Cost Plus World Market

We go here for the beer and wine selection as well as to pick up birthday cards that are out of the ordinary. They have a selection of cookwares for ethnic cooking that you may not find elsewhere. The store is always clean and staff friendly.

I haven't been to a CPWM in a long time. I used to love shopping here during the holidays because they had low-cost, unique decorations and gifts. It was also a place where a college student, or someone moving into their first apartment, could find inexpensive but nice decor.
Now, I find that their stock is limited and prices higher. Most of the items in their store I could find just about anywhere else and at a lower cost.
This shopping trip just wasn't as much fun as it used to be.

I am from San Francisco, where Cost Plus (Cost +) started very near Fisherman's Wharf in 1958, founded by William Amthor. Once established, the original location was a 4,000 square-foot bargain-hunter's paradise.

The concept behind Amthor's merchandising, and the origin of the name, "Cost +", was to sell his imported merchandise at "cost + 10%" and the concept prospered, expanding rapidly in the San Francisco Bay Area, then beyond.

Cost Plus was particularly popular during San Francisco's "hippy era" of the 1960s; many a "hippy pad" was decorated in "early Cost Plus" and it was a hoot.

For me and girlfriend at the time (mid 1970s), Cost Plus was actually a "destination", a place to browse if we had nothing better to do for an evening and the "tourista watching" was always interesting for we local San Franciscans. You know, "Gawd, those people must be from Boise." ;-)

It was a great, unique place to go shopping for unusual and LOW-COST imported items. I'd almost always find some uncommon little thing to purchase, whether or not I really needed it. "Hey, this is cool. I'm gonna buy it!"

Cost Plus (Cost Plus World Market) went public in 1996 (NASDAQ: CPWM). So, alas, from that moment on, the company catered more to its stockholders than to the customers.

Now, Bed Bath & Beyond has owned Cost Plus since 2012, and you can see/feel the Bed Bath & Beyond "mentality" and influence in the prices. Long-gone are the days of interesting, low-cost items and long-gone is the original concept of "cost + 10%". (I have no way of knowing, but I am willing to guess that it is now "cost + 66%.)

Yes, they still have some interesting items, but the prices are unreasonable. Every time I am in here, I have to go "foraging" in order to locate an item that I am willing to buy at their inflated prices, and there are few. The last was an $8.00 bar of soap, which lasted long enough to justify the price .. well, sorta.

The current Cost Plus bears almost no resemblance, nor likeness to its standout, "user-friendly" San Francisco origins and that is a real shame, a loss, all in the name of corporate profit.
Tsk, tsk.

Really neat store with a lot of unusual items and gifts. Whenever I go in here I always want to buy so much. Unfortunately though it's pretty pricey. I can understand that the price will be high because it is all imported but it just makes it difficult for me to be able to buy very much. But if you have some extra money and want some unique items I would suggest here!

I love this store! I HAVE to stop by at least once a week to check out the new things. This store has the BEST customer service. They always go out of their way to help me find something special to give as a gift, or even to find a great wine. Their staff is so knowledgable and friendly!