I called into A - Z Family Discounts recently to buy light bulbs and inevitably left with several…read moremore things besides... I can't resist a bargain! Especially when I go into shops that stock gardening equipment. I'm a recent convert to the delights (and frustrations) of gardening, and so there always seems to be ever more equipment that I can buy to make my life easier. (If only they would produce some sheers or pruning sheers that automatically killed nettles and brambles at the root, then my life would be a lot easier!!!) A - Z Family Discounts don't do a huge amount in the gardening department, but I still found myself buying a couple of things that I needed. A - Z Family Discounts is run by a really lovely couple that will help you navigate the shelves if you get a little lost. It's not that their shop is so vast that it's impossible to find things, it's just that they carry such a diverse range of stock that things are not always easy to find. It's a case of there being a bit of this and a bit of that, and so it's difficult for consistency to be achieved in the layout in certain areas of the shop. They stock a good range of cleaning equipment and household items as well as a variety of tools, fancy goods, gifts and toys as well as the gardening range.

great shop and the staff are fantastic very polite and helpful definitely recommendedread more

I honestly have no idea how these shops ever open. I can imagine the meeting with the bank manager…read moreabout the business loan; 'So what's your shop gonna sell?' 'This and that.' 'Specifically?' 'All sorts, bits and bobs.' 'Give me a specific item you're going to sell.' '... Tiki Torches.' Honestly, I went to this shop today and I can't remember a single thing it sells other than Tiki torches. It's not that it doesn't sell stuff, because it does, it sells a lot of random goods. I expect it sells toilet seat covers and sellotape and foam bananas. I remember that it was cheap and everything was made of material that looked like it would last until the first time you used it. I'm also not sure where to trust items that are made places like Kreturgifakeistan. Saying all that, this is the kind of place you'll find something you really need or where you couldn't find anywhere else.

This place sells a hideous and rather random selection of tat that is either horribly tacky or…read morehopelessly poor quality. If you dig really deep, however, Worth It does have the (very) odd item that's probably 'worth it' - but you have to shop really carefully and I just don't have the patience. Their outside display seemed to be focusing on fishing nets when I last wandered past - those little scoop nets on the end of canes that generally break within the first hour of children getting their hands on them. Most of their stock, however - mops, plastic plant pots, watering cans, electronic bits and bobs, tools, and so on - can be bought for only a little bit more at your average supermarket, and the quality will probably be better too. It's a bit like some of the stalls downstairs in Cardiff market that sell home ware along with a slightly bizarre array of other items. You're never quite sure what you're going to stumble across, and most of what you do find you probably wish you hadn't.

Great little bargain store! I love the repurposing of an old church instead of removal. (Sure it's…read morea bit 'musty,' but I think it adds to the character!) The products are a bit 'cheap,' but I've found everything to be quite reliable for a recent move-in; a few plant pots and compost, a large cooking pot, broom, etc. The prices are fair and the employees are very pleasant!

Do not go to this shop. The quality of items is horrific and there were birds flying around the…read moreplace. Then, a group of young children were falsely accused of stealing. They were forced to empty their pockets and were embarrassed in front of the whole shop. The security guard did not apologize and was extremely mean. Dirty place and mean staff. It's a no from me. -Sharon

I love this little shop. You can pop in for a sandwich, for a drink, for some sports wear, or to…read moretop up your phone - and every time the service is fantastic. I went in for a pair of shorts and found some in cardiff university colours (all shorts are cardiff university colours but you can also buy hoodies and t-shirts in a whole range). There was a good range of sizes available. I was also looking for some jogging bottoms but they didn't have them in my size. The shorts were £10 which I felt was quite reasonable, though not cheap, because they are good quality and I'd rather pay for that than go into town and get either a cheap pair that won't last or are ridiculously expensive for the logo on them. The shop also offers a good range of vegetarian food in the chilled cabinet - worth a look!

This is one of those shops that seems to sell everything - catering well to the student union crowd…read moreof university staff and students. When I worked at Cardiff Uni, on Park Place, we always used to nip in here on milk runs for our tea breaks - picking up any chocolate requests at the same time. You can also grab birthday cards, a drink or some lunch, some cigarettes, university sports hoodies and t-shirts, phone top ups, the odd toiletries, and more. The service is always efficient and friendly, and even when there's a queue it goes down quickly - but watch out on the opening times because it closes at 4pm and is only open weekdays.

W R P Jewellery is a very conventional jewellers on Clifton Street, near the city centre. It stocks…read morea good selection of silver and gold jewellery, a lot of which is really well priced and s make ideal gift ideas. Items include a good range of charms and fancy link chains as well as fashion pendants and crosses. They also carry a large selection of earrings, with hoops in both silver and gold. Somewhat inevitably they also offer a reasonable range of engagement rings and wedding bands. They also buy scrap 9ct - 22ct gold. After hours phone number: 01374 601470 Unlike many of the shops on Clifton Street, business levels at W R P Jewellery Don't seem to have been too adversely affected by the new one way system that the council implemented about a year ago. This is probably mainly due to the fact that W R P Jewellery have been around for quite a long time and are well known for performing repairs and modifications. They also provide a valuation service for insurance purposes, as well as reselling. With the price of gold going through the roof during the recession, a lot of people have been tempted to sell their unwanted pieces of gold jewellery for scrap, and so I imagine that W R P Jewellery have performed more valuations than usual over the last couple of years.

I can't recommend this jeweller highly enough. Following a reasonably priced chain repair I asked…read morethem to repair a very precious (to me) ring. It was a difficult job but they did it and now I can wear a very special item of jewellery that means the world to me.

This is a real little jewel this shop. Recently opened and the innovative folk who put it all…read moretogether have to be given giant pats on the back. It is a drawing card from start to finish. From it's colourful, bright window display and equally colourful interior. The décor theme is true American Graffiti - think Happy days, The Fonz and you'll get my drift - with posters, prints, ice cream sundae stands, all dressing up the place and creating that 'New' once over. The zappy 1950's, 1960's music bouncing off the walls, giving you a truly, marvellous spring in your step comes from an American styled jukebox that takes pride of place at the back of the store. This is, theoretically, a second-hand clothing and accessory shop, but with a difference. In fact, it is a YMCA charity store, but you wouldn't guess it in an instant, so the staff and associated people's altruism is commendable as this place is given true love, with astounding attention to detail. There is no musty smell billowing out of the once worn fabric, in fact, there is no stale odour emanating out of any pour of the building, something that you almost always find when browsing through a 'pre-owned' clothing shop. There is no feeling that the items have any negative aspect to them whatsoever, from being a 'reject' - someone's bad buy - 'had-it's-day', or.......formerly much loved but owner sadly said, Adieu! This place is bright and happy, and it's cheerfulness rubs off onto the staff and the browsing/buying public. All the items are donations from well intentioned people and are checked and cleaned at the association's recycling centre in Cardiff Bay before going on sale and they only stock good quality clothes and accessories - so no rubbish. I do so hope this shop survives as it is trendy and hip and it is a really positive place, but you know the fickle public out there, and in these tough times, they almost want it given away. The items are indeed good quality and priced like any charity store with items going around £5 - £8 or much less. Albany Road does have quite a number of charity stores, but this one certainly sets the benchmark.

Afro Ethnic Continental is a reasonably well stocked shop on the City Road. My view however, is…read morethat it is trying to do too much, and should either specialise in food, or in African artefacts, because trying to do both seemingly compromises what it is able to do. There's another African shop a little ways down toward the centre of town on the City Road that appears to have got the balance about right. They specialise in food and beauty and hair care, and although it's possible to buy the odd ornament or artefact, they seem to use these colourful pieces to decorate the shop and are certainly not reliant on the sales of these objects in a commercially crucial way. Nevertheless, Afro Ethnic Continental definitely serves a niche at this end of the street, and the prices are pretty reasonable considering how far some of the food has had to travel. There is much call for food of African food in Cardiff and very few outlets catering for the demand. So, I guess this little shop does okay regardless of my speculations!

Not a great shop, as exotic food shops go. In fact, I'd go further than that. I would rather…read moresupport Tesco than this shop. And Tesco is a long walk from Cathays (the only Tesco with a decent exotic food section is all the way past Talybont). But I feel that I was treated pretty rudely for food that wasn't as great as I wanted it to be, at a price was just about acceptable. I don't know really what it was that they did that offended me so greatly, but something about sulleness and a failure to appreciate customers really gets my goat (odd expression, isn't it?). So, sorry, Afro-Ethnic Continental but, now, you don't get my vote. So there.

Parking is fine, stall selection is amazing and if you love markets then this is the place to go…read moreall year round every Saturday and Sunday. There is a car boot on the one day and a market on the other - as far as i remember, the car boot is on the saturday! It would be great if other qypers could help out with details too? There's plenty of things t obrowse on boths days so well worth a visit if you like markets - on either day.

It's my first time coming to sell today and I have found people aggressive and very unfriendly…read more Don't think I'll come again.

Supposed to be a car boot sale. 90% traders today with very few car booters. I won't be going back.read more

Bessemer carboot is so close to me that I rarely venture the extra 5 car/bike minutes over to…read moreSplott. However, on a rainy day to get my carboot fix Splott Market can trump Bessemer as a greater portion of Splott is undercover. Splott is about 30 years old and sells everything - 3 dvd's for a tenner, shiny new kitchenware, diy clutter, brass knobs, last seasons Primark, coloured glass lights, antique pine tables, knock down meat, apple pies, well loved toys, oh yes and the kitchen sink! The Splott vibe is similar to Bessemer - loads of jam packed stalls, 'cept at Spott many of the stall holders seem to be regular, professional car booters, rather than families having a clear out. At Splott there's both the grimy and the shiny, but the fun of the carboot is of course diving in and retrieving hidden treasure for bargain prices. Note: *Carboot Thurs and Sat. *Fruit and veg market Sun

Premier Convenience Store, also known as the Clifton Food Market, situated on the troubled Clifton…read moreStreet, is one of several convenience stores that are vying for diminishing trade since the one way system was implemented about a year ago. One of the ways that this store attempts to compete is by keeping its doors open as much as possible, and so it is open seven days a week from 8.00 in the morning to ten 'o' clock at night. It is also one of the few places that still stocks newspapers, and of course the discounted alcohol that it carries remains ever popular! Another thing that is impacting the smaller corner shops on the street is the fact that the council have granted permission for a Tesco Metro midway up the street. Although Premier Convenience Store is part of a chain, it is run as a family business, allowing the owner to make a reasonable profit for the responsibilities of running a complex shop of this kind. Conversely, Tescos employ people on minimum wage to work all hours, and then keep the profits for themselves. This means that huge sums of money leave the local economy, and end up in the pockets of the fat cats in London. This is really bad news for Clifton Street and Cardiff as well as Wales as a whole. What Cardiff and Clifton Street need more than anything else is for the council to stop making choices that will further entrench the recession, making it ever more difficult to turn these desperate times around. Cardiff needs a good flow of money within the local economy to endure the vicissitudes of the global slump. If this does not happen, the people of Cardiff can look forward to the prospect of working unsocial hours for an almost punitive wage, with all of the profits being siphoned out of the economy and shipped off to England! If this happens the people of Cardiff will not have the spending power to improve their lot over time!