Core TCG — Local services in Pasadena

Unfair and incompetent staff. My friend and I arrived before the registration cutoff of 9:30. There was supposedly a person cutting off the line for late people, but was nowhere to be seen. The people registering us did not notify us we were marked as late, when we should have been marked as on time, that's when we could have fixed it. They didn't say anything when we could have fixed it, and without being told how could we possibly know. These tournaments are poorly run and the staff is a joke. It wasn't until it was too late and all they said was too bad. But don't worry, they let us know we were guaranteed for round 2. That was an L we just had to take.

We had a round 1 loss but we continued playing until round 5. A player who I have a history with had punched my friend a week or two ago, physically threatened me today and then reported me. I legally did nothing wrong unlike him and I had witnesses to the event but they did not care. They said they will do an investigation after I leave which makes no sense.

It should be innocent until proven guilty but in America just like with the police it's guilty until proven innocent. This incompetent idiotic staff had made up their mind upon hearing the complaint and did not care that I was threatened or investigate. Like anyone in power they don't care about the facts just what looks right and apparently you can just yell first or scream louder to get your point across or be right.

It's frustrating because this player got kicked out of 2 locals for hitting people and hasn't been charged, but he can cry to this ridiculous staff and whoever spoke first is right apparently. Just like with the police getting a call they laser focus and don't look with a clear view. Konami like many of its official tournament stores are run incompetently and foolishly. Just look at the banlist and how poorly the tcg and its stores are run. They just want our money and don't care about the integrity or balance...

My review is a culmination of multiple shopping experiences with them both online and in-store. On TCGplayer, a card from my online order that was supposed to be near mint arrived with some condition issues. They offered a partial refund which I accepted but this issue of listing not near mint cards as near mint is a far too common experience on TCGplayer and Core TCG is not an exception. I then decided to check out their store. At first, I had a 5 star experience as they allowed me to look through copies of their higher rarity yugioh singles to choose the best one out of the bunch (this was just a few weeks leading up to my most recent experience). I was more than willing to drop a couple extra dollars over the actual value of a card for a store like this because at the end of the day, I was walking away buying what I considered gradable cards. On my most recent experience however, they refused to let me see the cards listed on their TCGplayer page claiming that those cards were no longer in stock at their store and are at the TCGplayer warehouse which would make sense except the cards I were looking to buy were not TCGDirect cards which led me to believe they may still have the cards in stock at their store but had some change in store policy (or just straight up didn't feel like selling the cards to me because they didn't even look in the back for them like they did my last two times shopping with them). It's pretty common that a seller on TCGplayer will provide pictures upon request (meaning they still physically have the card) assuming the card listing isn't a TCGDirect listing. So not only does this store sell many cards for more than they are worth, I can't personally choose the copy that I want anymore and I risk getting a card that's not in the condition described. That's not something...

I recently started going to core and I can tell you that this place is great! The staff are all friendly and willing to help out anyone looking to buy cards for themselves or as gifts for their friends, families or kids.

If you interested in getting into a specific card game they are willing to help you start out. They sell Magic, Pokémon, YUGIOH, digimon, one piece, DragonBall, battle spirits, and grand archive just to name a few.

If you are looking to sell cards or bulk they are willing to buy for most trading card games.

You can come in to the store and use their kiosk to look through their inventory, buying single cards etc and adding them to cart. Once you check out, they will look for them and have them ready to buy in a few minutes. If for what ever reason the order is off or you forgot something they are willing to help get things right.

Prices are fairly reasonable and usually cheaper than online at other retailers.

Speaking of online they also have an online store which is usually great and things come within a week of ordering online.

As it's one of the more well know stores they host events for several trading card games both in person and online, both of which work a little different so if you have questions be sure to email them or ask the in person or via phone number. There is usually always something going on so be sure to ask.

They occasionally have promotions going on so be sure to check their social media...