The Bob Miller Book Room

For some reason, philosophy professors really enjoy ordering books through here rather than through the UofT Bookstore. It’s mad trying to buy a book here the first week of class but really settles down after that. Kinda hard to find the place — you have to take the stairs downstairs and then leave all your stuff outside while you browse (kinda annoying because I’m a bit paranoid about having my belongings stolen and there isn’t really anyone watching your backpack). Apart from course textbooks, they also carry some random liberal arts reading. It’s frustrating as they don’t have an online resource that you can use to check whether a certain book is in stock or not (unlike the UofT bookstore) so you have to call in but the line is usually busy if it’s a hectic time (ie first week of class). The staff are pretty helpful especially compared to the University Bookstore.

This is the worst bookstore in Toronto. I’ve been in exactly twice, and both times I was treated like my presence in the store was an inconvenience. It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered such rude and aloof customer service. It’s also the most expensive bookstore I’ve ever visited. On top of all that, the return policy is selective to genre, so beware about what books you buy. If you buy your textbooks and then drop the class, THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT YOUR RETURN. On top of that, they don’t tell you when you’re buying them if they will be returnable or not.
If you can find another way to get books for a class, DO IT. Avoid this store.

I have mixed feelings about them.
They’ve carried obscure books I needed for my classes, and they organize their shelves by class code to make it easy. They also seem to be cheaper than the UofT book store.
However, I needed a book for a class and my professor supposedly ordered enough for the entire class, but they were late getting the order in. So I kept checking back with them, because I couldn’t get the book anywhere else. (The UofT book store only carried one copy at a time and sold out.) The staff members annoyingly kept telling me they’d have the book in «the next few days», but would never give me any exact time. I checked back daily for about two weeks, while they continued to tell me «it should be here in the next few days» before I gave up and bought the Kindle version. That experience has soured me on the place a bit.
Besides – I’ve found the «tusbe» wesbite (Toronto University Student Book Exchange). That will always be my first hope for finding the books I need, cheaply and conveniently.