amazing service, went out of their way to help with my watch repair. highly recommend and will…read morereturn, Jane

When I was but a wee young man growing up in deepest darkest Africa, you would get watch batteries…read moreand parts at the local pharmacy; they would sell anything and everything. Times have changed, and all you get at a pharmacy now is funny looks and empty stares; especially if you're asking for parts for an antique watch. What do you mean you don't sell the little thingy that goes into the watchamacallit? Trying to find my unique parts did not come easily, but I was helped when a friend informed me of a small shop in Milford that might help. And help they did, very quickly restoring my father's old wrist watch to its former glory. That's the nice thing about old time pieces, they last forever. Unfortunately the people supplying the parts don't.

Look no further - this is the BEST place in town for your watch/clock needs! I brought in 3…read moreMichael Kors watches for battery replacement today, and they were all ready in 45 minutes. The guy working there was super friendly and helpful with any questions I had about the maintenance of my watches. He had clearly worked in the business for many years, but wasn't stuffy or snobby with his knowledge, as some can be in a high-end watch shop. I trusted them 100% with my watches, and have no doubt that the batteries will last longer than most. Customer service is very important to me, and they were fantastic; I felt welcome from the moment I walked in. Thank you Milford Watch & Clock - you've earned yourself a regular customer!

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.

On a day exploring Devonport, my first stop in the historic town was BookMark. If you're a fan of…read moreused books, militaria, collectibles, and local history, this is a must-visit little shop. It was cozy with chair and carpet, plus shelves area organized and clean. The shop has tons of old NZ military memorabilia, which was also fun to see. The cashier was welcoming as well. As I didn't want to carry a bunch of books all day, I left without anything but memories. The world needs more bookstores like this one. If you find yourself in the area, be sure to stop in and have a browse. They also have a bunch of sale carts outside on the sidewalk, a fun way to get you inside.

Ooh- eee! Do I love myself a good secondhand bookshop. It's like a normal bookshop but everything's…read morelike 100 times cheaper and it comes free with that musty kinda smell. This shop claims to have the best selection of used books in Auckland, and I know every seller of something claims to be the best but on this occasion I don't just think their blowing smoke out their asses, this really IS the best selection ever located in the best store ever! They have over 20,000 different titles to choose from, from general fiction to the specialty of this store, military tomes. The owner even goes as far afield as Melbourne on stock missions so you can be guaranteed to find some really priceless items. Overall one of the best things about this store I think is the range of super comfortable looking places to sit down ;so you are actually able to read instore if you want to, a concept foreign to most bookstores these days. Being a hardened book lover myself, I have whiled away many productive hours in this store. Even better on late Night Thursdays they have a 10% discount and a free glass of wine while you are perusing the shelves!

Devonport Wharf is generally a fairly depressing place with lots of empty retail space and places…read moreseeming to be perennially closed - a failed retail experiment if ever I've seen one. Among such mediocrity, this second-hand book shop is a beacon! It's the one redeeming feature of the wharf. Behind the counter is a lovely lady who is most convivial and knows her store inside out. And what a store it is - a ridiculously good selection of old novels, art/photography books, travel guides, even found some stuff on city planning and urbanism which tickled my fancy as a planning student. All cheap too. Anyway, it's nice to know that in a space like this something can thrive - and of all things a book store. Perhaps there is hope yet in the face of the onslaught of the eReader!!

I'm of the opinion that you can never have too many good second hand bookstores in your repertoire…read more This one is so spacious and well designed you would be hard pressed to deduce that you were actually in a secondhand store, there are no dusty crammed shelves, that look like their about to collapse in on themselves in sight. It makes finding certain genres of books super easy as well, having everything so well set up. They also have nice little prints available for sale in the store as well, one which I bought for my office at home. Lastly I would just like to apologise to the cute sales assistant who I may have flashed, while going for a sneaky rearrange of my underwear behind a row of shelves that seemed to be private, UNTIL I saw the camera perched right above me. I hope I didn't scar you for life.

Evergreen has a great reputation in Auckland as a solid destination for second hand books…read more I always have a slight tinge of sadness that quite a lot of space seems to be taken up with popular fiction, and I really think the New Zealand fiction range needs work, but overall, it's a excellent place to spend more than you intended. The sci-fi range is particularly good and all the books are in really good condition, which makes a welcome change from finding a long-sought-after favourite only to discover that it's falling to pieces in your hands. Mucho disappointo. I've also had the welcome surprise at the till of having my order rounded down a couple of dollars, which is a really lovely way to reward customers who are buying a bundle. Overall, I would always come here for a browse when I'm in Devonport, but it's not really a go-to place if you have something specific in mind - in that case, I would head to Hard to Find books first.

Located right next to the Te Atatu Peninsula Library is this fantastic little Op shop. In the…read moreneighbourhood visiting, I decided to take a look because as we all know; second hand stores can be like a treasure chest at the best of times. After a short walk through, I could see books, home ware items, clothing, shoes, strollers, toys. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at a Thomas the Tank engine. This toy was selling for 5 dollars, and my friend piped up; "Phoenix would be thrilled with that". I knew I had to get it! Well long story short is, he loves it, it works like magic and I found it in an Op shop! I love to explore stores and see what they have to offer; sometimes you walk out with nothing, we were lucky this time. You won't find a couch or TV, but you might find something useful for the time being.

I always like a browse in a op shop - you're giving them support and there are all sorts of little…read morenuggets of gold to be found there. This one is in Te Atatu Peninsula and I have browsed here on numerous occasions. There's plenty of clothes here but I am not so keen on wearing other peoples clothes - perhaps a jacket but not a t shirt or anything like that. The toys on offer seemed more appealing and the last time i was there I bought my nephew a couple of toy cars. One intriuging thing that caught my eye here was a selection of Jack Daniels merchandise - some Westie must have had a good clear out of his garage as there were shot glasses, trays, key rings and plates you could hang on the wall. Didn't really appeal to me but I reckon somebody will snap this stuff up. The staff here are exceptionally friendly and I must say it's one of the better Op Shops around.

Great little shop tucked away down an arcaderead more

It's a little disappointing this store is hidden away down a West Auckland arcade. Though come to…read morethink about it, if my girlfriend new there was a book exchange shop she would be more than happy to discard part of my growing home library. While I find it hard to relinquish books, Leisure Time offers to exchange or sell books out-right to it's customers. I hope the gruff greeting I received when I entered the store was just part of my interrupting something. The book selection itself didn't really appeal to me (focusing on romance novels, Dean Koontz and glossy magazines), but any business offering a book exchange or cheap books is going to attract my attention. With some organizing and advertising, which would create a wider selection of books, Leisure Time could be a great store.