Bargain Toronto: A Guide to Over 100 Warehouse Sales and Warehouse Outlets in Metro Toronto

Greg Turko is a policy analyst at the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and
Universities.

The austere and recessionary 1990s have placed a new emphasis on
“getting things cheap.” Bargain shopping has become a necessity for
the “fiscally challenged” and a new form of purchasing chic for many
others. In this context, the number of guidebooks catering to this form
of shopping has grown. It is just as well that this source of
information exists, since some of these bargain operations are true
“factory outlets” with virtually no advertising budgets, and
sometimes, it seems, no fixture or lighting budgets either.

Bargain Toronto is, perhaps, not the most comprehensive listing of this
genre, but it does offer excellent organization and indexing, making it
very easy for readers to hunt down bargains. It includes factory
outlets, discounters, periodic warehouse sales, various clearance
centres, and even discount malls. The wide range of venues underscores
the rapid and diverse growth of this category of retailing.

Shoppers using this guide would be well advised to call ahead before
actually going to the location, which can often be out of the way,
reflecting the need for cheap rents. Some of these operations do have a
short life span; others have erratic business hours, while others move
premises frequently. It is also useful to phone ahead to check important
details such as payment arrangements, since Hargreaves was not always as
diligent in checking her information as she could have been. The
McGregor Socks Factory Store, for example, does not take VISA, contrary
to what the book states.

In summary, Bargain Toronto offers useful and easily accessible
information, despite some minor faults, for all types of bargain
hunters. Most importantly, the book itself is priced at an affordable
$7.98 and you don’t have to drive to some industrial park to buy it.