Your favorite local game store

squeezymeat

squeezymeat

CAGiversary!
Due to my growing disappointment with big corporate game stores, I decided search online for local stores that sold video games. Surprisingly I found a handful of stores. I went to a few and fell in love with this one game store called Cool Stuff (in Va Beach, VA). They had a few games I had been looking for months!! to not draw this out any longer... What's your favorite local mom/pop game store?
 
The Alameda Game Exchange in Alameda, CA. They have everything for every console, and you'll always find what you want there. Though some of the games are marked up higher than originally priced... Thanks eBay.
 
Really I dont have one b/c they are usually all rip off sexcept for your rare clearance or sale. I do most of my game shopping/trading on Ebay, Amazon, Half, and here.
 
There's nothing here at school and the one back home sucks.

There was a Game Exchange here but that closed just last year. And back at my old school, there was a Game Exchange... I lived there for 2 years and never knew about it until I came to this school. It's like a damn curse. There is on about an hour away and not too far off my drive to/from home but I haven't been able to make any time to go there.

Back home there's one that's really, really bad. It's just beyond over priced- the guy uses eBay as a medium and marks up the prices another 15%. The selection sucks too.

I don't get how we're one of the largest cities in the state but don't get shit. We had MediaPlay but... wow, were they bad. CompUSA is going too but at least they had a few good things. But that's what happens when Chicago is so close I guess.
 
way too many to list. my brother works for http://videogamesnewyork.com/ located at 6th St (bet. 2nd and 3rd ave). they have a wide selection of just about everything. ive been to digitpress in cliffton which is kinda the same as videogamesnewyork but with alot less stuff.

ive been to a few stores in PA and OH. The Exchange in ohio is great but their prices are somewhat high these days. if there was a Play N Trade store close to me i'd go there everytime i need something.
 
The Book Broker in Evansville. They aren't a rip off when I go in and I usually pick up some cheap dvds before I leave with a few games. I'm sad that their xbox games seem to be drying up though but I guess they have to make way for the new. Anytime I see a older game at gamestop that I think is over price I just run by book broker and get it at about half. Like FFX, I bought it because my first was stolen and GS wanted 20 for it, 10 at BB. Most the time i get half off or over on gamestop prices. All of their GBA games have been 10 each since I could remember. I've picked up all the Super Mario Advance and Final Fantasy GBA games minus VI from there for 10.
 
Game Traders Club in Annville, PA.
They have games for just about every console known to man, and their prices are usually lower than thrift stores on older items! I picked up 6 good NES games from there yesterday for under $15. Their newer items are usually comparable or better than GS/GC, and they usually give you more for your trade-ins than you could get for the game on eBay (when you don't factor in shipping).
Overall: Best. Game store. Ever. Hands down. ;)
 
I don't think I even have anything local, except GameStops. There use to be an independent store on our city's main strip, but the rent there is always way too high for the traffic you get, so everything in the store was $10 over MSRP. Plus, they never, ever had anything good in stock, seeing as they were operating on a razor thin margin. It was a nice play for gamers to hang out, because the owner was a real gamer and enjoyed having people come in, bullshit, play games, etc. At the end of the day, though, despite the store being there like five years, I never bought a single title from them.
 
I have an awesome mom and pop video game store here in Columbus, OH. Well...it's in a suburb. http://vgmx.com/

They sell all of the new releases for $5 below the MRSP and their used prices almost always beat gamestop. instead of newer used wii games selling for $45 likes gamestop would do, they sell them for $35. And they give you a free 10% discount card.

They also have coupons that you can print and take in...And the coupons are stuff like B1G1 and B2G1. http://www.vgmx.com/coupons.htm
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']I don't think I even have anything local, except GameStops. There use to be an independent store on our city's main strip, but the rent there is always way too high for the traffic you get, so everything in the store was $10 over MSRP. Plus, they never, ever had anything good in stock, seeing as they were operating on a razor thin margin. It was a nice play for gamers to hang out, because the owner was a real gamer and enjoyed having people come in, bullshit, play games, etc. At the end of the day, though, despite the store being there like five years, I never bought a single title from them.[/quote]


Mall rent is one of the biggest facades presented to the consumer. Average consumers believe that mall rent is way too high, and that the retailer is forced to pass the expense on to the consumer.

The mall rent is higher because you have INSTANT traffic. Ever notice how stores you've never heard of will pop up in the mall out of nowhere? You've got 3,000 + people walking IN FRONT OF YOUR DOOR. You're guaranteed to find customers in a mall; if you can't keep them in your store, that's your own damn fault.

As a matter of fact, there's 2 Gamestops in one mall, and 1 or two in another by me, but their non-mall stores are much more spread out.
 
[quote name='Methadon']Mall rent is one of the biggest facades presented to the consumer. Average consumers believe that mall rent is way too high, and that the retailer is forced to pass the expense on to the consumer.

The mall rent is higher because you have INSTANT traffic. Ever notice how stores you've never heard of will pop up in the mall out of nowhere? You've got 3,000 + people walking IN FRONT OF YOUR DOOR. You're guaranteed to find customers in a mall; if you can't keep them in your store, that's your own damn fault.

As a matter of fact, there's 2 Gamestops in one mall, and 1 or two in another by me, but their non-mall stores are much more spread out.[/quote]

You didn't read what I wrote closely, did you? I never said it was in a mall. I said it was on the main strip of my city...Main Street, Broadway, whatever your city or town calls it. Unfortunately for renters, those who own the land on this street think it is 1960, and that everyone walks up and down in their Sunday best to do their shopping. I'm not being suckered into believing this, as you attempted to imply. I have lived here my whole life and am fairly familiar with local dealings. It is a known fact that the rent on this strip is obscene, which is why store after store closes down. The only things that really survive are chains.
 
[quote name='bigdaddybruce44']You didn't read what I wrote closely, did you? [/quote]

In all walks of life and in all things, this is universally true.
 
The independent stores here are mostly rip off's, but if you search carefully you can get prices that are better than ebay especially on hard to find stuff like Sega Saturn games which are expensive to ship. However the shop that I am talking about here sticks all their good stuff on ebay leaving nothing in the store but old sports games and crappy games in general, you won't find any gem games or RPG's here.

Other times you can get stuff much cheaper on ebay, some guy offered to sell me After Burner for the NES for 10$ in cart-only, unknown working condition, at that point I just walked away from the Flea market. I am a female so some people there probably think I am really stupid and will pay any price for game x, especially when most of the vendors do not have things clearly price. The Flea is a mixed bag though, there is one shop at the back that does REALLY good and fair business, and their prices are reasonable and sometimes more than reasonable. They also don't take excessively scratched games in for trade and the prices are different for used, new, complete and incomplete games, so its very fair, and I do not think I have found a case when they charged more than ebay does. They treat their customers fairly whether it be woman, kids or people who look like hardcore gamers. The prices are stickered on the games so they don't just make up a price based on the customer like many fleamarket sellers. This shop stocks pretty much ANY kind of game you want, and does not ebay all the gem games leaving nothing but crap in stock hoping that someone will buy it. Their selection of newer games is bad though, but since I don't own any of the new 3 consoles, this doesn't affect me.

I really wish there was an independent here doing business in new release games, old games and everything inbetween. If there was I would support them over GS for sure, provided their prices were not inflated (although hey, aren't GS's prices inflated enough as it is?). I mostly shop on Amazon, Ebay (very carefully), half.com and any other site that is offering a deal.
 
www.myspace.com/gameon_mo

My favorite local gaming store as it has all the recent consoles, handhelds, and accessories, tabletop (books, TCG's, and miniatures) games, and comics. Sometimes they can't get new releases (Uncharted) or get games a week after release (DMC 4) but I usually try to get games there unless someone has a pre-order deal or special collector's edition (ME and Lost Odyssey.)

Plus any 360 game you trade in gets you 10% ($6) off the cost of a new game, in addition to the trade-in value of the game.
 
I just found one not too far from my house a couple weeks ago. They sell everything all the way back to Atari 2600 carts. (4 for $10) Incredible selection and the prices are all less than ebay. Found a few nice PS1 games for good prices (Hoshigami complete and in great condition for $25, Silent hill 1 complete for $20). Most of last gen stuff is all around $10 for complete copies (more or less depending on what it is, though I didn't see many priced over $20)

I was just impressed with the selection of games for systems. I haven't seen complete Sega CD games or complete Genesis games for sale in a store for years, all fairly priced too.

It's called Headquarters of Games or Gamers Headquarters (something like that) and is on Q St and Pioneer Parkway next to the Safeway for anyone around here (Eugene/Springfield, Oregon). It's better than any local gamestore I've been in in a long, long time.
 
Sadly I think I only have big chains around me... :( I'd love some nice used prices or older titles/consoles... If anyone knows of a nice store in the Palm Beach Florida area let me know!
 
Only local stores near me are stores that are a rip-off & usually sell at ebay prices. If they close up shop soon, they have no one to blame but themselves.

Game Crazy is the only gaming store that is within 5 miles of where I live that I'll actually consider buying games. Since they're usually not charging out the ass for some common game that I'm looking for.
 
Sadly, the only local game store here in Fort Wayne is McVans. Their prices aren't that good, but the main store has a pretty good selection. They even have some saturn imports. I usually go there for accessories on older systems since it is easier than ebay.
 
Game Exchange in Fairmont and Morgantown WV. They carry games for all the major consoles from the Atari to PS3, and have really good prices. I bought Assassin's Creed for 34.99 while Gamestop sells it for 49.99 used.

They give about the same credit as EB and GS, but since their prices are normally cheaper, it works out better. Also they give less trade in credit for disc without cases, and then sell them for less. As an example, I traded NFS Pro Street for the wii for $12, but I would have gotten $20 if I had the case. They then sold it for 17.99 instead of 29.99.

I've also bought a ton of Nintendo and SNES games there for anywhere between $1.00 and $5.00 though some games cost more due to rarity.
 
There's actually a couple local game stores in my area(Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA). One is called simply The Video Game Store(catchy name, huh?). The other one is called The Gamestation.

The Video Game Store just opened a SECOND location just down the road from my house(literally like 5-6 blocks away) and I've been going to them for 4-5 years now. Games without manuals sell for cheaper than complete copies and I don't think I've seen a single last gen game over $10-12 there. They also do resurfacing of games, movies and CDs like Gamecray, for $2 a disc.

They have cart only Genesis games for $2 each, any game or complete ones for $3-4 each. I also scored a bunch of old big model Playstations from them for $1 each(no wires), so besides the normally cheap prices, there's other deals to be had if you find them.

Both places have great prices on old gen stuff and typically try to offer more in credit than Gamestop, but both places also have horrible hours. The Video Game Store's locations are only open from noon-6pm, Monday through Saturday and The Gamestation has some really wacky hours. They're open later in the evenings on the weekend, while they may have limited hours during the week.

I've found many games I was looking for at both places and many guides I was looking for too(like for Psychonauts).
 
[quote name='sleepydumbdude']The Book Broker in Evansville. They aren't a rip off when I go in and I usually pick up some cheap dvds before I leave with a few games. I'm sad that their xbox games seem to be drying up though but I guess they have to make way for the new. Anytime I see a older game at gamestop that I think is over price I just run by book broker and get it at about half. Like FFX, I bought it because my first was stolen and GS wanted 20 for it, 10 at BB. Most the time i get half off or over on gamestop prices. All of their GBA games have been 10 each since I could remember. I've picked up all the Super Mario Advance and Final Fantasy GBA games minus VI from there for 10.[/QUOTE]

And here I was thinking I was the only CAG who went to Book Broker...

this warms my heart a little.

Just save some stuff for me, please... ^_^
 
[quote name='erehwon']Sadly, the only local game store here in Fort Wayne is McVans. Their prices aren't that good, but the main store has a pretty good selection. They even have some saturn imports. I usually go there for accessories on older systems since it is easier than ebay.[/quote]

If you have time someday go down to Bluffton or decatur, there are several new game stores in that area, I check them daily, They give pretty good trade values, and have competitive prices, the most they charge for most games is $24. I was in there today and saw Gears of war for $20, Halo 3 for $24. soem guy also just traded in some rare PS1 games, i bought Diablo for $5!!
 
The one I usually go to is Digital Press in Clifton, NJ once a month or so. I tend to always leave with something. Got my Saturn there 1.5 years back in near mint condition!

There is also a place called Game Station near Route 10 NJ on my way to school. Never stopped by.

I still buy most of my games at GStop since my 2 friends work there.
 
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