It's sortof embarssing to admit this, given how hipster-ish this sounds, but I just bought a…read moreukulele*. I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on it, and wanted a concert size one, which is slightly larger than the standard uke. I looked around for a while and was very pleased to find one at Music Book Shop for about $20 cheaper than anywhere else. The owner was super friendly, and actually swapped the one I was going to get with another one as he was worried that one of the tuning pegs wasn't right. He also tuned it for me in the shop which I meant I could go home and start playing. They also have a big stock of sheet music, mostly for piano, guitar and strings, all at good prices, and music stands for $20, which again is very cheap. *I reckon this whole ukulele thing will crash and burn soon, whence it will go back to being something that only earnest primary school music teachers play. I'm looking forward to this day.

Very good price on a brand new Casio Px-350 today. Nice gentlemen. I knew what I was after so…read moredidn't expect service, just a sale. Still. Nice little shop with lots of music books.

This is a neat little op shop, I thought. While it doesn't really cater to guys as far as clothes…read morego (there was one little rack of shirts and an even smaller one of pants), it does better for women. As well as clothes it has a few children's toys, a few records, and books. The book selection was surprisingly good, I thought - quite a few new looking paperbacks, and an interesting mix of the usual thrillers and some more challenging fare. I asked the woman behind the counter how much the books were and she said they were all $2 except for the ones that said otherwise on front page. None of the ones I looked at said otherwise. The staff here are really friendly, chatty without being too in your face. They were happy just to let me browse through the books at my own pace, but available to answer questions when I had them.

This a pretty nice, although small, op shop on Sandringham Road. I had a bit of a browse and it…read moreseemed to have a good selection of women's clothes that fit into current fashions (i.e. many variations on hipster). I tried on some things (and they have changing rooms with curtains that close all the way, which I totally consider a major plus) which made me look bulky and fat so I didn't buy anything but the staff were nice and took the items off me so I wouldn't have to hang them up myself. The clothing prices were perhaps a bit dear for an op shop, especially considering some items were not in the newest of conditions. But the book prices were good (mostly $2) and they had a decent collection of novels I'd actually want to read and not heaps of Danielle Steele or cookbooks from the 80s.

This is Auckland's best (and probably biggest) second hand bookstore. It's musty in a good "old…read morebooks" kind of way, and sprawling and welcoming at the same time. Set over two floors of one of Onehunga's old buildings, it's like a house full of books. Most rooms have a comfy old chair or two for reading, and visitors are encouraged to sit and do just that. The subject range is huge and varied, and the prices are of course, excellent. The staff are knowledgeable and will point you in the right direction if you are after something in particular. Which is helpful because if you haven't been here before you could get lost and never come back out. Sadly Onehunga has been on the decline in the last few years despite there being a number of really great businesses here. I would recommend coming for lunch at Luscious, followed by a fossick at the Hard to Find and then checking out Look Sharp Discount Store. This historic Auckland suburb has suffered from mismanagement for too long now but as while these unique places cling on, it's still worth a visit - there is so much character and potential.

What do you buy for the person who has everything? Something fun, interesting or ridiculous;…read moresomething they've never seen before. Hard To Find Bookstore is the place to go for the person who has everything - spend enough time in amongst the weird little nooks and crannies and you're bound to find something for that awkward person who requires a gift. Ohe of my most lovely memories of Hard To Find Bookstore was a Christmas morning, when the small family of academics I was sharing breakfast with handed out presents. All three of them had bought each other gifts from Hard To Find, and all were so appreciative of their gifts. Some of the books still had their HTF price tags pencilled inside but nobody cared - gift-giving isn't always about how much it costs, but how much it means. And to these bookworms, the gifts were priceless.

I love bookstores: the smell, the colors, and the possibilities for adventure and escape. Where I…read morelive there aren't many left, so it's exciting to visit as wonderful as Unity Books. In Auckland there are quite a few places to go, but this one is independent and probably the best. Unity Books has its main store and children's book separate on the same street; both are fun to browse through. I came here both to browse and with a mission. I wanted to purchase the complete Lord of the Rings and Hobbit filming locations books. They're printed in New Zealand and cover places we visited, and others we'd love to return to. Their prices were what I expected; with the exchange rate, I was happy. The store was organized and they were easy to find, but one of the books' spine was broken. I asked a friendly clerk and they quickly went to the back and got another copy. It made buying them there easy. They had so many happy customers, it's easy to see they're doing well. I will definitely stop here on our next visit.

Service was fast and friendly, called to put a book on hold and showed up about 35 minutes later…read more They had it ready to go and were very nice.

Yes. This is what secondhand book shops are. Dominion Books is stellar. A marvelous and outstanding…read moreexemplar. The shop is incredibly cramped. It's brilliant. You're forced to kind of tilt your body around and really exercise your joints in order to navigate the walls and aisles covered in shelves covered in books. The books are cheap. Dirt cheap. I got a near new copy of Jonathan Franzen's Freedom of $4. $4! It was daylight robbery. Most importantly, the whole operation is overseen by the most timid, aging woman of all time. She's bloody magnificent. So surprised whenever anyone comes up to her to buy a book. That's absolutely magic.

Never have I been in a book shop like Dominion Books that requires the flexibility of a gymnast to…read morenavigate between the packed shelves. It reminds me of something from Harry Potter but surrounded by yummy mummy's out for coffee with the pram. In the age of electronic book downloads it is satisfying to hold and flick through a tome of imagination and inspiration. It's also nice to but something on a whim, without reading 100 online reviews from around the globe. That said, what Dominion Books offer me over it's competitors downtown is that beautiful aroma of literature, the smell is addictive.

I first stepped through Chapter's door about two years back when the weather was really bad and I…read morehad a 30 wait for the bus, it seemed like a good time to try it out. I think I was the youngest in there by 30 years that day but tea is not just for old people. I also didn't let the romance novels put me off, I had my own reading material anyway. Chapter is little but the shelves are crammed with an incredible range of teas, I had mango paradise, often I go for Granny's Garden, I like the fruity ones. Down the back of the store is all the tea paraphernalia, if you're serious about your tea drinking and want all the right tea gear, you'll find it here. A nice little shop/cafe and the lady who owns it is really nice, Chapter is a pleasurable place to sit over a pot of tea and the black board outside often has funny tea related quotes which is a nice touch.

Amazing experience! I live in the USA but was told I could order signed Nalini Singh books from…read morethem. I reached out to Frances who was more than happy to help me out! I was able to order 4 signed and personalized books for my sister with shipping to the USA. It made my sister so happy to get signed books from an author she's been a long time fan of and Frances was incredible and so friendly throughout the entire process!

In my opinion, the single greatest bookshop in Auckland and I'm loath to tell anyone about it…read more Brazzers jokes will not be tolerated. I'm secretly happy this place isn't open often and it used to be the highlight of my morning run, where I could disappear for an hour in unkempt literature luxury. Leather bound books with gilded edges and embossed titles everywhere. That musty, bookish smell. This shop is the epitome of the TV series Black Books. If you have seen the show you, will know the chaotic, wonderful displays and service to expect. If you haven't seen it, you don't deserve to know and will never fully appreciate this place. (This store is opened sporadically on the whims of the owner.)

Apparently Braziers sells art as well as books. Most people would never know, because it seems to…read morenever be open. I once rang up to see if they had a book I needed in stock, and luckily enough they did. So I said I would come round about 1 to pick it up - 'sure thing, the shop will be open!' I go there at 12.45 and the shop is closed. An hour later of wandering around Balmoral, I go back - the shop is still closed. There's a number on a little card saying to ring if the shop needs attention. So I ring it - it goes to voice mail. Back in my car I get and head home to hop on the internet and order the book online. I recently found the secret of how to get to Brazier's books. You have to go to Jack's bar around the back of the warehouse, where he will be sitting out the front lecturing the bar about something. I'm all for over the top drinking, but I really wish Brazier's would hire some minimum wage flunky to , y'know - run the store.

St Kevin's Arcade holds a superb little book store, unobtrusively sitting between K Road and Myers…read morePark. The shelves are laden with second hand books and your eyes will be racing around the walls faster than your brain can process all the information. Personally, the fantasy/sci-fi and the horror sections just inside the door are my favourite. I can always find something to tickle my interest or some missing book for an incomplete trilogy I own. The staff will quietly let you browse but know their store remarkably well and can answer most, if not all, of your questions. There is also a fantastic comic book section and an AHEM adult section. Book lovers should have this cluttered little shop clearly on their radar.

I like this place a lot. I like that they have comics strung up in the window, and I like that…read morethey're terrible Marvel comics from the mid-nineties because that's when I started reading Marvel comics as a kid and so I will always have time for steroidal men with glowing eyes and too many shoulder pads. I also like that this place is tiny. There's something about small, cluttered bookshops that's just so appealing. And there are more comics inside and they're a cool mix of old ones and new ones, and they're all only a few dollars, and there are obscure books about old TV shows and I'm pretty sure they had a copy of the first Tintin book in there once plus there's even a dirty section behind a curtain and that's probably got comics in it too because that's just how awesome this place is ... I think I've only ever bought like two things from this place. But I just like that it's there.