[jan]

I seem to be able to shop anywhere and grab a birthday, anniversary, engagement card etc etc..

The quality is of a very high standard or straight to the point.

I prefer to read a card and put lots of thought into what I buy for its recipient.

Can you get good quality cards from NZ or would I be better bringing a stash with me??

Jan xx :nice1

[Carol]

:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh
:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh
:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh


just bring them Jan........

[sarahw]

Hi,

You can get them but there's not as much choice (as with everything else) but there are some good card shops and they do sell them in supermarkets & newsagents & bookshops - they're not cheap - where I've been shopping decent ones like I used to buy at home are $5- each. I tend to shop at Spotlight (a craft store) and make my own - they work out cheaper.

[Beach Kiwi]

Sure can! :nice1

You can buy cards in any price range, with the best ones being quite expensive. There is a quite large range to choose from, but the best selections are usually only found in the bigger stationary and book stores. The biggest selections can be found in places like Whitcoulls and Paper Plus, and the like.

Hallmark cards make some very nice cards. :cool

[jan]

:nice1 :nice1 :nice1 :nice1 :nice1 :nice1 :nice1

Thankyou

Jan xx

[Diny]

I rely on my artistic bent and make my own.

Haven't bought cards in NZ but the ones I have received from friends and rellies there all seem to be like something out of the 50s.

Now that DOES make me sound an ungrateful blighter doesn't it?

Diny

[Moorf]

Hubby was so horrified the other day that he rang me lunchtime after buying 3 birthday cards.. totalling $15 :eek

[veronica]

ok then, what's the price of cards in the uk.
probably find there is not a lot of difference. I haven't found the cards dated, seem pretty similar to the to me. In fact we bought one for Petes bro last year and received the same card for Pete from friends in the UK.

[Moorf]

I'm not allowed to think or convert back to £££'s Veronica... hubby's rule!! :mrgreen:

[veronica]

since when did that matter :laugh Perhaps its just that Warren never bought the cards in the UK. ok someone in the uk give us a price please.

[Moorf]

Clinton Cards average is £2 can buy cheaper or more expensive (I just checked their website!). http://www.clintoncards.co.uk/ecommerce/shop3/cactushop.asp

Approx same price as here but it's another case of Kiwi income makes things appear more expensive etc.... $15 is what Woz spends on petrol each week to get to work! :laugh :laugh

[Moorf]

Yeah you're right - I'm slacking cos Woz never remembered to buy cards in the UK! Jeez he must be quiet at work these days :laugh

[Beach Kiwi]

I have received from friends and rellies there all seem to be like something out of the 50s.

Now that DOES make me sound an ungrateful blighter doesn't it?



No, it just means your rellies are buying Warehouse brand packs of 50 greeting cards that cost $2-00 ! ;) :mrgreen:

[Diny]

:laugh :laugh :laugh

You've probably hit the nail right on the head there !!!!!

[Beach Kiwi]

The Warehouse (http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/), where everyone gets a bargain! ;) :mrgreen:

(You can view their latest mailers on the product page of their website) :nice1

[Diny]

I love the Warehouse !!!!! It's up there with Pak n Save as far as I'm concerned !!!!! :nice1 :nice1 :nice1

As you can imagine .... that web address has been in my favourite places on the pc for a long long time.

Diny

[sarahw]

Ahh the Warehouse - whenever I need anything from pet stuff to gum boots or kitchen gear - the Warehouse is always there!!! & way cheaper than anywhere else! They're great for things like soap, shampoo etc. much cheaper than the supermarkets & do loads of cheap gardening gear.

I always hate shopping in big conglomos such as WalMart etc. but I don't know if anyone knows this (I found out yesterday) that the owner of the Warehouse & his wife set up one of the biggest charities in Australasia region - The Tindall Foundation http://www.tindall.org.nz/ Now I'm even happier about shopping there!

Diny if you love making your own cards you're going to like Spotlight - tons of craft gear! Just made my wedding invites & they look really expensive but were less than $2.50 each! (My newsagents had some cards for $1 each the other day - yes Diny they did look like they were from 1950's!)

The reason that some people are buying the same cards in NZ as in the UK is because they're all imported! I bought some wrapping paper for my niece's birthday present and it had a UK address at the bottom of it for the printers! No wonder it was so expensive! I'm going to be getting my wrapping paper from the warehouse from now on!!!

[Diny]

Hey Sarah

Is Spotlight just in Welly or are there branches all over NZ? I usually do my cards in water colours or pencil, but I do alot of other crafts so finding a good supplier is a must.

Diny

[veronica]

theres a Spotlight in Christchurch.

[Beach Kiwi]

Is Spotlight just in Welly or are there branches all over NZ?


They have a number of stores around NZ. The closest ones to Thames are Manukau City and Hamilton.
CLICK HERE (http://www.spotlight.co.nz/new/welcome_to_spotlight_stores_nz) for their website. :cool

[Carol]

ooooooh there are some WONDERFUL craft shops in Wellington ladies.....
:nice1 :nice1 :nice1


http://www.craftingaround.bizland.com/id58.html

This is on the main street in Tawa - walking distance for me!
:mrgreen:

[sarahw]

Oooh Carol thanks for that! I'll certainly be paying them a visit - sorry to change the subject slightly but for anyone who likes jewellery making there's also a wonderful bead shop in the city centre!

and I just found this internet craft order website: http://www.craftdirect.co.nz/

Ooh I'm in my element here!!! :yes

[StevieD]

Seems my missus is going to have a nice little market for home made greetings cards and scrap/memory book stuff!

Cards in UK are expensive, just look at the prices around mother's day and valentines.... at the end of the day if you shop around you can get a nice card. But what has happened to the nice verses in cards? Really hard to find them.

[Soon2baKiwi]

Oooh! Just had a look at The Warehouse site. There's been talk of books being expensive over there which, as my biggest expense over here, has been a bit worrying for me. One of the first things I noticed is that there are two Dan Brown books at $17.89. I bought his latest during the week and all of them were €10.95($19.87) and that was in our biggest outlet which is usually cheaper than anywhere else. I know that when you're earning $$$ etc. etc. but I can't always afford them here either and it doesn't stop me :oops:

[Hannah-NL]

Sounds good enough for me, we're (esp me) are bookworms too, so I have been checking out the booksites as well.
Now I can't compare to the UK since we're from Holland, but over here books (and cards as well!) have become pretty dear indeed since they introduced the Euro! Will be bringing lots of them myself, I know; why bring all those old books you have already read, but I can't part from them :roll: Anyhow they are like paintings sort of... I collect them ;)

[Soon2baKiwi]

why bring all those old books you have already read, but I can't part from them

I understand - I'm like that too. I remember when I lived in Den Haag it was very difficult getting books at a reasonable price. Of course I was looking for the English version so ... I eventually found a shop that sold secondhand and the library was brilliant. :nice1 Actually, once at a market I bought a complete set (20 books) of Harvard Classics; Second Edition, printed in 1913, for 25 Guilders. Because they were in English. They're all stamped on the inside front page with a name and when I looked it up on the net it was a man who was in the Dutch Navy and from Den Haag. :nice1 I thought that was quite cool.

[veronica]

Forget the bookshops, wait until you visit the libraries. :yes

[Soon2baKiwi]

Forget the bookshops, wait until you visit the libraries

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. :nice1 You really have made my day. :clap

[Hannah-NL]

My dream, either to begin the first or work in the second one, again :P

[sarahw]

Veronica's right - I used to buy about 4 books a month when I was working at home but now I can't afford to buy any. So... I just walk down to the local library and take the books out for a couple of weeks at a time - the membership at my local small library is also valid at 4 other libraries including Porirua City library so you can take a book from one library & return it to another one - they seem to have libraries in most suburbs here - its great! :nice1

Oh and to buy cheap books - Amazon.co.uk - they evidently have better delivery than Amazon.com. Have tried fishpond.co.nz but they quoted on the screen 6-11 days & the actual delivery has turned into 12 weeks for a book!!! Shan't be ordering from there again - I could have travelled all the bookshops in Welly & found the book I'd ordered in less than 12 weeks!!

[veronica]

At Christchurch central Library its 20 books a go and they are stamped for up to 4 weeks, me, I love it. used to work in the village library in the UK 'til they shut it down. They also have a 'new books out' stand where for a $3 charge you can take out latest releases for a week. I have been really impressed by the size, facilities and friendliness of the libraries here.

[Hannah-NL]

Yipppyy!!! Maybe we need to start a new thread on libraries?
Sorry this post got hijacked :oops:

[Soon2baKiwi]

My dream, either to begin the first or work in the second one, again

Me too :yes It has crossed my mind. What's Auckland like for secondhand bookshops, does anyone know?

[Beach Kiwi]

What's Auckland like for secondhand bookshops, does anyone know?

Not very good, as most have closed over the last 15 years. I am unaware of any new ones actually opening in that same time period. The few that are left charge quite high prices for their books, in comparison to what a new book costs.

The biggest secondhand book shop in Auckland nowadays is Hard to Find in Onehunga.

[Moorf]

There's a few in Chch but, as I wanted to start up a 2nd hand bookshop, I looked into the market and from looking at past shops and current ones, they don't do a particularly good trade - I think the libraries do such a good job and are so accessible that Kiwi's don't feel the need to buy books when they can borrow and return them!

The ones that have done well, as far as I can remember, were the specialist shops and "rare" book shops. I also noted that many general second hand shops also sold books.

I have a small book shop's worth of books coming over from storage (I hate to sell or get rid of my books and I actually prefer to buy a book and keep it that borrow from a library! :laugh ) Weird!

[Beach Kiwi]

...as I wanted to start up a 2nd hand bookshop, I looked into the market and from looking at past shops and current ones, they don't do a particularly good trade

You don't sell books in order to get rich, you do it because you 'love' it! ;)

I have a small book shop's worth of books coming over from storage (I hate to sell...

If you did sell them you wouldn't get more than a couple of bucks for each of them - paperbacks, that is. Even mint condition ones don't get much more than this amount!

[Diny]

I wanted to start up a 2nd hand bookshop,

Well if you're ever looking for a business partner ..... PB would be in heaven owning a 2nd hand bookshop.

Did you ever go to Ross on Wye over here? The 2nd hand book shop capital of the world (so the tourist info will have you believe).

Last week it took me all day to pack books, and there's still stacks waiting to be packed. My weakness is cookery books - I love them. It drives PB to distraction as I never follow a recipe from them. I read them, drool over the pictures and get ideas and then produce my own adaptation. Isn't that what it's all about?

Diny

[Moorf]

Absolutely BK - but you still gotta pay the rent!

I just LOVE books - the smell, the feel .. oh and the contents! The older the better. A great bookshop online, that sells some CRACKING rare books too... is Alibris... www.alibris.com

Ross on Wye... what a beautiful place that it is, haven't been there for years .. but it's heaven for me too - I can spend HOURS in just one tiny bookshop.. would take me months to get out of Ross.O.W.!!

[Beach Kiwi]

Absolutely BK - but you still gotta pay the rent!


That's what I'm referring to, secondhand book shops *don't* usually pay the rent! ;)

[Moorf]

Methinks hubby won't run with this idea :laugh :laugh especially when he reads THIS thread :roll:

Oh well, back to the sea cucumber idea...... :cool

[Hannah-NL]

Maybe we can add my collection to yours Moorf, altho I have lots of english pockets too, you'd have a nice dutch collection as well ;)
Diversity is what counts in bookstores. I live a reputed booktown which has one of the biggest bookmarkets of Europe once a year, too many people to walk around normally unless you go very early in the morning.
I have been to Ross on Wye once during one of our holidays, Heaven on earth!