Value Village — Local services in Toronto

UPDATE FEB. 2025: Value Village is American owned and a for-profit company, something that I'm not happy about. Also, I'm unhappy about the high prices despite all the goods being donated, the lack of fitting rooms, the exchange-only policy instead of giving refunds and the self-checkouts. I've stopped shopping at any Value Village store and the timing is especially good right now.

PREVIOUSLY 2 YEARS AGO: Yesterday, I drove to this store, not my local VV, because I figured that there would be a better selection there. There was! I was so happy with the huge volume of ladies' clothing available. Also, I had received an emailed offer of 30% off clothing, accessories and shoes at VV for a three-day period. Road construction was awful and slow but it was worth the drive to this store. I found a number of really nice items to buy for myself and my elderly mother who lives in a nursing home. Clothes get wrecked in LTC homes thanks to the industrial laundry machines.

It's too bad that we can't try on clothing in-store at any Value Village anymore since COVID started because it's inconvenient to drive back to a VV store to get an exchange for the same price point, not a refund.

I was happy that the checkout stations were run by human beings, not automated checkouts, saving jobs for those workers. The Cashier was very nice and helpful.

Lots of parking available.

The only thing that bothered me was the selling price of a SOFT-covered travel book that had an original price sticker of $14.99 on it. The price was crossed out in red and a VV price sticker was on it for $5.99. Too expensive! At another VV store recently, I had purchased HARD-covered, coffee table-type travel books for $3.99 and $4.99 each which was much more reasonable given that the books had been donated. I wish that people would remove previous, original price stickers from donated books because otherwise this over-pricing of books will continue.

Because I had wanted this particular over-priced travel book, I bought it anyway but will not do so in future for any book priced unfairly as above-noted.

Other than that, I was very happy with my shopping trip at this Value Village and offer my...

unfortunately, this past visit will be my last.

this had always been one of my favourite thrift stores - the staff were kind, they always had fresh inventory, cool stuff, and the store is well kept.

today i was visiting, and the store was closing in 5-10 minutes. i was organizing my things in my cart in one of the aisles to get prepared to leave, when the security guard came over to tell me the store was closing. i said no problem, just gathering up my things to prepare to check out. he then forced me over to the self checkout and forced me to go before another customer despite me saying i wasn’t ready yet… i was still sorting between what i was keeping and what i wasn’t since i hadn’t a chance yet. as i was scanning my items, he was breathing down my neck and checking every single item i scanned. i wasn’t even done scanning before he pointed out one of my items to say i hadn’t scanned.

at this point i was insanely stressed out, and kept accidentally scanning things twice. a store associate had to come over to fix the kiosk, and he made an insanely snarky comment to them about having to come over a third time. as the store clerk was checking over my things to see what i double scanned, and he almost put his hand into my bag to look inside!!!

afterwards, i apologized to what i believe to be the store manager for taking so long and messing up my checkout. she gave a smile and said it was no problem, so i really don’t know what his issue was.

i fully understand that the store was closing - but this was absolutely unnecessary. i wasn’t stealing, i was minding my own business in the store, shopping with my headphones on and having a great time before this encounter. i have no idea what warranted this behaviour, i’ve seen him before and never had any issues with him or this store.

i will not...

I visited this Value Village location with my Emotional Support Dog. I was calmly walking through the store when a security guard rushed over and immediately questioned whether my dog was a service animal. I politely explained that he is an Emotional Support Dog, with documentation from my doctor. Despite this, I was told that Emotional Support Animals are not allowed, even though the store does not serve food.

I respected the store’s position but was surprised at how rudely I was approached. Even after being told I could continue shopping as long as my dog remained quiet, the security guard kept following me and continued to speak to me, making me very uncomfortable. I politely told him several times that I no longer wished to continue the conversation, yet he persisted.

Feeling disrespected and unwelcome, I went to the front desk manager to explain the situation. Unfortunately, instead of showing empathy or offering a simple apology for how I was treated, I was met with indifference. When I asked to file a complaint about the security guard’s behavior, she called the store manager on the phone, as he was in a meeting. Although I offered to explain the situation directly over the phone, I was not given the chance. The store manager instead requested my name, phone number, and email to follow up, which I provided.

Before leaving, I told the front desk manager that regardless of whether the customer is right or wrong, a manager should at least acknowledge a negative experience and offer a basic apology. He refused, saying he would investigate first.

This was a deeply disappointing experience. I understand store policies must be followed, but it costs nothing to treat people with dignity and respect. No customer should be made to feel like a criminal for simply shopping with their...