NUTMEG GAMES — Attraction in New Milford

I'll preface this by saying this. I moved to New Milford in July of 2023, and was incredibly happy to see a LGS! It's something that I dreamed of having nearby as a kid. After settling in I visited the shop with my daughter and spoke to some amazing staff, we grabbed a My Hero Academia monopoly and I asked about some Pokemon cards.

The cards were priced at MSRP and I commented that market had them lower, but with that said I completely understood. It's hard for a LGS to stay afloat, and even with prices online being cheaper and Walmart next door having inventory and sales. I would much rather support a local business and help it remain a staple in our town, (i've seen a lot of businesses close in the town in the last two years Five Guys quickly comes to mind).

So I paid MSRP happily. Fast forward to surging sparks we didn't make it in for the pre-release event, but stopped by a few days after. I attempted to purchase a case of build and battle boxes for a birthday party, but at first was confronted by an employee who said they wouldn't allow me to buy the case because I was likely a scalper.

A bit embarrassing having my daughter with me and hearing that exchange. but luckily another employee pointed out that I frequented the store all the time for accessories, dice, sleeves, cards, etc. Again although a bit embarrassed, mistakes happen and we made our way. (pictures of us having a party that night ripping packs posted)

I'd visit through out the next few months buying ETB's and bundles at MSRP despite the constant Target and Walmart sales through the holidays, I mention this again because I want to emphasize that I harp on my kids that it is always better to support independent businesses over corporations, especially a place like Nutmeg Games. When prismatic evolutions was announced we asked the store about pre-orders and heard that nothing was planned. But to be at the store at opening and we would probably be able to grab something.

Fast forward to release date. I'm out of town and advise my wife to stop by and pick up an ETB and Binder for the kiddo and myself only to be told that they had them on sale for $199.99.... I checked online and saw that it was well above MSRP and even above market.

Thinking it was a mistake I stopped in with my daughter later that weekend and asked. I was told $199.99. I wasn't told that being a VIP would get me access at MSRP and quite frankly I shouldn't have to spend an extra $50 dollars. But again I get it the markets hot and independent LGS should profit, but in a small town like this it leaves a sour taste in peoples mouths.

These days, I don't visit as often as I used to. I've stopped in a couple of times since January. To buy singles each time.

But in all of this the biggest disappoint, what bothered me the most, was hearing my six year old say "We should have pre-ordered online when we had the chance."

Yes this is a long winded review because I wanted to be thorough and point out that this isn't a bad shop.

But I think the current Pokemon market made it forget that it's a staple in the community and alot of us were proud to have it in town. The vibe has shifted, the polite conversations don't feel as genuine when you see $70 dollar tins behind the register. And this isn't Nutmeg's fault it's pokemons, but the way it was all handled rests entirely on Nutmeg Games.

Many would stop in regardless if things were priced at MSRP when the market was slow. I hope that folks put this behind them and return once the bubble bursts. Again the folks are great, the owner is great, but I believe the recent releases haven't been handled well.

I also saw the owner mentioning the prices were to scare away scalpers, You could have unsealed the ETB's at the point of sales, alot of us...

This store, although with a friendly staff and decent selection, takes advantage of it's loyal customers and lies to anyone willing to listen. As plenty others have mentioned, there is CRAZY price gouging going on at Nutmeg Games (Current Prismatic ETB is 249.99). They claim it is to prevent scalping and that they offer MSRP to VIP members. They're just trying to save face. Although that may now be the case, close to and recently after Prismatic's release there was no active part of their website for their VIP membership and no mention of MSRP discounts online or in store. On release day, people waited in line for hours to get packs and were told all Prismatic was 5X MSRP. Never was a VIP membership mentioned. Regardless, the "VIP" is a joke. For the low price of $500 a year, you too can get a prismatic ETB for MSRP!!! It's not just on the sealed product though. They have risen the prices of a lot of their singles to 4/5X market value too. To be fair, it's mostly lower end cards, but there has been a sudden jump in prices that exceed the market. $1 cards are $5 now, its sad. It sucks being someone relatively new into the hobby and getting excited that you have a local store that seems so inviting, only to have them want to take advantage of you and then lie about it online. Do yourself a favor and just frequent Walmart...

I used to frequent Nutmeg Games to buy Pokemon singles for GLC and the occasional pack whenever new sets released. I don't buy booster boxes or ETBs like I used to, just one pack per set for fun since I don't participate in the hobby as much as I used. Today I stopped by after grocery shopping to buy a Destined Rivals booster pack only to find out that they were $20 each. Yes, I'm not kidding. $20 each for a single sleeved booster pack. Mind you, this store a gets its stock from official distributors, not second hand from scalpers. The MSRP for one pack is $5. This is an egregious amount to price gouge sealed product for as a retailer. Don't even get me started on the markups on other items. I'm not some reseller looking to buy a large quantity to flip for profit. I wanted one pack for my own personal enjoyment. This is an inexcusable way to treat genuine customers that love the hobby. I'll never be returning again. The owner had a card/game store in Danbury called Gamer's Gambit that went out of business because of the way he unprofessionally ran it and carried himself. It's sad to see him squandering the second chance that many community members gave him by making greedy...