After looking online for places to assist with N64 questions, I stumbled across Game Trade and saw that they had glowing and near perfect reviews.
I called the store and was immediately greeted on the phone by the most happy and upbeat employee. I told him that I had an N64 that wasn't working and didn't know what the cause was. He informed me that while they do not repair systems, that if I brought my games and system in, that he would clean all of my games and my system, and test all of them out to see if he could deduce what the problem was.
I stopped into Game Trade the very next day and approached the counter with all of my games and N64 system. As I started to tell one of the employees at the counter what had brought me in, I was stopped by another employee who said, "Nintendo 64! I talked to you yesterday! Come over this way and I can help you." It was so nice that I was immediately recognized by one of the employees as he had remembered our phone call from the day prior.
He did in fact clean and test every game and my system as he said he would. He told me that all of my games worked which was amazing news. And while he said he couldn't figure out why the system itself wasn't working, he did offer up opinions as to what he thought could possibly be wrong and then referred me to UBreakIfix in Bellevue for a potential repair. I'm hoping that it is able to be repaired but if not, I will definitely be returning to Game Trade to purchase a "new" N64.
The experience with this store was amazing from start to finish. The staff went above and beyond in trying to resolve my issue between cleaning all of my games and system, testing out my system, swapping out some of the cords, and by referring me to another business when they could do nothing further. I felt like they actually cared and wanted to help and was blown away by the level of kindness and positivity I was greeted with over the phone and in person.
I would highly recommend this store...
Read moreThey have a great selection, and their staff is really knowledgeable and kind. But there are some downsides to this place as well. I bought my super Nintendo from here and they charged $100 for it, it came with only a third-party controller and cables (the reason I bought it even though it was $100 was because I was told it was fully functional) but whatever component inside that allows for the super Gameboy accessory to work, just wasn’t tested so I couldn’t use a super Gameboy with my Super Nintendo. (I also used the super Gameboy on another console and it worked just fine, so it is the console)
Additionally, I have bought multiple games from them only to find out that the save/clock batteries were replaced with a very misleading method. The battery contacts were pried out so a new battery could be placed in, then it was wrapped in electrical tape to hold it in place. (instead of soldering in a new battery, this is much more reliable and standard procedure, this is meant to be done to keep your save data safe) Also If you do want to return a product you can only get store credit.
I also feel they have a high price for what they’re selling. Mainly due to quality control.
they still have a great selection and a lot of things work great! I’m bringing up these points to highlight issues I’ve encountered in the year I’ve been buying from them. I still purchase from them because they are still a great store that cares about...
Read moreCollector's Focused Game Store.
There 2 types of people buying retro video games, players and collectors. Players are less sensitive to condition of the video game as long as it is working order, Collectors are very sensitive to condition of everything.
This store seems very much focused on the collector's side of retro gaming. Everything was in amazing near mint condition. This is honestly amazing. The selection is amazing as well. You heard the friendly staff calling customer to let them know when an item on their collection list has arrived, which is top notch service!
The only down side is that if you are looking for a "deal", you likely aren't going to find it. Everything is pretty much at market value. It really isn't that big of an issue since it is a case of a well run business knowing what their stock is worth.
Final note, this store is clean! I have never seen a game store this tidy.
I traveled 2 hours on way to visit, and glad I did. If you live in Wisconsin and can't wait for the Midwest Gaming Classic, Game Trade has got you...
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