Balfour Books

Everything a used bookstore should be, right down to the soothing soundtrack of arcane discussion between staff members.

I really enjoyed browsing here. Great selection and the owners are always quick to help.

Fun little book shop with books everywhere! On the ground, stacked on top of one another, overflowing out of shelves. If you’re a book-lover, it will feel like the coziest place on earth. The staff were also super friendly, and the books are very cheap.

best bookstore I have ever been to. Let me browse for as long as I needed, and when the owner realized I may need help took time to talk to me and grab a ton of books for me to look at no pressure to buy at all. The decor is warm and antique, with places to sit and interesting books to read. Also the condition and vintage of the books is impressive. I left with a large stack of books and will make this place a usual haunt from now on. I suggest this store to anyone in the area, especially if you are looking for a specific book or a specific subject, they seem to have everything!

Phenomenal collection of books, every bit of free space filled with gems one wouldnt find elsewhere (Gibbons! Mad Magazine books! A stacks and stacks of fiction). A person could spend an entire weekend browsing the store’s inventory.

Twice I've tried to find books/authors I was looking for here, and twice I've been frustrated by customer service. When I called, the woman I spoke with did not wish to bother looking up whether the author or book I was inquiring about was available. And when I went in person, the fellow behind the desk made a great show of how inconvenient it was for him to go downstairs and find out whether they had any books by the author I was requesting. I want to support local, and I deeply believe in the value of small booksellers, but these experiences have been too unpleasant for me to bother with this bookstore in future.

Would definitely go here again! Bought “Atomic Habits” from here that costed $18 (original was around $40). My friend bought “In Cold Blood” that was a beautiful old leather library book. Definitely the place to go for used books, they have a great selection of old and new. Staff are lovely and they are open to a haggle ;)

Balfour Books offers an eclectic and enticing collection of used books at a central location in Toronto. I bought the four volume Everyman edition of John Wesley's journals there on my most recent visit. I also saw a good copy of the Oxford University Press critical edition of William Hogarth's Analysis of Beauty. I already own a copy, so it's still there waiting to find a buyer. They also have a good selection of literature, art books, and other works. It's not exclusively filled with academic titles, but a learned reader will not be disappointed by a visit. I was intrigued by their collection of old paperback books. They're all a bit worn through use, as one would expect, but they are well displayed and offer an insight into a world of casual reading that has largely moved online these days. I was drawn to the shop because they seem to have a collaboration worked out with another august and extensively stocked Toronto used bookseller: Atticus Books. Whilst Atticus has moved to an exclusively online sales model, they do offer an option for a downtown pickup purchase for their Toronto based, or Toronto visiting, customers. So you can double your book purchasing pleasure by visiting Balfour Books for their own stock as well as picking up books from Atticus that you have located through their online catalogue. The shop is open for business again as the public health situation has improved. Bring a mask for your browsing of course, but this is definitely a place that should be on the map for any serious Toronto bibliophile.