Raging Gazebo Comics & Games — Local services in Madison

Overall: The store is clean and well lit, with a large selection of board games/table games. The staff are friendly, but the customer service is very flawed. I was provided information by their staff that was not true, which resulted in me buying twice the amount of product I needed. When I attempted to exchange the excess product 2 days later - still unopened in its clear plastic outer shrink-wrapping - I was told of their return policy which (for everything except pre-owned video games) is basically "No returns, no exchanges, no exceptions unless it is a manufacturer defect."

Details: I was purchasing card sleeves in sets of 100 for two decks, wanting two different colored sleeve sets so the cards cannot be mixed up. When I approached the checkout, I asked the staff member if the company includes anything like 2 or 3 spares/extra sleeves in the box, in case there was a damaged one, or one was damaged while sleeving the cards, or to allow the machine counting the sleeves to be off by one without causing a problem. The staff member indicated that there are 100 in each box and that the quantities are "pretty spot on" (I believe that was the exact phrasing). I asked if the store had individual sleeves for the brand (no) or sets of 60 (also no). So I bought 2 sets of each color sleeve based on the staff member's statement that the packages would have 100 with no spares. When I sleeved my cards, I discovered that one box had 103 and the other had 102. This does not match the information the employee provided; I suspect the employee did not have firsthand knowledge of the true sleeve count per box, and simply made an assumption to avoid saying "I don't know." When I brought two of each color (4 boxes total) of sleeves up to the counter, I indicated that since there were no spares I would have to buy 2 boxes of each. Hearing this, the employee should have clarified that they were not actually certain whether the boxes contained any spares. If they did not want to admit to this after already claiming the counts to be "pretty spot-on" (which, I get would be awkward), the employee should have at LEAST let me know about their "all sales final" policy. Had I known either of these things, I would have bought the 2 boxes I needed, and then opened one to count for myself rather than buying 4 boxes. I have gone in twice (the first time was 30 minutes before closing, so I figured I'd try again at a less stressful time), and explained what happened and asked to exchange the 2 extra sets - both completely unopened with the clear outer plastic wrap intact - for sets of other colors (I don't need them right now, but if they are different colors at least I could eventually use them in the future for other decks, and the store still gets to keep the money). If a store is going to be so rigid with its return/exchange policy that even an employee providing untrue information (I don't think it was a lie; I think it was just the natural desire to avoid telling a customer "I don't know") does not warrant an exception, the policy should be stated on far larger signage in a more widely visible location, or the employees should be informing the customers at time of checkout. This is my attempt at providing more visibility of that policy, so others do not follow...

Yes, Yes, YES!

Raging Gazebo is truly the epitome of premier "nerd" shops in our area. They provide a SUPER clean play space, a large play area for people of all game genres, and the only shop open late in the north Alabama region.

If your gaming preference is Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Lorcana, Star Trek, Yu-Gi-Oh, Flesh & Blood, Pokemon, comic books, board games, painting, the list goes on and on, Raging is the place to go. They will teach you how to play anything. I have watched the owner, multiple times, teaching children, teens, and adults how to make a character sheet for D&D. Who takes the time to make sure you play your game properly?? No one. But at Raging, they make sure your new hobby gets off on the right start.

I started going to Raging in April 2024. Playing Magic the Gathering here, gave me the confidence to play on a tournament level by June 2024. Since then, I have played multiple tournaments, while still playing casually, once per week.

Whether you are an engineer, dive bar-tender, single mom/dad, transitioning human, shy, outgoing, nerdy, geeky, a human of any realm, Raging provides an atmosphere for you. To add to the previous statement (only because of previous reviews): This is a "family-friendly environment." Meaning: use appropriate/professional language. Don’t use words that are banned on national television during primetime. If every other word you say has to be bleeped, then reconsider your sentence structure, and read a book to expand your vocabulary beyond whatever internet video/streaming show is popular at the moment. This is only frustrating if you don't know how to behave in public (This is coming from someone who works in an environment where I am constantly reminded how "beautiful" and "delicious" my natural body and bits are while I have no choice but to smile and do my job. Trust me, I know plenty of ways to use expletives that will make you question all your life choices leading up to meeting me. However, I choose to be a semi-educated human when expressing verbal communication at this shop. Also, coming from a person who has been a very proud ALLY for two decades of my adult life).

They provide snacks for purchase, the cleanest and well-stocked bathrooms, and a play area for your little humans.

I have never been anywhere in my life that made me feel more at home than Raging Gazebo. Do not miss your opportunity to experience the joy I have at this locally owned shop. They have provided me with more happiness and courage than any other experience in my multiple years of...

Actually the worst game shop experience I've had and that's saying a lot. It's all the owner. She was standoffish and rude from the moment we walked in and immediately made it clear she wasn't ready to honor what her staff had told me the week before about selling cards there. She had changed her mind over the few days between my visits and she wasn't going to treat us fairly. She pretended she was going to do the right thing and honor what we were promised since we drove so far to get there and then we realized we forgot a box in the car a little down the road and went back to give them the missing box. She then informed us they weren't interested in our collection and that they were not in good enough condition, pulling a random card to prove that they were "water damaged". The card she showed me was literally in mint condition. All the cards that had been played were double sleeved in perfect fit sleeves. I realized then what she did was agreed to take them (because I was upset about her going back on what we'd been told) with the intention of just calling us in a couple days and telling us they wouldn't buy them anyway but then it would seem like it wasn't her fault. I should've realized that from the way she talked. She really doesn't seem to understand that a small business relies on customers support and that treating people right is important to keeping in business. To me treating people right is important period, but it's clear she wouldn't agree.

It's a shame because it seems like a nice space and the other staff were very nice the first visit. The owner is just unfortunately unkind and scummy. Makes me appreciate my local game shop so much more even if they don't buy cards. At least they are kind and welcoming and never treat anyone unfairly. If you're planning to sell a collection here, look for somewhere with better ethics and better customer service. After seeing her outright lie to my face about the condition of my cards, I feel she probably skims off the collections she does buy anyway. If she can look me in the eyes and tell me a pristine card in mint condition is water damaged, she is too comfortable with lying for me to do business with her...