Factory Direct

WARNING!!!
If you get a product that turns out to me faulty, don’t expect good customer service if you want to exchange for a product that actually works, even if they have warranty for 90 days.
The store workers were extremely rude to me, not believing me when I said my AC unit was leaking like crazy.
Then I find out that it can take up to 8 weeks to get it back from the repair people!
I have never been so frustrated.
It’s definitely not worth the cheaper costs. Buy something full price from a store where the customer service will be better!!!

So I used to go to the College St. location until they closed (BOO). Then I was ecstatic to find out that they moved and opened at a location even closer to me — YAAY!
This place is great. They have everything — seasonal gardening/​snow shovelling supplies, appliances, toys, electronics (tvs, printers, cell phones, tablets, laptops, e readers etc), cleaning supplies, candy (between the front cash and the exit door), those cool with the pre teen crowd colorful elastic band bracelet makers, makeup, hilarous «As Seen On Tv Stuff» etc. The staff in the electronics section are always super helpful and informative — especially the guy who sounds like a radio announcer. I buy all of my earbuds here, I got a variable temperature electric kettle (LOVE) here — for $ 29.99 — forget that $ 75 — $ 150 price tag for others. A lot of the electronics and appliance are refurbished, but I’ve never once (ever since they opened in Toronto) had an issue. Also, make sure you ask to buy the extended warranty — this isn’t one of those FutureShop/​BestBuy triple the price by paying too much warranty — no sirree — you pay 10% of the cost for a 1 year warranty, and a bit more for 2 or 3 year. I do this with my earbuds, so that when they die (and they always do), I bring em in with my receipt and they give me a new pair. What also happens is that they may no longer carry that brand, so I’ve always been offered a better quality one at no extra cost. Definitely a fun and interesting place to shop around, and you never know what you might come across that you didn’t realize they carried/​you needed. Like the super fancy (a.k.a plastic) chicken wing dish with the slide out drawer underneath for those unsightly chicken bones (gasp)!

I ordered a dvd/​vcr player on line. The dvd did not work. I requested a return. After no response by email, I phoned and was told they were just processing my request. I got the email, filled in the warranty form and emailed the invoice. I was to receive a number to use to return the device in two days. After more than a week I emailed again. After a further four days I have emailed again.
Don’t deal with these guys. They do not stand behind their products.

This is a great place to go for electronics. Very fair pricing and quality of products is great. Extra star for size of retail space and convenience of location being right by Christie subway. Service can vary by experience but all in all it’s worth a trip.

It is what the name says it is. Cheap stuff and bad customer service. Went to buy headphones, and I was browsing through them when a sales associate recommended a pair of headphones. Assuming that they knows best, I purchased them, double checking with the cashier if I can return it, who said I can within 10 days. So, after trying them on I realized that the sound (even on low) was terrible, and also kept falling off my ear. So when I got the time, which was after 7 days, I went back to the store to return them and purchase another brand. But the manager, Nick Veras (not sure about spellings, that’s what he said it was), without even checking if the product was defective, rudely and arrogantly insisted that he cannot take it back. He didn’t even check it for defects. So, after horrible customer service, I lost 16 $ on a pair of useless headphones which I may not even use. Their sales trick is to recommend bad products and AFTER purchasing and trying them out, and if it doesn’t work, refuse to even give store credit. It’s a scam. I am telling you. I wish I went to Futureshop or Bestbuy where you can actually be satisfied with your purchase. So folks, don’t go here. Stay away and spend money on somewhere good.

I had the worst experience at the downtown Toronto store at Bloor and Christie. They sold me 3 products in a row that did not work or were missing parts. Refused to give me a refund. Instead I got a another store credit so that I can get more junk that doesn’t work and waste more of my time. Horrible experience. I strongly discourage people from shopping here.

This is the place to come for electronic accessories:
earphones
cables
mouse & keyboards
random knik knaks
Head to factory direct for all the «side orders». If you buy these items at best buy, they might be double the price.
Beware: the return policy is pretty harsh. Best to stick with cheap items.

FD is my go-​to store for toys. Why wander around Toys R Us warehouse looking at overpriced name brands when you can get a similar item at FD for cheaper? FD seems to have the right stock for toys without the excess of the big stores making decisions easier. Everything seems to be 5, 10 or $ 20 and in that range there are many great or wanna-​be-​classic items. An air hockey game that can be played on any table, or a basketball hoop that hangs on a door and counts the score by using the colour of the ball automatically. Impressive? You bet! Keep in mind that returning things mean exchanging for something else. What a fun place to spend half an hour or so picking thru cool plastic stuff.

Avoid buying any technology at Factory Direct. In particular, avoid the new store on Bloor West near Manning. In fact, if you are thinking about buying a refurbished smartphone, iPhone or Blackberry from Factory Direct, here’s what you should do.
Take the money you would pay for it and change it into 10’s and 20’s and stand outside their front door and toss it in the air.
Or here’s another idea. figure on how much you are saving by purchasing a refurbished smart phone and divide that up by hourly minimum
you figure you will save about $ 200.00 tops. Divide that by $ 9.50. That’s 21 hours… now figure on how many hours you will invest driving back and forth to Factory Direct every time the phone stops working (on average 4 – 5 trips per year). Then figure in the cost of parking, if any. Do add in the cost of gas getting there and back. Then, and this is important, calculate how much time you will have to wait in the store for the chance to speak to the useless manager after having to speak to the wildly uninformed tech staff who do not really know much about technology, but will nonetheless pretend they know and speculate what the problem MIGHT be.
Then add in 45 minutes while they «fill out the necessary paperwork and try to get head office on the phone to verify» whatever they have to verify to allow you to send your phone in under warranty. Then, IF you actually qualify to get your phone fixed (and remember, it’s a refurbished phone to start with…), then calculate the 4 – 8 weeks you will be without a phone and the twice-​a-​week calls you will have to make to see if your phone is returned YET. if they replace your phone, which is what they do, but it takes them 4 – 8 weeks to make that decision because there is no profit at there in to fix an already refurbished phone, make sure the new phone is truly unlocked for the carrier you use. Sometime they claim it is, but it isn’t and then you have to argue further to get a phone that is what they advertise it is.
Trust me. This will all waste WAY more that 21 hours of your life and life is too short. Avoid Factory Direct. Buy your phone new from some place that does normal repairs and knows how to deal with customers. Actually, buy your technology from anywhere BUT Factory Direct.

This store has a little bit of everything, from toys to clothes to appliances to electronic gear. They have a lot of As Seen on TV stuff, and everything is CHEAP in price and quite possibly, quality. It’s definitely fun to browse. It’s a great place to find cheap stuff for your home.