Phoenix Fire Games — Attraction in Meridian

I am very sad to have to put in this review, but I want to warn others of the expirience that I have had with the store.

Two weeks ago I brought a large lot of Pokémon singles into the store for buyback. This included 900 rare, uncommon, and common cards, as well as some valuable cards from the Chillign Reign series. Upon entering the store, the woman working the counter was lovely and patient, but the man with a beard was dismissive and frustratingly unhelpful as we tried to understand what the value of my cards would be.

I would like to note, there is no instore run-down of buy-back policy anywhere, no overview of card value, and the store doesn't have a buyback sheet to fill out that gives an understanding of the sale for both parties. Even the singles being sold in the cases don't display the price, they are instead unmarked and require the store associate to get a price.

The gentleman with the beard stated that there would be no time that day to value my sale, as the Chilling Reign cards weren't in his store system, and the bulk cards would take time to go through. I completely understand this, and did not mind a wait.

However, I asked that it be marked down that I wanted to recieve a phone call before the sale went through, to understand what the value of my cards were to this store, and I very much wanted my collectable tin and Elite Trainer Box returned to me. This was marked on my boxes, and we left the store.

What followed was a frustrating number of phone calls. I waited several days before I called to check on the sale. I was told they were extremely busy and had not gotten to them. This wasn't an issue to me, so I told them not to worry and they assured me I would receieve a call in the coming days.

After another handful of days, I called again, and this time the store associate knew of the buyback, but said it couldn't be located. I was quite frustrated at this point, and worried because by now I could have sold them at Captain Comics or online for cash. He promised me it would be made a priority, and I reminded that I really wanted a call before the sale, and to recieve my storage boxes back.

Today I called after hearing nothing and the associate who answered the phone had no idea what I was talking about when I asked about the buyback. Anxious and concerned, I explained the situation, and he said that the store owner would be in within the hour, and I would recieve a phone call immediately.

That call never came, so I packed up my son and went into the store. Upon arrival, I saw that my cards were in the sales display. I again was confortnted by the dismissive beareded associate who was flippant and seemed annoyed when I asked for my cards and an explination on where my boxes were. He had no idea where my cards were, no idea where my boxes were, and then pulled my account up where for my 900 singles and over a dozen full art cards, I had 40 dollars of in-store credit. A miserable amount compared to what I likely would have gotten had I sold them at another location.

I asked for my boxes back, and he asked if they were really important. Confused, all I could say was yes they are collectable and one was a gift. He shrugged and said he'd see if he could find them another time. I asked him about my 900 singles and he gave me a strange explination that the bulk cards are sifted through, and what they don't give you credit for, they take as a "fee" for the effort of going through them, something I wasn't made aware of when setting up the sale.

I had no idea what to do, as I would have said no to the buy-back had I been called with the amount, but instead they sold my cards without ever having checked with me. Now I don't have my cards, my boxes, or a fair amount in trade to make up for it. I'm so disheartened and frustrated, and I don't have any intention of doing business of any kind at this location in the future.

In short, I don't expect I'll ever see my things again, and that is probably the worst part of it.

--I never heard...

I have historically found Phoenix Fire as the best gaming retailer in the valley. Were it not for my recent experience at the store, this would be a 5 star review.

Unfortunately, they've lost my loyalty and patronage. I have had a standing order for Netrunner LCG for just shy of 3 years and I've been forgiving of some minor issues (they stopped calling to let me know when my preorders were available). They consistently got all my orders in, including the larger deluxe packs and campaign pack, without fail. The most recent deluxe pack was an inexplicable exception. This was neither ordered nor held, and now the product in question costs well over 5 times the list price on the secondary market.

Worse, the staff to whom I spoke regarding my pre-order said there was nothing that can be done, it is impossible to get, and that it was my fault since I didn't confirm the pre-order (As an aside, the release date had never been public even on the publisher's website, which makes the expectation of confirming a pre-order questionable). This is inconsistent with the expectations stated when I set up my standing order, as well as 3 years of previous experience at the store. If in fact the burden of responsibility were exclusively mine, then perhaps the store has shifted culture or customer service quality.

I suspect there was an honest mistake, but blaming it on the customer is...

My wife and I enjoy boardgames, card games, dice games, and everything in-between. We are likely more aficionados than some but much less hardcore than others. If you are looking for knowledgeable and friendly staff who are willing to take the time to discuss different games and help guide you to new favorites then you are going to be impressed by Phoenix Games. We spent over an hour perusing their exhaustive selection of games looking for a birthday present for our son, an emerging gaming aficionado himself. The staff made recommendations and spent time with us to explain and ultimately select a fantastic choice that he was really excited about. All that said, we looked online and could have saved a couple of dollars (literally only a couple), but we felt that time spent by the staff to explain gameplay which ultimately helped us decide, joint with supporting a local business was well worth the couple of dollars.

If you are looking for Pokemon cards they have "packs" for $2. If you are a role playing enthusiast they have figures and paint to customize and individualize your characters.

In summary, this store is fantastic for games and has the knowledgeable staff to support the enthusiast or amateur...