WHSmith often gets very crowded, and it's one of those stores that's hard to stay in for long. That…read moresaid, they usually have a great range of products. Downstairs, there's a spacious section with DVDs, crafting supplies, art materials, and more. The service is pretty good. The items are pretty expensive in WHSmith. 64/100

My local branches of Smiths are typical of the decline of the company but I quite like the branch…read morein Chester. It's bigger, with more choice and even has an in-house Costa coffee shop and a glass sided lift to get from floor to floor if you find the stairs too much of an effort. The 'basement' floor has a clearance section where there's quite a lot of rubbish but the odd genuine bargain mixed in if you're prepared to have a dig.

The worst experience of my life was ordering from Wilko's, I invertedly ordered 2 gazebos by…read moremistake due to not receiving a confirmation email and thinking my order had not gone through so placed another order, still no order confirmation all evening. the next morning I checked my bank and saw there was 2 transactions for the two orders, so they had actually been placed and still no order confirmations. I contacted Wilkos who indeed said they had a record of two orders even though I had no confirmations I explained I only wanted one and could I cancel one. They said due to their speedy dispatch that both orders had already left and I would have to refuse delivery of one gazebo to be refunded for one. I still get no delivery notification and then by chance while emailing Wilkos they tell me that my order is out for delivery that day, I rush home from work to wait for the delivery so I can refuse delivery of one of them. When the delivery arrives the courier only has one box from each gazebo and said the other boxes had not been dispatched, I refused delivery as told by Wilkos of one of the boxes and kept the other. Waited till the next morning still no notification of the other boxes arriving so contact Wilko's to be told the other boxes have not been sent to the courier yet. All in all I have had a nightmare with Wilko's so only got half of one Gazebo and been charged £709 twice, all in all I am ready for a breakdown. NEVER AGAIN WILL I USE WILKO

Wilkinson has a good range of homeware essentials. Always worth a look in if you are after some…read moreshampoo or other toiletries as they are often 2 for the price of 1. They sell garden things (patio furniture etc) as well as screws, lightbulbs and all the other bits and pieces you might need for your home. The DIY section can be quite useful if you don't have a car to visit the larger out of town superstores and the prices are usually less than similar items in other high street shops. There are a limited number of tills in the Chester store so you may have to queue for a while, and there is no way to leave the store without going through the till area so even if you decide the queue is too long, it may take you a while to get out again. The shop is fairly clean, although has the smell that these places usually attract; a combination of bathroom and garden products which isnt very attractive but is understandable.

WHSmith is one of the most famous bookshops in the world (they're mentioned in Monty Python's 'Book…read moreShop Sketch' for crying out loud!) so it's a bit disappointing when you find out just what tat is on the shelves here. Maybe tat is the wrong word. All the books here are of a very high quality. The covers are pristine, the photography is excellent and the general feel of each book is akin to lifting the Holy Grail. It's just a shame the actual content is terrible. It's a basic fact that 904% of all books published today have their origins in television. They're all either companion guides to the latest reality cack, cookery books from smarmy TV chefs or turgid autobiographies from washed-up soapstars. The stationery is still great though. I could buy it all day before realising nothing I do in life necessitates the purchasing of stationery, sadly.

Sure Smiths is good for books, but they only have a limited selection and a lot of these are either…read moreTV, cookery or chick lit based. With the occasional crime section spliced in! But what Smith's are really good at is stocking magazines on every subject available to humanity. 'Treasures of the Earth'. 'Surf UK', 'Gun Collector', 'True Crime', 'the Beano', 'TV Weekly'. These are just some of the titles that litter the shelves in most Smith's outlets. They also sell a range of confectionary, sometimes including 'Toblerone', which one would normally associate with airports or shit holidays! I'm surpised this shop is still going after Woolworths went down the Swanny! However, fair play to them as they seemed to have affiliated with the Post Office now, meaning you can get your 'True Crime' mag, your Toblerone and your travel insurance all under one roof!

This is one of only a few bookshops in the town. It is situated in the secondary shopping centre of…read morethe town and offers a reasonable amount of choice. It would be no good for specialist choices and tends to mainly cater for the passer by who nips in and may want the latest celebrity cook book. The shop is quite big and the books are seperated into different catergories as you might expect. The prices are quite good because as already mentioned this place sells cheapish books of the celebrity kind along with sports books, a few biographies etc. It cannot rival somewhere like waterstones for the wide range of choice that that shop offers but since there isnt one in the town then this is probably the best book shop in the town.

I love shopping in the works, and by the looks of things so does every other Tom, Dick and Harry in…read moreSt Helens because there is always a queue! The Works is they type of book shop where you can always pick up a good bargain or two. Dont expect to find the latest releases in the bestsellers list as most of their stock is last seasons; which is why its so cheap! They sell a good range of calendars which I love and diaries too. The Works also sell a huge range of arts and crafts materials which are fantastically priced! Huge tubs of gesso from £4.99, acrylic paints for only £1.99, artists canvases, paint brushes and lots more! They also sell a good range of card making materials with blank cards and stickers. Additionally they also stock some good art books which are normally top price in proper book shops; cant you tell I cant resist a bargain!! Great shop! Staff always rushed off their feet, mad busy but worth putting up with the queue for the bargains.

For its size the Blucoat Books and Arts store crams a hell of a lot into its small store which is…read morebasically a space under the stairs leading to the rest of the stores in the Gostins Building. Their selection of books is really very good especially in the arts, films and music sections. Taking an interest in the cinema section I was pleased to see many titles that you would struggle to find even in the new Waterstones - which for all its size isn't as extensive as you would expect, maybe they should concentrate on the books instead of the coffee to go with them. Added to this they only have an arts and crafts space that would give Rennie's a run for their money. It is not a one stop kind of place for all your artistic needs - that would be a bit too much to ask considering the lack of floor space - but with an extensive range of paints, cards and paper the enthusiast will find enough to keep them busy.

When I think of the bookshops in Liverpool, this one never seems to spring to mind first, but it…read morereally should. Tucked away in a little cluster of shops off Hanover Street, Bluecoat Books is a good little store for the budding artist, crammed with Art and Design books on specific artists and architecture as well as the usual A-Z of fiction. They have an art materials workshop with a rainbow of paints, brushes and canvases on sale and also a surprising amount of childrens books which took me back to the days when I was much happier reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar than Austen! I also noticed there was a whole section on travel guide to...'s and they had some out-of-date ones out at 50p each! Also it was £5 for 3 of the second-hand hardback books so I'm stock up for a while now! I won't be forgetting this place in a hurry!

Wilko's is just one of those shops that has everything. It might not be quite as cheap as the…read morenearby poundland and 99p store, but it feels like everything is just a bit better quality here. They have a huge range of items including baby supplies, pet supplies, luggage, baking supplies, paint, cosmetics, toiletries, food and homewares. The store itself is large, well organised and that staff work hard to keep it clean and tidy. The staff are friendly and are more than happy to help if you need it. Basically, if there's something you need, and you're not too sure where to buy it in the city centre, go to Wilkinson's.

In my opinion, it doesn't get much better than Wilko's!! This is your one stop shop for everything…read moreyou could possibly need, from toilettries to pet food, garden furniture to bicycle wheels and all that's in between. I love it. They stock mostly known brands, but it's a lot cheaper. Example: body brush from Boots £8 in Wilko's for around £1. Exactly the same thing but without the branding. Which is a nuisance because I bought the one from Boots. It's always the place I go to if I'm stuck. I needed silver spray paint a few Christmases ago to snazz up some decorations. Got it at Wilko's. I needed some silver craft glitter spray for a flower arrangement. Got glitter hairspray, which had the same effect, for 79p I think. Which was good compared to the £7 a can at Rennie's. Need cheap catfood to feed the stray cat that's always round our back door - Wilko's is the place. I think I've made my point.

Paperchase is a brand which I have become quite familiar with in the past few months, visiting…read moremultiple branches including those in Manchester, Cardiff and Leeds but one thing I have noticed is how their non-flagship stores located in Manchester, Glasgow and London have been let down, with all the focus going to them stores and this store shows that This branch is only quite small, and doesn't follow the flagship store approach of being over multiple floors with a cafe, where members can get a free coffee if they spend over £5 in store, which is quite a good offer and even rolling it out here with a coffee machine could be a good idea, but with it being in a city centre this might not be used as much with fresher rivals being located nearby including a Thorntons Cafe, Costa, Caffe Nero and Starbucks all being nearby. Due to the size of the store, the store has a basic selection which is a shame. It is also worth nothing about loyalty schemes here, such as My Unidays where students and teachers can get 10% off anything they buy, however this is beaten by rival store Ryman who offer 15% and a loyalty card, where you get £5 back for every £50 spend and a birthday gift. The staff didn't seem too friendly in general, they didn't seem to be promoting the loyalty scheme. The overall feel of this store also was quite poor and it just felt like this store had been forgotten, to conclude I do feel this branch is okay but nothing more than that and it has done nothing to warrant anything over 2 stars, which I'm sorry to report.

We visited this store today and it has a *superb* selection of cards, beautifully-illustrated…read morenotebooks and many other lovely items. Also, the two women working at the registers were very pleasant.

This is a lovely shop near The Strand Shopping Centre. I always see it from the bus, it's jam…read morepacked window so alluring and inviting. I have visited a couple of times for cards and gift wrap; it's not very expensive at all and the stuff is quite original, although ranges such as Me-to-You and Forever Friends are available. I think the shop caters well for most, if not all occasions including, as Megan C. pointed out, religious occasions such as christenings and communions, this is a great advantage as there are very few stores offering this, especially in Bootle where card shops themselves are limited to Clinton's and Marks and Spencer's. Great shop with lovely staff always willing able to assit.

This little cards and stationary shop in Bootle is kind of average. Not a lot here, but you will…read morefind the basics, and prices aren't bad. What I found kind of strange were the number of Catholic items. Perhaps it's a strongly Catholic area of town? It's not a strictly religious card shop, but there were a great number of little Catholic medallions/tokens and figurines. All the same, if you need a card, not a bad little place to nip in.