Game Nut Entertainment - Mass St location — Attraction in Lawrence

Will not been going to any game nut again. Most of their items are over priced. When asked all the stores gave different reasons. The one on Iowa told me tariffs. When asked in Topeka I was told to prevent scalping... but isn't that what a scalper does? Sell it at an up charge. Then there was the one downtown.... this kid told me tariffs and that's what we voted for and proceeded to be a child, while talking to a guy that deals with parts and supplies from overseas. I would say stay far away. The lies were unreal. Ick! What’s happening financially

Tariffs are a real cost of doing business for the importer.

Passing that cost on to consumers while simultaneously claiming the tariff as a tax-deductible expense can make the company appear to profit twice: once from the higher price charged to consumers, and again from the tax benefit.

Technically legal? Often yes. Ethically? Questionable.

2️⃣ Why it feels unethical

Consumers bear the full burden — they are paying a government-imposed cost that the company doesn’t ultimately absorb.

The company profits from something it could have treated as a normal cost — they aren’t “losing” money, yet they’re charging extra for a cost they could absorb.

Transparency is lacking — the consumer usually has no idea a tariff is being passed along.

3️⃣ Legal vs. ethical distinction

Legal: U.S. law allows tariffs to be deducted as a business expense; passing costs to consumers is also legal.

Ethical: Charging customers for a cost you don’t actually “absorb,” while benefiting from a tax break, can be seen as exploiting the system.

It’s a gray area, but many would consider it unethical price gouging or opportunism, especially if the company’s margins are high and there’s no justification beyond increasing profit.

4️⃣ Real-world perspective

Companies often defend it as “standard business practice” or “necessary to maintain margins.”

Critics would argue that the company is profiting off a regulatory cost at the consumer’s expense.

The real ethical path would be either:

Absorb the tariff and adjust margins transparently, or

Clearly disclose the tariff pass-through...

My hubby and I visited the Iowa St. store first, and they were great! We asked an employee if they had any DSs in stock, they didn’t, but she offered to call the Mass St. store for us to see if they had any. We could tell that the employee from the Mass St. store was giving her a hard time, as she kept having to ask the same questions over and over again to get an answer, and then she would apologize to them. When she hung up, she told us that they had some and listed off what they had. We thanked her and headed over to the Mass St. store. My hubby told the employee there that the Iowa St. store had called ahead for us and that we were there to look at the DSs that they had available. The guy was extremely rude and said how he didn’t know anything about that. He made it clear that he was not interested in helping us. My hubby told him that we could just wait for the other employee there to be available to help us, and the guy got even more irritable. After the other employee helped us, we walked around the store, but the guy who had been irritable seemed to have thought that we had left. He started talking about us and complaining about us. He then said how it was his Monday and he was tired and hungry and didn’t want to be there or have to deal with people. We put our stuff down and left. I’d rather buy from GameStop, as I’ve NEVER had a negative...

It's indeed true, this comic shop has a location that is unique and trendy, but it doesn't stop there! It's quite honestly one of the BEST comic shops that I've ever visited. There is a ton of room to browse back issues, save for on Magic nights when the store fills with local players ranging from children to young adults, eager to play games in a safe, and inclusive environment. The back issues, recently reorganized, have an ever expanding collection of variants and premium issues, all of which are alphabetized, and sorted separately for convenience! They have a LARGE collection of silver age issues including noteworthy early appearances. All their books are INCREDIBLY reasonably priced. Store clerks follow over street grading standards to the best of their abilities, through prices are set well below them, and more in line with ebay listings. Not only that, they're always open to discuss price if you feel a book is too high. It's definitely a unique feature in the comic book secondary market. In addition to very fairly priced Toon Tumblers, the store also carries collectibles such as action figures, coffee mugs, comic themed chess pieces, and a very impressive collection of magic singles, all priced at the TCG player median value! Between all that, and the friendly atmosphere I regularly decide to give Astrokitty my money. My advice, CHECK OUT...