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| - I've always resisted checking out thrift stores in Toronto because I've been leery about it being at a greater risk of being picked over by vultures.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Value Village near the Bloor TTC Station didn't lower that opinion. That said, there are a lot of caveats I have.
This location seems to be placed at a nexus between a large transit corridor and a sleepy nearby residential neighborhood. Oh, it definitely has the selection - if you know what you're looking for.
Granted, I came in here when the chain was holding a 50% off sale for Club Card members. It was a free-for-all. People were just rummaging through aisles like there was no tomorrow, and the design of the store is extremely dumpy. Think of it as a holdover from the chain's roots. (As an aside, I took part in a feedback event at the Dixie/Dundas event in Mississauga a couple weeks ago and was told that 1/3rd of Canadian locations like the Bloor one haven't been modernized. They need to fix that situation right quick.)
However, I came in here for one thing and one thing only - books. By God, it was like the land of milk and honey. If I've never visited a certain thrift store before, it's usually a safe bet that there's going to be a lot of good stuff there, and I wasn't disappointed. Tons of signed books for days. Lots of weird and niche titles. All of this was balanced by the fact that it looked like a hurricane had blown through the section. Nothing was sorted well, books were piled up everywhere and there was no real maintenance.
The employees looked like they were in a state of perpetual confusion. I stood in a line for 20 minutes and watched as an employee with no immediate job to do took a woman over to an empty till to do a refund, then nonchalantly walked off while lines continued to form and people stormed out in frustration. Someone (who I assumed was the store manager) was having a huddle with employees at the very front of the store, while multiple shopping carts obstructed the exits and people had to push them out of the way just to leave the store. It felt like something out of a Boxing Day sale.
If you know what you're looking for and have the patience to sort through it, there are definitely some good deals to be found. That said, it's not worth the effort to go out of your way to visit this place. While I'm happy with the stuff I bought (5 books, including signed Bob Rae and Eiizabeth May books), I wouldn't have come down here if I didn't have another purpose - that is, hanging out with friends.
A conditional recommendation.
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