Crappy Mom & Pop Stores

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Marshal_Medan

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Does anyone else have just the worst local mom & pop game stores possibly imaginable? In my area there are about 3, and all are just terrible for different reasons.
The first one is a hole in the wall in the basement of a building downtown run by this guy in his mid thirties. While he has a fairly good selection, the games are just crazily priced. The cheapest NES cart he sells is Mario/ Duck Hunt for $14.99, the average price of his games are around $19.99- $25. For crap like Karate Champ. If he happens to have a copy of something semi-collectible, like a Castlevania or Metal Gear, you're looking at around $25-$30. Same goes for just about all the other carts with the exception of 64 games, which begin at $25. I asked him where he gets his prices, and he tells me that since he refuses to use Ebay since it decimated game stores, he prices his games a little above Ebay prices. Even though it's all bullshit, I humor him and just nod my head and ask "do people buy a lot of those old games?", and he tells me most of them have sat there for over a decade. Why not just lower his prices and see if they sell then, I inquire? "Well these are what the games are worth".
This guy also sells in his store, wax sculptures, wrestling memorabilia, WWF action figures, guitar tab books, and other odd things.
Anyways, I dig around for a while the first time I went and find Dracula X for the SNES marked $20, General Chaos complete for $10, and Legend of Oasis for $15, which wouldn't be great except he was having a buy 2 get 1 sale.
When I take them up to the counter and check out he opens the case for General Chaos and puts the cart in the bag, and does the same damn thing for Legend of Oasis, which is a freaking disc game. I asked him what he was doing and that when I paid for the games I expected the cases they came with and he says:
Him - Oh no, I've spent so long hunting these down for displays that I can't just get rid of them, they're hard to come by
Me - Yeah, that's why I want them, and paid for them
Him - Sorry, but the games are for sale, not the cases or manuals
Me - Just give me my money back then
Him - All sales are final
So I just said fuck it and left, vowing never to return.

But return I did, a couple days ago. This guy was wearing the same Stone Cold Steve Austin shirt he had on the one time I went there the year before, and this time he has other customers. Customers that make Wal-Mart regulars look like red carpet models. These three guys all had ripped jeans, big boots, and the all had huge flannel coats (it's 65 out). The first one had, if he was lucky and I missed some, 3 teeth in his mouth, and a Hatebreed shirt on under his coat. The second one had a hat on that said "You Work. I Fish", and a giant neckbeard, and the third guy kept twitching, had a faded WWF shirt on, and kept stuttering "who b-b-b-buys these c-c-c-rapy magic spell g-g-g-games" while holding a copy of Wild Arms 3. I just walked passed them and started looking at the games on the wall when they all start yelling at me, even the owner, about what I think is going to happen on RAW next week. Since I don't watch wrestling nor have any inclination to do so, I politely told them I had no knowledge of that subject and kept looking through games. Then the guy behind the counter started talking about how he's convinced that Jap porn cartoon crap is turning Americans into child molesters and that's why he doesn't sell any of it in his store.
After a little while I found a pink Justifier gun and several dogbone controllers for the NES and took them up to the counter and asked the price, which ended up being $30 for each item. I told him I'd have to pass and would put them back when he started going lower, down to $20 each, and I told him I'd give him half that for everything. Then the rednecks started talking about how I didn't know who this guy is, he hosts amatuer wrestling night at the local VFW or something and who am I to try and talk him down. So once again I just said fuck it and left. On the way out I see FOUR more of these dirty rednecks walking into the store talking about how Jay (the owner I assume) lets them hang out and play games until he closes or something. That was it for me. The worst of it is that that's not even the shittiest store around here, and I'll follow up about that one later from home.
Until then I want to hear about crappy local stores/ experiences from everyone. I'm sure you all have them.
 
Wow, that's horrible. All of my local stores are great...I can find almost any game imaginable for $20 or less, most of them for $10. Only some of the very rare games like Suikoden hit $40. I can't believe they were charging that much for Metal Gear (NES) though, I bought it for $2.50 a year and a half ago at the place where I shop...and I even saw it priced at $0.99 before as well. They do their prices by how much stock they have, so the first title they get they may price at $15, the 2nd for $10, the 3rd for $5, and so on (depending on the game of course)...so if they have several copies of a game, chances are you get it for under $5.
 
I have a semi local game store that sells games for about 150% ebay value. I just laughed at him and left.
 
That's a fucking criminal case waiting to happen if you were to ever pursue that. It could fall under a number of different infractions.
 
There's an awesome place near me that sells used games for $5 if they're carts (N64, SNES, Genesis) and $10 if they're disc (PS1, PS2, XB, DC). He doesn't carry much new, but he's amazing for collecting older stuff (95% of it is complete).
 
Wow. That's pretty bad. I would've expected to hear a story like that about a guy running a table at a flea market, not a actual store. How does that guy stay in business if his games sit in inventory for a decade? I guess this guy can really move those WWF action figures.

I don't have any locally owned games stores where I live. There's plenty of small businesses, such as a used bookstore I visited today, but no mom 'n pop stores that sell games. I don't know if I should count myself blessed or...not blessed.
 
I can't believe you went back to his store after he ripped you off with those cases the first time. If someone did that to me and I went back into his store (even if just to look around), I'd feel like a complete tool.
 
Where the hell do you live? I've never encountered such a place in Madison, and even though Oshkosh is a city full of low brow greatness, there's nothing like that here. You must be in the boonies, right?
 
Where do you live in Wisconsin? Here in Appleton there are about three places where I often find great deals.
 
Wow... just wow. I could say a lot here, but I think it's all so obvious that I don't think I need to.


Funny story OP but I do sympathize. To have rare games like that and then have the cases taken away would just be torturous.
 
[quote name='Will']Id hate to say it but if theres nothing in writing stating he keeps the cases, I would have raised hell.[/quote]

Yea i dont think i would have left the store until i either got money back or the cases. If those redneck friends were there at the time, I probably would have reconsidered though ;)
 
And WTF was he keeping the cases for in the first place? I sincerely doubt he has a stack of disc-only Legend of Oasis cds just waiting to be sold.
 
If the rednecks weren't there you should kick over the magazine racks and throw glitter at him.

I thought the Bookman's in Tucson was bad. I saw some grandma getting Super Mario World for $20. Then some guy who was picking out controllers had a Mario/Duck Hunt cart labeled $12. I vowed to myself to have my own store once I saw that.
 
Ok... now that's messed up. Not like EB/GS messed up, it's beyond what they do.

We have one mom and pop store back home. The guy who runs it fails at life so badly. His prices are crap and he does his best to rip you off. He closed his shop 4 times now and tried different things each time. Originally it was a new/used game, used comics and cards store. Then it was a used games and classic toys store, and then it's a used games and cellphone accessories store. Currently it's exclusively a used games store but by the way his business is going, he'll be closing again.

My brother and I have been trying to figure out how he can keep the store running still with almost no business.
 
I've got an awesome store that sells all NES games for 3.99 or 3/$10 and they have tons. SNES games never go over $10, and N64 hit $15 for the Nintendo/mario stuff. They've got a whole bin of $5 PS/Xbox games, and sell $60 new 360 games regularly for $40 used.

Not to mention they give the same value for used games as they charge, but charge you a $4 trade fee for each game. It's awesome, but they don't have the best stock of stuff. The last time I was there, I traded Dead Rising (they charge $20) for Earth Defense Force 2017 (also $20), got a used Sonic Rush Adventure for $13, Oni for $5, and my sister got a SNES Mickey Mouse game for $7. Doing the same at GameStop- $8 trade in for Dead Rising, EDF is $30 used, Sonic Rush Adventure is $27 used, Oni is probably $5 there too, and they don't even sell SNES games, so $57 for what I got for $30 at this local store. I make sure to tell the GameStop worker kids whenever I'm in there and they complain about my cheapness.
 
[quote name='Pookymeister']Because its really this guy! http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3478631&postcount=3[/quote]

Glad to know you still think about me, Pooky. ;) But, I told you no a hundred times already, I don't swing that way. NO MEANS NO!!! :booty:

And, last time I checked, that copy of SH: C was mine to do with as I pleased, so I wanted to trade it disc only and I did.

And thanks to the review someone posted a link to earlier, I'm glad I did due to the turn based crap it must've been.

Cranguy, I'm not really 'strange' perse, as just eccentric. There IS a difference.....about 4 anti psycho meds. :lol:

As for me, my local shops are great, the one sells ANY and ALL Genesis games(whether complete or not) for $2 each and the other one sells them depending on completeness. If complete, most cost $3-5. If incomplete and cart only, they're $2 each.
 
I've only been to two small game shops and they were garbage.

The first was a place relatively close to my highschool. It was a garbage location with Magic cards, random fantasy statues, etc. Well I bought a brand new copy of Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast. It was still sealed and it even had one of those security things on it from like sears. I buy it, walk out the store and open it up and the case is empty. I was out of the store for upwards of probably 10 minutes. I get back and he doesn't want to give me my money back saying I may have took it and I left the store. I should've unwrapped the game before I left. He finally agrees to give me store credit after about 30 minutes. Store credit is useless but he won't budge off that. "Take it or leave it, I don't care." So I grudging get a few old SNES games like Ranma 1/2 Hard Battle and I forget what else.

The second was a place I use to go when I was in middle school years. It was the usual catch all, wrestling, games, comics, pokemon, sport cards, etc.

Well I had a spent probably a good amount of money there over the years. I was trying to trade a game in but he said he didn't want it and then another kid in the store offered me cash for it. After I did the deal the guy called me over to the back of store and told me how I was an asshole for stealing his business, he pays the rent here, how dare I do that and then he threatened to call the cops. Granted I doubt the cops would arrest a 12 yr old trading a video game I was shaken up and never went back there again.

This guy was a real jerk and was a big scalper of games and stuff. He was selling the N64 for 4X its price the Christmas it was big. One story I always thought was funny was when one of my mother's friends was in Toys R Us there was this huge shopping cart full of WWF figures (back when it was popular and hard to get the stuff for Christmas) next to the empty shelves. She thought the employees just tossed them in there for people to poke through. The guy from the store then comes running down the aisle screaming to get out his cart. Well it turns out the guy had waited until opening and immediately ran to that aisle and cleaned out the whole section of the new figures.

Thankfully both places are now closed. The first is just an empty store front and the second is a nail salon. The guy who ran the second died of cancer.
 
[quote name='skid']Where do you live in Wisconsin? Here in Appleton there are about three places where I often find great deals.[/quote]

Three places? Do you mind sharing the names of these stores? I only know of Mega Media X-Change in Appleton.
 
[quote name='Dokstarr']I should've unwrapped the game before I left. He finally agrees to give me store credit after about 30 minutes. [/quote]It's easy to say that now, but if it appeared sealed like you said, then no reasonable person would expect the case to be empty. I don't think you did anything dumb really.


On a related note, I have to check my bag EVERY time I leave a Gamestop anymore. I've been shorted discs so many times........... that place is getting worse than fucking Wendys. Only it's a $30 game I'm missing and not a $3 french fry.
 
[quote name='cranguy']It's easy to say that now, but if it appeared sealed like you said, then no reasonable person would expect the case to be empty. I don't think you did anything dumb really.


On a related note, I have to check my bag EVERY time I leave a Gamestop anymore. I've been shorted discs so many times........... that place is getting worse than fucking Wendys. Only it's a $30 game I'm missing and not a $3 french fry.[/quote]

LOL I never order anything from Wendy's that isn't on the $1 menu lately, so I wouldn't know how it feels to be shorted a $3 order of fries. But, I have ended up getting ALL THE WAY home @ 8:45pm(store closes @ 9 pm round here), only to find that they didn't put the disc in the case for me.

So, if its before they close, I'll usually call them to tell them what happened and that I'll be back tomorrow for a different copy. Usually, if you just go in a day after being shorted without having called, you get the 'don't try and pull a fast one over us' look.

But, usually once they check inventory, they're happy enough to give you the disc you didn't get. What gets me though still.....is when the stores with the PS1/N64 clearance games try and sell EACH disc of a multi disc game(Wing Commander IV for example) seperately. Usually, I mention something about it at the register and point out that the UPC sticker says X number of discs.
 
My worst experience was visitng an out of town Gamestop that was 60 miles away. Idiots forgot the discs for all of my games.

I was pretty mad. I called, they checked inventory, and confirmed that they didn't give me the games. They said they coudln't do anything for me, no matter how far away I was, except give me the discs when I came in. GRR! I didn't have a car at the time, so I couldn't just hop in and drive for an hour+ to fix a mistake that wasn't mine to begin with.

LUCKILY, my parents were driving through there the next day and I was able to get them to pick it up for me. I would have been screwed otherwise.

Sorry if I've gone a little off topic.
 
See, that's why if I'm at an out of my area GS or store, I make sure everything is in where it should be before I leave, since I don't want to be hassled to either come back or somehow have a local store in the same chain(and lotsa luck with GS) give me the games that the other store didn't.

What irks me still though, is how GS is all one chain, but you still can't cancel pre-orders from elsewhere, though that would screw up the local stores #'s if they did I guess. I guess I'm gonna have this slip for $5 down on God Of War II till it IS $5 in the system. LOL
 
I think I tried that once, but was told I 'had to bring in the receipt for them to scan', though I know the one time the receipt had faded to almost a blank sheet before I got back to that store.

But, they were still able to look up my pre order via name. But, I wonder how they'd do that if they did it by phone, since I'd still want the $5, either on a GC or in cash form.
 
We had this asstastic comic store that tried to sell cards/miniature games and used videogames. It was ran by two burned out old hippys, and lets start with the comics, if it came out *that* week and they got it direct, they would generally atleast ask double the cover price. Now, if its an older one, you don't want to know. They had a *lot* of unsold merchandise sitting around always. On cards, whenever a new series came out for something big, they would want $8 or more per pack, and they would open almost all of the card packs themselves to find cards to sell in the displays first, which really got old when you where hoping to actually find a pack. Same went for stuff like Mage Knight, ugh. Now, videogames, thats a fun one. First of all, they would basically give you 1-5 bucks per game, and they would expect last I remember atleast 30 for any game. It could be a Mario/Duckhunt cart and they would want 30. I don't know how they got any business, but they had been open for *years*. I think they finally closed this year because everyone stopped going there..


Also note - They where complete asshats to customers.
 
[quote name='davo1224']I know it's wrong but the second guy got what he deserved it seems.[/quote]

C'mon now. Was it a good thing that he got run out of business? Sure, uninformed moms don't need to be getting ripped off just because some guy knows they're ignorant of how much games really cost. But did he deserve to die of cancer? That's neither yours, nor anyone else's place to judge.
 
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