Good Local Game Stores Still Exist. I Found One on Long Island
Today was a very good day. I went on a quest for NES games so I can stream them for my viewers. And I got access to some complete in box games for a cheap price without asking for a discount. I didn’t ask for one because the price was more than fair. Anyway I kept scrolling through ads and I came across a professional post in the classifieds which normally angers me greatly. But I decided to give this place a look around. The place was called Video Game Trading Post.
It was quite a hike to get there through town. I thought I was lost and almost gave up because the GPS kept making me turn left, right, left, right, I felt like I was going through lost woods. However, I did end up finding the place. It was very convenient once I got there. There was plenty of parking and it is in a well lit shopping plaza.
I walked in like I do when I go to most of these places, which is to have zero expectations because over the past few years these places have become plagues on the community charging 7.99 for your favorite bulk trash game. And normally they are selling their big hits online and leave the trash on the shelves hoping someone bites for their overpriced junk. This place was way different. It took me by surprise. The place had an intense inventory. They had just about anything you wanted and it wasn’t on the crazy overcharge. They seemed to stick to the pricecharts.com site for the majority of their lesser inventory and charged a little more for their bigger hits which I get and respect. I will gladly pay 10-15% more on a vintage title to have a copy that day. And this helps cover the overhead of a brick and mortar and again I am 100% okay with it.
The customer service was off the hook great. I saw these guys and had questions and they answered them like gamers. They weren’t just a reseller turd that knows prices. We were actually talking about differences of versions of some high end Sega Genesis titles that I did not expect the average person to know (like which version glitches because of the game board). I also said that I was finishing up a collection and games and they weren’t trying to recommend the trash. They knew exactly what I was looking for. They had big heavy hitters. They had multiple copies of Castlevania Bloodlines Action 52. I saw Final Fantasy for the SNES and multiple copies of each game. These guys were really quick to pick out the right copy to show me too. They knew I was a collector and were quick to tell me when something wasn’t mint. They also had adjusted prices for some quality issues with certain games. They had an Adventure Island II for 10 bucks because it had a funky label. If I didn’t literally just buy a copy before going to that store I would have snagged it for sure.
In addition to knowing their products well, they also tested the systems and items they were selling to make sure you had a quality product. While I was window shopping,. They sold a Nintendo 64 with Zelda Ocarina of Time and he let the guy test it before buying which is a must in this industry especially given the age of the products in question. They even let the guy test a Guitar Hero guitar for PS3 before shipping him out the door with it. I can’t say that I have experienced service like this at a local game store in a long time.
In addition to having a solid inventory of heavy hitter classic games, they also had stuff collectors want and need.
While I was there I purchased several of the plastic cases you use for your NES boxed games. They were all reasonably priced and ready to buy. I bought a bunch, then realized I miscounted by one and went back and asked to buy another and I got excellent service for that transaction as well. I worked retail for a long time and I know how frustrating that can be, but he was really cool about it.
All and all, I had the best experience I have had in years at a gaming store. The workers knew their product, were friendly, they had everything you could think of, and the prices were really good. I hope that I have opportunity to visit these guys again. I will gladly do business with them whenever I can.
I would like to ask you all if you have a similar customer service story that was extremely positive. Let me know about in the comments or on my Twitter via tweet or direct message. As always thanks for reading my blog and I look forward to chatting with you in the chat.
I'll see you in the streams.
Vintage Classic Gamer
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.
Back to my other writings
Follow me on Twitter
It was quite a hike to get there through town. I thought I was lost and almost gave up because the GPS kept making me turn left, right, left, right, I felt like I was going through lost woods. However, I did end up finding the place. It was very convenient once I got there. There was plenty of parking and it is in a well lit shopping plaza.
I walked in like I do when I go to most of these places, which is to have zero expectations because over the past few years these places have become plagues on the community charging 7.99 for your favorite bulk trash game. And normally they are selling their big hits online and leave the trash on the shelves hoping someone bites for their overpriced junk. This place was way different. It took me by surprise. The place had an intense inventory. They had just about anything you wanted and it wasn’t on the crazy overcharge. They seemed to stick to the pricecharts.com site for the majority of their lesser inventory and charged a little more for their bigger hits which I get and respect. I will gladly pay 10-15% more on a vintage title to have a copy that day. And this helps cover the overhead of a brick and mortar and again I am 100% okay with it.
The customer service was off the hook great. I saw these guys and had questions and they answered them like gamers. They weren’t just a reseller turd that knows prices. We were actually talking about differences of versions of some high end Sega Genesis titles that I did not expect the average person to know (like which version glitches because of the game board). I also said that I was finishing up a collection and games and they weren’t trying to recommend the trash. They knew exactly what I was looking for. They had big heavy hitters. They had multiple copies of Castlevania Bloodlines Action 52. I saw Final Fantasy for the SNES and multiple copies of each game. These guys were really quick to pick out the right copy to show me too. They knew I was a collector and were quick to tell me when something wasn’t mint. They also had adjusted prices for some quality issues with certain games. They had an Adventure Island II for 10 bucks because it had a funky label. If I didn’t literally just buy a copy before going to that store I would have snagged it for sure.
In addition to knowing their products well, they also tested the systems and items they were selling to make sure you had a quality product. While I was window shopping,. They sold a Nintendo 64 with Zelda Ocarina of Time and he let the guy test it before buying which is a must in this industry especially given the age of the products in question. They even let the guy test a Guitar Hero guitar for PS3 before shipping him out the door with it. I can’t say that I have experienced service like this at a local game store in a long time.
In addition to having a solid inventory of heavy hitter classic games, they also had stuff collectors want and need.
While I was there I purchased several of the plastic cases you use for your NES boxed games. They were all reasonably priced and ready to buy. I bought a bunch, then realized I miscounted by one and went back and asked to buy another and I got excellent service for that transaction as well. I worked retail for a long time and I know how frustrating that can be, but he was really cool about it.
All and all, I had the best experience I have had in years at a gaming store. The workers knew their product, were friendly, they had everything you could think of, and the prices were really good. I hope that I have opportunity to visit these guys again. I will gladly do business with them whenever I can.
I would like to ask you all if you have a similar customer service story that was extremely positive. Let me know about in the comments or on my Twitter via tweet or direct message. As always thanks for reading my blog and I look forward to chatting with you in the chat.
I'll see you in the streams.
Vintage Classic Gamer
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel here.
Back to my other writings
Follow me on Twitter
Comments
Post a Comment