Common Sort

And now I am officially done with this place. Brought in some jackets and was told they didn’t want them. I checked the shelves and what I was bringing in was better than anything I saw in their store. I listened to their message and checked their website and made sure I brought season appropriate stuff. Still, no dice. This is the third time I’ve brought stuff in to be told rather condescendingly «we won’t be taking any of this today». Love to shop local, but you’ve lost me.

I like thrifting here when I’m too lazy to get knee-​deep in clothes at VV. I usually always find one thing I like that is reasonably priced, but some items are truly bizarre and look like thrift/​vintage rejects. I have no idea how some very stylish items can be chosen, but also truly hideous «vintage» that just screams old and dumpy, can make it to the racks, as well? Not all vintage is worth saving! It just clogs up the racks when items are carelessly and seemingly randomly chosen. For instance, I have seen the same sweater on the «clearance» rack for the past few months. What is this, Salvation Army? OK, I digress. Besides a more discerning eye, I would LOVE if the change rooms had little benches in them to lay your items down because the floors are always really dirty and you just don’t want to be putting anything down there. Either that, or a sweep every now and then, would not hurt!

The Common Sort is my favourite consignment store in Toronto! The staff is always been friendly, to my knowledge and experience, and their outfits are always styled perfectly — #fashiongoals. They’re also responsible for which items make it to the sales rack, which is probably why the curation is always been on point; applicable to trends, and an array of items that would be appealing to most fashion styles.
What I love the most about the Common Sort is the chill vibe; you can actually shop, in peace, without having to worry about sales staff berating you.
Recently, they have opened a secondary unit — exclusive to the Riverside location — where you can purchase accessories, homeware, and other adorable knickknacks!
In my years of shopping at the Common Sort, I have never come across rude customer service; they come across as very seasoned sales associates, who are genuinely fashion enthusiasts.

I’ve never in my life experienced such rudeness and arrogance from another human being. Went in to drop off clothes after thoroughly reading the guidelines on the website. Walked in and said hello, was met by a blank stare. Advised salesgirl was I was there to do and … Another blank stare as she kept eating. So I kept talking, telling her I read online I could drop off clothes to get priced? She rudely answers «I know what’s on the website». Anyways, this went on with more of her arguing with me so I told her to check the site as what she is saying is different then advertised and that with that kind of attitude there was no way she was getting her hands on my designer clothes. I walked out. Assumed this was a shop in the business of buying and selling clothes. Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe I’ll check the website again. NOT.

As a shopper I do find the variety in merchandise is not as good as it used to be, but I am a frequent visitor.
The owner is very friendly and kind, however I cannot say the same for her staff.
When I brought in items to sell I was met by sales girls who were on both occasions arrogant, insincere and disinterested.
From now on I will only visit when the owner is there.

I like this place, it’s local…
there are some really cute finds, and they take care to look for style in each piece. It might take a while to find something that works for you, but it’s a great place if you’re willing to hunt a little.

The salesgirl/​cashier was friendly and helpful and I found most of their items to be decently priced. I did however find some nice shoes which I shockingly found out cost $ 55, which seemed a tad high for second hand and I ultimately did not buy them. Their selection of clothes is small, but they’re undoubtedly selected with more care than say, Value Village. I haven’t found any clothes the few times I’ve been here but on my last venture I did find a nice polyblend tie, pretty cheap too– just ten bucks! I’d say that their women’s selection is far better than their men’s. They carry the usual vintage/​thrift store/​hipster dresses/women’s clothing. I’d say it’s definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re a chick.

3.5 stars
VIBE
Well organized for a consignment store but they’re not going for décor here that’s for sure.
THE GOODS
Lots of cute skirts and good prints. You’ve got to sort through the racks and come back frequently if you want something good. That’s the feeling I got.
OBLIGATORY CATCHY REMARK
Sorting is more common than you think at a consignment store.

A very decent array of thrifted finds for such a small shop. The window displays are often quirky and kinda of odd pairings, more of a Queen West feel or Ossington perhaps, in comparison to the Riverside hood. Shoes, accessories and men’s stuff too. Friendly staff really try to help you find what you’re looking for and make suggestions for putting an outfit together. I absolutely love the fact that they take trades, so you can bring in what you’re bored of, and they will assess the value and give you a slip for half of what they would sell it for in trade! You could also take the money for your trades but that amounts to much less and I prefer the idea of trading up the old for the new-​to-​me instead of getting a pittence in cold hard cash. The trades are specific to the season though, so if it’s spring they only want your cute spring stuff, not your winter boots.

What a neat little shop. It was a bit of a trek from my home, but worth the mission. This location is smaller than their Parkdale store, but still had a great selection of unique, vintage pieces, including some of the cutest boots and purses I’ve ever seen! The prices were a lot more reasonable than I was expecting, more than Value Village but less than many other retail stores.
I brought some stuff to sell, and none of it was accepted, so I got some good tips of what they do and don’t like!
–They won’t take anything not in great condition, including just small tears or stains.
–They only buy in season, so I was told to bring back some of my dresses in summer and they would buy them then, but they don’t have room to store things.
–They get purses and belts from wholesalers, so unless you have a really awesome, unique piece they won’t take it. They also don’t buy jewelry at the Riverdale location, but apparently the Parkdale location does.
–For newer clothes, they prefer designer or nicer brands.
If they do buy your stuff you get the option of either 50% of what they price it at in store credit (expires in 1 year) or 25% in cash. You can also get a $ 30 store credit if you model for their site,

I liked this place, and would probably go there often to see the new stuff, if it were closer to where I live. I will still probably go, out of my way as it is, because I know it has the potential to serve me up some good finds. You can just tell these things.
When this next time occurs, I will be sure to lug over some of my old stuff cuz there is a certain part of my closet that may as well have a revolving door on it. The other part should have a glass case and an alarm system, in case you were wondering. But seriously? I never thought that thrift store shopping could get any more exciting and then you lay this trade and sell business on me. Pretty good idea, methinks.
Another good idea? If anybody here is like, a size zero, get your tiny ass over there and buy the greatest pair of hottest pinkest jeans (they’re Wrangler, too!!) I have ever seen in my life. It will do nothing but hurt me if I have to look at them again with the knowledge that I can’t buy them. I considered even making them into a denim pillow or something.

common sort has a pretty cool deal going on where you can trade your clothes in for credit. how it works is that i bring in clothes, the owner prices them for what she would sell them, and gives you half that amount in credit to apply towards the purchase of other clothes in the store or if you dont want to buy anything you get 25% of that deemed price in cash. you can also do a combination of the above, as in get 50% credit from one garment to apply towards another and trade in others just for cash etc. now i dont know if this is a good deal or not money-​wise, because ive never tried this before, here or anywhere else, but the prices are good enough that it is likely as good as it sounds. (i saw a few suit jackets/​blazers for about 20 bucks). its good to know that its there though; whether youll be happy with the price she sets your clothes at is a different story. i will definitely come back here for some shirt choices, as there was quite a selection of some cool designs. i wasnt that impressed with the mens pants selection as there wasnt that many from which to choose and they seemed very much like each other. there was quite a large shoe collection for women with some nice unique choices.