A & J Games — Local services in Los Angeles

DO NOT GO HERE FOR REPAIRS!

Great store to browse and Purchase from, do NOT Recommend for Repairs If you want your item back in good shape.

Had a Sega Saturn with a disc reading issue that was apparently quite hard to diagnose. They never told us what the problem actually was, just that they had to get a 'professional' to come in and look at it, and then we had to wait almost two months (after being quoted a week) for the repairs to be done because of the time it took for parts to be shipped. This is fine, problems come up during repairs and I understand that, what I don't understand was the complete lack of communication regarding these issues. I had to call the store on a near weekly basis to get an update on the status as they made no effort to keep me informed of the progress.

It took so long to get repaired that I had to leave the system with them while I moved to a different city. To their credit, they did ship the item to me though the mailing was at my own expense. The Saturn arrived today... and the disc read issue I sent the console in for IS fixed now, so the job was technically completed, but the system came back to me with MISSING PARTS that I sent it in with. The back battery cover is now gone, and the system wasn't even properly screwed back together, coming to me in Two Halves without a word of warning that they lost the screws. I understand the battery cover, mistakes happen and sometimes things get lost, but how they could FORGET TO SCREW THE TOP AND BOTTOM HALVES OF THE CONSOLE BACK TOGETHER, I don't know. It was immediately apparent when I lifted it out of the box, and they had to do far more with it than that: Assembling it, Testing it, wrapping it in bubble wrap and mailing it off, and yet they somehow didn't notice? I find it hard to believe. There was no explanation for this either in the packaging or over the phone when they did the shipping, just a 'It's repaired, what's your new address?" There wasn't an invoice, notes on what was repaired, a thank you, nothing. No communication whatsoever.

I used to love this store, browsing their selection is great and they do have fair prices, but I could never in good conscience recommend them for repairs in any capacity after their lack of communication and sending the console back incomplete. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to spend another 25 bucks to replace the NOW missing parts on top of the 130 I spent on the repairs... at this point it would have been cheaper for me to buy a whole new console instead of getting it repaired, and given everything else I'm not confident that it won't just stop working again in...

I've been a regular customer of A & J games for about 6 months now and I have to say that if you are serious about collecting retro games/equipment of any kind, this is THE place in L.A. to go. Not "World8". Not "Bros." Not any other retro game store in the city. Over this half-year I have watched the store go from, admittedly unorganized and messy to a much more accessible and laid-back type of mom-and-pop style gaming store.

I am always greeted with a smile and treated like a fellow collector whenever I arrive. Although the workers can be a little quirky and different from what you are used to or even sometimes off-putting, I assure you that beneath that they are passionate fans that will never lie to you about how valuable a product is or how much repair is required for your console.

It's a real shame that there are so many one-star reviews based off first impressions of the store alone without really giving the place a chance.

I have been a long time collector of retro gaming and I wouldn't do business with anybody else.

It truly saddens me to hear people wishing for this place to close down or to even hear the workers consider throwing in the towel.

I would recommend to anybody who enjoys their hobby as much as they do.

Their selection is massive. They will take a look at your damaged console for free before giving you aneed honest price. They are fair and fun to talk to if you give them a chance.

So give the store a chance. You...

I took an old GameCube here and got parts for it replaced. It works perfectly now. Thank you so much for fixing it and for transparency on the price.

I think I should tell readers that when it comes to older hardware, things could take a while. A month, or 2, or 3. Parts for older materials like a GameCube are not readily available and can take time to ship, and the owner is likely working on other projects and repairs as well. By himself, it seems. If your goods are older then you will probably have to be nice & patient, and it is not anyone's fault. Any other store would have the same issue, or worse. It's just how the shipping, supply & demand, and materials work.

Newer hardware like a PS4 could be better suited to a quicker repair. Within a few days, according to other reviews.

I also got a copy of Xenosaga: Episode 1 for dirt-cheap here. It is a notoriously rare find, and I encourage you to give this place a try. There's plenty of vintage stuff and maybe even other valuable, rare things to get here. Go...