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Went To "toyaddict" In Toronto Today....


salvatore

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....based upon a few mentions from board members here. What a hole in the ground this place is. Firstly, it's the size of my girlfriends' washroom. It's probably one of the dirtiest stores i've ever been to. There's an inch of dust on all their playsets, plus when i tried to pick up and look at one of their muppet playsets it was stuck to the floor, i had to yank it out.The place needs to be completely cleaned and reorganized....whoever owns it needs to learn something, anything, about asthetics. Yuck. The "stockroom" curtains were slightly open and all you could see was garbage littering the floors. There are a few figures hanging along a beam on the ceiling, i was afraid the crappy nails they were on were about to give way and send a few star trek: first contact figures landing on my head. I asked about their "Toyvault" section that they advertise about on their website....the guy pointed to a small shelf behind him with about a dozen loose and unrecocnizeable figures, along with a small glass encased stand next to the cash with a few loose gijoes' and some other uncleaned mess of toys. All i have to say is pleeeeeeeease don't go to this place if your ever in the area. I will not be going back ever. That's my rant for the day.

 

 

Sal

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yeah right!!!!!!!!!!!! your just trying to keep us out of there, so you get all the deals for yourslef!! nice try buddy!! @smilepunch@ just kidding...what street is that on? i don't think i've ever been there, i have been to a crappy one in TO, but i don't think i've ever seen one that bad!! and i've never been able to make it to the silver snail yet, i head that place is wicked cool!!

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It's called toy addict and it's located in etobicoke. I didn't think toy stores that bad existed until i went there. Silver Snail is a very cool store and i shop there when i am in the area, however because of it's rather decent size and popularity they tend to overcharge on a lot of their stuff.

 

Sal

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Oh, they exist.

 

I visited Portland Oregon about 12 years ago, and found a place that was a real dive. The owner was a obstinate, brutish idiot, more concerned with swallowing his grotesque chow mein, the floor was absolutely filthy and covered in grime--as if the toilets had overflown and no-one bothered to mop things up. The place reeked to high heaven.

The selection of things in the store was fine, and aside from the gross fellow and sticky floor it would have have been a dandy place to get stuff. Needless to say, I've never been back there

 

 

Now, the OTHER places in Portland were all treasure troves--clean with polite staff and great selections. Portland will get me back for those kinds of places all on their own.

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It's just strange to me how a city as large as toronto has 1 good toy store, that being silver snail. How's the selection in other major cities? I'm referring to small mom n pop stores not the massive chains. Someone should start up a toy store locator on the web. They already have one for comic shops in north america. www.the-master-list.com i think it is. It's very useful but i'd love something geared towards toys only though. Anyone know of any?

 

Sal

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Vancouver has about a dozen good toy stores in the over all area of of the Lower Mainland--not including the usual TRU/Walmart chains.

A lot of the collectible toy stores here double as comics/game/hobby retailers so that affects things as well.

Stateside, Seattle has ( had) several very good shops for collectible toys, but i've not made the rounds down there in quite some time.

You really have to know that area to scope them out.

 

Portland I've mentioned before, but San Francisco and Los Angeles have disappointed me toy-wise.

The latter two have stores, some with great reupte, but I've found that the market down there is so tight because there are so many collectors around.

For my money, my local haunts in town here have always fielded me the best chance at getting the goods, and anything I cannot find here I resort to my network of spies and operatives to get.

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you go into stores like that, find acorner unzip & start taking a leek, if they question you what you're doing you go, oh isn't this a washroom?:)

 

& then MAYBE they get a hint LOL

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Vancouver has about a dozen good toy stores in the over all area of of the Lower Mainland--not including the usual TRU/Walmart chains.

A lot of the collectible toy stores here double as comics/game/hobby retailers so that affects things as well.

Stateside, Seattle has ( had) several very good shops for collectible toys, but i've not made the rounds down there in quite some time.

You really have to know that area to scope them out.

 

What are the names/addresses of these places? I'll have to check them out next time I hit the mainland...

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Vancouver has about a dozen good toy stores in the over all area of of the Lower Mainland--not including the usual TRU/Walmart chains.

A lot of the collectible toy stores here double as comics/game/hobby retailers so that affects things as well.

Stateside, Seattle has ( had) several very good shops for collectible toys, but i've not made the rounds down there in quite some time.

You really have to know that area to scope them out.

 

What are the names/addresses of these places? I'll have to check them out next time I hit the mainland...

Big Pete's Toy and Comics In North Van

Ages Three and Up Located in Vancouver and Metrotown mall.

John Collectibles Located in Steveston ( Richmond)

J Hobby in Richmond

Botcollector in Richmond

Jay's Clocks in South Surrey

There's probably another half dozen whose names I've forgotten or cannot recall.

I know there's stores in Langley, Burnaby and Richmond, Vancouver proper, Surrey, North Van and other places.

 

The various comics stores: The Comic Shop on west 4th

Golden Age Collectibles in the Granville mall.

Talking Illustrations in New West.

Imperial Hobbies in Richmond.

Tazmanian Comics In Burnaby/Port Moody.

And quite a few others........

 

 

Add to the list several asian import stores that are located in some of the Asian dominated malls, like Aberdeen or Yohaan(sp?) centre.

Pretty much all are in the phone book, and some have on-line sites as well with additional info.

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Well just to add a bit, honestly no good toy stores in Edmonton, however, decent shops would be.

 

Toy Hobbies at Northwood Mall, I deal with this guy for most of my figures, he does give me a deal, but i've spend enough there.

 

Comic stores, best bet is Warp 1 however same thing, very expensive.

 

TRU here has crap crap and more crap.

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hey arrow where abouts is botcollector in richmond?

 

i live in richmond and never even heard of that place!

Cripes--trying to remember where it is........

 

There's a small "mall" on Garden City and Cambie road, Botcollector is ( as of my last visit about a year or two ago, on the second floor level.

There is also a Gundam store there as well, with some incredible display models.

 

Mind you, the last time I officially lived in Richmond was 2002, and i haven't been to those stores specifically since then--as I lived in that area.

Spenser from Ages Three and Up knows the guys that run Botcollector, you might wanna give him a call to see if they are still about and if they are still in that location.

J Hobby is located in a strip mall area immediately north of the Asian malls off 3 Road. Its a very "high-end" kind of import store and is loaded with all kinds of really cool Japanese toys. They can be pricey too, but they offer stuff you just don't see at other places.

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  • 3 weeks later...
....based upon a few mentions from board members here. What a hole in the ground this place is. Firstly, it's the size of my girlfriends' washroom. It's probably one of the dirtiest stores i've ever been to. There's an inch of dust on all their playsets, plus when i tried to pick up and look at one of their muppet playsets it was stuck to the floor, i had to yank it out.The place needs to be completely cleaned and reorganized....whoever owns it needs to learn something, anything, about asthetics. Yuck. The "stockroom" curtains were slightly open and all you could see was garbage littering the floors. There are a few figures hanging along a beam on the ceiling, i was afraid the crappy nails they were on were about to give way and send a few star trek: first contact figures landing on my head. I asked about their "Toyvault" section that they advertise about on their website....the guy pointed to a small shelf behind him with about a dozen loose and unrecocnizeable figures, along with a small glass encased stand next to the cash with a few loose gijoes' and some other uncleaned mess of toys. All i have to say is pleeeeeeeease don't go to this place if your ever in the area. I will not be going back ever. That's my rant for the day.

 

 

Sal

Hmmm. That is odd...Toy Addict is a small store but I have never seen it "dirty"? The owner (pedro) is a nice guy who knows about the various toys etc. He has a pretty good selection considering his lack of shelf space. I actually prefer going to his store over Silver Snail just because the parking at Silver is so crazy.

 

I do agree however that Silver has more toys etc but Toy Addict has never been Dirty from my experiences.

 

This is the store you are speaking of correct?

 

http://www.toyaddict.ca/

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Oh man, I gotta say something here. I live like 2 blocks from ToyAddict and I admit that his store is not huge, but the guy knows his stuff, is decent anyone that walks in and usually has a pretty decent selection of stuff. I advertise his store on all my posts because of that fact that he's so good to me and I want his store to stay in business.

 

Silver Snail may have a lot more space and merchandise, but the staff there are rude as hell, don't know what they're talking about half the time and over charge on lot of merchandise, especially variants and short-packs. 7 years of going to the Snail and I've only ever had one pleasant dealing with an employee there. Pedro tends not to do that because he's interested in keeping his customers happy.

 

His "treasure bin" might not have anything much in it when you were there, but more often then not it does have stuff in it, plus if you looked around at the open toys on the shelves behind him and above you, you'd know that all those are for sale too.

 

On the area behind the curtains, well YOU'RE NOT MEANT TO GO BACK THERE!!. It shouldn't matter what it looks like behind his curtian, because that's his area, not yours. The place were I work has an area like that too and guess what? The customers aren't allowed back there. I'll mention to him to clean it or at least keep the curtain closed.

 

If you want some "dirty" stores, then by all means check out 3rd Quadrant Comics at Queen east of John or the place at Keele & Dundas. Those are dirty stores and the people that run them either don't know what they are talking about or are jerks. I personally care alot more about customer service.

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I love SilverSnail's selection but do agree that the people that work there are not friendly at all. For example last time I was there I bought a bunch of things and after I was done cashing out I politely said "Thank you very much" and smiled at the girl. I did not get any response from her, not even so much as a smile.

 

There is one guy that usually mans their booths at the conventions around the area that I do really like though.

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Oh man, I gotta say something here. I live like 2 blocks from ToyAddict and I admit that his store is not huge, but the guy knows his stuff, is decent anyone that walks in and usually has a pretty decent selection of stuff. I advertise his store on all my posts because of that fact that he's so good to me and I want his store to stay in business.

 

Silver Snail may have a lot more space and merchandise, but the staff there are rude as hell, don't know what they're talking about half the time and over charge on lot of merchandise, especially variants and short-packs. 7 years of going to the Snail and I've only ever had one pleasant dealing with an employee there. Pedro tends not to do that because he's interested in keeping his customers happy.

 

His "treasure bin" might not have anything much in it when you were there, but more often then not it does have stuff in it, plus if you looked around at the open toys on the shelves behind him and above you, you'd know that all those are for sale too.

 

On the area behind the curtains, well YOU'RE NOT MEANT TO GO BACK THERE!!. It shouldn't matter what it looks like behind his curtian, because that's his area, not yours. The place were I work has an area like that too and guess what? The customers aren't allowed back there. I'll mention to him to clean it or at least keep the curtain closed.

 

If you want some "dirty" stores, then by all means check out 3rd Quadrant Comics at Queen east of John or the place at Keele & Dundas. Those are dirty stores and the people that run them either don't know what they are talking about or are jerks. I personally care alot more about customer service.

I'm sorry, but i still have to disagree. The selection in the store is very limited, mostly star trek associated merchandise. The rest i'm sorry to say, just doesn't cut it for a "specialty toy store". The guy who was working there that day may know quite a bit about toys, but he should have been dusting his shelves and sweeping the floors instead of burying his nose in a novel. The size of the store is a HUGE drawback....but....there is massive possibilty in the store if anyone had the slightest clue about putting in proper shelving, display cases or lighting. The store could be made to look twice as big and still hold twice the amount of current inventory.

 

The "treasure" bin is to say the least, grossly misleading. All of the loose figures above and behind the guy is exactly what i was referring to. The selection was non-existant.

 

Now, on to your point about cleanliness in the back room. The condition of a stock room or whatever you want to call it, has a massive affect on the way someone percieves the cleanliness of a store, ESPECIALLY if the curtain or door is left open. For all i know there was food and garbage from what i saw on the floor...that leads to mold, dust and pests.

 

To sum it up, i was not only shocked but confused as to how a store that spent obvious time and money to design a quite decent webpage, but whos store was in total chaos and dissaray. The best thing you could do for the owner of this store is stop going there. Maybe then he'll take a second look at his store and make it into a proffesional establishment.

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RANT TIME!! Talked with Pedro today and discussed this little thread. Couple of things:

 

First, he took about half his store with him on Saturday and Sunday to the Toronto Trek Convention so if his store seemed a little bare, that was why. He was putting stuff back when I got there today.

 

Secondly, his stock room was in disarray for just that reason. He had been packing stuff to take with him. All the boxes you saw scattered across the room were neatly cut down and placed by the door when I got there today. I think you happened to come in a bad time.

 

Lastly, his treasure bin section was something he said he started on the website and has been thinking about taking off. Guess he'll be doing now. His open toys come and go so fast, he doesn't get to update it as much as he would like.

 

Again, I've travelled all around Toronto looking at collector stores and I've seen some real dives. This place isn't one of them.

 

Even that said, I wouldn't say don't go to 3rd Quandret or Silver Snail, because quite honestly, collectors need stores like these because otherwise we are stuck going to TRU or Walmart and getting no toys or paying huge prices from Ebay. If you sit there and tell people don't go to certain stores, pretty soon they won't be any of these places and we're screwed. I may not like 3rd Quantret's store or their people, but they do have stuff sometimes that I can't find other places.

 

I agree with Arrow, if you don't like the place and didn't find it suited your needs, then don't go back. Everybody is open to their opinion, however as you can see you've got more then enough people here that know what a good guy Pedro is and what a good business he runs. He actually remembers you too Salvatore.

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RANT TIME!! Talked with Pedro today and discussed this little thread. Couple of things:

 

First, he took about half his store with him on Saturday and Sunday to the Toronto Trek Convention so if his store seemed a little bare, that was why. He was putting stuff back when I got there today.

 

Secondly, his stock room was in disarray for just that reason. He had been packing stuff to take with him. All the boxes you saw scattered across the room were neatly cut down and placed by the door when I got there today. I think you happened to come in a bad time.

 

Lastly, his treasure bin section was something he said he started on the website and has been thinking about taking off. Guess he'll be doing now. His open toys come and go so fast, he doesn't get to update it as much as he would like.

 

Again, I've travelled all around Toronto looking at collector stores and I've seen some real dives. This place isn't one of them.

 

Even that said, I wouldn't say don't go to 3rd Quandret or Silver Snail, because quite honestly, collectors need stores like these because otherwise we are stuck going to TRU or Walmart and getting no toys or paying huge prices from Ebay. If you sit there and tell people don't go to certain stores, pretty soon they won't be any of these places and we're screwed. I may not like 3rd Quantret's store or their people, but they do have stuff sometimes that I can't find other places.

 

I agree with Arrow, if you don't like the place and didn't find it suited your needs, then don't go back. Everybody is open to their opinion, however as you can see you've got more then enough people here that know what a good guy Pedro is and what a good business he runs. He actually remembers you too Salvatore.

Ok....where do i begin.

 

Firstly.... you say he took half the store with him this past weekend to the trek con and thats why its a little bare.......check my original post. JUNE 18....not JULY 18.....so unless he spent a month packing up 50 figures, your statement has nothing to do with the condition of the store a month ago. I have not been back since.

 

Secondly....i applaud your friend for "attempting" to build an older toy section. However, he can't honestly sit there and say that his site wasn't misleading in the least. The website is really well done in my opinion, it does however need to be correct. He may be an excellent businessman and toy expert,which i'm sure he is, but that doesn't neccesarily make the store itself well run or well organized. I would hope that he takes a step back and sees how much better the store could be if he's willing to take some advice.

 

Lastly....i'm not interested in starting an arguement here with you. We're both collectors, from toronto no less. I made my points, and you made yours. Let's drop this subject and get on with enjoying this website.

 

 

Sal

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LOL. No, I didn't notice you posted it a month ago. Guess his stock room does get dirty. When I talked to him today, he was confused so maybe he does clean it more then you think. Anyhow, it's nice and clean now and his store is nicely stocked as well.

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  • 1 year later...

Christ

 

Tough crowd!!

 

Ive never heard of "toy addict" until now, and im sure theres a few other hidden stores that you

Toronto-ites havent come across yet.

 

I used to do quite a bit of bussiness selling toys out of my shop until I shut the place down. Id like to ressurecct it but sounds like it has to be clean enough to eat off the floors.

 

I hope my place wasnt one the dives (lol) back from when it was open a few years ago.

 

What the heck do you guys want in a store anyways? I mostly focussed on the "secondary toy market" and clearouts.

 

Ive got alot of stuff here Id like to clearout so I can start over.. loose stuff, packaged etc

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Christ

 

Tough crowd!!

 

Ive never heard of "toy addict" until now, and im sure theres a few other hidden stores that you

Toronto-ites havent come across yet.

 

I used to do quite a bit of bussiness selling toys out of my shop until I shut the place down. Id like to ressurecct it but sounds like it has to be clean enough to eat off the floors.

 

I hope my place wasnt one the dives (lol) back from when it was open a few years ago.

 

What the heck do you guys want in a store anyways? I mostly focussed on the "secondary toy market" and clearouts.

 

Ive got alot of stuff here Id like to clearout so I can start over.. loose stuff, packaged etc

What do you have?

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wow old post, Wish I could check out this store for my self :D For a store one should really clean up every day or at least take the time to explain to the odd guy who wonders in who isn't a regular :)

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