Active Surplus

A 'real' surplus store in the spirit of the electronics junk stores I used to visit on Canal St. in NYC in the 80s and 90s. Reminiscent of the Silicon Valley electronics junk stores. It also reminded me a lot of the American Science and Surplus stores (used to be JerryCo) in the Chicago area.

Real random assortment of stuff; not too expensive, but not dirt cheap either (I assume rents in Toronto are not cheap).

If you are into electronics or just 'junk', you owe it to yourself to check this place out (as well as the other branch of Active Surplus on Steele in Markham).

It can be hard to find parking here, as in all of downtown Toronto.

I can't write a review for Active Surplus without calling attention to the "ACTIVE SURPLUS; YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL FIND" though I find it inaccurate. What he should be barking is: "ACTIVE SURPLUS; YOU'LL PROBABLY FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!"

Example the first: A while ago, I threw a Halloween party and naturally thought we should do raspberry sour puss shots from vials or test tubes complete with cork stoppers. Active Surplus had them in the "Chemistry" aisle.

Example the second: The following year for my Halloween costume, I went as V.I.C.I. (yes, that's Voice Input Child Identicant aka Vicki from Small Wonder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Wonder_(TV_series)). I needed a computer motherboard to add to the robotic feature of my costume and BAM, Active Surplus for the rescue for cheap!

Example the third: I want to bake a cake that has something spinning on it so went to search for a small motor and an enclosed battery compartment with a switch. You guessed it, I found it at Active Surplus.

After climbing a narrow staircase, the store is fairly large and broken up into appropriate aisles. The place does require some careful searching and you might be there longer than you intend but it is well-organized.

Do not make this your last resort spot for finding those little essential material for whatever your project is at the moment. Whatever you're looking for, you probably will find it... eventually.

Active Surplus You never know what you're going to find.
Know what I found? A cordless phone. When I returned it, I got a store credit. Know what I found then?
Dental Mirror
5 packs of AA batteries
Pen with random logo
Ear buds
Sleeves for CD storage
more batteries...
Antenna for the TV- it got returned (you can't steal cable)
Nails
small tooth wood saw
more batteries.
Thanks gorilla.

Active Surplus is the best. So many random electronics parts for whatever project you have in mind. This is basically what a surplus store should be. I would imagine this is what radio shack used to be like way back when (before they became a glorified headphones store).

Pyrex bottles? Rubber stoppers? CPR test dummies? Cables? Wiring? Dentistry equipment? Sure, why not?

I recently bought an HDMI cable from this place to hook up my Moshi mini adapter to my MacBook Pro. I had been searching for an HDMI cable that would be both reliable and would fit my price range. This place gave me a killer HDMI cable that works like a charm for only $11 tax included; Perfectly beautiful picture quality with my standard Samsung HD TV.

If you can get past the simple, cheap looking plastic wrapping that it comes in ---which initially makes the product look sketchy and unreliable--- you're in for a pleasant surprise.

Also, their return/exchange policy allows you to exchange for another cable if the product does not work with receipt.

One star off because the woman at the counter made me feel like an idiot after I asked her where the HDMI cables were located in the store. The man at the counter was nice and helpful though.

My colleague recommended this place to me and I am recommending this place to anyone who is looking for a quality HDMI cable for a good price that is Macbook compatible.

Mostly an electronics surplus store, Active Surplus does really sell a lot of random things. The store is best represented by the completely RANDOM gorilla (no, not a real one) they have outside of the store which kind of gives you an idea of how random this store is!

But if you`re looking for the random capacitor to infrared diode to army men, lights, random connections and wires, then this is the place to go!

For anyone with even a vague "Do It Yourself" itch Active Surplus is a must see. It's got virtually everything imaginable from (literally) nuts and bolts, to random electronic components and cables, to laboratory grade glassware to novelty glasses. For one thing, this is pretty much the only place I ever buy A/V and computer cables, like HDMI, VGA, USB, or RCA-to-whatever as the prices are unbeatable. Check it out and see for yourself. It's only a matter of time before some evil genius assembles a time machine in this store.

The greatest retail store in Toronto. From doll baby arms, to usb cables, to broken machinery, if you need inspiration to make something crazy, or just need an adapter for your phone, active surplus has you covered.

I've been coming to active surplus since I was a kid. I'm a nerd as an adult, so maybe that's why I spent so much time there, but seriously, it's a great place to take your kids and let them discover random things they might want to use to build something.

You do have to be a little careful when you buy things like motors, leds and electronics. Just because they have 100+ of them, doesn't mean any of them actually work. Either ask the guys at the front or actually test them in the store.

There isn't anything you can't find in there. Rotary phones, ps2 converters, serial cables, any jack you're looking for, any ac adapter you're looking for, any engine parts you're looking for, medical equipments, chemistry tools....ANYTHING YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. All here. All cheap. Did I mention CHEAP?

They are also helpful, knowledgeable, and super friendly.

I love this place.

Update: I wanted to update my review after my most recent visit after not being there for years. I'm disappointed by their current stock of 'stuff.'

Now maybe my eyes aren't what they used to be - but I found VERY LITTLE of interest there a few days ago. I used to find this place so fascinating - with the coolest stuff. I guess this place is still unique - but does anybody else feel it doesn't have the great selection of cool stuff they used to have?

........................
Initial review:

If you've never been to this place you've GOT to check it out. It is cool.

They have the most random stuff you've ever seen - and the stock is ALWAYS changing. There is tons of new stuff every time you visit.

But be warned - if you are a hoarder you will be in big trouble if you visit this place.

But I bet you a zillion that you can't go through the whole store without finding SOMETHING you NEED.

They have a zillion different odds and ends that you won't find anywhere else.

If you haven't been here yet - what are you waiting for?

You can get video and computer cables MUCH cheaper here than at the rip off box stores.

And there are a thousand other things you will have a fantistic time finding that you never could have imagined.

This place and Rotblott's are the coolest ever.