Buddies Collectibles — Attraction in Torrance

Good place for impulse buys, but you can buy the same products for cheaper elsewhere (both online AND in-person). Sells product above market and unwilling to budge on price.

It’s that last part that gets to me - unwilling to budge AT ALL on pricing.

For example a case of cards that I was looking at sells for under $800 in its Japanese version (shipping included), and $900 in its English version (shipping included). They were selling the Japanese version in-store at $1000. Firm on pricing and not open to negotiating, not willing to drop the price a single dollar.

While I was there, a person came in wanting to offload some of their sealed Pokemon collection, and I overheard the manager offering 65% market for it all. YIKES!

This card shop poses as your local mom and pop, but really, they’re only in it for the money - to make a quick buck - not to cultivate and grow a loyal customer base and community, which is essential for a card shop of any kind to survive in the long run. But then again, the owner said that their whole business model started as a rip and ship, which is overrun with scalpers and the like, so this is not surprising.

TLDR if you want to maximize your dollar (which you should already be doing in this economy) don’t buy here. They try to squeeze every last penny out of you and if you don’t like it, they don’t care. Some other oblivious sucker...

I’ve been a loyal customer at Buddy’s Collectibles for a while now and usually have a great experience friendly, attentive staff and solid prices. But this last visit was a complete letdown.

The store was busy, which I get, but the energy from the staff was completely off. Everyone seemed frustrated and overwhelmed, and one employee in particular was downright rude making sarcastic, smart comments that felt totally uncalled for. Not what I expect from a place I’ve supported so many times.

On top of that, the prices were way above market bordering on scalper territory. I’ve always appreciated their fair pricing before, but this time it felt like they jacked things up just because the store was full. No room for negotiation, and when I compared prices online afterward, I realized I had overpaid by a lot.

Yes, I still bought an Elite Trainer Box and a Booster Bundle, but sadly, this will be my last purchase here. It’s disappointing because I used to love coming in. Hopefully they get back on track, but for now, I’ll be...

I came in for the first time and purchased a celebrations box. I need to find out it was already ripped. I opened the box before driving off in my car because I like to post on my Instagram. I need to find out that all the packs were already opened, and all the good cards were already taken out Not a great start to a new shop. I returned and let them know what was going on and showed them a video that I posted on Instagram only to have gotten weird looks I showed them the video and they honored my return and exchange it for a different product. I kinda felt suss about the whole situation after that because it got me thinking that their product might be tempered with and resealed I might return to purchase more product and do another video just so I can put my doubts to an end . Two stars because they honored my return, but I don’t know if it would’ve been the same outcome if I didn’t...