I always thought Spotlight was a shop to go to if you were after a lamp, or a set of curtians. Both…read moreof these are available, however Spotlight does offer a lot more.This place is a one stop shop for all regular house hold needs, and is open 7 days a week. If you're shopping from bed linen, or after gardening, office or kitchen supplies, you're bound to find something here. Otherwise the variety makes it an ideal place to go Christmas shopping, if you have left things to the last minute. The prices are reasonably cheap, but the quality is excellent. Everything here is advertised on sale, but I'm pretty sure the prices have been bumped up beforehand to compensate.

Hmmm, I have a love/hate relationship with this place, but have given it 4 stars (since I couldn't…read moreselect 3 1/2) because ultimately I can usually get most things I need from here. What I don't like is that this Spotlight is like most of them - MESSY!! It's hard to find what you need amongst the chaos. It's like everything is literally thrown in there with no consideration for organisation or logic. The other thing I don't like are the cheap options for most things - instead of stocking high quality wool, for example, only cheap acryllic and substandard wool blends are available ... but I guess that's what their customers want - they'd go elsewhere if they wanted to step up the quality. And I guess that's what Spotlight is good for. But the sheer range is great! I came here for Velcro, and was faced with more options and colours than I needed ... but at least they had some!! And that's why I keep coming back (albeit reluctantly) ;) I must say their registers have been moved, and this has made the check-out more efficient than it was on my last visit, so that's another plus ;)

Castle Plaza is a little out-dated in comparison to Marion or the newly reno'd Big W & Woolworths…read moreon Cross Rd. I wouldn't be surprised if it's the next suburban shopping centre to get a make over! But it has a variety of shops, a Drake and a Coles Supermarket, a Target, a few mobile phone outlets, some clothes shops, jeweler, travel agent, chemist, cafe/eating places and a pub and a bottle-o on it's southern side. It's shopping centre I go to for a purpose (ie to shop in Target, upgrade my mobile phone contract), not to just to walk around and browse like Marion. But hey, you may be different... next time you're in the area check it out!

Retail Shopping…read more Food. Cafes. Supermarkets. Book shops. And rows and rows of shops. Perfect oasis for those living in the south, not as huge and busy as Marion Mall but it does have its community charm. Go here when the sale fever hits. Rockmans, Sussan, Strand Bags, Noni B and Target are a few rad examples. I've scooped fantastic bargains at Rockmans, so much so I signed up for their loyalty card. Perfecto in all senses!

This location becomes quite crowded during busy hours. If you want to be quick and effective, I…read morerecommend arriving shortly after trading starts in the morning. Even with the high number of customers, checkout is generally managed quite well. The staff are typically helpful and can respond to any inquiries. My main complaint about Big W is that click and collect is rarely honored, and refunds take longer than one business day. It would be advantageous to charge customers once the order is picked, similar to Amazon's approach. Aside from that, my family and I will keep coming back.

Big W is one of those institutions that will hopefully last a long time, because you're always…read moreguaranteed to find bargains. One of my latest purchases has been a pasta machine. It was less than $20. Okay, so the price isn't that impressive if you bear in mind that you need to buy a new one every six months, because they fall apart, but a good pasta machine is out of my budget anyway, so I don't mind it so much. It's still a good deal. The clothing is alright too. Cheap. You won't win any fashion awards based on anything you buy here, but at the same time, I can buy two week's worth of shirts for the cost of one 'brand' one at one of those douchey menswear stores where all the dudes like waxing their eyebrows and generally being girlier than girls are. I reckon the service here is alright. If you need help, you can find it. The check-out chicks (and dudes, for that matter) are almost universally friendly and chatty.

After being on the hunt for a second hand couch for a while, I was told by a friend to head to the…read moreSalvation Army where some of the bigger stores take donations of quite good quality second hand furniture. After speaking to a very lovely lady on the phone from the Marion store, she directed me to Melrose Park because it is the Salvation Army's biggest location in Adelaide. The store was indeed massive and had a diverse range of great things that you would not find at the smaller and more traditional 'thrift' shops. There was heaps of different kinds of furniture including couches and desks and bedside tables and filing cabinets, along with the usual racks of clothing, books and kitchenware. The store was set out very well and very spacious which makes looking for things so much easier. The volunteer member serving us showed us the couches and told us useful information about their delivery and holding policies. They were also having a 50% off book sale just for that day and there were dozens of people in there walking out with armfuls of dirt cheap books.

So when it comes to reviewing thrift shops I get nervous. I get nervous that all the little gems I…read morefind in this particular store will be purchased by my fellow thrift junkies. But alas, I came to a revelation. If I share my love for this store maybe more of you will donate to them and then more gems for me to find! Ahhh the powers of deductive reasoning. This Salvos store is one of my favs. Must be just a great area for donations, but I have found some impressive brand name clothing and some awesome decorative home pieces. So go there, dig deep, donate and recycle. And please take note that I love 80s style and over sized shirts if you are feeling particularly generous

The Repat op shop is truly a neighbourhood op shop. Situated within the hospital grounds, it is a…read morefairly small-medium sized op shop. Not big on women's clothing, you will find them but don't expect the latest fashion trends though. There are plenty of children's clothing here, I spotted some branded names from Pumpkin Patch, Esprit and the usual suspects from Target and Big W. You will find men's clothing too, as in all op shops, with the usual basic staples. They have a good range of preloved books and shoes. They have a good collection of bric a brac. Tupperware fans will spot some here. The occasional candle holders in every shape and height usually grace the shelves and normal dining products at great prices. Prices are low and if you're lucky you'll find some vintage stuff here, I spotted a Glomesh bag. Win.