Where can I find bargains in the UK?

To clarify -I don't mean "where can I find things that don't cost much?" I mean "where can I find things that don't cost much and are equivalent in quality to things that cost more?

When I lived in the US, I was able to find quality items in 99 cents stores, discount clothing and variety stores, at flea markets, etc. I saved money by buying store brands and unknown brands. I have clothing items that I bought in the US for a few dollars that are still in good condition.

So far, my experience in the UK has been that anything that costs cheap is cheap.

For example, I've bought non-name brand cleaning supplies and found that they were mostly water, so I had to use 4 times as much as I would have used if I'd spent money on the name brand.

Similar issues with kitchen towels and toilet roll.

Clothing that doesn't cost a lot is thin and falls apart in the wash, and I've yet to find anything in a charity shop that I was completely happy with after I got it home.

I've seen bottles of shampoo and lotion for £1 in discount stores that are 1/4 the size of bottles you could get at Boots for £3. (You do the maths.)

I was in Morrison's yesterday and I was surprised to see that for many items, the Morrison's brand actually cost more than some of the brands with names on them. (So no saving money by buying the store brand.)

I feel that every time I try to save a few pounds here, in the long run, I end up spending more money than if I'd just paid more in the first place.

Anyone know where to find true bargains?

Well, if you're looking for clothing/housewares type stuff, there's TK Maxx.  Just like TJ Maxx in the US, it's all designer label clearance from the department stores.  In my experience, it's sort of hit-or-miss; sometimes there's nothing I'm at all interested in, and sometimes I score half-a-dozen very nice things, very cheaply.  It's worth a look.

I bought a bunch of brand name products (things such as shampoo & deodorant, but also like cleaning products, etc) for pretty cheap at Wilkinsons awhile back - maybe try there?

Looks like your nearest is at Clifton Moor Centre, YO30 4XZ.

I find that with places like the Pound Store, Pound Stretcher, Wilkinsons, etc - it definitely pays to know how much the item normally costs at the grocery store, so then you know if you're really getting a deal or not.

Yes, I like TK Maxx too - I don't buy clothes there generally because I find their plus size selection wanting (in the stores near me anyway), but I do use TK Maxx quite a bit for housewares - things like bedsheets, duvet covers, kitchen items, etc.

Maybe someone else who lives in York can correct me if I'm wrong - but I don't recall seeing some of these shops in York city centre?  (like Wilco, TK Maxx, Pound Stretcher, etc)  Although you do have Barnitts, which is a pretty awesome store that can have some good deals on this, that & the other.

Barnitt's is good for household supplies, but I wouldn't say it's particularly inexpensive. It does have pretty much everything you could possibly need, though.

There are two Poundlands (Poundstretchers?) near me, but I've never found much in them that are useful. There may be a couple of decent items, but I don't feel like standing in a big queue just to pay for one or two items.

Not like the 99 cents stores in the US, where I was able to do all my weekly non-food shopping from  one 99 cents store.


There is a TK Maxx, but I have to take a bus to get to it. I'll have to check it out when I get the chance.

I've found some good deals in Barnitts, but only for stuff I wasn't really looking for at the time - saw the price, and snapped them up.  That's an art I'm trying to learn because it makes for happier shopping - find x random item for a good price, if it's something you will use but maybe don't need at that very moment, snap it up!

Poundland and Pound Stretcher are two different stores.  Poundland would be like the Dollar Store, Dollar General, or your 99 cents stores that you're talking about - where everything in Poundland is a pound.  Like you, I find it hit or miss - just depends on what I'm looking for.  A lot of people I work with use it for buying cheap treats to bring in on their birthdays (candy, biscuits, etc).

Pound Stretcher isn't everything a pound, but sells various stuff cheaply.  I do like Wilkinsons a lot - I think that's my favourite.  But the office where I work is in a retail complex building where all of them (what I call the low rent shopping) are located in/near here in Leeds, so it's not a big thing for me to make the rounds until I find what I need for a price I like.

Wilkinson's can be good for laundry, personal care products and homewares
Superdrug for personal care products, their own range of beauty and makeup are supposed to be well rated

TJ Hughes is fantastic for things for the house and occasionally clothes  (ie, we got a 50L Bribantia bin for £40, wheras they're over £100 in department stores).  Their online shop is significantly less stock than what you'd find in store.

Check pound shops or 99p stores for branded cleaning and personal products, but this can only be good bargains if you know what the price of items are beforehand...  Usually when something's in that I know is a bargain I stock up.   

Grocery bargains I tend to check my essential items on My Supermarket before going into store or doing an online shop.  Same with Boots, Superdrug and Lloyds (depending on where I'll be shoping and what they have available).  Unfortunately vetting store brand against name brand is hit or miss for quality and price.

Have you tried Matalan or H&M for clothes?  I find both of theirs to be reasonable quality according to price.  Sometimes Sainsbury's, ASDA or Tesco's clothing can be pretty decent quality for price too.  Otherwise, I'd recommend trying outlet shopping, but there again you don't always tend to really have a significant savings from the high street stores.   

If you want cheap books however I can heartily recommend Green Metropolis - all books are £3.75 including delivery and if you're selling your books you get £3!

Hi Sweetpeach,

I'm going to throw out loads of ideas, just in case you haven't tried these places.  Bearing in mind that we have a family of four and we live in Huntington, nr. Monks Cross.

The car boot sales at Murton Farm Park and Wigginton are great.  I have bought books, plants, fruit and veg, toys, bikes etc. 

Ebay for clothes and toys has helped us a lot.

Wilkinsons is definitely worth checking out every couple of months to stock up on toiletries.  Also if you are there in Clifton Moor, try Poundstretcher, Nettos (quality sometimes a bit shaky) and Home Bargains. 

I don't live far from Monks Cross, so I do my weekly shop at Aldi and Sainsbury.  I absolutely love Aldi and it has saved me a lot of money.  My children love fruit and veg and so I follow their super six and plan meals accordingly.  This week they had pineapples, bag of apples, bag of potatoes, punnets of grapes, punnets of plums, etc for 59 pence each.  The quality has been very good, but unless eaten in 3-4 days the fruit will go off.  Aldi also has sirloin steaks for 3 pounds and packs of frozen salmon fillets for 2.49.  We don't care for their coffee or their ground beef.  Their cold cuts are very good quality and we have been pleased with their cheeses as well.  I highly recommend The rest of what I buy is generally Sainsburys basic range.  I avoid the big Asda and Tesco as I always end up spending way too much there.

For clothes- I have gotten some good sales at Zara and H and M's, but I find I really have to wade through a lot to get good bargains.  My family send over a lot for us.  As an example, the same pair of shoes that were 35 pounds on a UK site, were only $12 with free US shipping on the US site. 

Ebay has netted me some good bargains on high quality clothes, but I agree the cheap shops here are usually very poor quality. 

It seems more time consuming to find bargains here.

Off topic, has anyone noticed that Target is now doing a Liberty of London range- it's fab. I can't believe how low the prices are for how expensive the material is here in the UK.

Aldi has really good face creams - they rate high on lists of bests quite often. They're also DIRT CHEAP!

I'll add my vote for car boot sales. I love them and have found some fantastic things. The rug in our hall was bought at boot sale for £1.

Also auctions - I've bought mirrors, carpets, lamps, tables, etc. You can get great quality things for next to nothing if you go often enough and get a feel for what's where.

Charity shops are seriously hit or miss here. I think it is down to the fact that they have less merchandise than their American cousins. That said, I have found and purchased plenty of items with the tags still attached that hailed originally from Debenhams, House of Fraser, and Gap. I've also spotted Pampered Chef before. I've had the best luck in cancer charity shops and the charity shops in the centres of touristy towns.

It's relearning how to shop charity shops and getting familiar with labels again, no need to shell out the same amount of money for a Primark item for example!

Not sure what the York charity shops are like...Harrogate charity shops are pretty ace because it's just so posh over there overall...and the charity shop where Andee works is great!  Because she's an awesome retail designer! 

Not sure what the York charity shops are like...Harrogate charity shops are pretty ace because it's just so posh over there overall...and the charity shop where Andee works is great!  Because she's an awesome retail designer! 

That's retail *stylist*, darling!  He he! 

That's retail *stylist*, darling!  He he! 

Heeee - either would look great on a CV! 

I buy most of my clothes at M&Co, it's pretty decent quality and quite reasonable (e.g. jeans for £15-30, solid colour cotton shirts for £5). The nearest one to York is in Selby: http://www.mandco.com/Storefinder/page/storefinder

Have you tried the outlet mall here in York?  If you don't drive, you can take the red line (I think it's the number 7? not sure one of the park and rides) out to it.  It's okay... and sometimes I can find a few good things out there. 

In York on Goodramgate there is also what I call charity shop row.  Once in a while they have some reasonable stuff. 

I'll try to think of some other places around York that are good but I'm such a bad bargain shopper.