GameRelated — Local services in Oakdale

I just want to start by saying I heard wonderful things about this place. I walked in on an afternoon where at most there was 5 customers in the store. After browsing the singles cases on the wall , I was looking to browse for more cards in binders , store owner made me feel super uneasy asking to go through a binder as he was focused on opening packs while I was there. Repeatedly having to ask if I can help myself . I asked about a box and immediately the owner turned around and raised his voice and said NO! one person at a time . The person who was sitting next to me wasn't even going through it.

I than am ready to ask for singles out of the case , we get about halfway though on one side of the wall and the store owner immediately goes back to opening card packs on a table, I have to walk back to him and say can I please get more help , im not finished and I need to check out.

After more singles were grabbed and were at the counter totalling the owner says 139.00 , then says oh you're paying with cash ? I say yes and he says 150 and some change. I'm confused and asked is that tax ? Why did you ask if I was paying cash ? I can see it makes sense if there an upcharge on running a card. He says yes its tax , did you expect to not pay tax on a normal transaction ? I made a joke about respecting uncle Sam and he then went on about what if he gets auditited and how he would show proof of sales. I never even asked about not paying taxes , the guy assumed I was trying to not as I literally was just curious about why the price jump after noticing I was paying with cash.

Rude customer service , hard to get help , and an assumption of my character when im curious about the prices as there's no screen customers can see while ringing up cards. The owner was more focused on opening up cards at a table while I'm looking for 100s of dollars in singles.

Poor kiddo walked in trying to sell pokemon cards and the owner also immediately says im only buying at 30% and after he picked some out says while I'm still going to cherry pick though it. Store owner was short with anyone he didn't know and only gave attention to customers sitting at tables who frequent the place.

I've been to every single gamestore in the twincities , this was my least enjoyable...

Incredibly rude staff. Genuinly appaled by how rude the man at the counter was. Every time I asked him a question he responded as if I was waking him up from a nap. He was eating a bag of chips at the checkout counter with his mouth open and was being incredibly loud. I have nothing wrong with people eating food at a workplace, but please don't do it at the counter around expensive cards. Not to mention he didn't wash his hands after, which is somehow the least egregious thing that happened when I was there.

A pair of teenage boys walked in with their binders of cards, clearly intending to sell. The boys asked how much specific cards would be worth if they traded them in, and the man responded with "I won't take these" which is a fine response, it's his business so he can reject or accept whatever deals he wants. My issue is that the boys noticed booster boxes and asked how much they were worth. After discussing it, the man said he would trade both of their entire binders for ONE booster box.

The kids binders had really old and expensive cards, some singles worth more than an entire booster box and the man was asking for BOTH BINDERS for ONE BOX. Another customer had to step in to make sure the kids knew that the man was making an extremely bad offer. The man clearly knew these kids had a shallow grasp on how much certain cards were worth, and was trying to scam them out of some super valuable and rare cards.

A little bit later a woman came out and helped us pick out singles from the glass case and totaled up the prices for our cards. She was super nice and respectful and I wish I asked her name so I could leave her a positive review.

Binders are only available to competitive TCG players which I understand. But be warned, he uses that question as a litmus test for which people he should treat kindly versus treat as scalpers.

Not friendly...

This is my second time here, and after my first experience, I knew this was the place for us. First of all, the staff do an amazing job of welcoming you from the minute you walk in. The atmosphere is inviting and customer-centric. What I like about this store is the layout. They have a mystery box vending machine to your left. For $20, you can take a chance on a randomly graded slab. my second visit, I did see two graded slabs pulled from this machine. Next, you'll find an amazing collection of Funko Pops. Then a locked case that just had some really really cool items like Pokemon earrings, collectable Funko Pops, and I've even seen a few rare graded cards pop in and out of it. If you are into Magic the Gathering, they definitely have a great selection. They have some cases up front  buy the register that are filled with Pokemon cards and  against the right wall. The last case has Magic the Gathering cards. All prices are visible and clearly marked. We got a fair price for some duplicate cards we traded in. My son loves Team Rocket and owns none, well, except for today. He had an empty team rocket pack he sleeved and gave to my son for free. The fun didn't stop there because I asked him about a Team Rocket Dark Charizard and he said hang on. Next thing I know, I'm staring at one in a graded PSA 6.5. The price was fair, and my son now owns the most important card he's ever wanted and a chance to join the team rocket family. You are not going to find isles filled with sealed products, but what you will find is an opportunity to see Pokemon spread out in cases throughout the generations. This store and the staff are what set it apart from the rest. My only regret was not buying the evolution Charizard on my first visit because it was the reason...