High Score Video Games — Attraction in Eden Prairie

I really enjoy this place. All the employees I've met at this location (though not the St. Cloud location. The guy who worked there was very rude and weird, and I will not be returning to that location) have been very kind and helpful. The owner has given me deals on several occasions for buying multiple, or high priced items. There is a large selection of games from atari 2600, all the way up to modern stuff like Xbox one and ps4. It's fun to just walk around and examine everything. It sometimes feels like a museum for gaming, especially seeing some of the more esoteric items like the "Virtual Boy" and "Sega CD".

If you like retro games, chances are there will be more than a few things you'll want to check out here. I even found a 2 pack of factory sealed, original NES controllers. I've bought multiple Sega genesis, PS1, PS2, NES, SNES, and Xbox games here along with a console or two, and so far I've never had any issues with any of it. I'm fairly picky about my retro stuff too, so I don't say that lightly.

The only complaint I would have is that you almost never know the cost of something until they look it up at the register. If they're busy it can be tough to get a price check, especially if you're coming back multiple times as you find new items. I suggest writing a list of stuff you want, have them price check it all, and then decide what to purchase. On one hand, this is somewhat annoying, but on the other, they aren't putting any more stickers on the products, which is worth it to me. Even if an item has stickers from several other shops on it, it's nice to not have to pick off another from this place. (I really hate stickers on my retro stuff)

I also wish they had some sort of loyalty reward program (maybe they do?? I guess I never checked, but it was never brought up to me if there is.). There is a place called Lewis' Game shop, or LGS Electronics in St. Cloud Minnesota that have these stamp cards. For every 10 dollars you spend, you get a stamp on the card. After 10 stamps, you can exchange the card for an item worth 10$ or less. I think it's a fun idea, and it is nice to get an old NES game (or whatever) for free once in awhile. Maybe a points system where you can redeem it for a coupon for X% off an order of XYZ$ or more. This is just a suggestion to any employees or the owner if he happens to read this.

I would recommend bringing cash, as there is a small charge for using a card, and they seem to like it when you pay with physical currency. It's not a big deal, but it does make everything a bit easier. Last time they let me grab a candy to compensate for the charge. I found that to be extremely courteous and, I believe, really shows the character of the people that run this shop.

I live over an hour away, but to me it is worth the trip because I haven't found a comparable physical location anywhere remotely as close. I will take some pictures to add to this review next time I stop in. Overall I highly recommend it. Reasonable prices, cool employees, and a large selection. I can't really ask...

They need to make some serious adjustments.

You HAVE to price your items. I don't care what your reasoning is, you need to price things out for the public. Period. You're missing WAY more on sales than you are making that extra dollar because the market changed last week. You could even just slate games in sections of $5 to $500 games to simplify it. No pricing = no customers. Word is already spreading and people are already avoiding this place, unfortunately.

You also HAVE to be reasonable in your pricing. Everything I did get a price on, was insanely marked up. We live in the age of instant information. We can price compare anything, anywhere. If you're charging $20 for a $5 game (This actually happened) we're going to know right away if you're gouging. And you are.

Staffing needs an upgrade. I get that not everyone is going to be a top performing employee. But I had to chase down the person working there and was met with a rather antisocial persona/attitude. I was never greeted or asked if I needed assistance (which, when NOTHING is priced, is a virtual certainty) and I felt like I was inconveniencing the employee by asking them for information.

The layout of the store is phenomenal. Clean, organized, nice selection, laid out like there was a lot of thought and care put into it. This just adds to my frustration. This has the potential to be a great store. But in my experience, this place will not last under the current operating structure. Not unless they make some serious adjustments to...

Being a big collector, I was excited to make this a destination during my trip from Kansas City. The selection is fantastic with a lot of see. Games were easily shopable with care given to how they were displayed.

What is wild is that nothing is priced. I suspected they may be using price charting. I spoke with who seemed like the owner to try to establish some kind of pricing common ground but he wouldn't confirm what he was using. It instantly turned me off. He seemed somewhat bothered by me asking and mentioned that in 15 years no one has complained. He told me to ask for what I needed which I tried out and while I only had to wait in line to ask for a few prices which for a few moments, it would have been exhausting for the nearly 100 titles I would have been interested in buying. There were 2 other people working but they stayed behind the counter and acted confused when I engaged one of them.

This would be a perfectly effective approach for casual visitors, but this creates such an unpleasant dynamic for serious collectors. One that is surely hard to understand from the retailer's perspective.

This may not be an issue for most, but in all my years of travelling and collecting I rarely encounter stores that can create a positive consumer experience using this model. I will just have to spend my money elsewhere. Treat it like a museum and stop by for a trip down memory lane, but a week on eBay will yeald a similar connection to the seller and a...