Any vintage or retro lover out there knows that to get the real deals, you've got to leave the…read morecity. To find quality vintage at cut price items can be a chore, but it's made all that more enjoyable if the little places you visit are clean, well laid out and staffed by friendly volunteers; Papatoetoe's hospice shop is all of the above. The shop is often inhabited by a lot of older people who bring clothes in and take more out, I think it's only fair to warn you that there is a large contingent of Miller's shirts in this store... much like there is in many other stores of this nature! The Miller brand isn't always the most desirable pick for a vintage shopper, but if you can dig through the collared nightmares, there are gems to be found. Amazing dresses, skirts and shorts for just a few bucks each. And because it's out of the hipster radius of 10km from the city, there's always plenty of vintage/retro stuff to choose from.

Hallensteins has always been a great place for guys' clothes in New Zealand, especially in the last…read morefew years which I'm guessing cause they have a new buyer. The Sylvia Park store recently re-opened in the last year as it's flagship store, and the changing rooms are refurbished with awesome decor. Staff are great! Friendly and attractive and super helpful!

This is the best place to get all your households goods in one place. They have a good selection of…read morebeds, furniture, whiteware, electrical goods. I like walking around seeing what new toys, TV's, Hifi, camera's, cellphones etc to put on my Christmas list.

Cheap shoes. Cheap dresses. Cheap appliances. Maybe it's…read morebecause we don't have K Mart back home, but I get excited to go here when I'm back in NZ. This is my go to spot when I need some quick supplies visiting my in laws. Forgot my jandals? No problem. $7 at KMart. Need some new swimmies? Cheap ones here that aren't ridiculous. Need new summery dresses for cheap? Yep. Golden. And then grab a cheap kapiti on the way out the door and your life is made.

I absolutely love Kmart for extremely obvious reasons. Not only do they have great bargains here,…read morebut they have almost anything you could want (although let's not get technical) and they are open until midnight- just three reasons there, but isn't that enough? The Botany Downs Kmart is my favourite. It's massive and I love exploring this place (although I do come here at least once a fortnight). The staff are great here, I'm always greeted when I arrive and when I leave and they're always nearby if i need to ask of something. Kmart is great for buying clothes to lounge around the house in at a cheap price and the occasional baking utensil (I just can't resist sometimes). My last visit had me going home with some new lounge trackies for $15 and 6 pairs of socks for $6- a really good bargain if you ask me. This Kmart also has the self-checkout service with handy hanger bins, and I definitely prefer to buy my items this way when I've only got a couple of items. Working in retail, I've seen Kmart sell similar styles they have in malls for a fraction of the cost and usually Kmart has better quality. Just goes to show that it's not always about brands and quality doesn't always have to mean a high price.

Aside from being overpriced in some ways, Farmers does have some of the best specials seasonally…read more Red Dot Sales are ushered in with mannequins wrapped in red and white plastic out in the display window. You wonder in and these red dots are everywhere! After Boxing Day a couple of years ago, I managed to score both a hair straightener and a hair dryer for about $50. I was super stoked with that. I've also indulged in their massive clothing sales. They have a slightly upper class vibe in places (despite their very country bumpkin name), selling Gucci bags and clothes for exorbitant prices. They are definitely 2 cuts above Kmart in quality, but to sell Gucci is a bit far fetched. A slightly wannabe Smith and Caugheys, but still celebrating the heart of kiwi thriftiness, Farmers has a bit of an identity crisis going on. However, I still enjoy coming in here and spending some time browsing their great range of products.

Yay. This is my favourite Farmers to shop in. It has all the standard Farmers features - kitcheny…read morestuff, homewares stuff, lots of beauty counters and stocks of cheaper beauty products, a decent lingerie section, and a lot of truly dreary menswear. The great part is the women's fashion. I'm sure it must be the largest women's wear section in any Farmers in Auckland, and it's absolutely crammed full of every brand and every type of clothing you can imagine, from the vast sportswear section to endless midrange options, to tonnes of workwear and more formal stuff. Brace yourself with a coffee before you head in, then gather a good pile of clothes and head to the fitting rooms, which even feature a three-sided mirror (so you can pretend you're on Trinny and Susannah as you tell yourself how marvelous you look).

Our new couch just arrived this afternoon! I am so excited. We had been looking at couches at…read morequite a few places, and once we reached Sofa Plus, we stopped looking and cancelled all our previous plans. These guys know their stuff and are really passionate about the work they do. Yes, it's more expensive than the other couches we were looking at, but you can see the different in quality and craftsmanship and definitely in service. Plus a 10 year warranty! And, an excellent service bonus - they even took our old couches and redelivered them to our friends' house! I'm totally happy with our purchase, and would gladly recommend Sofa Plus to anyone.

Absolutely love Sofa Plus - they are passionate about providing the best possible quality and…read moreservice - and YES it is all NZ Made out of the best quality materials including wood, frames and coverings. Cut out the middle man and buy exactly what you want from the people that made it. I have two natural NZ leather sofas which have aged with absolute elegance - now 8 years old!!. Highly recommend without hesitation.

Oh my god I love this shop! It's a place to spend hours but sadly I don't have a lot of those spare…read morethese days. They call themselves primarily "costumers" because the quality and sometimes outrageousness of the vintage clothing on offer here is THAT impressive. The antique costume jewellery here is utterly beautiful and unique - and there's lots of it. Victorian Gilt stock textiles, sewing tools, ornaments and more but for me, it's a dress-up box of epic proportions and there's not another place in Auckland that does what they do here. The staff are so lovely and helpful and make you feel more than welcome to just browse and exclaim over the beautiful things.

David's emporium is your one stop shop for everything! Here they have tools, paint, art supplies,…read morecrafts, material, nick-nacks, appliances, wigs and my favourite.....dress-ups! It's at David's you are able to find anything and everything suitable for a party, or if you're after something on the cheap. Located on Cavendish Drive in Manukau, it's only really convenient if you're in the area. There is plenty of onsite parking available. I have been here a number of times to pick up bits and pieces with my boyfriend, who is really in to art. He finds that they always have great sales on their canvases, sketch books and cheap paint brushes that he might need for touching up. Here I have managed to purchase lint rollers and a foot exfoliator, both of these cost next to nothing, I was very impressed.