Pound World

This place (and places like it) are taking over the world but, on the plus side, it’s a very cheap world. Typical no frills shopping but i find it amazingly browsable because there is always some bargain nugget to be found. Particularly good for toiletries and for buying last minute presents for people you don’t really hold in high esteem.

There’s something naff and cool simultaneously about the pound shops. The obvious cool thing is that there are so many inexpensive items in here all at the £1 mark, which in these times of the recession where our inner miser is screaming at us to pinch all pennies where possible, you can’t possibly feel guilty for piling up your basket full of items you didn’t really need but were only a pound so what’s the harm and there the penny from the pound drops on the strategy of how we all get hooked onto pound shops.
For dispensables and seasonables a places like Pound World is perfect, and on several Christmases I have successfully decorated the office, which was huge, in the voted seasonal colours, all for £20 courtesy of Pound World, haha, and it didn’t look half bad! Things like deodorant and chocolate and sweets are a good buy if you can score the 2 for a pound offer, but you need to be aware of the items marked up at a pound that you could get in your local supermarket for less, but God love the premise. Things intended for longer durations, such as about the home items are in all honesty dire, they are at best reinforced paper, and the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ comes to mind, for certain things it’s great, for others it’s not worth the hassle.

I have to admit, I’m a bit of an avid Pound World fan, but then who wouldn’t be? I think across the board even those who might initially turn their noses up would change their minds just a little bit if they nipped in. For a start, everything is a pound. Secondly, they have the most random and yet useful items ever!
For all the good stuff, they have numerous awesome snacks, confectionary, chocolates, sweets, cakes and more. They sell all kinds of households, bleach, washing up liquid, cleaning products, soaps, shampoos, shower gels and such — items that can individually cost up to £3 each a time! Bargain! And they often have reasonable labels too, if that’s of a huge concern. They also sell stationary, balloons, pet toys, treats, wrapping paper, cosmetics (albeit questionable ones) toys and so much more. I even managed to get some stockings at Christmas time!
My favourite bit though, is that despite some of the most grumpy customers I’ve ever shared a queue with, the staff remained in good spirits. I didn’t quite have enough to spend on my card and so had to (rather embarrassingly) leave the queue and get some cash out. The lady at the till could well have made me start at the back of the queue again, which was 15 people deep by now being Christmas, but instead told me to come direct when I was back. I did and it made so much difference! It was just lovely, one of the best examples of good customer service ever, and I was really pleased.
Go Pound World, go!