CCGHouse Games — Local services in Vancouver

I use to come here all the time in the past. I recently brought my kid here to look at pokemon cards, and their boxes are at or above scalped prices. Showing them prices online from Walmart/Target/Amazon/TCG world was not acceptable.

They had some strange and unusual excuses for using scalped prices. The reason we came here is because we trusted them to have correct and fair prices. This experience was a horrific waste of time, and I am very sad to see what they have become with these disgusting practices.

I edited this review as I was pretty hot at the time of writing it. I do not believe in using scalped prices from any business, especially when that business is a merchant of the specific items we're looking for. We expect MSRP just like all other stores, or a minimal mark up. Not "if we notice some items are hot sales that drives out price up" amongst the other unusual justifications as to why some of the pokemon items are marked up as much as 10x MSRP.

That being said, the store is nice, it's a large area, and where as I haven't done any drafts at the new location, I did quite a few at the old location. I will admit that the events and game nights are solid. However I am still very turned off by the scalping prices and that was enough to make us not want to return, or partake in any events at this location.

Marking up single rare cards or asking for higher prices for single rare cards is one thing, but scalping MSRP prices for boxes and sets is...it's gross.

I was tempted to file a solid complaint with the BBB for fraud and scams to warn other potential customers about the practices here with scalping MSRP prices, and they have an option to allow them to speak to the media, however I do understand that this establishment is more than just a shop. It's a home for tabletop gamers to come together and enjoy. That is not something, I want to see jeopardized. Ladies and gentleman of the staff, you have to do better about your pricing criteria. The prices you ask are just outlandish. We were wondering how you had so much stock of popular items that get bought at MSRP from local super stores, and now we know why.

So I respectfully ask, and borderline beg you, to please do better. Scalping is a frowned upon practice and a business killer. It gives a bad reputation, as expressed in other recent reviews, as well as past reviews dating back two years. This is not the reputation a solid game store should hold.

I have faith that you can do better.

(Note this is only in respect to recent and readily available boxes, etbs, and starter decks. Products that are out of circulation, out of print and no longer available at MSRP are excluded from the review.)

The electronic Pokemon card vendors we see at other stores are considered MSRP prices without markups. Yes they may be sold out but that doesn't justify outrageous scalping markups on newer sets, or sets still in circulation.

I hope that CCG House and customers find this review useful, and proper action is...

Been dropping in for a number of years and recently got back into MTG so I figured I would stop in, as CCG House has some of the best selection in the area. Needed a pre-con commander deck and was feeling overwhelmed by the choices, so I asked for some recommendations and Bao quickly stepped up with some help and did an excellent job of explaining why Undead Unleashed was such a great straight-out-of-the-box deck. I’ve loved playing it and it has held up well. So for Bao and the selection, I would give CCG House a 5 star rating…but sadly, there are cons to the rest of the CCG House experience.

Cons: Price - it’s been mentioned before by other reviewers and while I’m okay with paying a premium for singles and rare product to have immediate access to them, I think the mark up on sealed product that can easily be had from Amazon is too much. I was charged $59.99 for the Undead Unleashed pre-con and I paid it without thinking about shopping around. Looking at Amazon, you can get it for about $25-$29, eBay even cheaper…I bought multiple sealed Undead Unleashed and Coven Counters decks for $15 each locally from people on OfferUp and Facebook. But pre-con isn’t the only issue, the random mark up on things ranging from sleeves to boosters, seems inconsistent and too much to stay competitive as a brick and mortar. Totally understand the need to make profit but it seems like it’s a bit too aggressive for the MTG market and readily available/high volume nature of the products.

Service - another inconsistent area that seems odd and a bit off-putting. While Bao was friendly and great to work with, many of the other staff I have experienced seem much more interested in chatting with each other, rather than servicing customers. The best/worst example of this I’ve experienced is online order fulfillment. I understand online orders CAN take up to 24 hours to pull, but I have put in orders in the morning and gone to pick them up at around 7pm and found the 3-4 staff in an otherwise empty store, doing tasks like cleaning or literally just standing at the counter, and my orders not pulled. It then takes 15-20 minutes to pull a small number of cards (less than 20). Most recently, the order I picked up for a friend was even incorrect and had a common with a somewhat similar name rather than the rare he paid for. While I can understand that if the shop is busy and there are a ton of orders coming in and customers or events happening, it might take time, this recent experience seems more common than is warranted.

For those 2 reasons, I am taking 2 stars off a 5 star experience and would love to be able to update this review in the...

TL;DR CCGHouse is full of full-witted crooks who took my collectible cards, gave me a bad check, and then made me wait 2 weeks before they would write me one that a bank would actually cash.

Do not—I repeat—do NOT do business with this place. I brought in a binder full of old cards. I was offered a (lowball) price for them and was told I could be paid in cash. They told me it shouldn’t be a problem. When I went to pick up the money, I was handed a check. A check that looked like it had been scribbled on by a young child. When I asked why I wasn’t getting cash, she—Sparrow—told me that I was NEVER told I could get cash and acted as though it was absurd to think that a business keeps cash on hand. A business that buys and sells collectibles every. Single. Day.

I take the check, realize it’s a Key Bank check. There are like two in the entire city, neither of which are anywhere NEAR me. “Don’t worry,” she says. “You can go next door, to the US Bank and cash it there. People do it all the time here.” Well, we all know that isn’t how it works, but I tried it anyway. Of course US Bank wouldn’t cash a Key Bank check. So I try Fred Meyer. Wal Mart. And, eventually, drove 8 miles out of my way to try and cash it at a Key Bank. Nobody would cash it, of course. Because it looked like it had been written by a small child, as I said before. So, I bring the check back only to be told that I now have to wait 14 days to make sure the check they wrote me—the check I had just handed back to them—had not been cashed. So, I waited. When I finally was told I could come pick up MY money after THEIR mandatory waiting period, they hand me a second check—a printed cashier’s check. Now, why wouldn’t they have just given me a fully printed cashier’s check in the first place??

These people are immature, not very bright children. I mean, I guess you can give them your money if you really want to, but I would HIGHLY discourage it. And DEFINITELY do not let them rip you off by selling them your...