BMV Books (Annex)

BMV's Annex flagship at 471 Bloor Street West is still Canada's largest pre-loved and remaindered bookshop: four floors in the old Hungarian Castle block, two blocks west of Spadina station, just east of Brunswick. Official bmvbooks.com/pages/location-annex keeps the address at 471 — not 417 — and posts Sunday–Wednesday 12 p.m.–7 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.–11 p.m., Friday–Saturday 10 a.m.–11 p.m., phone (416) 967-5757. Sister shops at 10 Edward Street downtown and 2289 Yonge at Eglinton are real and differently stocked; the Annex is the rabbit hole. Used paperbacks, remaindered hardcovers, comics, vinyl, and a buy-desk that pays cash. First-timers: bring a tote, start upstairs if you want fiction, and do not get stuck in the sell line if you only came to browse. Weekday afternoons are saner than Saturday night. Prices are the point — this is where a stack of $8 hardcovers happens. They buy from the public; leave extra time if that is your errand.