99p Store...Yes! Everything's 99p! (The 99p Store)

Name: kotoranka

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Product:	The 99p Store
Date:	10.06.07 (442 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, good range of products, great for presents/Christmas etc

Disadvantages: queues, blocked aisles, can get very busy

Being a massive fan of bargains, it should come to no surprise that the 99p is obviously the best place to go to find them! My 'local' store is 3 miles away and although I don't have a car, I am more than willing to wait for a few buses knowing that in under an hour I will be browsing a store brimming with nick-nacks to satisfy every need.

The 99p store is the place for when you want to buy the little necessities for the house like washing up liquid, deodorant, kitchen utensils and more as well as being a general store stocking dried and canned foods, children's toys, electronic accessories, stationery etc.

My local store is located in Acton and isn't very large, to be perfectly honest there is barely enough room down the aisles for a person to walk through let alone mothers and their pushchairs being able to pass by. However, despite the area restrictions the store is very well organised into separate sections...

1. Right next to the main entrance is the Bathroom section where my local store stocks a wide range of toothpastes, toothbrushes, body lotions, deodorants, hair-dyes and cotton buds.

2. The next two aisles are reserved for items which fit a particular theme such as Halloween, Christmas or Easter and this section is pretty much comprised of special cards for these events or decorations for the house etc.

My advice to people looking to get decorations here is to over buy because the items are usually snapped up within a week.

3. Further down is the Kitchen section where you can buy plates, cutlery, knives, tupperware, pretty much anything you will need for the household. I find this section especially useful when planning picnics or days out as I am able to buy big bags of plastic cutlery and plates without forking (dya geddit?) out loads of dosh.

Also, there is a special aisle where it is possible to buy large kitchen rolls and accessories for washing up like liquid and bleach.

4. After the Kitchen section is the Food area which I would say encompasses around 30% of the total store area. Here you can buy tinned foods like Heinz beans, tuna or fruit cocktail mixes. There are also many dried snack foods like crisps, cakes, biscuits and chocolates to keep everyone happy.

Sometimes you will find the odd gem here, during my Easter trip to the 99p store I was able to buy 3 Ice Age 2 themed Easter eggs for my family. Although they were Italian products, the eggs cost me only £2.98 and on the tags it stated that they were actually 6 Euros each!

5. The Children's Toy section is also a great area for finding toys for children between the ages of 4-11. There is a fair amount to sift through and the aisles do get clogged up with toys all over the floor or children simply playing with them right there and then!

You have a wide range of toys from just simple cuddly animals to trucks, dress-up suits and dolls.

6. The final section and closest to the tills is the Stationery section which also links up with Electronics, Books, VHS/DVD & CD's for both PC and audio. This is probably the most popular section for people looking to buy gifts for birthdays or Christmas as most items are factory sealed. Although you do get random CD's or films that were released 10 years ago, on some occassions you can buy relatively new films on VHS like Pride and Prejudice (Kiera Knighley version).

~ Overall Opinion ~

I would heartily recommend this store for anyone wanting to find bargains for home, family or friends. My gripes are that you really have to come earlier in the day to be able to freely explore the store without having to fight for space against pushchairs or other people.

Also, the store (after the crowd comes in) can get very messy and stuffy. The staff are helpful when you have questions but the queues are a nightmare on the weekend and there should be more tills open in my personal opinion. However, if you consider that you are saving money on items which would cost you more than twice the sum in other stores, then I suppose you can't really complain?

Summary: great for bargains