This place has slightly odd opening hours - but it's understandable as it's run by volunteers. The…read morealtruistic reasons to shop here are quite obvious - the proceeds go to Oxfam's projects and you're reducing waste by buying second-hand copies of books instead of new editions. The practical reasons are fairly self-explanatory too: you get a much larger and weird range of books to browse at a second-hand store, and they are cheaper! I do feel the store might do a little better if it was within a shopping strip of some kind, but it isn't entirely out of the way. The books here are well-sorted and there is a wide variety of new and old. Some secondhand bookshops lie on the pricey side, but this one is very reasonable. I would rate this as one of the best second-hand bookstores in Adelaide.

They sell VHS tapes here! And cassettes: that's where my Roxette tape got to! They have CD'S for…read more$1.50 and a whole shelf devoted to Australian Literature. There's even a separate section for new Australian Literature: at two bucks a pop who wouldn't? Oxfam have an extensive memoir and biography section with creepy titles such as 'How I survived Being Left to Die in a Closet' and 'Letters from a Christian Citizen.' Fun browsing to be had. Considering how cheap everything is, the store is impressively organised with very specific sections of Non-Fiction and everything in Author A-Z. The short story section is one of the biggest in Adelaide and the kids and classics areas have seats so you can sit next to the wall of books and crane your neck all afternoon. I walked out of here with nine books at the price of fourteen dollars. Oxfam makes me so happy I want to sing.

I don't think I have come across more happy and friendly staff before in my life. The staff at this…read moreDymocks store sounded so joyful serving customers at the counter and it didn't seem fake at all. They were helpful and worked well together. As for the store it self, it's not as big as the Dymocks in the City, but it has the essentials like the best sellers, the new releases, fiction, biographies, CDs, DVDs, cook books, etc. There is also a kids section down the back where they can sit and browse while you do the same. Something special about this store is it has an art gallery above it. So once you've finished book browsing, head up the stairs for a bit of art :)

I love bookshops and love books but I've just had a really bad experience here. I was buying some…read morekids books with my 3 & 4yo daughters. We sat on some kids chairs at the back of the shop and i read a few books to them to see which ones they liked the best (and which ones i enjoyed reading to them). The owner, Richard, came over and said that it wasn't a library! I'm sorry but I wouldn't buy a pair of shoes without trying them on, so why any different with a book? Why have a table and chairs? He then angrily pointed out a wicker basket of dog eared books hiding under the table that we could read. Great, thanks but no thanks! I wonder whether Richard should put a helpful sign at the front of the shop reminding his customers that it isn't a library and that they should just grab a book, give him some money and leave? To be fair, he did apologise before I left and this is a beautiful shop with (usually) helpful and friendly staff, so I'll give it a star!

There is one word that describes this place - classy, which always baffles me as to why it is…read morelocated in the heart of Hindley Street. It isn't as if all of the classy people regularly wander down Hindley Street, even during the day. However while it may be located in a rather unusual location, it is one of those bookshops that sells books that generally are not found in your average, run of the mill, corporate bookshop. In fact don't expect to see the latest fads or best sellers here, but rather books that are actually quite useful, whether they have a practical purpose, or simply stimulate the imagination. Personally I haven't been here all that much, but if you like good books, then it is definitely a place that is worth checking out. I have to admit that I was pretty impressed. I was particularly impressed with its collection of plays and their poetry section.

Imprints wins me over every time I visit. I think I have to say it's my favourite Adelaide…read morebookshop. Big call, I know, and it has some serious competition from just down the road. I'm always impressed by the range of books kept. In my to pet areas, Theatre and Philosophy, they have a far larger and higher quality range than in any other bookstores. They also work hard to keep many new books, so I'm always finding something exciting (Like A.C.Grayling's REWRITING of the bible; sounds pretentious when you say that, but he's done it really well, calling it the Secular Bible and breaking it down to it's maxims, proverbs and lamentations.) I promise myself that this time I won't spend money but oh, then I see Jeanette Winterson's newest book and I am lost. The section that really gets me excited is the whole bookcase devoted to playscripts. It's always been difficult to find modern scripts, so it's great to know where a good collection is hiding. Add to that the neat and sophisticated layout of the show (lovely wooden structures covered in shiny new books) and the classical or jazz music playing quietly, and you have yourself a wonderful place. Now all I can ask for is a couch in the corner for testing. Though they've probably tried that and gotten sick of prying people like me out of it.

This Lorna Jane isn't specifically an outlet, however it is quite different from usual Lorna Jane…read moreshops - it's less girly, and has a different range of clothing. There isn't so much underwear as in usual stores, and a lot more of the last season's stock on special, so it essentially functions as an outlet store. There are some great deals to be had on running shorts and other specific apparel, like some triathlon gear. You can get 10% all the time if you're a Harbour Town VIP (which is free to sign up for, you'll probably just have to put up with some advertising for it). The shop assistants in here are very fun, helpful and energetic. They give the store a good vibe and are great to chat to. This is definitely one of my favourite Lorna Janes.

This Lorna Jane store definitely doesn't feel as girly as the others, just like Jo said. I actually…read morequite like that about this store. I'm not a very 'girly' girl so to speak and some of the other Lorna Jane stores make me want to keep on walking by. There's quite a wide range of stock up for grabs at decent prices, especially the stock from last season. The service has always been top notch, the staff really fit the part of working at a sports store. As far as sport stores go Lorna Jane is one of the best, and this store at Harbour Town is no different. It's worth visiting, at least for the bargains.

I often drop into the Magdalene Bargain Centre on my way down Carrington Street... I just can't…read moreresist hunting for treasure at any opportunity. This is the cheapest op shop I've come across in the city. It's not a huge place but they do have a small selection of books, vinyl and bric a brac. The assistants must be volunteers and I always find them great value I can't help but strike up a convo for shits n' giggles. Sometimes you'll find brand names here in good nic, but this is more a hunt and hope kinda place, although plenty of nineties gold is to be found relatively easily. A lot people use clothes coupons here so there may be some interesting banter between the fellow customers too!

This shop rocks in so many ways and I suspect many would shop here for their prom night, 21st…read morebirthday, cocktail parties and just flirty summer parties in the park. My first instinct was it catered for those in the ever so petite size but was happy to find some pieces ranging till size 14, which will appeal to everyone. The store had a 50%-70% sale during my visit, so I happily picked up a summer dress for a bargain. YAY for me! I spotted a tutu skirt (hello Lady Gaga!), funky t-shirts, silk blouses and gorgeous summer dresses to sample this summer. At the adjoining store lies Night Child, with racks of golden and silver embellished cocktail dresses and gowns, truly a girl's oasis. It's a perfect shop to make every girl look and feel beautiful!

Do you like young, funky, cutting edge fashion? If so you can't go past Wild Child Stylelab on King…read moreWilliam Road at Hyde Park. The store itself is possibly one of Hyde Park's most significant style icons and has been in its famed corner position since 1991. Wild Child is full to brimming with the most up to date and latest fashion items. Brands you'll find at there include Bettina Liano, Cooper St, Diesel, Anouk, Ladakh and Wheels and Dollbaby. While much of their range looks best on 16 year olds with zero percent body fat, many of their pieces can still look good on the rest of us mere mortals ie the older stylish woman. Just remember a mini skirt on a woman of a certain age can look downright tacky and there is such a thing as mutton dressed up as lamb. Does anyone remember the scene from Sex and the City II when Samantha turned up in the same dress as Miley Cyrus? The solution to this is to take advice from the stylists as Wild Child, they're generally pretty honest about what suits and what doesn't. Along with dresses, skirts, jeans, and tops you'll find shoes and accessories at Wild Child as well. If you stop by for a browse or a shop, remember to take your credit card and when you're done head for one of King William Road's famous cafes or eateries.

First impressions left little hope for redemption but I decided to give it a quick browse anyway…read more Just in case. Now the store itself was messy and confusing. It is also quite small in size, but that's ok. I must admit I found the lack of service strange. The store was small and so we were constantly in each other's faces, and I wasn't even given any eye contact. In terms of apparel, there was nothing too flash in here, although you could probably do better in the mens department over the women's. I do however quite like Calvin Klein underwear, that sort of thing is a classic.

Top service, especially on a busy sale day. Great all around. Very happy with my new bag and…read moreunderwear!

QBD stands for Queensland Book Depot, and not surprisingly, started in Queensland. South Australia…read morecurrently has three locations and I have had the odd and unsatisfying browse in the Tea Tree Plaza store. Why is this place thriving when Borders and Angus and Robertson struggled? This chain store looks like a doctor's waiting room and the reading material is somewhat similar. QBD has very little in the way of quality new releases, and the staff look bored and don't seem to know much about the books they're selling. Seems to me that QBD are buying whatever the wholesalers have a lot of, ergo: whatever vampire teen novels are being flat packed that day. QBD don't actually even have a literature section, they just have a small 'classics' shelf with a random collection of authors from Joanne Harris to Marcus Zusack. I get why people like it, you can grab discounted cook books and teen novels very cheap for gifts. But this fluoro ode to discounts leaves me cold.

Super friendly staff that will search the store and the far corners of the Internet to find you…read morethat book you're looking for. They also have a good range of hard to find pop culture books like 'goodnight iPad' & 'go the f*** to sleep' They are also faster than amazon by an average of 3 weeks. Viva the return of the bookshop! Death to the Internet stores!