It's like walking into a cave troll's den. There's a lot of crap in here, and by crap I mean stuff you probably won't want to buy. Apparently it's just surplus stock. Admittedly, it's okay to kill time in, if you don't mind having to root around like a truffle hunting hog, but it manages to combine strange selection (I found a bunch of Tron action figures) with strangely high prices. You might find a good value, or something. It violates pretty much every rule of retail in terms of organization and presentation, being more like a massive single retailer basement rummage sale. It's a shame, since the downtown store has been improving and the junction store is a good venue. I guess this is the picture in the attic. read more

Absolutely the best board game and card game store. Knowledgeable and helpful staff. Clean, wide selection of goods and they have a great cafe in store. read more

Very nice to have a gaming store with paint supplies and game tables uptown. Staff is very friendly and they have a lot of paint supplies and minis that I'm after. Also have loose D&D minis. New location is very clean and organized as well. read more

So to tell a story: I submitted 5 cards to their buylist then called to see if I could drop them off and get store credit, because I live an hour away I wanted to do it all in one trip. They said "Yes as long it's approved" (which it was, I got the email) So I drove all the way down there, handed in my cards and waited for him to check everything while I went and got the few things I wanted to get with the store credit. Finally when it came time to pay he told me that I couldn't get store credit because my cards needed to be graded and it would take a few days. Like are you kidding me? For 5 cards? I called ahead, and drove all the way here and you tell me now at the last second? I told him I could not believe you are doing this and begged to see if there was anything he could do. He said no. End of story. There was no way he or anyone else there could grade the completely mint condition cards I had brought. So I had to take my cards and leave. There is no way I could ever order from or coming back here after they wasted my time and money like that. They deserve less than 1 star and honestly I don't wish them well at all. read more

Rude employee is condescending and is on some kind of power trip; it is as if they don't need/want your money. Store is horribly organized, everything is covered in dust, merchandise is placed wherever there is a flat surface. Boardgames are overpriced. People seem to have a good time playing MTG though. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1047023/why-i-am-never-going-back-to-hairy-tarantula-north read more

New location, but incredibly convenient for me and the other Vaughan comic book lovers. Large selection of comic books at a reasonable price (obviously if you want limited editions you will have to pay a pretty penny). I even found an old edition of "Charles Barkley vs. Godzilla" which apparently is an incredibly rare edition in the Godzilla fun series. ONLY $10! Friendly and knowledgeable staff and would go again and again just to sit down and read very interesting comics and look up new games and toys for the man-cave. read more

After visiting Hairy T's downtown location, I decided to visit this location up north. The plaza itself is just right off Yonge and Steeles. Parking However, this location's entrance is much easier to find than their downtown location. Upon entering the store, you will have to go down the stairs and into the basement. There is no wheelchair accessibility. The store is not really well lit and there is this eerie smell when you enter the store. To me, everything in the store seems out of place. It's like they decided to put products randomly into place and voila, a second location is set up. What got me confused is the behind the counter space, you can just walk in without noticing that you are in the storage area or in the employee only area behind the counter. The board games selection is alright but they are not in any order and majority of them are just stacked randomly on top of each other. Pricing is not that competitive compared to other game stores. Furthermore, the service is not as great here than at the downtown location. Once, I was looking at their showcase display of Magic cards but all the staff were busy unloading inventory and would not care to help me even though I was standing there for ten minutes looking at them. On the bright side, they have a lot more space in this location to host daily events and tournaments within the basement. Also, look out for their weekly, monthly and quarterly deals on their website. read more

Dirtiest store in the GTA. Overpriced.The owner/hobbit who runs it needs to be courteous and attentive. My son was buying cards and when prompted to come up with the total for the purchase (special needs) the owner said, 'hey, I'm trying to help, I'm not being asshole'. read more

PROS: - Tonnes of stuff! If you have time to browse and want a trip down memory lane, there is a bit of everything mixed in around here. - Old collectibles can be found. I spotted some old RPG books that I wouldn't be able to find at newer game stores. - Lots of gaming space, Free gaming on Wednesday nights. Lots of folding tables, lots of chairs, a dozen or 2 gamers dropping in and open game, friendly people will invite you to join whatever game they're playing. - Friendly Staff (at least the two staff I met there, not sure about the owner). CONS: - Dirty. I felt the need to sanitize my hands upon exit. - Disorganized. Yes, there are "sections" but still felt very random and unorganized. - Not cheap. - Not wheelchair accessible. It's downstairs in the basement. - I can't put my finger on it, but something doesn't feel right about the place. The overall aura feels like a gamer's den but not inviting for new gamers, and definitely not a nice place for kids. As much as I appreciate the free open gaming on Wed nights, I wouldn't make this my "regular go-to place", and will only go back if I have some specific need or if I was in the area. 2 Stars, I've experienced better. read more

I'm a huge board game geek, and a fan of many other things you will come across in Hairy Tarantula (comics, 80s merch, pop vinyls etc.) so walking into here always makes me feel like a kid in a (very messy) candy store. I find compared to some of their competitors (401 Games, Meeplemart, Legends Warehouse), their prices are a bit steep (even WITH the sales they are usually running.) If you do stop by with Board Games in mind, pop by on a Tuesday, as they are usually an extra %5 off! I absolutely hate the layout here. It's super small and cramped near the cashiers, the board games aren't in alphabetical order so while it is awesome that they have quite a large selection, it sucks to go searching through everything when you have something specific in mind. A few gaming tables, but not TOO much gaming space compared to other gaming stores. Cashiers are usually a bit slow. Not super friendly, on the whole. There is one girl that works there that is always quite bubbly and friendly - so it's always a pleasure to deal with her :) One of the other nice perks of Hairy T is that sometimes, if you're lucky, they are open on a holiday! We randomly popped by here on labour day, and to our surprise, they were open! Overall, definitely not my first choice for gaming/hobby stores, but its nice to have the option in the North area of Toronto. read more

Still a great stop. I stopped here because many years ago on vacation my brother was feeling a little homesick and to help my dad brought him to the Hairy Tarantula. So I wondered in to pick him up a nostalgic souvenir on my last ride trip. I found a great t shirt for him and spent a fair amount of time browsing the graphic novels. The staff was super nice and I overheard one of them patiently instructing a young fan on the rules and some strategies for one of the deck building games (pokemon I believe.) Anyhow it was a great stop on my trip and I'll stop again next time I'm in town. read more

This is their new location uptown, in addition to their 354 Yonge and 2949 Dundas West. This store is *big*. It's dark and dungeony and feels like a warehouse or storage space, which is somehow an atmosphere that I love in a comic shop. I didn't spend long at their grand opening weekend because I was short on money, so there's a lot of stuff I didn't see. They have manga and graphic novels up the wazoo, action figures, Japanese trinkets, superhero lunchboxes, and more. The staff are friendly and the prices are good. When I got there they didn't yet have all their credit card systems set up, but they assured me that they would soon. Give it a few days before you pop in there if you plan on using Mastercard. My only complaint is that this store, like their downtown location, is not accessible for the mobility impaired. It's in a basement down a narrow staircase (the downtown shop is *up* a narrow staircase). I don't know what the Dundas West store is like. If you are a comic nerd who uses a wheelchair, send an able-bodied friend on a mission to get your comics, because you won't be able to get into this place. I'm definitely going back. Oh -- if there's anyone on your gift list this holiday season who is hard to buy for, Hairy T uptown has a life-size Silver Surfer with surfboard for only $1995. :P I think he was a movie theater promo display and he's waterproof since they left him parked outside in the rain yesterday. read more

Great store atmosphere. So many products create a great in store browsing experience. The in-store staff are always friendly and super knowledgeable. read more

2/3 visits were horrible. The owner of the store will personally wrinkle and damage new books for you when bagging them.. not to mention he seems to enjoy telling you how unpopular your taste in genres are when they don't have a certain books in stock. Don't waste your time here go to Cyber City Comics just down the street. With that said the Co-Owner of the store proved to be quite helpful when visiting the first time. He personally brought 2 Hardcover books from their downtown location just to make the sale. read more

Overpriced for MTG. Good selection of cards. But cramped space and price gouging is a turnoff. Parking is also a problem as you will have to find it on the street. read more

I used to like this store and shopped here quite a bit for board games but because of their terrible business practices, I can't come back. Despite it being a ridiculously hard place to get into, (a dingy basement that always smells of BO), they make up rules that don't actually apply to any other business I've shopped at. My husband bought a game four days ago. We find out that they are having a sale (10%) on games 3 days later. So my husband goes in to ask if he can return his game and get the 3 dollars difference, in which he would use towards buying more games. The manager told him (and me on the phone later) that the store policy is no refunds, "exchange" only. Except their definition of exchange has an unspoken stipulation that make no sense. Obviously, they wouldn't exchange my husband's game (hence the angry post) but when I asked if we were to return the original game and buy a more expensive game and pay the difference, the manager said "I would give you a sale price on the DIFFERENCE, but not on the total value" What kind of exchange policy is that?! To save them 3 bucks?!? They lost out on hundreds of dollars of my money as I married into a family that loves boardgames! Guess we will have to take our business elsewhere. A message to the owner, you should really specify your exchange policy and actually write it on the receipt somewhere or on your "website"/blog so you and your employees aren't just making up ridiculous policies and piss off customers. And secondly, you really need an air purifier for your store. Because it's so dark and dingy, you don't know what's growing in there. read more

This place is amazing, the staff are wonderful and kind, very knowledgeable about games, comics and more.

It's no longer necessary to venture downtown on TTC or pay parking to get your fix of comics, games, RPGs, manga, miniatures, art books, etc. The Hairy Tarantula North is at Yonge & Steeles in a strip plaza across from CentrePoint Mall. Access is via stairs to the basement, which is crammed to the rafters with STUFF. Friendly staff can quickly help you find what you're looking for. read more

Despite what others have experienced in the past, I have to give it to Hairy T North. My expectations were somewhat low after seeing such a negative outpouring to them, but that just ended up being a boon for them! Their selection is top notch compared to anything else I've seen. They have an extensive selection of Magic products, both sealed and singles. For being a place that I had heard nothing about for manga and anime, I was blown away to see HUNDREDS of volumes adorning their walls, to the point where they have it organized by publisher rather than alphabetically! I was also shocked by just how many types of figurines and miniatures they had, ranging from typical collectable ones of cartoon and anime figures, to quality gaming miniatures and terrain elements for tabletop games. As a magic fanatic, I was quite pleased by the amount of play space they had incorporated into their store as well, being able to fit over 50 people for a tournament on the day I had gone there. Despite what others have said, I've had nothing but good interactions with the staff as well, going as far to having conversations on different gaming type things they liked, sharing links and sources and whatnot when they weren't busy. Their board game selection though... THAT was something that blew me away! Half the store's walls were just COVERED in different games, expansions for games, having innumerable staples I've played and enjoyed, to a good number I've never even heard of! For cleanliness, i'll admit, there was a bit of dust. Considering it was a large place in a basement though, it was easily an amount that could be overlooked, seems like a thing that isn't easily manageable considering the real estate. My only qualm is that yes, the prices seem a little high for some things, such as Magic Singles, given how diverse their stock is though, and that they are the type of store that has a members reward system and monthly sales, they compensate for it, and it's the kind of thing that again, isn't beyond the point of being outrageous, it was something I could fully understand, stores DO need to make money. Hairy T North was a wonderful experience for me, and I hope that others can overlook the less than glowing reviews and give it a shot for themselves. read more