually meant to be used for, like the beauty pump which looked like a little toy blow horn. Still no idea not only that all the packaging is in Japanese so half the things i bought i had to guess what they were.
oh another favorite was the reflective yellow cat vest i bought there summer 06.
This store brings endless joy to my life and they also sell amazing candy!!!
the only downside is that this place wasn’t around for my back to school supply shopping when i was younger.

If you love cheap asian crap like I do than this is the place to go. You can look around for well over an hour at all the weird stuff and maybe even find some pretty inventive gadgets as well as cool cheesy dinnerware.

oh marukai 98 cents store… how i dreamt you would remain at the 98 cent price point. (and what’s up with adding that additional «plus» to the name of THIS store?! what?! just cuz you’re newer and in SOUTH torrance you are that extra special? why couldn’t you rep gardena with a «plus» huh!!!)
I went a couple weeks ago and I was ergh… not blown away. It looked a lot cleaner and better-​organized than the one I frequent (the one in Gardena on Artesia). But it didn’t have nearly as great of a selection of things (dishware, plastics, etc.) I did notice that this Torrance location had a wider selection of far more expensive, nowhere near 98 cent pieces of furniture and décor in the «expensive» section.
I say… if you live near this south torrance location, by all means get your fix of a quick craft, dishware, or gift purchase… but if you are really looking for selection, go to the Gardena location.
but in the end, it still a GREAT store because it stays true to the spirit of the OG marukai 98 cents store in Gardena… you can still get the coolest things at great prices (cookery, plates/​bowls, stationary, papers, random plastics)…so I’ll give you four stars. you just can’t beat my first love.