BMV Books

A great independent bookstore in Toronto. Its a good alternative to the mega shlocky Chapters Indigo. Staff are a bit eccentric but happy to help find books. Interesting selection of old magazines, pulp books and other miscellaneous media.

This particular BMV location is nice and convenient because it’s right near the busy sector of downtown’s Yonge and Dundas. That means that Eaton Centre and the subway is just a street over. For those that attend Ryerson University, it’s also a nice spot to come to in order to find books at a discounted price (students need to save all the money they can!).
Everything is well-​organized with large signs to point you in the right direction. I am particularly fond of their fashion section as well as their DVD movie section, but all areas of the store are worth browsing. You can find so many obscure titles in this store, which makes this such a fun place to come to.
I recently decided to come here and spend more time hovering around their fiction section. They often have several copies of the same book if it’s a best-​seller from a few years ago. Books are in great condition (like new) and for an amazing price.
Before you go to Amazon or Indigo, come here because chances are they might what you’re looking for (or more) and you’ll get it for a ¹⁄₃ to ½ of the original price AND it’ll be in almost-​new condition.

Even though this is a chain of used book stores, this one has to be my favorite. Less than a block from The Eaton center, I always have to make a stop hear to see what treasures I can find. The staff is helpful, and friendly.

BMV is an OK bookstore, I go here primarily for the movies, they have a decent section of used DVDs and Blu-​rays. If you’re lucky you can find a deal compared to other retailers.
One issue is that they give you REALLY low offers when you’re trying to sell them anything. I attempted to sell some old textbooks and they only offered my $ 2 per book, I paid $ 20 – 25 for them new but I thought they would offer AT LEAST $ 5 – 6 per book.
Another time I had 2 copies of a movie, I got one as a gift, so I didn’t have a reciept. It was brand new still in the package, was a fairly recent movie (from last year) and they offered me $ 5. You would think that for a movie brand new still in the package they would offer at least $ 10 when they could easily double their money and sell it for $ 20.
Another issue is that some of the staff, in my opinion, you may disagree, are unapproachable, condescending and rude.
BMV is an OK place to buy from but don’t sell anything here they give you complete low-​ball offers usually around $ 1−3per item.

Love this place. I’ve been going for years and I’ve been to the other locations but I don’t find the others have as great a selection of books that I like.

Cheap books. Great deals on graphic novels. But, it’s a shame that some of the quality of the store seems to be degraded by the man who hangs out in the back (perhaps the owner) and snidely scoffs at teenagers who ask if certain types of books might be found within, or who hovers like a hawk over those spending a bit too long at the comic rack.
It’s still a great store, and it has great deals, and I quite like it — you just need to try your best to avoid that man, lest he bring you down.

Not as big and without the extensive comic section that the Bloor street location possesses this used/​new bookstore hybrid still boasts an extensive and interesting selection of books. It’s way too easy to spend more time in here than the much larger World’s Biggest Bookstore next door. Your also a lot more likely to find a deal here as well. They offer decent money on trade ins and, on top of books/​graphic novels, they also have DVDs and blu-rays…and an adults only section in the back (if that’s what your into? Haha.) If you have the choice though, go for the much larger and much more extensive 3 floor Bloor Street location. Each one of the floors is bigger than this location.

Good prices, especially compared to the giant bookstore next door. Decent and very interesting selection of books and graphic novels. We spent a long time browsing at the WBB without finding a thing worth buying. Here we bought books within minutes.

Fell in love back in the early 2000s, when this was the only location and it was a little scuzzy, especially next to bright, big WBB. I scrounged the place for Star Trek novels that hadn’t been mangled by the wire shelves, and bought random books that blew my mind then and now I look at and wonder what I was thinking (they were a little pervy, that’s why).
BMV is pretty much a no-​brainer as a go-​to place for books. No, you might not always find a specific book, but it’s so much cheaper than new, and they often have new books anyway. And they have comics, and if they have the ones you want, you can save a BUNDLE.
Now, for selling to them. I’ve only had one experience, when I moved from my parents’ house. I brought in pounds and pounds of books. I brought in several books I had bought from them.
They didn’t give me more than $ 1 – 2 a book, and didn’t buy all of them. I don’t know what made them buy one book and not another. And you know what? It really didn’t bug me. If you already have a car (or your dad does), it’s better than dropping them off for $ 0 somewhere else. They’re a business, and if they don’t want to buy something, then whatever. They take the risk of buying my books and I don’t really care if they make a big profit, because I don’t have the time or space to sell my books off one by one for more. I was pretty happy with what I got. That all said, I’d advise tempering your expectations. If you live in the downtown area and it’s not a big pain to get down to a location, selling your books can be worth it for you. The more effort you have to put into doing this, the more likely you’ll be disappointed by the returns. For anyone expecting to hit the jackpot, you won’t.
I read several reviews where they had a bad experience selling because of the buyer’s attitude, which sucks. I don’t discount those experiences at all.
For me, I actually had a really positive experience. The buyer wasn’t insanely nice, but he was fairly open about what he wanted and didn’t. He also offered to dispose of the books neither of us wanted (and if he just sold them anyway … again, I was just going to trash or give them away). THEN. He found out I was moving so he said they didn’t have boxes at that location, but the Annex one did if I wanted free boxes. That was nice.

Been here numerous times. Kinda know my way around by now and it’s definantly not hard to find something worth reading at an awesome price.

Right next to The World’s Biggest Bookstore (aka Indigo/​Chapters) and still booming. This is one of several locations around Toronto I spotted, and I seriously had trouble limiting my purchases.
I got a pristine copy of ‘Griffin & Sabine’ for $ 3 and spent close to a half hour browsing through the CanLit section. I ended up with 4 novels (secondhand) and 1 DVD, and spent around $ 30. I would totally support this bookstore – weekly probably – if I lived in Toronto.
Books in pristine and near-​perfect condition, DVDs of movies and television series, vintage magazines galore, fiction, non-​fiction, comics, sci-​fi, cooking, graphic novels, biographies, art and design books, … seriously, I was in heaven.
Can you come to Vancouver? Pretty please? With cherries on top?!

MY FAVORITE BOOK STORE! I’m obsessed with books, trust. I have full, massive shelves at home. I can usually find the stuff I’m looking for here, not to mention it’s SO cheap. I got the second copy of Hunger Games here for 6.99 (just for comparison).
They also have an amazing vintage magazines and comic books. I’m a big fan, I got a 1964 LIFE magazine from there with Khruschev on the cover (what a cuuuutie!!).
If you’re walking around downtown core, go here! It’s right next to world’s biggest book store and it’s 70% cheaper.

My go-​to independent chain for books.
Because I live in the area, the Edward location is the one I go to the most. But I also love their pop-​up on Queent St, and the location at Yonge & Eg. Always cheaper than Chapters/​Indigo and World’s Biggest Bookstore. Although they may not have the title I’m searching for, I always find that it ends up showing up at some point. So unless I absolutely need to have a specific book, I usually wait and check BMV’s selection.
Most books are in great condition and are very reasonably priced. Many are brand new and simply publisher overstocks, otherwise they are gently used. I find they offer a wide selection of books (and this location has an old magazine & large porn movie section too if you’re into that). I’ve also sold some books to BMV; although you don’t get a ton of money back, it sure is extra dough in your pocket for books you’ll never read again.

I like to say that, in general I love BMV, but I realized… I was spoiled by first living near the big one on Bloor Street… the others kinda blow.
I love the idea, the prices, and most of them do have some decent selection — I can definitely find a ton of books I want and don’t need but will still buy at any of the locations… it’s just that I can walk into this location and not buy something, whereas the Annex one… that can’t happen.
I looked for a notebook at this one and the cashier even admitted «yeah this location sucks»

I’m in love. His name is BMV Books.
I don’t know why it took so long for me to discover this place, but I’m so glad I’ve found it. Contrary to what I thought before, BMV does sell new or like-​new books. The prices are very reasonable (I mean VERY!) and even cheaper than Amazon (where I use to go to for books.)
This location is not as big as the flagship store on Bloor Street, so the selection is not as great. However, for the price you pay for the books compared to Indigo next door, it’s a win!

Though not as large and in charge as its amazing Bathurst location, I actually prefer this BMV for fiction. It has a better selection of my fav authors: Vonnegutt, Salinger, Palahniuk, Coupland, Hesse, Bukowski, Miller, etc…
As for the other sections it’s definitely lacking but you can’t be all things to all people right? Make sure you stop by here BEFORE going to World’ Biggest Bookstore next door. I made the mistake of buying a book there only to find it $ 12 cheaper at BMV :-(

Everyone else has summed up the buying experience pretty well… I thought I’d share my selling experience.
I’d been holding on to about 10 years worth of MAD Magazines from the 70s. I was in here one day and noticed that they had an area for well displayed and packaged vintage MADs. I asked if they were still buying and they said they were.
I brought them in on a Tuesday, but unfortunately the «comic buyer» was only in on Fridays and Saturdays. Rather than schlep them home, I just left them for him.
On Friday, he called me with the result. They would buy nearly all of them (except for a few damaged ones) and I considered the price very fair. Yesterday, almost a week after getting the call, I dropped in to get my cash and rejects, a transaction that couldn’t have been smoother. They were honest, efficient and well organized. Thank you BMV. So long, MADs.

My friend and I were on a book hunt one day — especially bargain ones. Earlier that day, we went to another BMV Books location down at Queen and the selection there amazed us.
However, this location was probably two to three times larger than the one down at Queen, yet it was impossible to find a book that interested us and seem reasonable to make the purchase. I would say the selection isn’t the greatest at this location, but it’s okay.

Though not quite as large as what would be the mother-​ship store on Bloor St., BMV on Edward and Yonge tends to have a lot more new and new looking books! Maybe this is because people at Yonge and Dundas read less books, maybe it’s because they have more bookstores within a small perimeter, or maybe Ryerson students are less abusive to their texts than U of T peeps… let’s not get into this discussion!
When looking for your author of choice, you are likely to find the selection best recommended for courses of the adjacent universities. That being said, prices are great and a lot more reasonable than Indigo. For a better price, I find you often get the same level of advice from the staff and get the same exact book, which means BMV FTW.
I also like the fact that they actually have a decent number of books on sale whenever you go there (and fortunately I don’t have to buy a stupid membership card to enjoy the sale!)
The only cons in my view are the somewhat limited selection compared to BMV1 and Indigo and more importantly the chaotic state of the philosophy section (no pun intended).
Drop by if you’re in the area… probably one of the better spots to spend money and time in the neighborhood.

Back in the day a panhandling Bruce McCulloch was a regular feature just outside BMV’s doors.
Go here to buy nearly mint back issues of Adbusters for $ 5 the same month they’re on newsstands for double the price. Ironically the basic literature section is not quite in alphabetical order and it’s often tough to find the author you’re looking for unless you have Selective Book Spine Memorization™ skills like I do. Canadian authors are separate from all the others, so once again, it’s hard to find what you’re looking for as I can’t always remember who (other than Douglas Coupland and Lucy Maud Montgomery) is Canadian or not.
There is a large cookbook and travel section as well as pornography in the back if for some reason you’re clamouring to pay money for it. I usually go for the cookbooks and recently released novels but bring a tote bag otherwise you won’t be able to carry all of your sweet finds!
NOTES: Leave your cell phone behind or you’ll get chewed out by the staff.