Throwback Gamez — Local services in Oceanside

As a long time gamer and collector , when I first stepped into this retro store back in 2020, I fell in love with it, as oldies are hard to find now days at good prices , and this store had it right and had everything. Key word : “HAD”. This store still good, but not what it once was. Although I’m happy stores like this are expanding as it opened in another location, this business can’t even be considered as Quality over quantity. It has less in quantity and lacks in quality. I recently went back to trade some oldies stuff, and I understand small business are different from corporations, and for that same reason , these business have to make sure they appeal their costumers. The owners customer service is beyond excellent, but at one point I was sure he thought we were dumb for receiving Pennies for a small trade bundle. Finally, after going through every console’s catalog, there was nothing “I” could find that thought was worth my money. After checking the ps4/5 section, I noticed some games that you could find on GAMESTOP, were more overpriced than a corporation!. How can you sell a $20 on GameStop for $30-40 bucks?. Don’t you want people to help family business ? We understand the gaming hobby is an expensive one, but if you want support from the community , you gotta be fair and be current with me market. In conclusion, I wouldn’t “STAY AWAY “ from this store, but rather “BEWARE” of the prices. So make sure you look up prices and educate on the current market before spending hard working money in this economy. The store is still great, but make sure to check out others before you make a decision. P.S. I will go back in a few months not to buy anything , but to see if it has gotten better, or gotten worse. Thank you !

EDIT: replying to the owner’s response , I would like to clarify and hopefully clear the misunderstanding since the reply gives off an offended vibe. One thing you “Throwback Gamez” need to understand is that reviews and criticism isn’t about it trying to “tarnish” reputation. The way you guys react to the critics can be tarnishing to your own judging by other replies. I never stated I would come back to do business in your business, but I do encourage people to continue buying, they just have to “BEWARE”. Lastly, none of my points were INCONSISTENT, as you just mentioned to people, to buy at your price without looking at other options if they are more affordable, making it seemed as you don’t care for their money and only your convenience which is understandable. I’ll go ahead and give another star due to 2/5 seems unfair. Hopefully you all can make a change , instead of making more excuses , again, by judging at the way you reply to all...

I've been a frequent customer for Calico Games for a number of years and decided it was finally time to check out Throwback Gamez for the first time since Game ADX had closed. I honestly didn't think I'd find much, but boy was I wrong. The staff there are all great to talk to and also fairly helpful. The store is, for the most part, highly organized with only a few shelves having games set apart from where you'd think they'd go. Not a problem really, the store clerks even encourage you to browse so you don't potentially miss anything. Pricing for some of their products is ever so slightly more than what you may find at Calico but honestly its nowhere near enough to turn you away. It's like paying $22 instead of $20, and since their inventory is really nice and varied plus the condition of most games as a whole are nice its very much worth your time. Either way you're still going to get a good deal compared to places like eBay and especially compared to what Game ADX used to have. Speaking of what you can find, almost nothing is off the table for these guys. Like riding the pipes with the Nintendo fans? Check. Does Sega still do what Nintendon't? Check. Itching with nostalgia with Sony's products? Check. Feeling edgy on the side of Xbox? Check. Looking for a real hotdog with the... Neo Geo?! Uh... yeah, unbelievably, check! I was pleasantly surprised to see just how much they had even for a guy like me who's collected for years and owns some pretty weird or obscure stuff, it was just far more than I had anticipated. Admittedly, the way they store games on the shelves was a bit odd though, nearly all of them have a plastic sleave over the entire case. A good way to keep games and cases in good shape without keeping them in a separate drawer behind the counter for sure but it makes it a bit harder and cumbersome to check how complete it is on the inside. Luckily, they were more than willing to let me open them up to see for myself. They also offer disc refurbishing services to your private collection as well as using it for their own inventory, so you know the disc is going to look quite good and function well. I walked in initially thinking I wouldn't buy much or anything at all, instead I dropped around $200 for a nice fat stack of awesome games that I'd been looking for to add to my collection. If you're a local looking for a good place to buy games new and old, give them a shot. If you're like me and already have a seasoned collection while also having shopped at other places like Calico for much longer, I'd still recommend adding Throwback Gamez to your list of places to visit for games. Hope the business flourishes because they're doing a very good...

My family and I have been to this establishment multiple times and had great experiences and have even referred a bunch of people there but I guess that ends today.

They posted that they have received a shipment of the new Pokémon celebration ultra premium trainer pack (which is super hard to come by) and I was ready to buy immediately cause Christmas is around the corner. But I’ll admit that I had sticker shock when they told me the price: $349.99.

After taxes, that will be triple the retail price of $119.99.

I get that this a “mom n pop” location and markups are usual but tripling the retail price is ridiculous and puts them on the level of scalpers.

I even pointed this out on their Instagram page and was instantly block from the page. It was constructive criticism but I guess that they couldn’t handle some feedback.

This is America though and they can price their products the way they want too. Wish them all the best and hope they reconsider the way they approach their pricing methods but until then, no more of my business nor referrals.

Edit in response to owners response since I cannot reply directly:

True, I haven’t left a review prior to today (it would’ve been 5 stars) and I probably should have. That is something I can work on being better at.

I did however clearly state that it is understandable that a mark up above MSRP for “mom n pops”/ local shops is understandable but do not retract my statement that tripling the MSRP is ridiculous.

If you’d like to reach out and further this conversation and further educate me on your prices, I’m more than receptive to learn how smaller businesses acquire their product and pass that info to others as well. I’m the individual that you blocked on IG earlier today. Just DM there.

Though I have never mention anything about owning a PS5 in my visits nor have I flipped any PS5 product for profit. The only person I had an actual conversation with in the store is the woman with purple hair.

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