With its tasteful displays outside, wide aisles and several bargain baskets on offer, this small…read morehardware store appears very enticing as you're passing by. Don't be fooled. Once inside, the prices aren't half as great as you'd expect them to be (Small hammers were on display for £8.99! I have a similar one at home that cost me £3.50!), most of the stock inside is covered in thick layers of dust and the floors look as if they haven't been cleaned in years. The cut-price items outside the store may look attractive, but again, be warned! The staff leave their products outside even in awful weather (I saw this with my own eyes on my wet and windy visit) and you'd be hard put to find anything amongst this lot that doesn't look as if it originally came from a pound shop. Staff are grumpy and ignorant towards customers unless directly prompted, most items are overpriced and the whole atmosphere inside is very unpleasant. I'd definitely recommend buying your household and hardware products elsewhere.

This shop has an extensive range of lighting solutions and accessories. Whatever your lighting…read morerequirement the staff here assure me that they either have it stock or can get it within 48hours. This shop is a showroom to a much larger operation, an online shop called lightsaver. Their warehouse is in Birmingham and they offer to deliver for free. Browsing their online shop, it offers up to 50% off what I'm looking for. The member of staff dealing with me at the shop was friendly and very knowledgeable about the products. The online shop is easy to navigate and to order from.

Selling a range of decent toiletries and household products, mostly for either £1 or less, this…read moremini budget store is a great place to stop by to pick up a few bargains when you're passing through Erdington. The aisles inside are cramped and the staff are a little ignorant and unfriendly, but the store's stock is surprisingly diverse for its size and it's usually nice and quiet inside. Nails, screws and bolts are all available for £1, which is great when similar products costs double that at Erdington Hardware down the road, and many products are less than 70p! This no-frills, multi-purpose store is definitely worth a visit if ever you're passing.

On a recent trip to Erdington to browse the shops, this unusual little niche store really caught my…read moreeye. Vevo specialises in selling handbags, suitcases and carpets; a very odd combination indeed. Inside, everything is spotlessly clean and the store is spacious considering its size, mainly due to the fact that there aren't any makeshift wooden aisles or displays; everything is simply either on shelves on the walls, or in the middle of the room. Prices here are remarkably low, especially for the suitcases and holdalls, meaning that this is a great place to stop by if you're planning a weekend away, but need a new case. On my visit, I purchased a large pull-along suitcase for just £14.99. It's sturdy, spacious and feels well made, and I'm sure it'll last me a good while. The staff here are friendly, the stock is impressive for such a small shop and I'd most definitely visit again.

Offering two storeys of chandeliers, lamp accessories, light fittings and interior oddments, this…read morehighly unusual, niche furniture store is a great place to check out when visiting Erdington. The displays, floors and pretty much everything else inside is spotlessly clean and the low-volume music and spacious showrooms make for a pleasant shopping experience. Staff are in abundance inside and willing to offer help and advice, but they don't pounce on you the second you walk through the door as they may do in other furniture stores, and Lite Craft also benefits from its own off-road car park. Many exciting and unusual designs of light fixtures, fittings and shades are on display inside and the store also sells a wide variety of quirky mirrors. This pleasant, offbeat furniture is definitely worth a visit. If you're currently decorating and looking to add some unique touches to your home, you'll be in your element here.

Very bright shop, clean and tidy. Easy to move around with a great selection of products. The staff…read moreare very helpful. There are often some great things on offer here and your very likely to find what your looking for as theres a great choice at reasonable prices.

The corner of Coles Lane has something of a tradition of being an 'outdoor' (old-school Brummie…read moretalk for an offie). For years it was a Victoria Wine, then a Threshers before becoming 'The Local' - a disastrous attempt at selling wine, spirits and baked beans in the same small space. After sitting dormant for a while, it's current owner took it on and put it straight. Going under the imaginative banner 'Shop', it's exactly what a corner shop should be and a great example of a community shop. It sells your usual newsagent fare: Chocolate bars, newspapers, milk. I believe it even has a coffee machine in there. I'm afraid I don't know the name of the guy who runs it, but he's a very amiable proprietor who never seems to have a day off and will always say hello or wave to you even if you're walking on the other side of the street. I don't live round there anymore, but whenever I drop by for a paper or a drink if I'm in the area, there always seems to be one of my old neighbours stood in there by the till having a chat and passing the time of day. It's that kind of place, and that kind of place is very hard to find these days.