Blimey, yet another discount store with a cornucopia of bargains to be had in every shape and form…read more There's certainly no escaping 'em... Cotters is really your average cheap 'n' cheerful pound store, selling everything from hardware to confectionery. I've myself a few bargains in here (of the sweetie variety, no less), including four packets of sweets for a pound, five 'Caramel Bunnies' for a pound, and a packet of Riesen...yep, you guessed it, for a pound (which, if you haven't tried, you really should). It's a more old-school discount store, as opposed to the up-and-coming chain stores such as Poundland and Pound Stretcher. Some of the stuff is a load of old junk, but most of it decent enough quality, and you can't go wrong in the food section. It's always my downfall, and you truly get a good few offers in there. You have been warned...

The name creates the image that this place is going to be frantic and furious, I mean Price Attack…read moreit sounds viscous, I went in hoping that the prices were the only thing being attacked. To my surprise this store could not have been more different, it was serine and relaxed, to be honest it felt like I was watching it in slow motion. Price Attack sells everything you could possibly think of, it is a little bit mixed up if I am honest. On one isle there was various dog toys and treats and right there on the opposite side there was a range of rugs and carpets that were being perused by an elderly couple. I thought this was a little strange and there was no real separation of different products. Price Attack also sells hardware and general household goods but I would suggest you call in because the items in store certainly will not break the bank. One thing I noticed about Price Attack is that they did not have the typical shopping jingles playing over the speakers, instead they had a Radio 4 debate about benefit fraud so you might just learn some topical information by calling into Price Attack.

I love the name of this shop. It sounds like something out of an action film...a bitta good guy vs…read morebad guy, where prices attack like never before. Very dramatic, and much better than the mundane 'Pound Shop'. Effectively, that's what Price Attack is...a sort of pound shop. Of course, not everything is a pound, but there's certainly a sufficient number of goods around this price to justify the overarching label. Goods such as stationary (five rubbers for a pound etc.), household cleaners, hardware / outdoor accessories and all the sort of usual discount store stock. As means of explanation for the next bit of info I provide you with, I'm going to contextualise it for you. It has been said that I'm a bit anal when it comes to cleanliness (you'll see where I'm going with this in a minute), and I rather like those mini bottles of hand gel that came into vogue around the time we thought we were all going to die of swine flu. Despite not giving in to such beliefs, I just decided to purchase one for times of need, and since then I've gone through tubs of the stuff. My friends have begun to make fun of me, but hey, they're not complaining when they need a hand-clean and I'm the only one with the gel... Well, to my delight, I'd spotted a 99p bottle of Carex hand gel, and remembering my current tube was dying a slow death, I decided to purchase this new one. Unfortunately nothing else caught my eye, so it was my only buy....which rarely happens in a discount store. At least now my world will continue to be a happy and clean place. And all for 99p...

The Flagship Centre is pretty basic. There is nothing really special or unique about it. Yes it has…read moreArgos, superdrug, Dunne's and primark but it just seems to be missing something? Perhaps the stores are influenced by the ageing population of Bangor and it just isn't really my scene? The food court upstairs isn't too bad with the usuals in place but with so many great restaurants right outside, why bother with fast, greasy food? I think the best feature of this place is the fact it gets you out of the rain which plagues us all year round!

Really, really bad. This place is so depressing even to walk through that I think I have went whole…read moreyears at a time avoiding being in it. The ceilings seem really low and it is just a terrible place to spend any time. The selection of shops is dreadful, with basically nothing of any interest to seemingly anyone. There is nothing unique about it at all and anything you could possibly need you can get elsewhere. Poorly designed as the back entrance takes you out into a side street and for tourists this could be a nightmare. Especially as this is a side street that many a drunken reveller relieve themselves in on a Friday and Saturday night. Avoid if possible.

Now, this place may not win any awards for being cool and I used to curse my mother for buying me…read moreshoes from here when I was a young boy but now I'm older and buying my own shoes I can see why she brought me here year after year to get my school shoes. The prices aren't low but they're really, really good for the quality of shoe that you get and a pair of Clarks will last you ages. There is also that cool machine that works out your shoe-size which always used to amaze me when I was younger. The staff are knowledgable and friendly, not being too pushy with the optional extras like polishes and leather protector etc.

I usually don't like going to this Clarks Shoe shop as their kids department is upstairs and not…read moreoverly convenient for prams. I was passing today but and needed to get new shoes for my youngest so I thought I would nip in. As I said kids department is upstairs so I parked the pram in the designated area for prams and brought my wee one upstairs. There was no one else there, bonus I picked a good time to go, I noticed on my way in through the doors a ticket system so it must get very busy at times and to stop arguments between mothers they have thought of this. Shop is very well laid out in age categories and types of shoes. Lovely and bright too for kids. Assistant came straight over and measured my daughters feet and then went into the store and got all the available stock in her size, three pairs to choose between. Assistants are very knowledgeable in fitting for kids. Needless to say we came home with new shoes.

Lidl supermarket was a great introduction into our wee country. Not only does it have a great range…read moreof food products at very competitive prices but it has introduced us to many food products from other countries. I love the promotions that the store puts on because the products can range from household to gardening to sport and everything is such good quality at very reasonable prices. I have tried a lot of their brand products and have found them to be of excellent quality at a low cost. One thing I love about all their stores is that the layout is similar and this makes the task of shopping that much less time consuming. The smell of freshly baked bread is very appealing and again of good quality at affordable price. I still can't understand how a trolley full of groceries can fill your cupboards and still leave change in your pocket!

I love LIDL. I have shopped at many different LIDL stores in different countries through out the…read moreworld. I love the way that each store shares the same building model so you don't have to wonder the aisles for hours on end. I find each LIDL uses local produce which is a massive plus. Everything is high quality but low prices, great for any home on a budget or otherwise. I also love the specials that they have. You can get great stuff for your home, car or even holidays including skiing if you time it right. If only they delivered!!

There are quite a few large shopping centres around Bangor including 2 massive Tescos and a…read moreSainsburys just up the road. Asda moved into the main street to a little bit of consternation due to the fact that they took over the car park that was home to Bangor's market every Wednesday morning for a number of years. But once a sharing agreement was sorted out people have been happy with the addition of Asda to Bangor's town centre. You can get everything here that you would expect and at lower prices than Tescos for the most part. I, for one, think that the pasta and sauces you get here are great and you can't really go wrong with them. The staff are helpful and polite and the selection here is excellent. There is a handy car park that is free if you spend over a fiver so you can't be bad to that. It may not be the most ethical of places to shop, being owned by Wal Mart, but for price and convenience it is hard to beat.

This is a strange layout for an Asda and if you've parked at the front of the store on the main…read moreroad to nip in to the toilet it would be very easy to get lost. Great though to have a big name like Asda on the high street rather than in a purpose built shopping centre.

Better Value, Better Quality, It must be Dunnes Stores! Remember this old TV jingle for Dunnes…read more Anytime anyone mentions the place that recycles in my head. So all I can say is the ad worked. Anyway Dunnes Stores eh? What can I say, it is a bit of an institution in Northern Ireland and Ireland, it is kind of the same deal as Primark. Low quality clothes but at an excellent price. For instance I think I have got a few white shirts for various occasions from Dunnes stores. I would say its target audience is the older generation as I do not see too many young people go in and out of Dunnes. But it must be doing okay as it has been in its unit in the Flagship centre for years and years. If you need the basics in terms of clothes and don't want to spend too much money then I would go to Dunnes Stores. The flagship Centre is right in the centre of town and there is on site parking and ATM's galore.

Dunnes store is a classy department store situated in the centre of Bangor. Although it is moderate…read morein size it is all on the one floor and does stock a good selection of children's, ladies and men's. There is also a good quality stock of household goods. I have never been dissatisfied with anything that I have purchased from this store wether for me or as a present. It really is value for money with prices being very affordable for the quality provided. The only problem I have when shopping here is that there are so many nice things to choose from, just when you think you have got what you want, you see something else that had a bigger wow factor!! It is a lovely clean and bright store and the layout always stay the same so there is no valuable time wasted trying to find the section you are looking for. All in all I can't really say anything negative about this store except that I really could shop till I drop when I go into it but I always manage to come home with one of those great bargains that we all love to get our hands on !!

This review is for an employee at the Isle of Man Store. his…read morename is Will and he was very helpful. On Sept 24th we were looking for a deck of playing cards. Will immediately took us upstairs, all the way to the back of the store. Then he helped us at checkout. Exemplary customer service, thanks Will!

The branch of TK Maxx has had a refit in the past year making it a much more appealing place to…read moreshop. Located in Bangors main street there is a car par located at the rear of the store. The ground floor hosts ladies and kids clothing, accessories and footwear as well as toys and books. Upstairs is home to mens clothing and accessories, luggage and an excellent homeware department. I always find this store to be tidy and the staff are very helpful. There are loads of tills and a returns area so the checkout process is pretty fast. If you are a fan of a rummage check this branch out.

I am definitely a loyal fan of Stewart Millar although I often forget its name and refer to it as…read moreStuart Little (as in the little talking mouse) which of course causes hysterical laughter and confirms the kids' suspicions that I am in fact a total muppet. Stewart Miller is an independent retailer of toys, books, magazines and sweet shop stuff. I'm sure there's a better term than that for chocolate, drinks, crisps etc but that's what I call it. This shop's strength is in the offers they are always running and which change regularly. In the toy department, you often find lego you won't see elsewhere and they always have the latest must have sets. They often run promotions of 25% off lego which is great news for stocking up as lego is eye wateringly expensive. The same goes for play mobile sets which are even more expensive. The latest paperbacks are often on offer too and older titles for both adults and kids are at unbeatable prices all year round. You also get one off offers like huge scented candles which last for ages and don't have that horrible cheap smell for just £3.99. The selection of magazines and comics has to be seen to be believed, stretching across one whole wall of the shop. And they don't have any of those hateful notices telling you that 'we are not a library' so feel free to browse.

An essential cornerstone of the greater North Down area. Fantastic book offers and something for…read morepeople of all ages. Support the local businesses!

Now widely acknowledged as Northern Ireland's premiere secondhand bookshop, Bookends - situated…read moreright near the bus and train station in Bangor - carries over 70,000 books in stock. Bookends has gone from strength to strength since they first opened our doors back in 2003. Regular customers will have noticed that the main retail premises has moved two doors up from its original location, thus increasing space (and books!) by almost fifty per cent. The first shop continues to be maintained as a store, and as a result Bookends has an enormous reservoir of stock to draw upon. But we're not just any secondhand bookshop! Most of our stock is 'nearly new', and the surroundings are clean and bright, just as they would be in a 'normal' bookshop. Even our store is so well organised that if you're looking for one particular thing, chances are they'll be able to lay our hands on it! And when you're done, almost all of our books can be returned to us for half price exchange, allowing your cash to go further in these difficult times. Books are, after all, a necessity of life. A really, really good bookshop in the heart of town with friendly and helpful staff, an absolute must for book fans.

I could (and have) literally spent well over an hour just browsing in this wee shop…read more There is not a great deal more I can say than what the other reviewer has said - especially since he has just copied and pasted their 'about us' directly from their website! All I can offer is personal experience. They are literally wall to wall and floor to ceiling with books. You will pretty much find anything you are looking for here, and things you aren't looking for but discover once you get here, and just have to have! When I was studying, I managed to find every single reference book I needed here, and I paid less than a quarter of what I would have had to shell out if I'd got them brand new. I also just happened upon some books from a series of pony books I had when I was younger. I was able to get the three books missing from my collection, all ready to take home for a little bit of nostalgia.