University of Toronto Bookstore (UTSC)

It has plenty of things for selling rather than the books or stationary stuff. They also deals in buying used books and other University of Toronto merchandises. You'll fall in love with all the goodies.

Nice size and lots of variety. Good selection of books as well. Enjoyed the knick nacks

Can be busy at the beginning of the term, so it's important to come early! Make sure to get your lab manuals as soon as they show up. They sell out pretty quickly.

Worst buying experience ever. The store was clean and organized and most of the staff are nice and friendly. But don’t always trust what they say especially on returning or refunding issues. They will give you wrong guidance. When you try to return or talk about the issue, the responses can be rude with personal judgement. Just learn the lesson and hopefully I don’t need to go there again.

Their rental policy is a money making scheme. Don’t be fooled by this policy. I rented a book which was sold at $64 and the rental price was $56. You see it’s not a big difference. On top of that, they don’t want you to heavily highlight it. It wasn’t clear to me what is lightly and heavily highlighting so the guy at the bookstore told me to just use pencil. The funny part is if you can’t return the book on time even because of medical emergencies, the bookstore takes out full cost of the book. So that is $56+$64 for a used book. I wouldn’t suggest going for their rental trap. I remember my English professor said that the bookstore takes unfair profit so that is why I bring my books to the lecture to sell to students for a much cheaper price. He is a tenured professor so he can’t get fired over this loll... I totally agree with him. I WILL NEVER EVER BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS BOOKSTORE NO MATTER WHAT. I will try getting the material from a library or order online or buy from other students or even if I have to change a course I will do that. NEVER GOING TO THIS BOOKSTORE EVER AGAIN. @Response from the Owner, I actually did reach out to you guys on January 9th. I came there to buy out the book but I was told that the replacement fee had already been charged. I was not being careless or taking the rental policy for granted. I had a medical emergency and was hospitalized at Scarborough Grace Hospital. The critical period lasted from December 16th to December 22nd. The Exam for this course was scheduled on December 21st so I wouldn’t have been returning the book before this date, as I had to review from the book if I wasn’t in medical emergency. I have been granted petition to write deferred examination that is why I needed to buy out the book. UTSC would not grant me permission to defer the exams if my situation was not serious. I wrote the review because I wanted other students to know that they are better off buying the book at the first place instead of going for the rental policy. The difference is only $8 dollars and if you can’t return the book on time due to medical emergencies like myself, you pay the full replacement fee. So the total becomes $56 (rental price)+$64(actual cost of the book/replacement fee) for a used book. This is almost double the price of the book. I was just left wondering if this is a fair policy because usually the people who get penalized are those who are already dealing with the circumstances beyond their control.

Scam you on book resales. Better off selling used books to Kijji and Facebook Marketplace.

UTSC Nice places

The staff here are extremely helpful. They don't carry as much as the St. George bookstore, but they have plenty of merch and other accessories! Prices are the same for all of the bookstores, but their merch is decently priced (can't say cheap, but it won't break the bank - some other universities charge crazy amounts of money for a low quality sweater). They always seem to "run out" of plastic bags. Every time I go, they tell me that they are out of plastic bags and they ask me if I want to buy a cheap tote for $1 ish. Not sure if they are genuinely out of plastic bags, or if this is just an excuse for us to buy their totes. Nonetheless, I don't really care since I have a bag. They are almost always on sale! Keep an eye out for their sales online. If you need help finding textbooks or course material, the staff is very approachable. Amazing service!