 The yellow sign itself 
All Your Souvenirs At Bargain Prices!
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Recommendation added: 02/08/2006 18:14
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +1061)dewberry has been thanked 0 times for this contribution
"While mooching around in Weymouth for a present for my kids (who were being babysat by nanny) I came across the familiar Toymaster sign and decided to pop in and see what they had to offer.
The outside is literally covered with blow up lilos, beach tents, flip flops and sunglasses – all the things you'd expect to find in a seaside tourist shop. I noticed how reasonably priced everything was and remember thinking back to a recent visit to another Toymaster and how expensive it had been. This Weymouth branch was cheap in comparison.
Inside Toymaster, however, is where the bargains are. The first thing you'll notice is how higgledy piggledy the store is; figurines of Buddah are mingling with cannabis leaf ashtrays, sticks of rock are at the opposite end of the shop to the candyfloss and the 'Sale' items are dotted around the shelves meaning you really have to look out to catch some of the better bargains. I love shops like this though, when stores are too uniformly laid out I think they start to lack character.
There's plenty of room to manoeuvre in Toymaster; the aisles are wide and free from clutter making this shop ideal for any disabled visitors and pushchairs. The entrance from the street is level, no steps like many of the other Weymouth shops, and the wide door is continually propped open meaning no struggling with heavy doors when you have two hands full of shopping.
So, what do they sell? Absolutely bloomin' everything. Toymaster have a brilliant collection of Weymouth souvenirs at possibly the cheapest prices in the area; postcards are a very reasonable 15p, fridge magnets cost 99p and boxes of mixed toffee and fudge are £1. They have a decent assortment of rock, sugar dummies and candy floss which again are absolutely brilliantly priced costing just £1 for any six large sticks of rock.
As the name of the shop would suggest, the range of children's stuff is fantastic. They stock a lot of Barbie branded goods, including some stationery sets and diaries which I've not seen elsewhere – and having two daughters I'm pretty clued up on Barbie stuff! They sell pretty traditional toys, concentrating more on activity and puzzle based games rather than anything electronic. You can buy a fishing net or a bat and ball set, but there's not a PS2 game in sight. Toy prices are surprisingly cheap too, with a good percentage of the stock marked down by £2 or £3 from the RRP. I bought my daughter a Barbie make-your-own secret diary set which was stamped £8.99 on the back, Toymaster charged me a bargain £1.99. Also crabbing sets which cost around a fiver in most other shops were only £2.99 here!
Another large section of the shop is taken up with ornaments and it's here where I did most of my shopping. I don't know if it's ALWAYS like this, but some of the prices were obscenely low! I picked my mum a gorgeous etched glass paperweight which, as I realised when I got it home, lights up to create a soft atmospheric glow – in Birmingham I reckon it would have been around the £15 mark for something similar, but here at Toymaster I paid £2.99. Small ceramic Buddah's cost 99p, a selection of good quality dolphin ornaments were a teeny 25p each and pewter tankards were just £4.99. This, obviously, isn't all the bargains available. I don't think I saw anything in the shop which cost above a tenner, and by this shops standards this was expensive. Mostly items cost a pound or two, to give you an idea of prices I bought presents for three adults and two children plus a few bits for myself and when I got to the till it came to just under £9. Where else could you get ALL your holiday pressies for this price?
This is one shop which really is worth a look if you're planning a visit to Weymouth this summer. The staff are really nice too; it has one of those family business feels with the sales people all being approachable, friendly and knowledgeable. I asked about fridge magnets after being disappointed by the small selection at the front of the shop and was quickly ushered to the Weymouth souvenirs for a better tourist choice.
Located directly opposite the beach, Toymaster looks similar to the rest of the street front shops with lilo's, beach shoes and postcards spilling out almost to the road. The yellow sign above all this will, however, draw your attention to this otherwise nondescript shop. You'll probably approach thinking this will be the same as a dozen other tourist shops along the road, but *do* go in and I promise you won't be disappointed.
Howley's Toymaster
5 Frederick Place
Weymouth
Dorset
DT4 8HQ
Tel: 01305 779255"
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