Navy Exchange – Naval Base San Diego

Horrible customer service! The lady cashier with the «R.I.P. Ronnie» tattoo on the left arm was extremely rude and unprofessional, you’ll know who she is when you get there. They all seem to hate life working there so be patient and stay humble when shopping there.

This store has a decent selection but the customer service is horrible. Every time I set foot in this location I feel like they couldn’t care less about my business. 4 stars for selection and price 1 star for the employees that work here.

Sadly this place is only for military personnel, retired vets and their families. But wowza! I’m from Oregon and moved here to San Diego since my spouse is stationed here. We love this place! They have everything! Literally everything! And TAX FREE just like everything in good olé Oregon. Even a gas station. Like, literally everything. Very helpful for all military based here and such. Their prices are also lower than all stores around.

Had to bring back an item I bought coz it was missing some parts they tried to replace it but they were giving me an item of lesser value prices here are almost the same with other malls, just minus sales tax

Like most NEX centers I’ve been to, this one doesn’t disappoint. Nice, clean and organized.

We came shopping tonight and the minute they announced that the store was closed the women said «we are closed, I won’t answer your question»! I have never heard that in my life… Customer service? No!!!

They advertise that they can price match but when we tried for the first time the cashiers face from the electronics turns sour instantly. We showed the Price from Target and they dont want to price match it for some reason. I will start to boycott them. I rather buy off base with more selections and newer stocks.

Can you say bait and switch… I knew you could. So my wife wants a new tv and have been pricing 60in tv’s and I suggested that she looks at the Navy Exchange catalog that we received in the mail. Great there is a sale this weekend. I said call and ask if they have the TV in stock (I learned this with the apple watch I just recently purchased) If they have one I’ll stop and pick one up.
Here is a one sided conversation
Hi My name is Linda and I saw the advertisement for the 60 TV and wanted to know how if you have any in stock. The sale starts tomorrow and you don’t have any? Can I get a rain check or get one in my name. Oh there are only two due in and they already have names on them. Can I get a rain check? Oh yes I do see where it says while supplies last. So no rain check. Does North Island have any? Oh okay thank you. Oh I can order them online? I’ll check that. No I really would like the 60in, I don’t want a 40… Well thank you I’ll try North Island.
North Island didn’t receive their two and it was also suggested that she settle for a lesser brand and smaller size. Hey Navy have you heard of bait and switch? IT“S illegal

Parking is always plentiful and the prices are a whole lot better than the mall. I shop the clearance racks and occasionally you can use your scratch-​off discount cards or take advantage of whatever promotion they are having. I like the selection and it is a bit more in some areas like electronics and clothing than they do at the Marine Corps Exchange over at Miramar. I regularly shop at both and they have different promotions going on all the time so you have to just go at random to see what promotions are going on at each. If one doesn’t have something, I go to the other, they are both great.
The Navy Exchange employees are helpful. The cash-​register lines at the clothing side always move quickly because they are efficient. They have a machine that calls which register is open.
There are two gates into the Navy Exchange, I find that the one on 32^nd street moves much quicker and it is easier to get on the I-​15 getting out.
The outside of the buildings are dated, but the inside feels like a mall. They carry name brands at a very good price. If you don’t believe me, go to the mall and try to buy the same thing. Mall prices are very close to the «suggested retail price» and you’ll have to pay sales tax on top of that. Today, I bought a shirt with the suggested retail price of $ 65.50, but due to markdowns and a promotion discount, I only paid $ 8.48! I was really surprised and it wasn’t the first time I accidentally bought something on promotion.

Pharmacy Review: Here is the process someone decided made sense.
1) Call in your prescription
2)Wait a week
3)Show up and grab a #
4)Wait 30min to 1hr+ for your # to be called
5)Be told to come back in 30 more minutes
6)Get back in the Pick Up line for another 30min to an hour or more
7)Waste 3 – 4 hrs of your day total
Most other pharmacies will be ready after your order, the allotted time has passed and you arrive.
Absolute FAIL.

I made the mistake of trying to buy something at the navy exchange again– every employee in the store is incompetent. Not to mention the fact that their computer system/​checkout registers failed again.
Silly me thinking that I could buy $ 5 shirt in less than 45 minutes.
Don’t shop here. Ever.

They match price and you dont pay tax on brand names, including tvs, appliances, and jewelry. They always have sales and extended warranties.

My wife and I always like going to the NEX. They are always stocked with the latest in clothes, electronics, and everyday home and garden needs. The best part is lower prices and tax free!
The only downside it seems is the scratchers that the come out with from time to time. We always seem to get the lowest which is 5%. We sometimes shop at the MCX and we seem to have better luck with those scratchers. Just so everybody knows, you CAN use MCX scratchers at the NEX. They WILL accept them. Parking and getting onto base is rough during busier times of the year like holidays, but it’s worth the wait! We will always go with the NEX first over Walmart, target, and the mall. You can save money here and you don’t have to deal with creepy civilians and homeless. I won’t panic if I forget to lock my car because it’s on base.

This review is solely on the appliance department, I have had phenomenal experience with the general store in the past at the electronics and furniture department.
Having bought a beautiful brown leather couch from the Navy Exchange in the past, I had hoped that my experience with the appliance department would be similar. I would have had better luck on Craigslist instead. We were just about ready to move out of our old place and into our new residence and wanted to purge our pile of dirty laundry.
To begin with, their customer service was somewhat lackluster when we picked out a washer and dryer. The guy didn’t seem happy when we gave him the models we wanted but floated for a little bit on another washer. He said they would be delivered to our house and installed for about $ 85 on Wednesday (it was over the weekend when we made the purchase). So Wednesday comes around, and we’re stoked that we’ll get to wash our favorite gym attire again. A lady calls the night prior to confirm delivery, and Wednesday morning a guy calls to confirm they’ll be there around 12pm-​3pm. To our disappointment, when 2pm creeps around, a lady calls us to express her regret there was some kind of warehouse clerical error and we would be getting the set a little late on Friday. We were a little irritated since they confirmed delivery so many times but nonetheless, it was nothing we could do.
Friday finally comes, and they brought the washer and dryer and set it up in our laundry room and after making sure it turns on, they left promptly. Later that night when we got home from work and started throwing the dirty laundry in the washer. Next we put it through the dryer, but found that our items were still damp. So we put it in for a longer cycle and restarted it. Once 30 minutes was up, we were dismayed to find our clothes and bedding still wet (and no, we didn’t try to overload it). At this point, we set everything to «extra dry», «heavy», all the dry options applicable we could find and yet at the end of the 40 minutes, it still wasn’t dry. So we called the store AGAIN and they referred us to a technician which wouldn’t be able to come out until Monday.
So TODAY, when the tech comes out, he wonders loudly why we were given the floor models at the store. How the heck were we supposed to know? We thought we ordered brand spanking new ones from the warehouse. Why else would they have a clerical mistake they took them DAYS to deliver? Anyways, he tells us our dryer is missing a crucial component and essentially, it’s useless. He offered to have them replaced, but it would take THREE freaking weeks for them to do so. I called the store for a refund, but they won’t be able to pick it up until Wednesday and give us our money back to BUY a new set until Friday. Am still pondering what to do but this whole thing has been infuriating.
Update 6÷5÷15.
It’s Friday morning those guys stopped by to get the washer and dryer Wednesday morning. Have still not received my refund yet.

I will be candid: show me an Army or Air Force member who has suffered AAFES, and I will bet a month’s salary they think Navy and Marine Corps Exchanges are akin to Nordstroms or Saks. .. Okay, that’s stretching things, but the OVERWHELMING majority of Navy (and MC) Exchanges I have been to are awesome, mainly in the quality and wide variety of goods available. This store, though showing its age, is pretty nice in terms of quality/​variety. Always enjoy coming here!
Cheers!
RS

I drive from Pendleton all the time to come here! When I lived here I never knew how much I’d miss it! They have everything with great prices. Check the clearance racks for deals and never leave home without your scratch off :) They carry a lot of name brands so there is something for everyone. Need to do layaway? They will get it all set up for you for an extra 5 bucks. Staff has always been nice and lines move fast.
The separation between the two stores is great. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, electronics, and makeup in one and furniture, appliances, pet supplies, tools, bathroom necessities in the other.
Did I mention they have a MAC store in here! And for the fitness Guru’s a GNC!
Take a stroll outside and the food court offers several food favs. The candy store is where you can buy your guilt pleasures. Last but not least they carry many Temecula wines :) This store and Management get an A+++

This review is only for the Barbershop & Salon facility on at the Naval Exchange.
Location: 2.5 /​5
Well it’s a Naval facility so if you don’t have a CAC card or know a military member with a CAC card then you’re out of luck. Had to give ³⁄₅ in terms of location because of this limited accessibility.
Atmosphere /​Ambiance: ⁴⁄₅
The facility wasn’t what I was expecting; and that’s a good thing. I was expecting something less professional or updated. It’s not a 5 star type joint but the shop is really nice though. It’s relaxed, well lit and up to date. There’s a television in the waiting area. Didn’t have a chance to really converse with people in the waiting room but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. From what I can tell there were military and civilian customers in house.
Cleanliness: ⁴⁄₅
The premises is extremely clean. The barbers use clippers equipped with vacuum cleaners so the hair hardly hits the floor. Like I mentioned above, the equipment, chairs and other amenities are well kept.
Service: ⁴⁄₅
The shop works on a number systems identical to your local supermarket’s deli counter. Pull a number, sit down, wait to be called. It goes by pretty quickly and I’ll touch on that below. My barber was really friendly and professional though. We chit chatted throughout the haircut and she wanted to make sure I was satisfied.
Haircut Quality: 3.5 /​5
My regular haircut takes about 30 minutes. This haircut took around 10 minutes. The time difference shows in the price and quality of the end product. The price breakdown is as follows:
Haircut + Beard Shave
— Regular Barbershop: $ 25 + tip
— This place: $ 8 (haircut) + $ 4 (shave) + $ 3 (tip) = $ 15
The haircut I received was okay, Nowhere near the crispness and detail afforded by my regular location. Especially the line up and edges. From what I saw they don’t do meticulous lineups here.
Conclusion:
This place is good if you need a quick haircut. You’ll most likely be in and out within 30 minutes … that’s if you have access to the base though. You get what you pay for however. You won’t have the most professionally well detailed haircut compared to civilian barbershops. Personally, I’m going to opt to go back to my regular place. I really like the time they take to make sure my cut is perfect. This place will be a Plan B if I ever get in a tight spot.

I love, love, LOVE the NEX. They recently just remodeled all their department store makeup section and they just added MAC. Their MAC counter went live sometime in September. The GNC and electronics are now in the building next door (I call this one the Walmart NEX because it has everything you’d find at a Walmart and the department store NEX does not). The upstairs is now full of clothes and shoes.
Off the to of my head, I know they have MAC, Shideido, Philosophy, Bobbi Brown, Bare Minerals. You can also sign onto the NEX website and purchase TONS of high end (i.e. Estee Lauder) online.
Electronics that are now moved to the «Walmart NEX» have everything. Laptops, desktops, Macs, PCs, tablets, etc. They also have tons of cameras, point and shoot and SLRs, as well as lots of TVs and stereo equipment.
No sales tax is a HUGE plus and you can also use coupons here. Regardless of sales tax, prices here are generally a lot cheaper than you’ll find else where. Some of their Shiseido skincare items are a couple bucks cheaper + no sales text, you really can’t beat it.
Tons of designer purses, shoes, and accessories. They also have a small clearance rack for shoes and if you take the time to walk over sometimes you can find some hidden gems. I once bought a pair of BCBG pointed-​toe flats for $ 15! SCORE. The clearance rack usually has already marked down prices that are going on a second round of clearance.
If you’re in the market for expensive jewelry, this is also the place to go. Although I have not personally taken the time to look around, they do have a large selection. They also have lots of watches and sunglasses.
In the «Walmart NEX», even their drugstore makeup is cheap. Lipsticks that generally go for about $ 8-​$ 9 at CVS and Walgreens, go for less than $ 5.50 at NEX.
Anything you want to find at a Macy’s, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy you can find within these two buildings or on the NEX website.

Honestly, how have I not reviewed the Navy Exchange yet? I’ve been going to this place ever since I was a mere toddler, literally. Ever since my first visit here, of course there have been a multitude of changes – all for the better!
To enter, you must be in the military, retired from the military, have a non-​expired military ID (obviously belonging to you) because you’re immediate family to someone in the military. Somewhere along those lines. This way, when you’re at the entrance, you’re able to show the guards your military ID card to get inside.
First off, the Navy Exchange is now split into to separate buildings. The main building, which is the first one in started in, is the bigger of the two main buildings. It actually says «NEX Navy Exchange» at the entrance… and it, indeed, does have a more noticeable entrance as opposed to the other building. This main NEX has the jewelry, designer bags, clothing for juniors and above, and make-​up in the downstairs area. The second/​top floor consists of the items/​clothing for toddlers. Basically, this is more of the «mall”-type NEX.
The building to the left of it, the smaller one, has all of the snacks, essentials/​hygienics etc, as well as the electronics (which used to be in the second floor of the main building), gardening supplies, and home décor and design. I would consider it a type of «Bed, Bath & Beyond» or «Target».
Both buildings are the yin and yang to one another, because what one building doesn’t have, the other building does. What’s great about this place is the fact that, most of the time, the prices are cheaper than what you would find at any chain of domestic retail stores. Also, there is no SALES TAX. Amazing, right?!
Sometimes, mostly during the Holiday season, there are tents set up in front of the smaller NEX building with Christmas trees and other decorations. Or, there are tents set up with outdoor furniture and what not in general.
The customer service isn’t always the greatest, but I mean, the prices are great compared to outside brands and such. You come across kind, and spunky people, but once in a while, there are certain people who seem as if they don’t enjoy their job.

Hello Kitty welcomes you to the Navy Exchange at the Naval Base in San Diego!
Walking into the Navy Exchange or NEX for short was quite a sight to see for me! It’s literally like walking into a department store. Upstairs is the electronics and shoe sections. Downstairs is jewelry, designer bags, perfume, clothing and the hello kitty section! Yes, I said a hello kitty section. I was already one happy girl when I spotted the jewelry and bags section downstairs but then I walked a little bit more and I saw a whole section of Hello Kitty stuff laid out. There it was rows of hello kitty plushes, purses, stationary… like a giant welcoming party for this eager shopper hehe. It was a very «Ooh Aah Am I in Heaven?» moment for this hello kitty fan. A lot of the hello kitty items were some of the newest items being offered by Sanrio (i.e limited edition Tokidoki stuff!)
Now you may wonder why I was so excited to shop here. See at the NEX, there is no sales tax for your purchases. There are also some discounts for some items in the store (for example, women’s sweaters that day were 40% off). The best thing for me was seeing the Sanrio section 20% off! There were also additional discounts on all the Hello Kitty jewelry! Aside from that they had a clearance section where some HK goodies were 60% off. Hello Kitty happiness right there!
It is a lot of fun shopping at the NEX and it really is nice to have to not pay sales tax. Not everyone can shop here however. You will need a military ID to shop here. When it is time for you to pay, a military ID will need to be presented.