Where did you shop?

[MattyC64c]

Thinking about the 1970's, 80's and 90's, what was your favourite shop that you used to visit regularly?

Mine was the local Makro. In the 80's my dad and my uncle ran their own tyre business. One of the perks of this is the ability to join wholesale traders such as Makro. The store itself, based in Halesowen, was positively huge - actually it's still there, but it's all one level these days, or so I'm told.

Anyway, it had almost everything you could think of. There was a huge toy department, and during the 80's a rather large gaming section with various computers laid out such as the C64, Amstrad 464, spectrum and Amiga machines. It was the store I first came across the NES and Sega Master System consoles. What was really great was the fact there were quite a few machines ready to play on too.

There was a big home entertainment section and an extensive clothes range. We used to buy many of our trainers from there.

What was yours?

[dste]

Quite a few when I was growing up in Nottingham, mainly all to do with music, gaming and Sci-fi stuff.

Music wise was Way Ahead, Select a disc and a stoned dude in a small CD/record shop and gaming/Sci-fi was Another World which had four floors of quality stuff.

Could spend hours in there if I really wanted to.

[Morkin]

Mine was just my local WHSmiths & Tesco when they were selling Spectrum games. There were two games shops that I visited regularly, but I can't remember their names.

[Andy L]

In Liverpool city centre, there was a games shop called Software Shop (I think?) which had all the 8- and 16-bit computers and games. It closed around 1993 when I was 10 but I vividly remember going there in 1991 with my mate and his Dad to get his Spectrum +3 and as a +2 owner, being jealous of his new ability to play games from floppy disc! Think we went back there the following year to get Super Mario Land 2 for his Game Boy which, to this day, is still one of my favourite games ever

WHSmiths was always a treat too - upstairs for the magazines and downstairs for the games - as was the local toy shop called Tumbles (RIP). Was thrilled to find a photo of that place on Flickr a few months ago!

[TwoHeadedBoy]

WHSmiths was always a treat too - upstairs for the magazines and downstairs for the games - as was the local toy shop called Tumbles (RIP). Was thrilled to find a photo of that place on Flickr a few months ago!

Remember TNT Games on London Road? That was a good one as well...

[Andy L]

WHSmiths was always a treat too - upstairs for the magazines and downstairs for the games - as was the local toy shop called Tumbles (RIP). Was thrilled to find a photo of that place on Flickr a few months ago!

Remember TNT Games on London Road? That was a good one as well...

Was that in the early-mid Noughties? Or am I thinking of the wrong shop? The only place I went to on London Road was Cash Converters (and very occasionally the Odeon)...

[TwoHeadedBoy]

It was opposite Cash Converters, it's a hardware shop now... Think it closed around 2004-ish, but it'd been there since at least the early Nineties (it might be where my Mega Drive came from!).

[Andy L]

Hmmm, that rings a bell now you mention it... I think I bought my second Dreamcast from them (which I still have) for my 19th birthday (or thereabouts) but I didn't realise it had been going that long. Don't think I went there more than three or four times though.

[resident paul]

WHSmiths, John Menzies, EB & smaller independent shops of the likes of 4Mat Computing, Sweettens (think pronounced right?) the bookshop & The Computer Shop

[JetSetWilly]

Mainly John Menzies, WHSmiths, Boots, Future Zone (before it became Electronics Boutique), Electronics Boutique, Software Plus (many people on here remember them), Tesco and now those Cash Generator shops (of which another has opened up since the last one which opened about 3 months ago!!!), mainly because you can get some good bargains in there.

We've had a really good discussion on Software Plus here before, but any excuse to remember this great shop.

[SoupDragon]

There was a shop in the indoor market in Swansea called Musiquarium. It was great! Especially if you were into metal and obscure stuff. They sold imports and rare vinyls, picture discs etc and not at rip off prices either. Id be there mosts saturdays buying records most folk had never heard of. Closed a few years ago now though

[felgekarp]

RedGates for all your toy needs, that was about the only shop I used to like going in when I was a kid, it was a black day when a Hamleys opened up just down the road

[AceGrace]

As I grew up near Brighton, my main haunts were Gamer in East Street. SoftCentre in Churchill Square as well as WhSmiths and Boots.

Special mention must go to Tomorrows World in Boundary Road, Hove which is still going strong.

[themightymartin]

Th Kart Klub in Aldershot. In fact I still shop there more than anywhere else! Back then it sold current releases, but now it's retro and trade-ins only. Rumour has it that the previous owners were caught selling new releases before their release date and were blacklisted, meaning that they couldn't get new stock from the game companies, but as I said it is just rumour. The current owners have done a good job keeping the shop afloat, especially since Game opened up in Aldershot.

[learnedrobb]

The branch of John Menzies which was located on the market near my house in Gorton.

I can still close my eyes and see the huge wall of magazines now. Good times....