eStarland — Local services in Chantilly

Complete waste of time. I had placed a repair order online their website for DSi XL screen replacements on August 12, 2024. I got an email the day after I had already sent it that repair orders are currently delayed 1-2 months...okay. Well I wasn't really in a rush to get it done, so I decided to just have it wait out. I checked pretty much every week to see if there was any progress, but no, it was indeed taking upwards of 2 months to get to my order.

On the 7th week, I decided to message them via email if I could maybe get some sort of ETA on when this thing would be finished. I get a message back saying they're "experiencing an above average traffic through their servicing center and are still trying to get through all their orders". They had also stated that they're low on staff, I guess technicians that repair systems are hard to come by around here, which only makes me lament that Pandora's Cube closed down even more. After another week of waiting, I decide to just make a phone call, letting them know that it's been 2 months and they really still can't give any sort of update? They had offered to send it back to me, which I declined due to how much time I had already waited, I said to myself I'd give it another month and if it's not done then I'll request it back.

Well it seems my patience was rewarded 3 days later, my prayers seem to have been answered...NOT. I get an email back on October 15th, 2024 saying that they had "inspected my unit and did not find any issues with the LCD". Huh, so I sent my DSi in for 2 months, just to be told that there wasn't any issue you could find, although if you had just turned on the system they would have found that both screens were yellowing, a common issue that apparently happens on DS systems from being in high humidity environments. Not that it mattered, because they had also stated that the LCD replacements had been discontinued for some time and that they were now removing the DSi XL Repair Service from their website now and will be shipping my system back to me, unfixed.

Are you guys for real? These people had me wait 2 months just to tell me you can't just get some screen replacements via AliExpress or Amazon? This system was long discontinued, it's not as if Nintendo themselves were selling any parts to begin with. I don't know where they were looking to procure the screen replacements, but there were more than enough online stores to provide them, it sounds more to me you guys made some garbage excuse not to repair it, be it that either your technicians are unable to perform the service repairs you're selling or you're trying to get through your massive backlog of orders and are just tossing out the more difficult repairs.

Absolutely ridiculous. Anyone looking to get repairs done, I implore you to get them done ANYWHERE else that is offering. Even if you wait the 9+ weeks as they stated in their email, they're most likely just going to get back to you saying they're unable to. Save your time and go to a place that will get it done...

Excellent game store! It’s been one of my favorites for years! Good for finding harder to find stuff! I’ve been a customer since way back when it was “Starland”, in Greenbelt, Maryland! I highly recommend this store!

Prices are usually from good to very good, and are fair, but I did recently have one odd experience that I felt I should mention, but not meant to discourage you from going to Estarland. I discovered that another game store, not too far away, had some better prices on a few things. I don’t want to name the other store and create a conflict. When the other store had a sega cd game, that I had already recently purchased at Estarland, not only was theirs significantly cheaper, but they were able to show me the online proof that their store was charging the correct market value and Estarland overcharged, according to that. This surprised me, as it is not my normal experience with Estarland. Maybe, there was just a legitimate difference of opinion on pricing with that one particular item. I don’t usually get bad prices at Estarland and this hasn’t stopped me from going there or giving them 5 stars, based on my hundreds of very good experiences there, but just thought I should mention that. Some of the newer staff there ain’t quite what it used to be, although I still find good people there doing a good job. I’ve been to Estarland since this experience and have still been happy with good, fair deals at correct market value, just like for all the years there.

Sometimes they list stuff online that they don’t physically have in the store, but they have it elsewhere. However, you can call and ask them to make sure it’s physically there, before your order or go in. They’ll check with no problem. So it’s no big deal. I do wish they would already have that indicated on the website though. Just a suggestion. I still think it’s a great store, after about 20 years of being their customer, and I still give...

This place is a retro game enthusiast’s fantasy. It’s by far the most well stocked video game store I’ve been in, and has an incredible selection across all platforms. They also have some cool game merchandise like back packs, figurines, keychains, etc.

So why only 3 stars? -1 for the line. Every time I go in there it takes forever to get checked out, even when there’s only a couple people in front of you. The cashiers spend quite a bit of time on the computers during the checkout, but I know that’s not their fault, they’re not trying to make you wait on purpose and are just doing what they have to do. I will point blame at the owners for that one though, you guys can figure out how to expedite the process.

Another -1 for a customer service interaction I witnessed yesterday. A guy came in with a game he bought (and the receipt no less) that was supposed to be in English, but was in Japanese and was not labeled as so. The employee said that “it was the customers responsibility to make sure the right game was in there” and that he would not give a refund. No, YOUR BUSINESS should be making sure the correct game is there in the first place and that it’s correctly labeled! I understand people make mistakes and these things happen (especially in such a large store) but it’s pretty appalling that you wouldn’t even give him a refund. That’s just a crappy business practice. I’ll still go to this store, but after witnessing that I will be much more likely to buy online from another store instead.

UPDATE: 5/19/18 Please figure out a way to make the GameCube games easier to see from a distance. There’s tape blocking the way to getting near them, and when you try and lean in closer just to see the games, an employee (the same one with the rude customer service interaction as last time) scolded me for it. Literally walked right out, will not...