Curry's Artists' Materials Gets Spanked

But not muchly preferred to good independent art supplies stores (Above Ground, Midoco and Gwartzman's all come to mind.) Curry's sucks anyway.

I worked for curry's as a supervisor for a few years, its about time somebody called them om this... They have also been charged for illegally importing hazardous materials over the border (packing them unsafely to save money), and they constantly mistreat their employees in a variety of ways... The local managers of the stores are good folks, but the uppermanagment are, in my opinion, strongly unethical people...

Also, the "student discount" at curry's is bullshit, its 10% off this "list price", which nothing is ever priced at anyway... The student discount rarely saves anyone money...

as a graphic artist i never shop at curry's....I am still of the 80's student mindset that just knows instictively that they are overpriced.....as to the student discount, they and an old company known as Graffix were bullshit artists when it came to that....i recall their owner(Graffix) coming into the International Academy of Design saying that as a student there , a 30% discount was in effect.But when shopping there we were told that it only applied to lettraset products....who the hell used lettraset stencil in 1995?....anyways kids...your best be for selection is midoco,gwartsmans if you have patience on a saturdat afternoon, and believe it or not, dessarres (both vaughn mills and danforth).... reasonably priced( not great) but one stop shopping

I've had the same bad experience shopping at Curry's. I found many times the price at the display was different than what came up at the cash. I told them they had to give me the price advertised which only made my ordeal last longer as the employee slowly went back through my purchases to correct the price. Buying a few items took more than half an hour due to the wait at the cash, and in the end I had to ask for my card back as it was put down on the desk and got lost among the filth and debris covering the front desk. I never want to experience Curry's unfriendly and disappointing service again.

currys is atrocious. the above comment wins.

aboveground, gwartzmans, woolfitts, and linseed. indeed.

Interesting that most of the above comments show that the authors did not understand what Competition Bureau Misleading Advertising case was about. When one advertises suggested list prices as the ordinary selling price, and then advertises a discount selling price, it must either be the ordinary selling price in the geographic market as established by a survey, or it must be the store's own ordinary selling price and meet a time or volume test. It cannot be a fictitious ordinary selling price and a fictitious discount, as was the case here.

The repeated charging of a price higher than the advertised shelf price is a different offence and should be reported to the Competition Bureau. Call 1 800 642 3844 or go to: http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/frm-eng/PJSH-6X9KQY

C'mon Midoco?...Aboveground's good, but really Midoco? For me, I think Currys rates with Aboveground. And I only go to Gwartzmans if I'm in the mood for some dust and surly attitude.

As the Manager of Curry's Art Store in Markham I'd like to add my perspective to this dialogue.

The situation mentioned in the above ad in NOW is not a new situation but one that was brought to the company's attention in the summer of 2008. Curry's was not purposely intending to mislead, nor were we previously aware of any wrong doing in regards to our pricing and we immediately took action to correct the problem. Seriously - my staff and I had to change all the prices in the entire store as soon as humanly possible as required by the Competition Tribunal.

Curry's has since complied with all necessary action required by the Tribunal, including the above notice in NOW magazine and the notice in our 2008 Holiday Gift Guide.

It's unfortunate that sometimes on some items the price on the floor and the price in the system can be different and often that can be chalked up to human error ors computer issues. However, Curry's has a policy of honouring the price marked on the floor for the correct item in question, unless the price tag has been tampered with.

The 10% student and art club discount is a real discount off most items in the store (some items don't qualify - like magazines etc.) unless currently on promotion ie. items on sale in our current Spring Flyer are not eligible for 10% off because they are currently discounted.

I'm sorry that some of you have had negative experiences at our stores, but like everything and everywhere in life... some people are great, and other people are jerk; we resonate with some service styles, we dislike others. I'm lucky that most of my customers are really great people. Others aren't. That's life.

Good luck to you in all your creative endeavours.

Lezley Davidson
Store Manager
Curry's Art Store Markham Location
905.940.8388

Hey Lezley, you asshole: the problem is not, as you imply in your last paragraph, that the customers are to blame for your staff being not well-loved. That's a poor attitude for a manager to have, and so not surprising all these complaints.

I agree that their sales can be deceiving. The 10% student discount only ever applied to things like pencils or glue, because everything else is always 'on sale' And advertising something as being "50% off" when the 'normal price' is already 45% off does seem deceitful.

There are some stores that cater to a general public and have great customer service, and other stores focus on industry outsiders, and have next to no customer service. Some stores charge comparatively high prices and employ a lot of very helpful employees, while other stores focus on rock-bottom prices, and only hire enough staff to get the job done.

I shop around to get the best value on my materials. Not lowest price, but best value. (ultra-cheap student-brand garbage is not a good value, its a waste.) I find myself consistently returning to Curry's because they have some of the best prices on good brands. I've never had a problem with a curry's employee. Overly enthusiastic clerks make me feel uncomfortable. I come to curry's with a list, I pick up what I need, and I walk out without completely emptying my wallet, like I would at some other art stores.

If I want better customer service, I will shop elsewhere, with the knowledge that I will pay quite a bit extra for that service.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say.

I've been a regular customer at Curry's on Yonge St. since the early 1980's, and I have never had a problem, and don't find them to be overpriced. I always get help and always find what I want. I don't know which location you shop at but I agree with the Manager's comment above. I have been a retail manager myself for over 30 years, and sometimes pricing errors occur in the computer. As far as getting lousy customer service, sometimes the customers bring it on themselves by treating the employees like crap- you get as good as you give. Most of them are students and working long hours for relatively low wages. Try being nice for a change and you might actually get good customer service. I speak from many years of experience.