Most people can't remember the name of this store until someone chirps 'Hey, you know that Asian…read morestore that sells the giant soft toys in Botany!?' Yeah, that's the one. Cube is filled with never-seen-before-items-unless-you've-been-to-other-asian-stores-in-the-city...yes, it's filled with Asian goodies, like Totoro dolls, Hello Kitty items, Angry bird cell phone covers, some bling, some fashion, some shoes. And of course, MASSIVE soft toys. I'm really a big fan of walking around and having a window shop here. I'd say the one downside to Cube is how they don't put prices on everything, so you can never be too certain whether they change the price for each customer, or perhaps they are angling to haggle with you. So be a little careful and know what you're buying.

An absurd failure destined to join dodos, dinosaurs and video stores…read more I have a vast collection of heels and am a big fan of investing in nicer shoes and replacing the heel tips when they wear through. Likewise for my boots although I get those re-soled. Replacing heel tips is super-easy; you order new tips online (around $6), pull the worn tips out with pliers and gently hammer in the new ones. However, once in a while I've worn the tips down to far and to get them out requires a proper tool which is what bought me to One Step Ahead in Ponsonby recently. I walked in and asked how much it would be to remove the worn down heel tips. Before I'd finished speaking the man barked "$21" which is the price for the full replacement. I assumed he'd misheard due to not listening so, slightly taken aback by his hostility, I tried again. "Could I please just have the heel tips pulled out?" I asked. This was seemed to irritate the man and he snapped angrily "No, no, we don't do that. If you want to replace the heel tips it's $21" I was baffled by his aggression and for some reason felt I needed to fix things. "No, I don't need the heel tips replaced" I continued, "just pulled out. I have heel tips already but I've worn through them by walking in these shoes for too long. How much is it to pull the tips out please?" This enraged the man as well as en-reddened him in the face. He got very angry and the angrier he got, the more puzzled and bemused I was. Our exchange continued like this: One Step Ahead: We don't do that. You're taking business away from us. If you want the shoes fixed, it's $21 for the whole job. Me: But I don't want to take business away. Look! I have shoes, I have NZ currency, I want to pay you for a service. I want to give you business. One Step Ahead: That's taking business away from us. At this point I realised that this was obviously not the first time a customer had requested this service, possibly due to prevalence of this thing called 'Google' which gives anyone searching for 'high heel repair' pages of advice and sites to buy heel tips. And that One Step Ahead, like many bricks and mortar stores in NZ, would rather rage against the internet than adapt and make money. So I took my shoes to a Mr Minit in a mall where they pulled the heel tips out for free. And then, as I was there, I had two pairs of boots resoled for good measure. I'm not an accountant but I figure that if ten people go to One Step Ahead requesting that their heel tips be removed and are told that they have to pay $21 for the full replacement, maybe 3 of them will leave and 7 will get the full service. So that's 7x$21 which = $147. Given that I can usually pull the heel tips out at home in 2-3 minutes with the cheapest pliers I could find at the hardware store, I had in mind a figure of around $10 to have this done to by a professional. But I would have paid $15. And if 10 customers paid $15 each, One Step Ahead would have made more money, not had bad reviews and customers who will never ever return to have their boots re-soled. Its really hard to feel any sympathy for shop owners who refuse to move with society and who feel entitled to be red-faced and shouty with frustration when you try to give them business. Avoid at all costs.

Geart fast service, had my shoes fixed by Gary and Bruce they did an execellent job.... great bunch…read moreof guys. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.... Get to ponsonby and see for yourself....they might even sell you a winning lotto ticket...

I bought a lamp from these guys just yesterday. I went in knowing roughly what I was after, however…read moreit sometimes pays well to also have a good look around in case there is something you had not considered, it is also good to see what is on offer - and this store have a nice array to chose from. Luck was shining my way too, they had a sale with some items up to 60% off! Yippee for me! I was after a desk lamp for ambience, not so much practicality, however it needed to be a certain size and I didn't want to settle on something generic and boring, which I had seen through most of the department stores I had been to already. The staff member that served me was very good at her job, considerate enough to introduce herself and let me know that she was there to help if need be but not so in my face I could't breath. Friendly, efficient and clued on, thank you! So, to end my personal story, I walked away with something even better than I had envisioned and cheaper than I had expected; $60.00 total for an ornate brass base, off white shade and an energy saver light globe.

Right on Queen Street beautiful Christmas windows & The only ones we saw in Auckland. They were…read morebeautifully done, music played at the puppets moment. The store was closed. We went inside looking for luggage and passed beautiful clothing and housewares. Santa was keeping Children busy. Luggage was around $1,000 so we moved onward

This was a wonderful find! I was in desperate need of socks, ha ha! My brother was looking for a…read moresweater and they were very helpful in pointing out where they were. There were several reasonably priced ones. Everyone was so kind and helpful.

Wallace Cotton is a beautiful store well situated in Newmarket on Teed Street. They have their own…read moreon site parking which is an added bonus and the store stocks what I think is pretty decent product that is of of good quality and well priced. Each season they change their collections offering exclusive prints and designs for bedlinen such as sheeting, duvets, quilts and cushions. They do some really nice quilted cotton quilts, I bought one from them a while back and it washes up wonderfully. Wallace Cotton also sell a bit of clothing, tea towels and tablecloths and when they go on sale the discounts are really good too. Another thing I like about this store is that they do not use plastic bags, every purchase is put in a fabric bag.

Wallace Cotton do great bed linen, kitchen, bath, homeware and clothing for him, her & children…read more They are a fun brand with vibrant colours in duvet covers: multi-pastel polka dots (Happy Town) or floral (Cherie) and a few others including pristine whites. I love their boudoir velvet robes ($130) and funky slippers ($25) which are both luxurious and practical. They do a selection of furniture ranging from Hancock crates ($80) to ironing board units ($85) to bedside tables ($450) however they sell-out fast. Friendly environment and staff. They have wonderful sales too!

Hosting a selection of men's labels such as Julius Marlow, Diesel and Windsor Smith, Wild Pair is a…read moregood place for the basics. Prices are reasonable, service is average and quality is variable. You get what you pay for, but in the other hand, why pay more than you have to?

I was traveling to Auckland on business from the US when my display failed. While other shops had…read moresubstantial waits even to discuss it, Ubertec was able to see me without an appointment, review my equipment quickly, and get an express part replacement -- honoring my US AppleCare warranty. They kept in constant contact with me throughout the process. They were even able to get my MacBook Pro back to me earlier than expected. Their staff was courteous and professional. I will absolutely return here on subsequent trips to Auckland if I need anything!

Booked in directly through Ubertec to have phone battery replaced. I even received a confirmation…read moreemail which stated a battery was in stock and had been put aside. After a considerable drive to drop phone off was told sorry no batteries in stock for this model and then tried to blame it on shipping etc totally ignoring the fact that a staff member had supposedly put one aside. Ubertec Google reviews show a pattern of this occurring - not good Customer Service at all.

Have found Albany's Resene Colorshop to be super helpful and their colour consultant has been so…read morepatient as I navigated my way through deciding house colours in a hurry. Although our personal preferences differed her knowledge of how colours work together was hugely helpful. Free easy parking at the door is a welcome start too.

O boy, you just know you're going to have a tough time getting the service you require when you are…read morehardly even acknowledged upon entering a store. Plus you're the only person there, and they've got three staff members on the floor, and one of them seems to be the owner. Okay, stay calm Dave, you need paint, and you're not going to go anywhere else now... Eventually I got someone to assist me, and the product range was good, so I managed to get a good deal on paint, rollers and that tray thingy where you put the paint it. Did I mention that I hate painting, surely just an oversight, because I hate painting, very much. One tip I can give you is to place a rubber band around the top and bottom of the paint tin, this will allow you to catch the paint off your brush when you dip the brush in the paint, a tip that will save you a big mess.