Sage Mantis Game Haven & Collectibles — Local services in Fredericksburg

A cluttered store with absurd prices and a creep.

This store is front loaded with busted (Edit: Reportedly not busted, just off) arcade cabinets to greet you as soon as you enter. Navigating this obstacle of debris feels like scaling a barricade just to get inside. Maybe they're broken, maybe they were just off, but either way they do not make for a good first impression.

If you manage to get through the non-working (Edit: Cold and disabled) cabinets you next get to the retro game section. This section is very well stocked and clean. It is evident that they have changed out broken jewel cases for clean ones in most cases. The discs varied in quality, though no large scratches were seen. There is a glass cabinet stocked with old consoles, cartridges, and amiibos that is very clean and well lit. Unfortunately the cabinet is locked and there was only one obvious employee that was often busy with whatever event they were running that day. The locked cabinet and minimal staff made it difficult to ascertain the quality of the consoles and pin conditions of the items.

The quality of the retro items did seem to be quite good, but the pricing by any standard was laughable. Most items were well above even Good condition collector value. This store looks to gouge customers more enamored with retro rather than knowledgeable of going rates.

What little interaction my partner and I had with the store employee (Who we later learned actually goes by Sage Mantis, so probably the owner) had us wanting to leave the store, never to return. When we had made it about halfway through the store, to about the card tables and comics (no longer blocked from his view by the 6 foot tall cabinets), he finally engaged with us. Asking if we needed help or had questions, he would always try sneaking looks at my partner looking her up and down like no one was watching. He would try and position himself between us, guide her away to other sections, etc. She was obviously uncomfortable, moving away from him as much as she could and eventually behind me. "Sage", unable to take a hint, continued until being told his help wasn't needed. He made his way back to the card event, but not before looking over his shoulder one last time. Needless to say we left immediately and won't be returning.

Edit to owner's reply: There was no misreading the situation. Staring a woman up and down like the world's thirstiest desert nomad and trying to be slick and hide it is difficult to misread. I did not leave the review the same day I visited the store, because your other replies to negative opinions have you attempting to sleuth out who exactly left the comment and I was certainly not about to give you that opportunity. I waited a good amount of time before leaving this review.

I was also not going to talk to you face-to-face as you so often seem to want because as understaffed as you were during your event I was not going to A) Cause a scene in your own store especially when my partner wanted to get away from you ASAP, and B) Deprive your patrons of whatever event was occurring because you have difficulty treating women like they are anything other than objects. Your actions and mannerisms drove us from your store, end of story.

Edit 2: I'm shockingly well versed in the current going rates of collectible retro games, having managed a specialty store before moving to the area, and being an avid collector currently. Loose Earthbound is not 200, it's 150 at best. FFVII black label is 25, not 50. Loose Mario World (SNES) is 10, not 20. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. We can go back and forth all day, but at the end of the day your prices are bad and you made someone feel uncomfortable enough to flee and your reaction when confronted with this is not to apologize or understand, but to attack. I am out of space, so this ends my review & replies.

Cons: Overpriced retro section. Cluttered entry that was not under any renovation when I visited. Creepy owner. No verdict: Tabletop section, comics, collectibles, or LAN center. Never made...

"Game Haven" Sizable clean collection, but wonky pricing. Good for people looking to ride the nostalgia train, not good for collectors that are aware of going values. Store tries to sell bootleg and fan modded games that are available free digitally or for sale in physical media at a better price and condition from the actual creators of the physical versions. Arcade machines were present, but in order to play them you have to stand in the middle of foot traffic. Bad placement, definitely just there for the wow factor. 0/5 for nostalgia abuse.

Tabletop play area is claustrophobic at best. While I was there the card players were squeezing through each other to try and get out of the play area. Tables are so close together it feels like Delta Air was in charge of seating. TCG prices seemed pretty MSRP, but I don't know about individual cards. Not my field. 2/5 for clutter & bare minimum pricing

Lan center seemed pretty okay. Clean and working at least for the one guy using it. x/5 clean but I didn't use it. No review.

Console and disc repair prices are fairly good, but I can't speak to the quality of either. 3/5 for fair prices.

"& Comics" Has a small comic section, but it feels shoehorned in compared to the rest of the store. The space could be better spent expanding the VG section or card game play area so people can walk through comfortably. ?/5 Why even have it?

"Other" The register was a nightmare. Games lined the frontside of the register wall preventing customers from approaching too close. There are so many things on display on the counter that you can barely checkout without fear of knocking over some card game tin or action figure. You could barely see the employee when he was behind there and could all but disappear if seated. -5/5

Smokers and vapers out front isn't a great look. As I was leaving so too were folks going to smoke. Some dad and his kid were approaching the store but turned around when the group lit their cigarettes right in front of the door. They asked if there was some other place for a particular TCG and I told them of a different place.

Given other sub 5 star reviews, I now fully expect the owner to come at me, calling me a liar and all sorts of names before extending the offer to sit down and discuss things over pizza of all things. I don't care for this offer, as I did speak with you in the store and your answers were meek and before rushing off to "help" the TCG players only to stand near them silently. Big threats on a keyboard, but no drive to talk to real people. 1/5 customer service online...

Drove past this store and immediately got PTSD from my visit last year. Let's break down everything wrong with this store:

#1. There's no way they aren't paying for their good reviews. Just go through the comments and notice how the 1 star reviews are the only reviews that have people reacting and agreeing. This store tricked me into stopping by for my first visit because I trusted their high rating at face value.

#2. Their absurd, and I mean ABSURD pricing. Probably the worst I've seen on the East Coast. This store is never at "market value", no matter how hard the owner tries to convince you in the comments. You will be lucky to find any retro game that is priced at the actual average on eBay. I almost burst out laughing while in the store because every game was around DOUBLE the averages that you can get them online. I actually feel really bad for anyone who has gotten scammed by the prices here. Especially the locals.

#3. The environment is dark, claustrophobic, messy, and unwelcoming. Their counter is comically cluttered by Lord knows what. I mean, you could barely see the employees behind the wall of stuff.

#4. The staff. I've seen a lot of reviews that say the staff are very rude. I didn't personally experience that, but I remember the staff being very standoffish, and they made no attempt to at least try to come off as welcoming. I also remember standing at the counter to ask a question, and the cashier didn't acknowledge that I was trying to ask him something for like... minutes. Just weird.

#5. The owner / whoever comments on every review. This dude is either the biggest liar in retro gaming, or he just actually has no idea what he's talking about. No, your prices are not "market average" or "a lil higher or lower." Your prices are actually just scams, and I feel bad for anyone who didn't have prior knowledge of the market to know they are getting scammed. And no, sir, I don't want to meet you in person so you can try to convince me otherwise.

I've never felt obligated to leave a store review in all my life until this store. Gaming...