Collector's Emporium — Local services in Town of Hempstead

Huge selection with knowledgeable staff, people who are really into the hobby. Unfortunately they also hard sell and are not very friendly. Got a few cards, when I asked to look at them the curly haired employee took them out and spin flipped them onto the table. That was a very cool trick and all and I get they're in top loaders but can we not throw things around if I'm looking to buy them? Looking at a Fates Collide Alakazam where near mints sell around $70 and they had it at $93 for an LP+. I said that was a bit too steep for me and that same employee quickly and loudly snapped back "Oh so I guess $120 next week is an even better price for you then!" I just picked it up in the same LP+ condition but from a different shop for $42, thanks Collector's Emporium, for making that choice easy for me. Saved me some money too.

The pricing is generally bad. Some stuff isn't TOO bad but other products are marked up even higher than Scalper Johnny on ebay. DR etbs sell on ebay in the $70 range and they have it "on sale" for $100. What a great sale, unfortunately Scalper Johhny has a better deal. Many products are marked up $15-$50 more than online and in other stores I have been to (Shout out to Retro Relics and East End Gaming.) Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex box sells online and in other stores like those for $40-$50 and Collector's Emporium has it for $90 but don't worry! It's currently on sale for $80, what a bargain! I picked one up in Best Buy for $22...

They have loose packs at $7 each (only very select ones that you must buy 3 of, You can STILL expect to pay $15 per pack on resealed prismatic even after the reprints, which seem to have lowered the price of prismatic in every store except for Collector's Emporium.) And I just have to say it I've historically never gotten even an ex from those, making me think they're tampered. It's a pretty large sample size to only pull holos and reverse holos. Seeing the other reviews makes me feel stupid for not checking after the fact, but I guess that's what Collector's Emporium is hoping for, trust. Well they finally lost mine after years. Can't buy this review for a free pack sadly, which they do openly and proudly. So shady.

It used to be such an amazing shop and I wish I knew what went wrong. If you want to purchase any kind of trading card for any reason, I'd seriously recommend anywhere but here unless you're foaming at the mouth for more cardboard. The only reason it's not a 1 star review is because it's still a functional shop with a huge selection and even a couple of deals if you really, really do your homework. But from the rude, standoffish employees to the absurd prices, Scalper Johnny is sounding like a saint...

Hi. My name is Rick. I've been going to this store since it was called Mythic Games. Some people are review bombing this store for their new policies and management. Here's the deal, the new management is a result of the old management making poor business decisions. They weren't making any money. Those good deals ya'll were getting? Those weren't good deals for the store. They were basically giving stuff away. Like I was getting free drinks just for being there for the Smash Bros. tournaments. Now I pay, and I don't mind! This is the way the world works, and the prices are fair (they're either cheaper than or the same as TCGPlayer before tax+shipping, both of which you dodge here with cash payments by the way). Part of supporting the community is supporting the store. Now are they perfect? No. I was really bummed when the Smash Bros. TO got in some serious trouble for doing something bad. But the store took the proper measure and let that person go. So sure maybe the store has had some history, and I get why that may put some folks off, but as far how can tell they have been taking the right measures and have never been malicious intentionally. And how can anything improve if nobody is willing to help the store out? and they aren't going to be able to stay in business if they just give stuff away. The new policies for using their space, I get it. They're not a public park! It's a business and you are using their property to play games! They only charge venue for tournaments anyway. And regarding the packs, I've purchased plenty of packs from them and none of them had upsidown cards or evidence of re-sealing or anything. I just bought a box of Magic Foundations too and got lots of great stuff in it. So I genuinely have no clue what other people are talking about with unfair prices or resealing packs. I also did not get a free pack or whatever for writing this. I'm doing this because the really nice Pokémon vendor asked me to leave a review (and I don't even play Pokémon) and then I saw all the negativity here and wanted to shed some light on it. So please if you're reading this give the store a chance. It's a fun place run by good people that sell cool merch and I will attest to the kindness of the staff and the new management that simply wants to keep...

New to the area and saw this place was close by. I hadn't read the reviews nor did I know anything about this place, but I sure wish that I did. I read the reviews prior to writing this review and felt compelled. The owner responding to poor reviews as a "coordinated attack" or whatever verbiage he is using is absurd. Coming from someone who has been living on the east coast for less than a month and knew nothing about this place, I can assume that all of the 1 star reviews are likely pretty accurate.

For starters, staff made me feel incredibly unwelcome. Its like they were pissed off that I even walked into the store.

I wanted to sell some cards and I called and confirmed their pricing. 60% cash from TCG lowest price, or 75% store credit. I have sold cards before and I am pretty knowledgable about how cards are priced, what is considered NM vs LP etc., so I had a pretty good idea of what a fair offer from them would be. Of course selling to a store, it will always be lower than individual sales and I get that. But the offer that I got from them was actually offensive (offering me approximately 5% of TCG low price in store credit) and I fully believe that they were just trying to mess with me, especially considering how unwelcoming they were in the first place. And when I declined their offer, the employee just threw all of my card back onto the counter pretty haphazardly, some falling onto the floor and then just walked away. The whole interaction felt pretty disrespectful and left an extremely bad taste in my mouth.

Prices they had listed on cards for sale were actually insane. Double or more the price of the card at TCG high price.

Bought a booster pack on my way out just so I didn't feel like the trip over was a complete waste. Didn't realize until I got home, but the pack was very clearly opened and resealed. You could tell the pack had been tampered with as it was resealed quite poorly. 2 of the cards were upside down in the package and the online code in the pack was already claimed hahaha

There are lots of great LGSs in New York. If this is how this store is going to choose to run their business, I give them a year tops before...