Time Travelers: Comics, Cards, & Collectibles — Local services in Berkley

Sellers beware.

Full disclosure, I am not in the best financial situation right now. I had called Time Travelers to see if they had individuals on site that could buy collections of Magic cards. The items I brought were four decks that totaled to 600-800$ in value based on TCGPlayer Mid in the last three to four weeks.

I was looking for quick cash, to the tune of 200-300 dollars 25%-35% of the total value of the cards in cash, well within the bounds of their buying policy. I made the mistake of being honest about my situation with the buyer. After about an hour, they made me an offer of 75$ which I mistakenly took over the phone. I had assumed that cards had dropped in value, and that they had used an image based phone app to price the cards that quickly. My assumptions were incorrect, that was an additional failing on my part.

Looking for some extra cash, I went in to the shop with three additional singles to add to the pile. Chronicles Ashnod's Altar, Urza's Saga Exploration, and a Holo Foil Gengar. It took the individual on site an additional 10-15 minutes to price those three cards. Of which I was offered an additional 20$ cash, equivalent to the entire cost of what I was offered for one of my commander decks originally. On that timeline, and at those prices, there is no way that they actually priced out the complete decks that I brought to them.

There were individual cards in a green deck that I brought with me that were worth between 35-45$ individually online, which would have worked out to 10-15$ cash according to their own policy, had they been honest with me about pricing. Considering that I brought I brought 400 cards with me, nearly four complete custom commander decks, the offer I was made didn't make any sense statistically or otherwise, and I didn't start to put the pieces together until after I had walked out with cash, too late to renege on the agreement.

I wanted to get rid of these cards, since I'm hard up for money, and I built these decks when I was losing my father several years ago, and wanted the cash, and the emotional baggage gone.

I shouldn't have had to play hard ball to get an honest cut out of these cards, and the individuals in store should have been honest with me that they didn't look through the decks.

I haven't been a repeat customer at Time Travelers since they moved to their new location, and I was always treated well by the employees on site there, but I will never go back again. I'm disappointed in myself for taking the easy way out and accepting the offer, and I'm disappointed that I was treated dishonestly. Whether through ignorance or negligence is irrelevant to me. I feel thoroughly taken advantage of while stuck in a...

I'm writing this under a pseudonym because I plan to continue shopping at Time Travelers, but I would like to voice a complaint with the service.

What many have said about the service is true, but I very much doubt that the owner ever told anyone to "f#* off"; that seems like an outright lie by an upset customer. The owner is, however, aloof at best. Some days he will smile and say hello when you come in, but still seems mildly annoyed to ring you up.

I came in early once and asked for some assistance with the video games when he was the only one there; he did not hide his frustration well. I understand it must be difficult to try to stock the store and assist a customer, but that's why you should stock outside of business hours. On other occasions I've tried asking for prices on games that didn't have price labels and he always acts the same way, as if I'm severely inconveniencing him.

The one thing I can say for service, is that the gentleman that helps you with video games (it's always the same one when I've been) is very friendly (but fair warning he's an interesting man and he will talk your ear off). He generally seems happy not just to help you, but to just talk to you.

The store definitely seems to specialize more in comics, so that may be why the customer service is not great for game buyers. The video games are put in a corner and while they are reasonably priced, and there is a large selection, they are not particularly well organized (although it has gotten better since I've been coming in). Also, sometimes you can find the same game in the same condition for two different prices, showing that the pricing system is pretty arbitrary.

Now, I can't speak much for the customer service of the other employees, but they are generally on their computers or doing their own thing and don't seem particularly helpful. Again, if I was buying comics or magic cards that might be different.

But, I wouldn't say don't go to this store. There really aren't many vintage/classic game stores out there, and this one happens to have competitive prices and a good selection, which makes me want to support it. If you want to support a business that sells items for a niche market, then I think you should go here. If customer service is very important to you, then you may wish to avoid it.

And I would advise the owner to be a little more friendly so in the future the reviews can focus more on the good aspects of the store. If I see an improvement in customer service quality I would love to be able to recommend this store...

This is a great place to find older comics and collectibles that most places wouldnt keep in stock. The only problem is how the place is kept. The place looks old inside and things are dusty. Sometimes packaging is damaged that could have easily been kept mint. But I suppose that is how they keep their prices reasonable and it's the price you pay for having so much stock. It's a rather spacious shop with high ceilings. There are lots of figures out in the open on pegs and plenty more in display cases. There is so much to see you could visit several times and still discover something you didn't see before, without them getting any new stock.

They carry magic cards, new comics, some back issues, lots of older figures, Pokemon cards, etc. If you haven't been here you really should check it out at least once. It will be hard to leave this place without finding something you want.

Keep in mind the owner and staff may be a little socially awkward at times. They aren't bad people but they do come off a little rough sometimes. We can't all be smiley and perfect with customer service. The owner has been at this a long time so he may be a little tired of the highs and lows of customer service but he really is a nice guy. With so many local shops like this closing he may be a little stressed that he could be next too. Keeping all this in mind, I've definitely had worse experiences in customer service. When you talk to the owner and get less than perfect service know that it's because you are getting the real him. Not a plastered on fake smile and a rehearsed thank you come again. In a way, I prefer the raw real deal, but to each their own. Enjoy the local shop and the real person while we still have that option. Too many have closed and I'd hate to...