Smaller independent retailers

S

spikeystitch

CAG Veteran
In the past few weeks I've been very dissapointed and aggrevated by big box brick and mortar stores due to major discrepancies in info on their website and what was provided in stores, as well as them not holding up to release dates and shoddy guarantees of when to expect shipments. I've also been less impressed by horrible management that says something can be sold when it really can't (street dated games/accessories) and to find out they lied when you go to pay for the item.

I've heard rumours around msg boards that private/indie/smaller stores usually have better solid shipping dates and they know what they're talking about because they OWN the store. I was wondering if anyone knew of any of these stores in Calgary, I hate to resort to having to order everything online to make sure I get it with no hitches.

Thanks everyone!
 
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I don't think there are many independently owned game stores in Calgary. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Video Game Trader, and if you've ever been there, you know they're a JOKE. They get games a week or more after their release date, and charge well over the actual retail price.

Plus...stuff like a cart only Earthbound for $150? Give me a break. I still don't understand how they even manage to stay open.
 
I like this idea, but I think we should broaden it for all Canada. In other words we should keep this thread as a place for people to share locations and experiences of smaller stores.

I know that if I will have to pay full price for something, I'd much rather give the money to some local owned store than to EBmpire Games or Best Buyout (sorry guys, couldn't resist with the puns).

For those in Winnipeg I've noticed there is a new store going up on McLeod Avenue (not to far from Rogers Video and McDonalds) called "PnP Games". They are opening on September 17th.
 
Thanks for the responses people. I've been to VG traders and they are a joke. It's time us Canadian gamers bring back the gaming scene to smaller stores. fuck the man!
 
In Hamilton, there's 1up Games, which is decent service and good selection of older games, but they're WAAAY overpriced, e.g. I saw Vice City Stories for PSP there for $60 when it was already reduced to $30 at FS.
 
In Surrey (vancouver area) theres a store called Willow Video Games at the newton exhange. Its a movie/game rental store mainly but they have a small used section with some surprisingly cheap prices at times.
 
[quote name='Hoonose']In Hamilton, there's 1up Games, which is decent service and good selection of older games, but they're WAAAY overpriced, e.g. I saw Vice City Stories for PSP there for $60 when it was already reduced to $30 at FS.[/quote]
QFT. I like the store and I always want to support them, but its hard with their prices. Sometimes they have nice trade-values though.
 
in Winnipeg, there's also the city's last remaining Microplay on Meadowwood (all the others in town closed some time ago).

also on Meadowwood is Pop Culture Collectibles, which usually has a decent smattering of older stuff in stock (Atari, NES, etc), but tend to gouge a bit on the less common stuff.
 
[quote name='AgtGibb']We're Game On Video Games.

You can check us out in Delta, British Columbia.

www.gameoncanada.com[/quote]

Needs a store in Calgary. Ever thought of setting up a franchise? I'll put the hours in to setup. hah:cool:
 
I've started going to the flea market 5 minutes from my house. There is one guy there that runs his own booth that has decent prices and is willing to deal. He takes request and holds things for me and doesn't have a lot of junk games no one cares about.
 
There's also GameDeals beside Columbia Station and GameStop (no not GameStop USA) in Surrey Central Mall. Both Vancouver region (New Westminister and Surrey).
 
There are actually two Game Centre's in Toronto, although the one at Yonge and Bloor is the only one worth visiting. The other one down on the Danforth (near Pape I think?) has a much smaller selection. Just south of Yonge and Bloor there's another game shop on the east side. Although the selection is always.. not good, and I think they might be closing down.

There's also a gaming shop, Game Shack, at Atrium on Bay across from Eaton.

And, there's Gamerama at Yonge and Eglinton. They're the second best shop in town after Game Centre, in my opinion. Usually the selection is decent, and prices on old stuff is good. Used Wii/PS3/360 games are better found at Game Centre though.

In North York, near Yorkville Mall, there's Video Games Plus, and although I don't visit often (only once) they seemed decent, and there's another one in Mississauga.

And last, but not least, there's gamenow.ca, which is a site for a store located on the border of Oakville/Mississauga on Winston Churchill and Dundas. They ALWAYS have a great selection of games, and even better, imported toys/memorabilia. I try to stop by there whenever I'm in the area.


I hope this helps you guys in the Toronto and the GTA find good deals!
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EM
 
[quote name='EvilMario']There are actually two Game Centre's in Toronto, although the one at Yonge and Bloor is the only one worth visiting. The other one down on the Danforth (near Pape I think?) has a much smaller selection. Just south of Yonge and Bloor there's another game shop on the east side. Although the selection is always.. not good, and I think they might be closing down.

There's also a gaming shop, Game Shack, at Atrium on Bay across from Eaton.

And, there's Gamerama at Yonge and Eglinton. They're the second best shop in town after Game Centre, in my opinion. Usually the selection is decent, and prices on old stuff is good. Used Wii/PS3/360 games are better found at Game Centre though.

In North York, near Yorkville Mall, there's Video Games Plus, and although I don't visit often (only once) they seemed decent, and there's another one in Mississauga.

And last, but not least, there's gamenow.ca, which is a site for a store located on the border of Oakville/Mississauga on Winston Churchill and Dundas. They ALWAYS have a great selection of games, and even better, imported toys/memorabilia. I try to stop by there whenever I'm in the area.


I hope this helps you guys in the Toronto and the GTA find good deals!
---
EM[/quote]

I use the Game Shack in the Atrium and Gamenow in Miss. Game Shack was the only place that actually got Gears on ship date in the GTA that I called up. They even gave me a time it was coming :lol: And the guys there know their stuff. Quality place overall.

Gamenow has stuff that's harder to find like the Hori screen protectors and every now and again they'll have good used games sales.
 
I know Firestorm mentioned us already, but I wanted to mention something primarily for the original poster, but also just as a general guideline for those of you who haven't been to our store yet.

The profit margin on new release games is VERY low (usually less than $5), and oftentimes the game will be sold at the major chains for cheaper than our wholesale rates. Also, if the game doesn't sell right away, the price drops and we lose more money. So for an indie store to survive, they need to either mark up the new releases a bit, take a loss and hope you'll buy other things to make up for it, or not carry new releases on launch at all. Please remember this when you expect a local indie store to have all the $70 titles on launch day.

As for our store, we generally don't do new releases on launch unless we got a sweet deal on them (trade 3 with EB, random promotion, etc.), but if you're willing to wait a few weeks, we do have new titles at a nice discount. If you've never been to the store, it's mostly used games and we specialize in old-school (NES/SNES/etc.). We also carry DVD's, plushies, buttons, comics, accessories & other video game collectables, and offer console modification, flash cards, etc.

We're located at 407 Columbia St in New Westminster, just outside the Columbia Skytrain Station. Our website is: www.gamedeals.ca

Thanks,
Brian
 
In regards to indie stores marking up prices, we at Game On never mark up new release prices, in fact, we will go below cost to compete with our local competition.

It's in our plans to open our stores in the same area as the big box retailers and EB Games to invite comparison and show customers how a little bit of personal service and customer loyalty can make the difference in a shopping experience.

We believe that by building a strong customer base, the money we lose on new games will be made up by a strong pre-played following.

But, Enough tooting our own horn, just wanted people to know that there are good indie alternatives available.

www.gameoncanada.com
 
In terms of Toronto, GTA, I would say the following are deffinately worth mentioning:

Gamecenter at Yonge and Bloor has great selection + really nice staff. If you are a regular, the boss cuts you some deals and is very friendly. They also get games on the exact release date, usually even earlier then the big chain stores. Gives reasonable trade in values. Highly Reccomended.

Gameshack at the Atrium. Good staff, pricing is alright, usually a little lower than retail (if not the same) recieves games on day of release, usually earlier than the big chain stores

Hi-tech Video games, 5 minutes away from Dufferin Station (3 stores away from blockbuster). A huge selection of used games, reasonable trade in, the guy is really nice (he calls everyone "amigo") and if you are a regular, he usually cuts some deals.

Hope this helps people out (both the customers and the independent video game scene:))_
 
Hi tech Video Games
usually gives deals however if something is pretty low priced it usually means its broken. I've gotten more than a couple of wonky GBA games there. Like my MMBN 4 can't save. My mario kart isnt reconised by my GBA unless I blow into the cart.
Just be smart. Also tax is NOTHING to this guy. You can suually at the very least talk off the tax. (as always only when paying with cash)


Gamerama
I personally loathe. They half the time seem like they don't want to serve you are in direct competition with the eb upstairs and have the GBA ripoff case. Basically they have a case of GBA games where they refuse to put prices on them and depending on the person in the store currentlys mood they will either try and rip you or give you a decent price. Not to mention how aggressively they treat towards people trading in stuff like giving some kid 50$ in store credit (or 30$ in cash) for a GBA with 7 games then spinning around while Im in the store and trying to sell me one of the games for 25$.

I understand its a business but in all honesty I would rather just go to EB. Their GBA games have prices on them and they're usually fair prices. Still if you call beforehand and they ahve alot of the used games you need then get them all at once offer in cash and ask for a discount, they should give one.


Game Shack-
Pros:
gets things in on time
computer inventory
Cons:
used games always seem overpriced usually more than eb.
not much chance of getting a discount here would seem almost like a professional shop.

Gamecentre
easily the best of the downtown independent stores. They have a huge selection of everything from Sega Saturn to retro atari to nintendo. Again if its too cheap its probably broken, always make sure to check multi disc games to make sure theyre all there. Their used game prices are usually quite top notch and they sometimes have a deal of the week on a new game which is usually amazing. So amazing people abuse it for EB trade in deals and they get annoyed. To get a deal just ask for a couple of bucks off if you are buying more than a couple of things and they usually comply.
 
[quote name='Lockescythe']Hi tech Video Games
usually gives deals however if something is pretty low priced it usually means its broken. I've gotten more than a couple of wonky GBA games there. Like my MMBN 4 can't save. My mario kart isnt reconised by my GBA unless I blow into the cart.
Just be smart. Also tax is NOTHING to this guy. You can suually at the very least talk off the tax. (as always only when paying with cash)


Gamerama
I personally loathe. They half the time seem like they don't want to serve you are in direct competition with the eb upstairs and have the GBA ripoff case. Basically they have a case of GBA games where they refuse to put prices on them and depending on the person in the store currentlys mood they will either try and rip you or give you a decent price. Not to mention how aggressively they treat towards people trading in stuff like giving some kid 50$ in store credit (or 30$ in cash) for a GBA with 7 games then spinning around while Im in the store and trying to sell me one of the games for 25$.

I understand its a business but in all honesty I would rather just go to EB. Their GBA games have prices on them and they're usually fair prices. Still if you call beforehand and they ahve alot of the used games you need then get them all at once offer in cash and ask for a discount, they should give one.


Game Shack-
Pros:
gets things in on time
computer inventory
Cons:
used games always seem overpriced usually more than eb.
not much chance of getting a discount here would seem almost like a professional shop.

Gamecentre
easily the best of the downtown independent stores. They have a huge selection of everything from Sega Saturn to retro atari to nintendo. Again if its too cheap its probably broken, always make sure to check multi disc games to make sure theyre all there. Their used game prices are usually quite top notch and they sometimes have a deal of the week on a new game which is usually amazing. So amazing people abuse it for EB trade in deals and they get annoyed. To get a deal just ask for a couple of bucks off if you are buying more than a couple of things and they usually comply.[/quote]

I agree with almost 100% of that. Gamerama does have a horrible business attitude. The kids that run the store, usually three of them at a time, don't really care about customers. On the other hand, they're the easist store to haggle prices with because most of the GBA/DS stuff is not priced.

Game Centre is awesome even on brand new stuff, since they'll pretty much always mark it down a couple bucks of the MSRP. Not to mention about a week after a game is out, they seemed to have a used copy in for half off. You can also haggle with them a bit, although I still can't manage to have them sell me Doshin the Giant (PAL) without the freeloader and zelda games. :(

Good advice everyone!
---
EM
 
[quote name='BoggyP']anyother ones for toronto or even better richmond hill/thornhill?[/quote]

Gameworks is in Richmond Hill, Yonge and 16th in the plaza where Mr.Greek is.
 
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