Value for money is key for shopping these days…read more "Cotton On Kids" delivers everytime. They stock children's clothes from 0-8?yrs I think. Having purchased a lot of items in store, both gender, I can honestly say (hand-on-heart) they are my one of the best! You can regularly find bargains and clearance items. I just purchased tees, hoodie and pjs for under $90, wow! They stock everything from jeans, tees, stretch-n-grows, socks, shoes, sweaters, cords, swimmers - you name it, except children's underwear. Love this brand:)

I don't have children so when I'm buying for younger cousins, I'd happily drop a few more dollars…read morefor something I thought was really cool and cute. On my recent venture for more gift clothing for family, I came across Charlie & Me. Its a great little kids store that caters for newborns to 10 years olds and the best part about it is that its affordable. The prices are great and their sale items are such good value especially for new season clothes. Charlie & Me have great muck-around clothes for everyday wear as well as some fancy, out-for-dinner clothes for little ones too. I went there when they had a sale on during a late night and it was really busy, so I can't comment on the service as staff were rushing around, understandably. The selection of sizes in sale items was great too, unless it was just my lucky day! Charlie & Me do seriously cute clothes and footwear for kids. And at such great prices, it a must-stop for parents and relatives for some awesome bargains too.

Charlie & Me boutique is one amazing experience. Not only are all of the products beautifully and…read morestylish, but the owner and her dog Charlie are super wonderful! We keep coming back with our pup for more beautiful products and the experience! Love love Ingrid

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.

Funky Frocks takes the prize for the most cheerful stall at the Howick Village Market…read more Flapping on three sides of the stall are little girls' dresses in every imaginable colour. From simple slip-on, tie-up styles to pinafores, plain or patterned, as well as the most adorable elasticized cotton knickers, this stall also offers something to please even the fussiest little princess. The easy-fit styles are the answer when buying as a gift when you're not 100% sure of the size of the recipient, and make a very welcome present when posting overseas. I love it when locally-made, well-designed clothes are reasonably priced enough to offer a real alternative to the mass-produced alternatives, as they are at Funky Frocks.

I went into this store as I was looking for a gift for a friend who has recently had a baby. I…read moreended up walking out empty handed about a minute later. What a terrible shop! It was really untidy and kind of just feels like an op-shop for babies in there. Everything was everywhere, you couldn't even get to the back of the store on the right-hand side as there were just rows and rows of cots there you couldn't walk past. And you couldn't even get to the ones at the back or at the side anyway, so it all seemed a bit of a pointless display anyway. The selection of clothes and toys was very mediocre too. In fact, the only thing I quite liked in there were the brightly coloured make your own name plaques. However, I'd been too put off by the store by that point, that I just wanted to get straight out of there.

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.

There's this bright pink sign catching your attention on Cascades Road, which immediately signals…read morethis is no mechanic shop along a busy industrial district. What a Girl Wants is a second hand store, but packed with top quality bits and pieces. There are bags, clothes, shoes, books, furniture and ornaments, all geared towards the classy women of East Auckland. I thoroughly enjoyed having a browse, and picked up a nice singlet for a whopping $2! It's next to a coffee place and also an antique store, so your vintage tastes can be quenched, along with a nice spot of coffee afterwards. You can just park on the gravel outside, which is really handy. The shop assistant was friendly enough, and the way things are set out is really eye catching. It's awesome to see some creative thought going into the layout of a thrift store, considering most of the time, you have to rummage to find anything particularly useful. Here, it's all on display, in order of size and product. Good stuff.

What a Girl Wants would be a solid four star shop if it weren't for the staff…read more The two times I've been in I've wanted to stay longer, they have some amazing bargains and a very well organised shop, and overall the quality of their stock is excellent. The problem is, the two ladies who work there were very, very loudly talking politics both times I went in. As there's a dance school directly above them, it's fair enough that they need to raise their voices a little to be heard. But maybe don't stand on opposite sides of the shop? Or don't go on loudly about how much you dislike beneficiary bludgers who just sit around all day doing nothing. I mean, you're running a second hand shop, people...perhaps put two and two together and come up with four?