We've had TJ Maxx and Marshall's for years, but it wasn't until last year that a Home Goods opened here. I've only been there once. Wasn't really impressed. We did buy a nice night stand for dh. I'd been eyeing a couple at Pottery Barn (for $400), but when I saw the one at Home Goods for $75 I knew it was too good a deal to pass up.

I know exactly what you mean about the hunt and I'm not really a shopper. Most of the plates in my cupboard are from TJMaxx/Marshall's ... (Wedgwood, Villeroy & Boch, Royal Doulton, Johnson Bros.) ... good quality at a decent price. I didn't pay more than $4.99 per dinner plate. If I could find similar plates now they'd cost twice as much at Home Goods.

So, are you saying you think that the same items are priced higher at Home Good s than at Marshall's or TJ Maxx? That doesn't make sense and it hasn't been my experience. They are probably priced higher than when you bought the original ones.

Junco, please Cindy's statement again, the words "years ago" and "now" make perfect sense. They are all part of the same company, all three stores carry the same home products @ the same price, there's just a different name on the door.

I agree their shelves are very junky. I go for the coffee syrups. They are much cheaper than even the Warehouse prices. I always look through the place but rarely find anything I want that isn't already broken....

Junco, like Lukk said the scenario would be the same at any of the stores. The problem is they don't carry the same quality they once did,

I have seen identical items, and I am identical brand, size color etc. priced more at Home Goods. A friend of mine likes to go to a Home Goods one state over because it is in a more upscale town and she thinks it gets better things than the one closet to our town does.

I do like Marshall's which is closer to me than a TJ. But, I sometimes call my finds cheap for cheap! Sometimes when I do research on a brand that I don't know, the brand is not upscale and their usual prices are low (maybe not as low) as the Marshall price.

It's fun to putter around in stores like Home Goods but for me you really can't shop there will a specific item in mind.

I've shopped them all, but only recently have we had a Home Goods. Here HG is a tad more expensive than TJM or M's. I always hated M's because of how messy their stores were, but the newish one in a middle class neighborhood is always neat, tidy and they mark everything down that hasn't sold in a month.
HG seemed to carry more decorative glass items and other things that weren't my style so I've only been there twice.

Marshall's is the closest to me so I'm more familiar with them. What I've noticed is they are selling more "made for Marshall's" brands of lesser quality and fewer overstock, end of season name brands. I very seldom get a good deal on a quality brand.

Do you ever see an item in Homegoods that you have seen in another store not owned by the Company that owns the 3 (TJ Max, Marshalls, Homegoods)?

I remember when TJMax and Marshall's actually had deals. Things that were either overstocks or unsold items that came from other outlets. Now everything in all 3 stores seem to be made for those 3 stores.

Its like going to an outlet mall, few real deals to be found.

ML

Last year they opened a new HG near me and I finally got over there a month ago. It is a nicer and larger store than the other one a bit farther away. I did buy some serving bowls. I saw a unique sideboard I fell in love with but I have no place for it and I was shocked at the price for HG.....$1500.

I find I get overwhelmed at stores like HG, TJ, antique stores, cutesy gift shops, etc. I can't see the forest for the trees. I have to be either in the mood to just have fun and browse with no expectations or I have to go in looking for a specific item. More often than not, I leave empty-handed.

IDK if we have a Home Goods around here. There are Marshalls, Ross, and Tuesday Morning. I love TM and like Marshalls, but R is dark, messy, and I feel like they treat customers more like potential thieves.

The Homegoods and Marshalls in my town are combined into one store. I haven't noticed any changes in quality or pricing. And TJ Maxx is across the street from them. It makes it convenient.

I am a die-hard TJ Maxx/Home Goods shopper. Oh, and Tuesday Morning is my jam for bedding! One thing you do need to watch out for, though, is certain lines of things that are now made exclusively for these stores.

I recently came across a big set of Riedel stemware that I thought was priced amazingly well. I quickly googled it on my phone to try to see what the real retail price was. Turns out it's a line of Riedel made exclusively for TJ Maxx brands! I don't know how its quality compares to the other Riedel lines, but I felt a little bait and switched by the "retail price."

I am not a Home Goods fan. People say it is hitor miss, but I've never found anything there for me in probably five trips, so when I go to Atlanta I don't bother stopping in. We have a Marshall's in our town but it must be stocked with the designated "poor town" goods because it's mostly cheap, flashy stuff. No TJ Maxx anywhere around that I know of.

At Christmas I usually stock up on tissue paper, gift bags and tags from Tuesday Morning, and they will often have a half price nutcracker I need :-). They used to carry the gold monogrammed napkins I use in the dining room (a stack of them on the sideboard as adjuncts to cloth napkins) but I haven't seen them in a few years. I did find my home office rug at Tuesday Morning and while it is not wonderful quality it is the right size, color, made of wool and was $99 on sale!

Having lived in different states and different areas of the same state, I assure you that there are very wide variables in all of the above named stores. There was a lovely Marshalls in one state with many, many home décor, dishes, lamps, etc.. Now my local Marshalls has very little home décor because there is a Home Goods. In another area Home Goods and Marshalls share a store with Marshalls only carrying clothing. I have never found anything to buy in Tuesday Morning in any state, although I am certain they do have some nice stores somewhere...probably where there is no Marshalls, Home Goods or TJ Maxx. You get the idea. In South Florida in 1988ish I loved the Ross store and found many things there, but they had no competition. Now they seem like empty garage sale leftovers. I do agree that nicer towns have better selection, with faster turnover. SawGrass Mills mall in Florida had an amazing Marshalls anchor store (1990s). When I returned 2 years ago I was disappointed. Do you think having too many of these same stores has diluted the merchandise in each one? And of course, the quality of merchandise has deteriorated in every store in the country.

I've found different pricing for the same item, with HG either higher or lower. HG does have a superior collection of kitchenware. I found that the HG that is nearest an affluent suburb has a higher grade of merchandise than the one in the less affluent area. They also had differences in foot traffic. Post Christmas the better one had shelves full of all clad, mauviel, stab, Emile Henry and rare high end Italian cookware. A lot of this is so obscure it ends up in clearance. Decor wise I'll pick up stuff for our airbnb rental or hit their pillow collection -- which has gone downhill imho

i do fear that some lines are now being done at a lower quality especially for tjmaxx/marshals/HG/Sierra trading post conglomerate. In most cases I do think it is excess stock.

Our HG has changed this year. In dishware, almost everything is earthenware made in Portugal or that 222 brand. I seldom find major china brands any longer. TJM has housewares, but carries more clothing, so I don't go there unless I'm trying to find more pieces to a pattern started at HG.

I like Tuesday Morning for holiday decor and paper goods. Their prices are better than HG, but the selection is limited.

After melle_sacto's comment, I'm thinking I was getting Marshal's and Ross mixed up. It's Ross I didn't like how yucky they were.

I heard someone in Tuesday Morning say Tuesday stores are run by Costco. There is a Costco clearance center near me that has some outstanding deals but you have to be on the lookout for the quality items. Homegoods seems like a glorified TJMaxx. The ones near wealthy neighborhoods have better items. I like to look at holiday decor.

Re: pricing. It is always what ever the market will bear in that area. I have bought dishes and "stuff" there, knowing they are not Neiman Marcus - but neither is my wallet. Sadly they just closed ours. It was always a fun few hours to see what there was to see.

I am within a 15 min drive of all of these stores. The ONLY one I feel I can sometimes get a legitimate "good deal" now is Tuesday Morning, and they even seem to be slipping. It used to be different....you could get true designer clothes (last season or overstock) at TJ's, but no longer. If I am going to a store that is a "sub optimal" shopping experience...I better be getting a great deal! These stores are not pleasant to shop at...I'd rather shop at nicer boutiques and wait for sales if I am not experiencing the rush of "oh, I found Waterford crystal salt and pepper shakers at TM for $29 on the back of a shelf!" I don't mink sifting through junky stores if I can find something, but there really isn't much to be found now. Not worth my time.

We have a large, well stocked HG here in my town. Merchandise constantly changing. I have always felt it's a hit/miss store. There are times that I've gone and came home with some great things. Other times I roam the store and nothing hits me. I am a fan. I rarely go into Marshalls (messy) and TJ is too small in my area. Never been in TM, but there is one not far away. Maybe I'll take a ride up that way.

When I am in the mood for shopping entertainment, I find wandering around a big Marshalls/Home Goods to be fun. I buy very little there, but then I have everything I need generally and when I do actually need something, I'm online looking for it. The quality has definitely declined, and seems made for those kind of stores instead of catalog leftovers.

We have several Home Goods, Marshalls, TJ Max stores as well as 2 combo Marshells/HG stores within driving distance. Since I'm all over the place for work, I liked stopping in a variety of locations. True some are better than others but I don't recall experiencing the different pricing even when the distance was 40 miles or so. They just opened a small HG 2 miles from me and it is half the size and severely lacking with only 1 complete row of glassware, 1 row of bedding and so on. I was so excited when they announced one would be in our area so that too was a big disappointment especially after waiting for years to have one closer by.

I've never understood the draw to the clothing portion of Marshalls or TJ Max. I've never bought clothes at one because they are unkept and junkie but when my SIL was visiting from Russia, she had a field day in one and loved it.

I read about lots of finds at Tuesday Morning but again, I went into several and their stuff looked like it had been on the shelf for years. Dated and picked through. I don't know if it's the area we're in or that I've lost my touch to sort through things and find the diamond.

I'm also a former Home Goods junkie but no longer. I've struck out the past few visits.

kswl, I think I remember you saying your city has one restaurant plus a couple chains. I live in a small town, too, but how in the world do you land a Marshalls in a small town? I want one or something similar.

All three stores are owned by TJX Corp, which also owns Sierra Trading Company. I live in a small town that has all three stores, separate stores not the combined HG/TJ's. All 3 are tend to be a bit more upscale due to the area. I categorize them by what I want to buy: shoes-Marshalls; clothing-TJ Maxx; HG: not much! The TM near us is not worth a visit. Recently I bought a pair of Not Your Daughter's Jeans at TJ's for $40, and the Nordstrom's price tag of $108 was still attached. That's a score!

I think I've found some fun stuff at HG, and it's pretty inexpensive. I can't say I've noticed a difference in quality, but then I'm not there for anything serious. It's always busy in there.

Does every HG have a lot of really odd decorative items? Mine has rows and rows. For instance, this summer my local store had large wicker sea animals. This included a friendly looking, two and half foot wide, wicker octopus with button eyes. It wasn't the kind of thing you could hang on a wall, you'd just need to set it down somewhere. That's just one example of the many weird things I've run across. I love the unusual but some of that stuff makes me give a little side eye. I play a little game with DH where I find the strangest, most useless thing there and text a photo to him labeled Today at HG.

Ours used to have interesting stuff, even things like John Boos butcherblock islands, but the past couple of years I always wonder if they're getting ready to close the store since there's so little stock and that such junk.

Even in their heyday it was their policy to send the best merchandise to the newest locations in a particular zone, but they haven't opened any new stores anywhere around here in a very long time.

Perhaps it is regional. I live in New England and Home Goods is unquestionably the place to go. Love it.

I join you all re: less originality, messy stores, not as good as it used to be, etc. But when I look around my house. Esp. kitchen, I feel truly ridiculous about ranting. Do you know how many "must have" cutting boards. Knives, gadgets, fancy napkins, serving ware I have? Enough to have a party of 50 a month and not use the same stuff,. I think I Need to look in the mirror and admit I'm shopping for entertainment. Cheese cutting knives? I have one for every kind of cheese imaginable, which I can't eat b/c they constipate me (shamed shopaholic)

Fortunately, our Home Goods is in a shopping center that I do not visit often. I went in once, it was fun but also too easy to buy things just because they are there. Tuesday Morning does have some good deals from time to time but shopping there, you really do need to know your prices as you can still get many things cheaper at other stores. I do like them for good quality sheets, like Sferra, at least if they have been there a long time and are marked down further. I still enjoy "the hunt" at antique stores but am less enamored with it at places such as Ross, TJ Maxx, etc.

I've only ever set foot inside one Home Goods store and wasn't impressed at all with the offerings. I think it really does have to do with location, location, location (although I can't think of a decent Ross in ANY area; I've always come out of there feeling like I need to go home and bathe).

As for clothing, I'd rather pay a little more money at a store with organized displays and helpful staff than to have to sift through racks of jumbled sizes and unrelated items. I used to like to shop at Stein Mart, but the past couple of times I've been to my local stores, it's been sensory overload. They're cluttered and crowded and just generally a mess. Same goes for Belk, which for some reason many people seem to think is just wonderful. It's a fairly new store to my area, but I was underwhelmed. Same concept of jumbled junk. I don't enjoy the "hunt." I want to go, find what I want quickly, and get out. Shopping isn't the sport for me that it used to be.

I used to LOVE the store in San Diego, and the OC, Ca one(Ladera Ranch), was off the hook! A store opened here in Austin about 3 years ago, and my first trip was very disappointing, overall, with the second being not much better. I was told by an employee mds.was delivered twice a week, and went very quickly, which led me to believe inventory must be low. I waited a good 6 mos. longer before going back, and for the first time, the store was well stocked, although I didn't purchase anything. Have been back several times since DD bought a new home and wanted to look for pillows, lamps, and a few other things, which she did find after a few months~it pays to be persistent!

A second store has opened, but I haven't been there. I only shop when I need something. ;)

I have all 3 stores(TJ, Marshalls and HomeGoods) within a 10 minute drive of my house and I shop at all 3. Sometimes I will just run into HG, and out again in 10 minutes. It's definitely hit or miss but I've scored some great buys at all 3. From HG, my favorite Lazyboy swivel chair, the pillows that I used as the starting off point for my whole family room color scheme, and my new solid oak Broyhill dining table(with leaf) for $149!

I have also been looking for a plush white bathroom rug 60 inches long for my master bath. Found a great Ralph Lauren runner, and two matching smaller rugs, all for about $40. Can't beat it.

I think if you like to shop, and you're not in a hurry for something, it's worth the stop. When I need something quick, or have a very definite need, I shop online.

What I assumed, Vedazu.

At some point, I became aware after years of looking, that some things will never show up at these stores. Pre 2008 recession, they might have but not anymore.

For quite awhile, years, I looked for Emile Henry lion's head soup bowls and never ever did even one appear.

I could have bought a set but the hunt was fun.

Over years, it became apparent they would never show up. Ever.

I visit a lot of HG's, from Vermont to Myrtle Beach, to my nearest town with one. The bigger cities in the better areas definitely get much, much better product.

10 years ago, I routinely found quality and often interesting stuff at TM, TJM and Marshalls. Not any more. A HG store opened in my city recently. After all the posts here on GW, I was pretty excited. While our HG is not bad (well-stocked, huge store and not a bad selection), I rarely find anything really interesting. I did get a nice hand-HOOKED wool rug though. I don't even go to these places much anymore. Disappointing.

BB, I think you may have hit on it. 2007/08 is about the last time I recall getting deals on decent merchandise ... good china, leather purses, Karen Neuburger nightgowns, and a few other things.

The only one of these stores I have within reasonable driving distance is TJ Maxx. I like shopping there. Mine gets name brands, at least in clothing. Bras from Warner, Natori, Calvin Klein, DKNY. Sports clothing from Nike and Jockey. New Balance sneakers. Ralph Lauren towels. They periodically get Yankee Candle candles. I remember when I lived in CT finding a real Pucci silk skirt at TJ's. Beautiful, but much too small for my body with a price tag much too high for my wallet. I live in a small apartment so I don't buy a lot of housey things, so even if we had a HG I don't think I'd shop there.

For the 20 years I lived in one location there was never a Home Goods in the area, there was a TJM, Marshall's and even a Tuesday Morning but they were more like junk stores. We moved in '09 and there was a HG right up the road, I was so thrilled after reading all the posts here about great finds, and I had this whole house to get things for - oh my, what a disappointment that trip was.

I guess the recession had really set in good, the place had very little stock, high prices for the quality of what was there, I left dizzy with confusion, where were the good deals? The cute, unusual items? I like to treasure hunt but there was so little there you could see at a glance no hunting necessary, not much to look through. I haven't been back, the Marshall's nearby occasionally has something but like everyone else, most items are made for them rather than overstock items, and mostly they have shoes.

I have never been to HG. I think one opened somewhere in the area last year but I haven't been there. I pretty much gave up on all of these stores long ago after being burned by goods that should have been sold as seconds if at all. Glasses that broke while be gently hand washed for the first time. A baking dish that discolored after being in the oven. A tablecloth that visibly faded after the first wash.

I used to drive by a TJ every day and would occasionally stop in to check out the clothes (not shoes - I think those are seconds too and I won't wear bad shoes) and sometimes did find good deals. However I would check out every seam, every inch of the clothing, pull on fasteners, etc. before buying. The store moved so I no longer have to endure that torture. ;-)

I'd rather pay retail than deal with shoddy goods. I have WS tablecloths that look as good today as when I bought them 10+ years ago. Cheap I am but I know sometimes you have spend a little more to be satisfied with the purchase.

I have a HG, Marshall's, and TJMaxx, all within 10 minutes an dan IKEA in less than 25 minutes. "My" HG is great, nice upscale stuff, like a fair bit of Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade, Wedgewood, Rosenthal, Le Creuset, etc. for excellent prices.The problem is that you have to go frequently because the good stuff sells quickly.

About a year ago, I went to the HG near Palo Alto, CA, definitely an upscale area, and their selection was terrible and lots of junk.

Have not had a lot if luck at HG, but I did find a nice pair of lamps for a good price last spring. Also found a fabulous deal on a suitcase at TJ Maxx, over $200 less than I found the identical suitcase anywhere else. It is worth a trip to look but you can never count on a good buy.