...cigarettes, tissues, gums, small stuff like that.

Where do you go?

Here in Greece, we have specific stands and shops that sell this kind of things (along with press, refreshments, bus tickets...). They're very practical, especially the stands - there's always one near you. I haven't seen this kind of stands/shops in any other of the countries I've visited, however. I had been wondering about that and it sometimes returns to mind, like today.

So, what is it like in your country? I think it would be interesting to read all the different answers.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

Here in the UK we still have newsagents and small, local corner shops at the end of the street. But the large supermarkets also sell the small items you mention and I think they have the market share on them, just like they do general groceries these days.

Also, many people tend to get this kind of thing at their local petrol station. Many petrol stations have mini stores attached, where you can buy this kind of thing and it's handy for people to just buy them when they fill up the car.

So there's a wide range of places you can go, but there's no doubt that the traditional newsagent/corner shop is less well used these days than they used to be in the past. As they have much higher overheads, they really can't compete with the supermarkets/petrol stations on price.


LabRat

Me, I'd head to a drug store. Eckerds or Walgreens, usually, since they're closest. They sell almost everything, even food, but mostly dry goods, and they've got a pharmacy for prescription medicines. I've bought books, clothing, slippers, vitamins, gum & candy... not cigarettes, 'cause I don't smoke, but they sell those, too. We've been super-sizing these places lately, so now they're about half the size of my grocery store.

I think gas station mini-marts are fairly popular, too, though I don't tend to shop in them myself. Almost all gas stations now have "pay at the pump" machines so you don't ever need to go inside to get your gas; just swipe your credit card. Nice and impersonal

PJ

I'd head to the local gas station/convenience store. 7-11, Circle K, all are mini-stores that have small stuff like drinks, snacks, cigarrettes, health products (aspirin, tissues, cold medicine), and car products (oil, windshield wiper fluid). Mostly, stuff that you'd need on a long drive that you either didn't pack or didn't think you'd need.

in brazil, we either go to the pharmacies, which thankfully are all open 24-7 or we go to the supermarkets or grocery stores. (everything is always open 24-7 actually)

What I find really funny about where i was and where i am is that here the supermarkets don't have a pharmacy session, hardware, butchers,a wide range of cookies, or household utensils.

which i miss very much.

In Brazil, we don't have to buy tickets at grocery stores. We either buy them on the bus, or we receive from our employers an oyster card that contains the fare for the whole month for house-work runs.

I guess thats it.

They don't? I think you're shopping in the wrong supermarkets, Erica! What do you mean by supermarket? Some of the supermarket chains have small, local stores which they use to compete with the corner store. Those might not have the sections you list above.

But certainly the superstores will. We have two local superstore supermarkets - ASDA and Tesco. Huge places. Both have all of the above, plus a host of other things, clothing, garden furniture - they're practically what we used to call department stores, these days. Like Marks and Spencer or Woolworths.

Or even beyond that, because they also have things like a post office, opticians etc included in store, too.

Mind you, I guess it would depend where in London you were shopping. I'm sure there must be superstores somewhere around the city, but it might be a different matter on the high street or out in the outlying areas. I expect they'd have more of the corner stores or small supermarkets.


LabRat

I've tried to find ASDA but the closest one is still far awar. I go to Iceland, but the options are limited.

I am dealing fine with the food and groceries, but what i cant stand is the fact that theres only ONE pharmacy in the whole zone 1 and 2 of London that is actually 24-7. Mind you that when i went there late at night to buy some medicine for my horrible cold, the place was closed for stock count. How lucky am I?

Theres a pharmacy just under my apartment, but of course as all pharmacies in London, they open at 9 and close at 5... it seems to me that you have to be sick in their terms.

MDL <--- who's obviously sick at the moment, but of course has to wait for an appointment with a GP in 2 working days. Blah!

Newsagents or city news stands have these small items. Either that or we go to the local Seven Eleven.

Like Anna we have also stands that sells all kinds of local snacks,sodas (I mean pepsi,sprite,coca-cola..not sure what's the right term) cigarrettes and gum but not tissues or medicines for the cold, to buy that you either go to the pharmacy or the supermarket that has a pharmacy inside.

You can find the cigarrettes, snacks, sodas and some supermarket stuff (like batteries, milk, spaghetti, toilet paper, thoot paste, matches) at the local store that depending what part of the city you are there could be 4 around your house or none in a few blocks away.

Supermarkets also sells all things though(I got the impression from Anna that only the stands sell them in Greece), only stands and local stores are much convenient when you want cookies or need batteries and the supermarket it's like 10 blocks away from my house or for other people 40min/20min in bus/car.

The bus ticket it's not bought, you get it once you're in the bus as a confirmation that you've paid.

Carolyn

Convenience stores really aren't in my area. Large grocery stores are much closer and far more convenient and they carry everything the small places carry. So for me, it's a short half mile to the grocery store.

Some of these things you can find in supermarkets, some not:

- Bus tickets are exclusively sold at the stands. Nowhere else. (Not at all practical - I'd rather buy them on the bus.)
- I haven't seen cigarettes sold in places other than the stands (and, I'm quite sure, at the small shops too).
- No press in supermarkets, either. Just at stands/shops.
- Sodas, chocolates, gums, sweets, snacks, ice-creams etc. are available in supermarkets, as well as at stands/shops.
- About tissues, I'm not sure you can buy a single pack of tissues from a supermarket. I know for sure they sell them in tenths/dozens, but they may sell individual packs too. You can find individual packs at stands/shops for sure, though.
- No health products at stands/shops.
- It's common to find things such as batteries, camera film and postcards at many of the stands and most of the shops. (Especially those located near touristic attractions.) You can find those in other places too, although I'm not sure you'd find camera film in a supermarket.

The really cool thing about the shops/stands, though, is that they save you going to a supermarket and buy, say, one single pack of gums. Just the idea of doing that seems embarrassing, not to mention it's a complete waste of time (you don't always have a supermarket nearby, and think about having to wait in a line for a pack of gums! )

Thanks for the replies, FoLCs! It's interesting to read them.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.