Nerdtopia — Local services in Saint Clair Shores

I discovered this store after I moved to a new neighborhood but wanted to get back into MtG and tabletop gaming after getting settled into a new house. I first came to this store after getting off my evening shift at work, coming in on a Friday night about a half hour before they were set to close.

Unlike my other go-to store, this place was still mostly full of players. The gaming space fits somewhere between twenty and forty people if I had to hazard a guess, but that's still a perfect amount for a store of this size. I was greeted by a sales associate, offered a sincere welcome when I said it was my first time in the store, and while I didn't buy too much, the staff seemed genuinely happy to have me there whether I was going to make a purchase or not. I wasn't a commodity, a mark to make money off of, like I often felt at my prior store- where many staff members had a "buy something or leave" attitude unless you were a high-end Magic player that could drop a hundred dollars every Friday. Also, aside from TCG products, this store carries a large selection of vintage video games. They're well organized by platform and in much better condition than at your average Gamestop.

Finally, pricing here is competitive. My prior FLGS charged the full MSRP of $120 for a booster box of MtG for a draft, but this store charges as low as $98 if the purchaser has a Membership card (costs about $10; I got one through trading MtG cards for store credit, which was awesome).

As a side bonus: this location is perfectly situated for your stereotypical FNM player. A Domino's pizza next door if you've got a craving for cheese and pepperoni, or the family restaurant a few stores down the outlet if you want something other than pizza.

I've been to this place three times since that first visit, made purchases or traded products for store credit, or both, and have had that same welcoming feeling each time.

The store isn't perfect. A few things I did notice- The store hours are not so good if you're a late worker like myself. My prior store was open to midnight or 2AM for TCG players, so if I felt like making the trek to play, that choice was open to me. With this location I'm lucky to arrive thirty minutes before close if I want to show up after work. Part of me wishes they'd extend hours to Midnight for Friday and Saturday Night players, but that's just my personal gripe. If you have no problem getting to the store by 6pm for FNM, then disregard this concern. After talking with the staff, I've found that there isn't an active RPG community here- yet. They're working to address that, so it may be something that will change in the near future. I'd probably get my group together here if the hours were extended on weekends.

In conclusion, in my mind a good FLGS has competitive prices and a healthy player base. A GREAT FLGS has a sense of being something more, almost like a community center for people to gather at and spend some money while having fun, instead of just a store. By my own definition, Nerdtopia is a good location worth spending your money at and they're halfway to being a great location already.

TL,DR:

Cool Things: +Great Staff; don't pressure you to buy, happy to chat, welcoming +Great Selection of TCGs and Video Games; want some nostalgia? Buy that video game you played a few years ago! Great MtG Box Prices (if you buy a $10 membership) Ample space to play for the size of the store Location, Location, Location- next door to a Domino's and a Family Restaurant for your FNM food needs.

Not so cool Things: Store Hours don't go as late as other area FLGS. If you're a night owl, try another location. No RPG community (so far; store is working to change this)

EDIT: After originally posting this review 6 months ago, I can say that the situation with the toy/collectible shelves has been addressed. Store now looks as clean and professional all around as a...

My wife and I made a trip to Nerdtopia for the first time to pick up some controllers for older consoles that most other stores had out of stock. We ended up spending an hour and a half in the store gawking at there amazing inventory. The store is well organized, very clean and fully stocked. There system of organization for finding the games behind the counter is top-notch. I don't expect retro stores to be as efficient as say a Gamestop at locating and finding games but this store is more efficient then retail most retail game chains. Aside from the wall to wall games they have tons of old gaming magazines/strategy guides and tons of old video game memorabilia such as toys, figurines etc. Normally when you find hard to find items like this there priced at 20+ dollars but most of those things were a few dollars at most. Selling used video games is not a business that you get into to get rich, none the less I see many video game stores make the attempt to over price there items, and using misinformation to encourage customers to make unwise purchases to clear stock that is getting stale. This is not the case with this store, it is clear that Nerdtopia is a labor of love. I wont fail to mention while we were there the owners told us to check out some of the arcade fighting cabinets they had available on free-play. We had a fantastic time and after words chatted about games, the owners are nice, easy to talk to and well informed. I had a great experience, we live in Rochester Hills and it is worth the 30 minute drive to come out any day.

I highly recommend Nerdtopia as your go-to gaming store and I wish the owners all the success in the world, I'm looking forward to be a...

Great people, great service! This place is pure magic, and they have the friendliest help, which is a rare find these days. Seriously, it's pretty uncommon to go into a hobby shop and actually have people greet you with a friendly "hello" and actually act like they want you to be there. Most comic / hobby shops seem to have their employees have "tap - ignore customer or act like you're better than them. Have customer return to another store at end of turn." Not this place! These people make you feel right at home, and these days positivity and friendliness means more than anything to me! ...