3 Independent Video Game Stores in Eau Claire, WI

Sinizar

CAG Veteran
Hey CAGs,

I know when you are traveling through new areas you are always looking for independent video game stores and Eau Claire, WI is lucky enough to have 3 independent stores all on Clairemont Ave which is business 12. Easy to get to by taking the exit off of I-94

Video Gamestar 2533 East Clairemont Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701 has been around the longest and they are located across the highway from Kmart next to Old Country Buffet. They carry everything from old NES games up to and including the current generation. The store can vary on inventory, only one major problem with the store, the owner is an out of towner and does not really understand video games. This can be good and bad because prices can be all over the place. My major issue is they have the boxes for the old retro games but they will not sell them. They keep one of each box and throw the rest of the old stuff away. :( Definitely worth stopping though, you can always find something to buy. They also have a large selection of DVDs, and CDs.

Chaos Computer Internet Gaming Center is the next further down at 303 East Clairemont Ave Eau Claire, WI 54701 and right in the middle of the three independent video game stores. They have been around the least amount of time in Eau Claire but don't let this stop you from stopping in. They are located in the Putnam Plaza next to Cousin Subs and the Liquor Mart. You might have to go around the block to get into the parking lot only because the outlets into the parking lot can be a little different. Once you've been there it is easy to figure it out after that. The game store is the newest in town but the guys that own it are the biggest of game fans. They love all the stuff from the Pong ages all the way to the current generation. Each of the owners has a variety of tastes in video games so you will find something to talk about with each of them. Their inventory is growing fast and they really value the collectible stuff. If you are looking for a mint and complete Final Fantasy for the NES these guys have it. Maybe you want a complete Chrono Trigger, these guys will also have it. Here is one of many reasons these guys are unique, they also deal in used PC Games! They have stuff dating back to the late 80s when it comes to PC Games. I have seen them sell sealed big box copies of Wing Commander IV, Ultima IX Ascension, and many others. Definitely stop into see these guys!

The last of the three is Toyriffic 1029 West Clairemont Ave, Eau Claire, WI 54701 which is kind of a mini franchise, I know of a few others in Rice Lake, Hudson and Minneapolis. This one is located in the Shopko Plaza behind Wendy's and Red Lobster. The owner for this place stops in monthly so mostly you will be buying from his employees. The employees can be mixed on video game knowledge, similar to a Gamestop. Sometimes you get someone that knows a lot about video games, and another time you get someone that didn't realize GTA was available on something other than the Playstation 2. They carry a good selection of the old games and newer games. They understand the value of a perfect edition retro title and will price accordingly. They have the best selection of newer games out of the three independent game stores and have been known to break a street date for the right price. ;)
 
My hometown is Eau Claire, actually! I'll be heading back in a few weeks to visit my family for Christmas. I'm also a former Toyriffic employee.

Anyways, I just wanted to make a small point - a lot of Toyriffic's prices on older games (N64 and older, mostly) are batshit insane. I'm sure those of you who've visited the other stores in the chain have noticed this as well. Not that Toyriffic doesn't have good deals every now and then (usually when the owner has somehow overlooked the value of something), but charging $40 for a cart-only Mario Kart 64 is a bit absurd, as is $80 for an SNES console. The owner's justification for such crazy prices has always been "People are willing to pay it," which is sad but true, I suppose. This was always a point of contention between the owner and I.

Sorry to hear about the quality of the employees, though. During my time there, we had a really solid team of people for the most part, but I've heard of a decline in quality since I left for greener pastures. I know at least one or two good guys who're still there, at least.

Oh, and Toyriffic is also a great place to go if you need any discs resurfaced, as they have a professional resurfacer in back, and can fix any reasonable damage for three bucks.
 
I used drive to Eau Claire weekly for my old job and would regularly stop into Video Gamestar. It was a surprise the first time I brought the NES boxes to the counter and he had to explain that they are "display only" and gave me the cartridge only. The SNES and N64 games are the same way. The prices on the newer stuff (this is about 4 years ago) were decent, but the SNES and N64 stuff was way overpriced.

I also hit up Toyriffic once or twice, but only bought some 99 cent Genesis games because the rest all seemed to be at ebay prices.

The best place for games and systems I found up there was the pawn shop in Chippewa Falls that is on the left just as you get into town. I got a toploading NES there, a lot of rare NES and SNES games, and some very cheap Xbox games. The stuff wasn't organized very well but the selection was pretty good for a while (I pretty much cleaned them out back then). I think I got a few good deals at Pawn America in Eau Claire as well.

The worst place was the pawn shop that is/was in the old Embers (or Perkins, I don't remember). Their stuff was WAY overpriced and their NES section consisted of 75 copies of SMB/Duck Hunt. I was going to buy a Saturn from them, but they told me it was $75 and that price was firm. I laughed and went over to Video Gamestar and bought one with a game for $20.

There's only 1 independent game store here in La Crosse called Gaming Generations. They have a lot of gaming tournaments (like Guitar Hero 3 and Halo 3), but the prices are pretty bad. Their radio ads even mention that you can find all you old favorites "at ebay prices". It seems that their formula for "ebay prices" is highest selling price plus shipping. Great!
 
as big as Milwaukee is you would think that there would be more independant video game stores around but for the most part I think that the area is dominated by EB/Gamestop, well at least on the nw side of the city...
 
Thanks OP, I've been to the rip off Toyriffic stores (they where tryoing to sell a Halo 3 LE X-Box 360 for $800.00, even though I could go across the street and get it for the MSRP of $399.99) though the Toyriffic stores do have cheap new DVD's. I have seen the Chaos Computer Gaming place, but avoided it because I thought it was a PC LAN cafe place. I'll check it out next time I mozy my way into Eau Claire.
 
[quote name='Davestation'](they where tryoing to sell a Halo 3 LE X-Box 360 for $800.00, even though I could go across the street and get it for the MSRP of $399.99)[/QUOTE]
Ahahahaa, that totally sounds like the owner. So crazy!!
 
[quote name='jbroush99']The best place for games and systems I found up there was the pawn shop in Chippewa Falls that is on the left just as you get into town. I got a toploading NES there, a lot of rare NES and SNES games, and some very cheap Xbox games.
[/QUOTE]

Do you know the name of this pawn shop or if it exists anymore?
 
[quote name='Sinizar']Do you know the name of this pawn shop or if it exists anymore?[/QUOTE]

Nm, I found it but they are out of business. Just the sign remains.
 
[quote name='Sinizar']Nm, I found it but they are out of business. Just the sign remains.[/quote]

That's too bad because the lady that worked there was very nice. One time I stopped in I found a SNES game that was missing the label. She told me I could just have it because they didn't want to hook up a system to see what game it was. I got home and it ended up being SMW2: Yoshi's Island.
 
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