Whyte Knight Toys & Games

Whyte Knight is an oddity amongst many odd stores of Whyte ave already. They have a wide selection of items that mainly appeal to collectors and gamers. However, despite their large array of items the store lacks focus. It has no central theme that some people find frustrating. The store is rather cluttered and can be compared to that of a hoarder’s home. It takes a true collector to want to dig through the many treasures within this store. As for their pricing, well, let’s just say it can range from fair to over priced. Every once in awhile you can find some items that are fairly priced. However, their are some store items that have been sitting on the shelves for months, even years, because of the high pricing. The customer service is mediocre. Many of the employees are somewhat socially awkward with their questions, comments, or stares. But, they can be friendly at times or just very quiet. All in all this store is «meh.» It is messy, smelly, weird, yet awesome all at the same time.

Whyte Knight used to be a standard comics /​gaming store, but has since shifted its focus to collectible memorabilia and vintage comics, with a secondary focus on games. There’s no longer table space for gamers to play, which in my opinion has benefitted the store, as it was already crowded to begin with.
There’s an extremely pungent scent of incense throughout the store, which may be off-​putting to some. However, they have an interesting and eclectic selection of… well, stuff. Fantasy-​styled jewellery, statuettes and carvings, display weapons, posters, vintage toys, all manner of strange things. For a while, they were selling a set of genuine stuffed blowfish. Their games and comics are certainly not up-​to-​date, but contain a wealth of older and rarer items. It’s all bit expensive, but I don’t count this against the store, as it buys rare or unique items off the secondary market and resells them. In that vein, they also may be interested in purchasing your old collection of this or that.
The staff, or more often, the lone staffer, can seem a bit acerbic. But overall, they are helpful and run their store with a distinct earnestness.

It took a while to find this place, as the entrance is a single, nondescript door that is easy to miss. Fair enough, they are working with what the have.
After climbing the narrow stairs that lead up to the store itself, I was overwhelmed by the smell! Dusty and musty, it was enough to take a person’s breath away!
The shop is small and crowded with little rhyme or reason to where anything is. The store doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Is it a comic store? A games shop? A pen and paper shop? They do not have enough stock to be any of those in any reasonable manner.
When asking the clerk behind the counter (who was busy talking to a co-​worker), I got rude, curt replies when inquiring where their board games might be.
Looking at the prices, I was disappointed to see that everything was a good 10−25% above the regular price. This was even more surprising for their used goods!
Overall, I do not intend to visit this place again. The smell, rude service, and poor stock make it not worth the hassle to visit.

I’ve been to Whyte Knight several times, usually when I need some random nerdy thing (like rare MTG cards) that I can’t find elsewhere. For most things their prices are good, it really depends what you’re shopping for. I think a lot of the vintage stuff gets more expensive, but I’ve never really been interested in that. They also have random new things like lunch boxes which are pretty cool. It’s fun just to go in there and look around, and you might come out with a cool item or two that you didn’t expect to find.
The one bad thing about the place is (…sorry folks…) some of the customers. I was picking up some Star Trek stuff on one occasion and had a group of Warhammer playing male 30-​something-​year-​olds stop me in my tracks. The conversation went something like:
One of them: You…*looks me up and down in disbelief*…like Star Trek?
Me: Uh… yeah.
One of them: *steps forward* What’s your favorite series?
Me: …TNG…
Various members of the group: Who’s your favorite captain? Who’s your favorite TNG character? Remember episode X where Y did Z? (Insert 10 or so random fast paced/​excited/​bordering on feverish questions.)
Me: Uh. *backs away*
One of them: Are you trying to escape?
… I though stuff like that only happened in bad sitcoms! I mean, it’s not like I’ve got a problem with chatting up other people when I’m shopping, but this was way creepy. So yeah, nerdy girls, beware.

I don’t know what all these people are talking about! I went in there, and it was dirty, smelly, and the service was terrible. It was like, maybe if you were really hardcore game players, or friends of the staff, you’d like it there, but if you are neither of the above, not much point in going, unless you like being looked down upon for not being an expert in whatever nerdy thing is the new trend.

Great vintage toys and lots of them. The place is quite messy (borderline «junk-​ish»), but there is something there for everyone. Jay is cool to talk to.

Whyte Knight is a really cool store. Perfect for the inner nerd. They carry comics, toys, magazines, etc.
I really like how they have vintage items that you will not find anywhere else. They have tons of collectors items so be prepared to spend some money if you are here to buy. They have classic action figures that you just can’t find anymore like x-​men and batman from back in the day. It really brought back memories from my childhood.
If you’ve had a past with comics then you will love this store.

Whyte Knight is located up a long flight up stairs, but it is worth the ascent. Bringing together classic comic books, magazines, and science fiction and comic toys, Whyte Knight is like hunting through a treasure chest. Many of the collectibles and comics are quite valuable (meaning: expensive) but fun to look at nonetheless. I occasionally grab something out of the bargain bin just for laughs, like a Magneto or Batman figurine. I’ve also taken advantage of the bargain comics which are fifty cents or a dollar each, and come away with some interesting titles. This isn’t the right place to head if you are looking for the newest titles in comics. There are also a lot of items you would never expect to find in a store like this, such as statues, armour, and medieval weapons.

Whyte Knight is one of the coolest stores on Whyte Ave – well, it’s cool, if you’re a geek like me. Unlike your average comic store, that usually has more new merchandise than old, Whyte Knight has a lot of vintage items. Their collection of action figures and toys is quite impressive, and I’ve been whisked back in time on more than one occasion after seeing one of my old toys from childhood. I’ve considered buying some of these, since I do collect toys, but they are almost always out of my budget.
Whyte Knight also has a good selection of comic books and a few vintage video games, but what really sets this store apart is their incredible collection of medieval and war items like weapons, medals, and armour. I’ve also seen some beautiful statues of dragons and gargoyles. Every time I go here, there is always something new – the store is constantly changing.
I’ve never participated in one, but I’ve walked in on more than one occasion when there was a role-​playing card game going on. If you’re into this kind of thing, they sell tons of stuff for role playing games as well.
Even if you only have a little bit of geek in you, this store is definitely worth checking out!