Punch Out Gaming — Attraction in Forest Lake

I've been here multiple times over the years and I feel it's important to share my experience for the benefit of future customers.

On many occasions I've experienced and witnessed a pattern of poor treatment towards customers. Let me start by saying, if you're not too knowledgeable on TCG and plan on selling any childhood/older collections DO NOT sell them here. Make sure to do some research prior. If you do go in unprepared, be ready to be taken advantage of to the fullest extent. The owner that deals with Pokémon cards is hands down the rudest person you will come across. If you turn down their "Fair" offer and don't feel like countering them, prepare to be met with attitude and being told they offer the best cash out pricing (they don't). If you have some knowledge when it comes to TCG and have a high value collection he'll be sure to get on your good side so he can get what he wants.

Try not to ask the owners too many questions. It's like they're on edge 24/7 and expect you to know everything about their products. I can appreciate what the shop does when it comes to new TCG releases. The only good thing is the MSRP price on release days. DO NOT go looking for any sort of deal here if you are in search of modern or vintage cards. Prices are not updated enough, product sits too long, and the owner complains if you ask to match any pricing.

When it comes to the staff, they all look miserable besides the incredibly helpful MTG employee. If you bring them in something they're ready to make money on, it's like dealing with a completely different person. When it comes to product and merchandise that is not TCG it all looks to come from AliExpress. Oh and don't forget that 2x markup for an unlicensed item (FAKE).

At the end of the day I understand it's a small business. There's a lot of other shops in the area I'd recommend to others before this. Shops such as Khang TCG Collectibles, Hitters Sports Cards, Hi-Score, and Source Comics. Always friendly staff, new items, solid pricing, and no fake merchandise. As a customer I don't think I'm asking for too much. Show a...

Customer service: the employees/owners were very nice and helpful with getting me the games I wanted. I had trouble finding a switch game by reading the spine labels and they found it for me very quickly. When asking questions they either immediately had an answer for me or were able to quickly look it up and answer a little later.

Trading: I traded in some games for store credit and was really happy with how much I got back. This is not the trashy rate you expect from a gamestop. They respect that you want some value for your games while also needing to be able to resell them themselves. I would recommend giving them any games you haven’t played in a long time if you don’t have the ability to sell them yourself.

Supply: it’s a landmine of games from all ages. They have so many different consoles and new and used games for them. Pokemon is a huge draw but don’t scoff at the video game collection here. If you’ve been trying to find a certain discontinued game, this is the place to search. The pokemon card collection is the most massive I’ve seen at any reseller. The prices are fair and constantly matched to tcg player. They have card packs in multiple languages. There’s magic cards as well as protective gear. Don’t forget to look at the figures and plushies too. Literally geek heaven.

Access: curb access, no push plate on door. I can’t remember there being any mats on the floor. For the most part the shelves are wide enough that anyone using a wheelchair should have no problem moving without worrying about knocking things over, unlike that usual feeling in most...

Super shady and unprofessional. I bought a Pokemon plush that turned out to be fake so I returned it same day. It was a bootleg of an official Pokemon Center plush that you can buy from Aliexpress for half the price. The art is stolen from an artist with the watermark poorly removed, the company address on the tag does not exist, and there were multiples of it on the shelf. It is illegal to sell bootleg merchandise, and immoral to do so even with the grey area of disclosing it.

The cashier was rude and refused to give me a refund. He got defensive and said he couldn’t read the Japanese on the tag and didn’t know. He told me to exchange it for something else and stated that there were ‘plenty of real ones’, which would imply if he knew which ones are real, he must know the latter that are fake. I paid with card so I told him if he did not refund me I would do a chargeback, and with a line forming behind us he pulled $15 in cash from the register and gave it to me. $15 was the ticket price, meaning I didn’t get refunded the tax I paid. I got robbed $1.24 😃.

This place has terrible service, and they likely knew the stuff was fake. They have up-charged Pokemon rom hacks that you can buy off Aliexpress for $5 sitting in the display for exorbitant prices and without disclosure. It feels predatory like they hope someone who isn’t knowledgeable about this stuff will buy it unknowingly. They don’t offer refunds, don’t take accountability, play victim when confronted, and will likely blame you for your purchase. Avoid this place, the lack of integrity is...