Had the absolute pleasure of meeting Johnny down in Portland! I spotted him at the little pub down the road from the expo, said hi and was shocked when he invited me over to his table to have drink and we talked for a good while! Awesome dude, just like how he is on the videos! I’ll be a viewer for as long as you do this 🫡
I really wanted to see him too since I'm in Oregon, but I'm disabled and don't drive anymore. I'm glad you had fun! I hope you got a picture or two with him!
If you aren't subscribed. Hes one of the ones who deserves it. Hes a real one. Not about the money, not about the bs, just pure passion and the ability to bring you right back to a better time.
I worked at at T-Mobile years ago and was asked by a customer if I could sell them and install a screen protector for their wrist watch (before cellular watches were sold) I told him the best I could do is sell him a phone screen protector, cut it, and hope it works. I told him that if we do this to fully expec that it will not work. He agreed, I tried my best, but because of the watch glass curvature it didn't work.
There's literally NOTHING about doing TH-cam for money. People need to make a living. That's the way I see it. If everyone caters to everyone's sensibilities and sense of nostalgia, we'd all go broke in the long run.
Always a pleasure when you are on the channel. If I'm even in Vancouver, I'll definitely check out your shop and buy something. Love physical media, and LOVE independent game shops. Will always support as much as I'm able.
In late January or early February I went to Press Start with my wife. We travelled from Louisiana up to Canada for the weekend. I'm a collector of RPGs from NES to present and yall blew my mind with your selection. I remember I had a budget of like $1000 but my wife paid my initial budget so I got another $1000 worth of games. I fondly remember me asking you if you had a Cobalt Blue SP. You did but you used it to test your games. You allowed me to purchase the SP which I am truly grateful for that. Press Start is an excellent establishment and wish I was local to come to your store more often. Thank you for the experience.
Russell seems like the nicest dude ever. So down to earth and chill and very passionate about his store. We need more people like him on this planet.. Great video..
If you are shocked by the prices, remember this is a Canadian game store. $100 USD is around $136 Canadian. So if you are used to prices in the states take off 30% for a quick conversion.
I live nearby, and this guy is genuinely a solid dude. Knows his stuff. Went to get disc resurfaced and he was kind enough to hook up his GameCube and test it for me before leaving. Walked out with some fairly priced GBA games as well. Go and support this store!
Retired on a fixed income buying games can be a challenge for me. I encountered a used game store not far from me that had a game that I wanted. I dug around and found about seven PS1 games that I had. I figured I could take them down and trade them for the game I was looking for. When I took the games in the proprietor, was astonished at the pristine condition that they were in as if they had never been played or touched. Several of the games were apparently rare and I walked out of the store with the game I wanted and $700 to boot. I was very pleased obviously.
The only problem I've ever had with a game store is dealing with employees that don't know anything about the games/model kits that they're selling. Then go on to tell me that the condition of a game doesn't matter, so the copy of Silent Hill 4 that's been dunked in some brownish liquid and scratched to hell is more than likely going to rot with their $180 price tag on it. I'm very happy I managed to buy a copy at $80 before the price spikes.
Great video; you two touched amazing topics while running a small business. I own and run Master Blaster's Retro Video-Game Lounge in Placerville, CA for little over 2 years now and I love it. I love how the community has taken me and my business, how we have become like "family" together. One thing I hate is customers expecting me to reduce my prices because they pulled up ebay or price charting. I'm more than happy to give them discounts as long as they are purchasing multiple items or if they are returning customers. Other than that, I nicely suggest them to go ahead and purchase it on that specific platform. I love what I do and I love getting to know my customers, understanding what they like and even focusing in making sure to have new product available at all times. Johnny keep me posted if you get to visit CA, I'll be more than happy to show you around my little store and maybe challenge you to SFII or Air Hockey. Thank you! - Chris
People are idiots in general. After years of witnessing it over and over, it makes me just want to draw welfare so that I don’t have to participate in a completely hopeless present and future.
What you do when she doesn't specify which Mario game she wants, is you go into a deep dive on the history of Mario games for her, starting with his role as Jumpman in Donkey Kong. Don't forget the spin-offs.
Wow. Some of those customer expectations are wild. I think some of the questions are justified "why is XX game so much?" "can you order XX for me?" Speaking personally, if there was a very expensive game I saw in a store like this that I wanted, I'd look online to see what the going rate was, then make allowances for the store's efforts to get the game, and their need to make a fair profit for those efforts, before I'd decide if I though it was a fair price. I love stores like this and I love to do my bit to support them when I find them.
The thing that always blew my mind when I worked for Computer Exchange in the UK is people asking "when is Mario Galaxy coming to Playstation?" or, and I actually heard this during the PS3/360 era "I'll get a PS3 when Halo 3 comes to it".
Another one I get at my store. Customer looking at a display case packed with a variety of consoles: "Is this all you got for consoles?" Or "are these all the games you have for...?" while staring at shelves of games for the console in question.
This brings back so many memories of me working in a game store and people would bring in lots of low value sports games and cheaper titles expecting to get massive trade in values on them. I couldn't set the price so I usually took no end of dirty looks and remarks when I could only offer a few pounds for an old fifa or golf game. Don't even get me started on the majorly scratched games that people took as an insult when you said you couldn't buy it from them.
there are literally people who still spout that shit like its still 2009. Its like the imbeciles who still use the "Its Happening" Ron Paul meme from 2012 or still spout the "arrow in the knee" stupidity
I have noticed that a ton with people these days. Lots of people are impatient to let you talk and cut you off lol, it is hard to have conversations where people genuinely listen to you these days. In Johns case, I'm sure he was just excited and it wasn't meant to be that way lol.
I struggle with this mainly because if my brain doesn't say it as soon as I think of it.. I will forget what I'm going to say. Especially about subjects I'm really into.
I used to work in a video store. Customers (usually the same few) would come in early, rent a movie, return with it several hours later, and ask for either a refund or another movie to rent free of charge. As an employee, I got one free rental a day. One guy knew that and would always ask me if he could have my free rental for that particular day. I learned at an early age that the customer is rarely right no matter what that old adage says.
@bobthe3rd494 it's still untrue then... my first job was in housing construction, and the house I worked on was the single ugliest amalgamation of Lincoln Green and puke-green doors, hunter green carpets, cherry-stained pine wood flooring and brown floor molding. Bossman said theres no way the buyer was married, since no reasonable second set of eyes would okay any of it.
About saying no to things you don't want, I think people don't realize that game stores have very limited space. Maybe some customers think that the "storage in the back" is a vortex to unlimited storage. Like he said, it isn't a money issue. They just can't store these items forever, and that is how long they would sit on the shelf. If every game store doesn't want your items, please try to recycle them.
Funny thing about Persona 1, it's included on the PlayStation Mini and that was only $99 at launch, though it quickly dropped in price (I paid $18 for it from Best Buy a few months after launch).
I remember EB Games' full refund policy back in the 90's. It was like having the Steam refund policy with physical media, it was great. At my local store they would be willing to haggle the price on used games and trade-ins too. Then all EBs became Gamestop and everything got lame real fast.
I used to work at Electronics Boutique back when we took opened new games back up to a week after purchase. Most of the time it worked out great and people would only switch out a game they really didn't like for one other new game and everyone was happy. There had to be those "sneaky" abusers that tried to treat us as a weekly rental store, but we cut them off after 3 exchanges and took note of who they were in case they tried to do it again. Eventually corporate changed the rules since they were getting in trouble for "selling used games as new." As store employees, we also used to be able to take home games and play them for a few days so we could tell customers about the latest and greatest games. Then we would shrink-wrap the games again and customers never knew the difference. That had to stop when the return policy changed. Them were the good 'ol days!
I'm betting in a few years people are gonna be asking "Why is it Press Start?" because all the companies have dropped Start for various things. . . For some reason.
My guy! Happy anniversary!! I'm a huge FF fan and have been watching your channel for over 10 years. Cheers my dude! Keep up the great content. And cheers to the 90s video cam media lol. #ys ftw. Ys is also my favorite series.
I'm so relived to hear that I've not been too much of a pain while shopping at game stores. Course I'm somewhat of a mild competitor and don't really buy much anymore. Someday perhaps I will collect again. Game crazy was awesome. I returned a game about as many times as the Ocarina of time trade sequence. I think I finished that whole fiasco off with either PS1 fighting force or Metal Gear Solid PS1. Fun times game crazy was such a forgiving company to kids back then.
@sanane66543 Was really hoping we would get some insight on a small retro game store owners opinion on emulation and the future of stores like his. For every person who has disposable income for Soul hackers on 3DS, there are 20 people that just emulate it.
@@sanane66543You don't own anything with emulation. The whole point of retro collecting is owning a piece of nostalgia that means a lot to you. Price doesn't matter after you have it in your collection
I worked at a record store and a lot of the same things would happen. Sometimes a guy would come in with ONE record to sell. He would expect to sell his one record for the price that we were selling the same record for. "Whaddaya mean you won't give me $30 for my single copy of The Wall by Pink Floyd?" Also I've heard of guys showing up at Sports Card stores with boxes and albums of cards thinking they're gonna walk out with THOUSANDS of dollars in cash but they just get turned away. Great video!
I bought Wild Arms 3 and a couple of Resident Evil pins from Press Start during the summer and had a great experience! It was cool getting to talk with Rus and when I'm on that end of the country again I'll drop by for sure.
We haven't had a johnny out and about adventure video in such a long time. This is definitely a welcome sight indeed. I think when it comes to buying things in a store. I don't really care about getting a few dollars off and I'm not going to nickel and dime people over a few bucks. I can tell if the price of a specified game is listed at a fair price or if its overpriced - if I think it's overpriced then I won't buy it but if I think it's fairly priced (market price) or slightly below market price then I'll buy it - I'm not looking to cut off a few extra bucks or get a discount unless the clerk is adamant especially if I buy multiple items from them. I think the biggest thing for me when I go into any game store regardless if it's my first time visiting the store or if I've been there multiple times is I leave my ego at the door because no matter how much video game knowledge I have I know the people who are at the store definitely know more than me and are more than capable of running the business to the best of their ability. I go into the store looking to see if they have anything that I'm interested in buying - if they don't - I simply move on and if they do I'll happily as long as I think it's fair price. I certainly having no issues paying 300 to 400 dollars for a game just as long as it's considered fair market value. Also the last thing I would ever do is lecture people especially people who run a video game store. It doesn't take a lot of effort to have a little courtesy and a little common sense.
I remember I wanted a trade for trade for a different color Gamecube at a different retro store and the one I ended up getting was way worse condition (buttons barely worked, laser was worse), I gave them a controller that was good condition for not getting a controller and I STILL had to pay $30. I don't know man, I feel like in a case like that it should have been a trade for trade.
Apparently, at gamestop, you can't say "I'd like to buy that game that I didn't pre order." 😮💨 . . I tried to purchase ys x on the 25th at a gamestop where the people waiting outside before it opened were all there to get "call of dookie" 😜 and I was the only one there for ys x. The reason I know is because I was bored and felt like talking to people for some reason. . After waiting in line for about 30 minutes with high hopes, the cashier told me they don't order extra games anymore and that since I didn't pre order it, I won't be able to buy it from them anytime soon. . Moral of the story is, I told the cashier "that's stupid", walked away, and got the only copy they had at a best buy around the corner. . Oh. . And gamestop sucks 💩. The end. . . 🤓
I feel what Russell goes through I deal with the same questions myself but worst of the worst for me is when peoplw say I am overpriced and try to show me the lowest ebay listing telling me see I can clearly see its unsold I see there filters I just say my price is firm and you can check other shops and dealers
Really sucks the retro scene has gotten so insane, but it's really not the shop owner's fault. Though I've also seen some stores try to exploit it! This store seems very well stocked and fair though. I have actually had game stores order things for me, but it really doesn't make sense for them to do it. Just resort to ebay if the store doesn't have it.
From what I've learned is to look up the game play before you buy the game and if you have to think about it for a while thats all right. That's what I've learned the hard way but yeah people don't really realize that they don't produce the game anymore so what comes through the door is what they have honestly. It's not like the game store has a warehouse connected to the store. The same problem for grocery stores about having product. I am surprised about how games have gone up in price like for instance I bought back then devils third for $50 bucks back then know over $200 and know it's expensive even Castlevania Dracula x bought it for $200 bucks back then know around$300 today dang. Video game collecting has gotten to be expensive today from where it was that's why I'm glad to have the games I have even though if I were to sell any of my games I would not be able to find it again with out a high cost, just have to be happy with what you got.
if you buy a game in 2024, especially a retro game, with all the information we have at our finger tips, and you try to return it because you don't like... that's 100% your fault. should've done your research!
Thanks for reminding me of this store, I know you’ve shown it before but I just haven’t had a chance to come down there in like 7 years or something. I’ll check out the Dreamcast stuff maybe ,I’m at my friends in new west alot recently so why not
I've been here before, I wish I had known at the time y'all knew each other! I'm going to go back and ask every one of these questions and see if he catches on 🤣
I get that kind of customers on my Ebay items. One guy in particular sends me a message, "This last sold for this amount, take my offer for this.". And it doesn't end there, then I get "Set it up", "Make it happen" numerous times. I ended up blocking him permanently. I don't think some kids realize that there is like a 13% charge that's deducted from our sales on top of shipping costs. Sometimes people will get a really good price on an item if the seller just wants to dump them or doesn't realize what the current market prices are. I'd rather give the customer a really good price, but Ebay really takes a ton of profit from the sale of our items.
They are whining. On Ebay I still save more money than I would spend at a retro store. I have a couple salers I deal with exclusively on ebay, all great people that do great business and at a fair price. Some people overcharge on ebay for sure but in my experience I've had some good finds on Ebay. I got a CIB okay condition twilight princess copy on gamecube for like 80 or 90 bucks. Not bad at all
Owner - "Welcome in!" Customer - "Excuse me, do you sell game?" Owner - "Get Out" As someone who has watched a number of Pink Gorilla Twitch livestreams there is some silly stuff that comes up. I can only imagine the ludicrous nature of so many of those interactions that I havent witnessed. At conventions you expect a more in-tune buyer because many of those folks are collectors or gaming fans but random people? Yikes, those conversations have to be brutal when they come up so much. Thanks you both for addressing this
Honestly, this guy should probably take suggestions to heart when it comes to the layout of the store. I would walk in, see that there is stuff all over the place and leave. If there are bulk items scattered, put them somewhere else. Out of sight, out of mind. Anyone can talk about how long they have been in business but a professional will focus on improving rather than talk about a 14 year badge of honor. For ordering games, I'd do that for the more rare titles on ebay and add your markup to make some money off it. If the customer doesn't like that, oh well. You will still make some money throughout the day.
I live in NYC and really miss all the independent game stores. Some of the big ones survived but there used to be tons all over the 5 boroughs. Such a fun environment to be in. Really miss it.
Greetings from Sweden! The most saddest visit I ever had to a video game store was to GameStop. I knew the shop manager very well, one of the nicest people ever. BUT upon a purchase of the collector's edition of Age of Empires III I asked if I could buy within two days when I get money. It was no problem. The new employee took down this massive box, placed it on the counter, stuck a sticker note straight on this beautiful tome filled with art and history books etc....and starts writing in the date I will pick it up. Both me and the shop manager were in a state of schock. It was heart breaking to see.
This would have been funny as a skit. Where you walk into the store and try to be all the people that he was talking about. They would make great shorts as well.
Fun video! I feel like a lot of those questions and actions are common sense not to ask or do but maybe that’s just me. I wish I had a game store like that near me
I've been going to game stores my entire life there's a very fine line between a game store and a museum masquerading as one. I wonder what his prices are like.
I had a fun time meeting you at PRGE. Reggie napping in the back of your panel. Eavesdropping on a conversation about Iron Maiden between you, Metal Jesus and Gabbo the Giver. "What is your favorite Iron Maiden album?" "Number of the Beast" Gabbo points to his Iron Maiden shirt Metal Jesus: "Well, there's also Piece of Mind and Powerslave". I can't help but feel like if Bithead1000 were there, he would have championed Somewhere in Time/Long Distance Runner.
The refund bit is interesting because it can change country to country. In most parts of Europe the customer has a "right of recess" if he brings an item it back within 7 to 10 days (obviously in the same condition he bought it in and with a receipt), by law, no question asked.
Had the absolute pleasure of meeting Johnny down in Portland! I spotted him at the little pub down the road from the expo, said hi and was shocked when he invited me over to his table to have drink and we talked for a good while!
Awesome dude, just like how he is on the videos! I’ll be a viewer for as long as you do this 🫡
How fun!
That's so cool. He is just such a gentleman this doesn't surprise me. ❤️
I really wanted to see him too since I'm in Oregon, but I'm disabled and don't drive anymore. I'm glad you had fun! I hope you got a picture or two with him!
Legendary
You sst and had beer with a gaming legend and because he invited you!?!?!? What a guy!! Totally jelly!!! HCG is the best!!!
If you aren't subscribed. Hes one of the ones who deserves it. Hes a real one. Not about the money, not about the bs, just pure passion and the ability to bring you right back to a better time.
Best one i heard when i worked in a game store
"Hey, can you put a new battery in my watch for me"
Then proceeded to throw a tantrum when told no😂
I worked at at T-Mobile years ago and was asked by a customer if I could sell them and install a screen protector for their wrist watch (before cellular watches were sold)
I told him the best I could do is sell him a phone screen protector, cut it, and hope it works. I told him that if we do this to fully expec that it will not work. He agreed, I tried my best, but because of the watch glass curvature it didn't work.
Lies
There's literally NOTHING about doing TH-cam for money. People need to make a living. That's the way I see it. If everyone caters to everyone's sensibilities and sense of nostalgia, we'd all go broke in the long run.
Thanks for having us on the show Johnny!, always a great time :)
I've been in this game store before, but have you ever had a problem with theft or just general problems with people coming in being shady??
Always a pleasure when you are on the channel. If I'm even in Vancouver, I'll definitely check out your shop and buy something. Love physical media, and LOVE independent game shops. Will always support as much as I'm able.
@@shayne604 Naturally, i always try to talk to those people a lot they leave really fast after i strike up a positive convo with them about gaming 😂
Will be visiting when Im in Vancouver, BC!!!
In late January or early February I went to Press Start with my wife. We travelled from Louisiana up to Canada for the weekend. I'm a collector of RPGs from NES to present and yall blew my mind with your selection. I remember I had a budget of like $1000 but my wife paid my initial budget so I got another $1000 worth of games. I fondly remember me asking you if you had a Cobalt Blue SP. You did but you used it to test your games. You allowed me to purchase the SP which I am truly grateful for that. Press Start is an excellent establishment and wish I was local to come to your store more often. Thank you for the experience.
Russell seems like the nicest dude ever. So down to earth and chill and very passionate about his store. We need more people like him on this planet.. Great video..
If you are shocked by the prices, remember this is a Canadian game store. $100 USD is around $136 Canadian. So if you are used to prices in the states take off 30% for a quick conversion.
Good call. I was confused every time I saw a price sticker.
"Hey, do you guys sell Deodorant here?"
Forbidden
Verboten
Dude I got a deodorant ad mid video. You’ve changed the past, present, and future
"Hey, where are the women?"
Every die-hard weeb in a nutshell, lol.
I live nearby, and this guy is genuinely a solid dude. Knows his stuff. Went to get disc resurfaced and he was kind enough to hook up his GameCube and test it for me before leaving. Walked out with some fairly priced GBA games as well. Go and support this store!
He didn't elude to the facade trope, though...
Retired on a fixed income buying games can be a challenge for me. I encountered a used game store not far from me that had a game that I wanted. I dug around and found about seven PS1 games that I had. I figured I could take them down and trade them for the game I was looking for. When I took the games in the proprietor, was astonished at the pristine condition that they were in as if they had never been played or touched. Several of the games were apparently rare and I walked out of the store with the game I wanted and $700 to boot. I was very pleased obviously.
That's a nice story and an honest game shop owner. What game did you get?
Kung-fu @@drunkensailor112
This interview was actually super cool. People often misunderstand the logistics of owning a business and that money and resources aren't infinite.
Yeah
It’s not your customers job to look after your business. Their job is to find good deals.
If i enter a store like that i'd go bankrupt in an afternoon
I’ve been there. They have so much cool stuff and the prices are fair despite the obvious adjustments for supply and demand
Canadian prices remember.
The only problem I've ever had with a game store is dealing with employees that don't know anything about the games/model kits that they're selling. Then go on to tell me that the condition of a game doesn't matter, so the copy of Silent Hill 4 that's been dunked in some brownish liquid and scratched to hell is more than likely going to rot with their $180 price tag on it. I'm very happy I managed to buy a copy at $80 before the price spikes.
Thank you for the video, John! It's always nice to see Russel in the video :)
Great video; you two touched amazing topics while running a small business. I own and run Master Blaster's Retro Video-Game Lounge in Placerville, CA for little over 2 years now and I love it. I love how the community has taken me and my business, how we have become like "family" together. One thing I hate is customers expecting me to reduce my prices because they pulled up ebay or price charting. I'm more than happy to give them discounts as long as they are purchasing multiple items or if they are returning customers. Other than that, I nicely suggest them to go ahead and purchase it on that specific platform. I love what I do and I love getting to know my customers, understanding what they like and even focusing in making sure to have new product available at all times.
Johnny keep me posted if you get to visit CA, I'll be more than happy to show you around my little store and maybe challenge you to SFII or Air Hockey. Thank you! - Chris
^ THIS
I grew up in a family retail business, one thing is universal, customers are oblivious to how retail businesses run
People are idiots in general. After years of witnessing it over and over, it makes me just want to draw welfare so that I don’t have to participate in a completely hopeless present and future.
I'm taking notes because if I visit one day I'm going to be asking all of these questions. 💩
🤣
Mom customer: Hey you sell Mario for Nintendo?
Owner: What one
Mom customer: Mario for Nintendo
@EllieFour 👍
What you do when she doesn't specify which Mario game she wants, is you go into a deep dive on the history of Mario games for her, starting with his role as Jumpman in Donkey Kong. Don't forget the spin-offs.
Absolutely love these videos you’ve been doing where you go out somewhere. So much fun and unique content! Keep it up, dude!
Wow. Some of those customer expectations are wild. I think some of the questions are justified "why is XX game so much?" "can you order XX for me?" Speaking personally, if there was a very expensive game I saw in a store like this that I wanted, I'd look online to see what the going rate was, then make allowances for the store's efforts to get the game, and their need to make a fair profit for those efforts, before I'd decide if I though it was a fair price. I love stores like this and I love to do my bit to support them when I find them.
The thing that always blew my mind when I worked for Computer Exchange in the UK is people asking "when is Mario Galaxy coming to Playstation?" or, and I actually heard this during the PS3/360 era "I'll get a PS3 when Halo 3 comes to it".
Love this video. Such a great watch with 2 great people.
Another one I get at my store.
Customer looking at a display case packed with a variety of consoles: "Is this all you got for consoles?"
Or "are these all the games you have for...?" while staring at shelves of games for the console in question.
Your channel is a place where I can always relax and enjoy great humor. Keep up your hilarious videos!🏆🎸🦈
I worked in a videogame store for ten years and can confirm all of these things happen!
This brings back so many memories of me working in a game store and people would bring in lots of low value sports games and cheaper titles expecting to get massive trade in values on them. I couldn't set the price so I usually took no end of dirty looks and remarks when I could only offer a few pounds for an old fifa or golf game. Don't even get me started on the majorly scratched games that people took as an insult when you said you couldn't buy it from them.
Big shout out to Russell in participating in this one!! This was a great episode!
"Do you sell *Battletoads* here?" 😉😏
there are literally people who still spout that shit like its still 2009. Its like the imbeciles who still use the "Its Happening" Ron Paul meme from 2012 or still spout the "arrow in the knee" stupidity
And a pilgrim shoe is hanging behind the counter.
I've worked in 3 different game stores, and in all 3, I was always asked, "Do you have Super Mario on Playstation?"
How much money can you make working at a game store? Very curuose especially uf you can trouble shoot and repaire games and consoles.
@@willeysingleton3057next to nothing
@@willeysingleton3057Depends on the overhead, but generally, not much.
Worked at a game store for 20+ years, I still get this question too. 😅
Just had a woman try to argue that I was being an asshole because "I wouldn't let her play Sonic on her Nintendo"
Wow, it looked like a real struggle for John to hold back and let his guest talk ! 😂 the body language was real.
I have noticed that a ton with people these days. Lots of people are impatient to let you talk and cut you off lol, it is hard to have conversations where people genuinely listen to you these days. In Johns case, I'm sure he was just excited and it wasn't meant to be that way lol.
I struggle with this mainly because if my brain doesn't say it as soon as I think of it.. I will forget what I'm going to say.
Especially about subjects I'm really into.
“Wanna buy my 5 copies of Dynamite Dux?”
Press start Video games is hands down the best retro game video store in the lower mainland, in BC
I used to work in a video store. Customers (usually the same few) would come in early, rent a movie, return with it several hours later, and ask for either a refund or another movie to rent free of charge. As an employee, I got one free rental a day. One guy knew that and would always ask me if he could have my free rental for that particular day. I learned at an early age that the customer is rarely right no matter what that old adage says.
The customer is always misinformed.
The old quote is is incomplete. "The customer is always right in matters of taste".
@bobthe3rd494 it's still untrue then... my first job was in housing construction, and the house I worked on was the single ugliest amalgamation of Lincoln Green and puke-green doors, hunter green carpets, cherry-stained pine wood flooring and brown floor molding.
Bossman said theres no way the buyer was married, since no reasonable second set of eyes would okay any of it.
Nothing like a Sunday watching John's videos
About saying no to things you don't want, I think people don't realize that game stores have very limited space. Maybe some customers think that the "storage in the back" is a vortex to unlimited storage. Like he said, it isn't a money issue. They just can't store these items forever, and that is how long they would sit on the shelf. If every game store doesn't want your items, please try to recycle them.
Yes. This is why I don't buy a lot of stuff. It takes up space in my house.
Lol, if everyone recycled their sports games... they might actually be worth something lol.
The game that comes to mind for me is when folks come into my shop mad that I'm not taking anymore Kinect Adventures lol
Funny thing about Persona 1, it's included on the PlayStation Mini and that was only $99 at launch, though it quickly dropped in price (I paid $18 for it from Best Buy a few months after launch).
Russell’s Binding Of Isaac shirt brought me here.
I remember EB Games' full refund policy back in the 90's. It was like having the Steam refund policy with physical media, it was great. At my local store they would be willing to haggle the price on used games and trade-ins too. Then all EBs became Gamestop and everything got lame real fast.
I love that Johnny is rocking the classic Resident Evil shirt!
Epic video guys. I learned a long time ago professionals don’t need my recommendations lol. Great you point it out here.
Press Start is the best. My source for pretty much every game I buy these days!
I used to work at Electronics Boutique back when we took opened new games back up to a week after purchase. Most of the time it worked out great and people would only switch out a game they really didn't like for one other new game and everyone was happy. There had to be those "sneaky" abusers that tried to treat us as a weekly rental store, but we cut them off after 3 exchanges and took note of who they were in case they tried to do it again. Eventually corporate changed the rules since they were getting in trouble for "selling used games as new."
As store employees, we also used to be able to take home games and play them for a few days so we could tell customers about the latest and greatest games. Then we would shrink-wrap the games again and customers never knew the difference. That had to stop when the return policy changed. Them were the good 'ol days!
I missed those 90s.i pre order alot of the games
Great video again, Johnny. The store is so beautiful. What a dream place and business!
I'm betting in a few years people are gonna be asking "Why is it Press Start?" because all the companies have dropped Start for various things. . . For some reason.
Yeah I still get thrown by "options" on playstation 5
My guy! Happy anniversary!! I'm a huge FF fan and have been watching your channel for over 10 years. Cheers my dude! Keep up the great content. And cheers to the 90s video cam media lol. #ys ftw. Ys is also my favorite series.
I'm so relived to hear that I've not been too much of a pain while shopping at game stores. Course I'm somewhat of a mild competitor and don't really buy much anymore. Someday perhaps I will collect again. Game crazy was awesome. I returned a game about as many times as the Ocarina of time trade sequence. I think I finished that whole fiasco off with either PS1 fighting force or Metal Gear Solid PS1. Fun times game crazy was such a forgiving company to kids back then.
So wholesome. Appreciate all the work you do fr 👍
Johnny always puts on for his guys. True friend over here 🤟🏼
Great video Johnny! Love to see you getting out there, much love from PRGE!
The price on Chrono Trigger hurt my heart.
thank god for emulation aint nobody should pay that just ot play a game
@sanane66543 Was really hoping we would get some insight on a small retro game store owners opinion on emulation and the future of stores like his. For every person who has disposable income for Soul hackers on 3DS, there are 20 people that just emulate it.
I'm about to buy an OG copy on the SNES. Goes for 250 to 300 or so. I'm fine with paying it because it is a grail game
@@sanane66543You don't own anything with emulation. The whole point of retro collecting is owning a piece of nostalgia that means a lot to you. Price doesn't matter after you have it in your collection
@@sanane66543 Emulation is transformative and enhances the SNES experience. For me, physical consoles and carts are obsolete.
NHL 94 is an absolute treasure! I wish I still had my copy 😢.
This has the vibe of a 90s high school educational video made by adults in their mid to late 30s trying to show that they're still cool. I love it.
Russell seems like such a lovely guy!
nice change of pace! like it!
kings of New West keep being awesome Russ
I worked at a record store and a lot of the same things would happen.
Sometimes a guy would come in with ONE record to sell. He would expect to sell his one record for the price that we were selling the same record for.
"Whaddaya mean you won't give me $30 for my single copy of The Wall by Pink Floyd?"
Also I've heard of guys showing up at Sports Card stores with boxes and albums of cards thinking they're gonna walk out with THOUSANDS of dollars in cash but they just get turned away.
Great video!
I bought Wild Arms 3 and a couple of Resident Evil pins from Press Start during the summer and had a great experience! It was cool getting to talk with Rus and when I'm on that end of the country again I'll drop by for sure.
We haven't had a johnny out and about adventure video in such a long time. This is definitely a welcome sight indeed.
I think when it comes to buying things in a store. I don't really care about getting a few dollars off and I'm not going to nickel and dime people over a few bucks. I can tell if the price of a specified game is listed at a fair price or if its overpriced - if I think it's overpriced then I won't buy it but if I think it's fairly priced (market price) or slightly below market price then I'll buy it - I'm not looking to cut off a few extra bucks or get a discount unless the clerk is adamant especially if I buy multiple items from them.
I think the biggest thing for me when I go into any game store regardless if it's my first time visiting the store or if I've been there multiple times is I leave my ego at the door because no matter how much video game knowledge I have I know the people who are at the store definitely know more than me and are more than capable of running the business to the best of their ability. I go into the store looking to see if they have anything that I'm interested in buying - if they don't - I simply move on and if they do I'll happily as long as I think it's fair price. I certainly having no issues paying 300 to 400 dollars for a game just as long as it's considered fair market value. Also the last thing I would ever do is lecture people especially people who run a video game store. It doesn't take a lot of effort to have a little courtesy and a little common sense.
I remember I wanted a trade for trade for a different color Gamecube at a different retro store and the one I ended up getting was way worse condition (buttons barely worked, laser was worse), I gave them a controller that was good condition for not getting a controller and I STILL had to pay $30. I don't know man, I feel like in a case like that it should have been a trade for trade.
They did a service for you, and you still feel like it should have been like a Facebook Marketplace transaction? Delusional.
Apparently, at gamestop, you can't say "I'd like to buy that game that I didn't pre order." 😮💨 . . I tried to purchase ys x on the 25th at a gamestop where the people waiting outside before it opened were all there to get "call of dookie" 😜 and I was the only one there for ys x. The reason I know is because I was bored and felt like talking to people for some reason. . After waiting in line for about 30 minutes with high hopes, the cashier told me they don't order extra games anymore and that since I didn't pre order it, I won't be able to buy it from them anytime soon. . Moral of the story is, I told the cashier "that's stupid", walked away, and got the only copy they had at a best buy around the corner. . Oh. . And gamestop sucks 💩. The end. . . 🤓
Such a nicely curated store! I really want to go if I’m ever on the west coast
“I work for the Wata Grading Company and boy, do I have an opportunity for you!!”
Welcome back Johnny! Glad I got to see ya at PRGE this year!
This is a nice follow up video, great stuff!
I feel what Russell goes through I deal with the same questions myself but worst of the worst for me is when peoplw say I am overpriced and try to show me the lowest ebay listing telling me see I can clearly see its unsold I see there filters I just say my price is firm and you can check other shops and dealers
What an amazing store! Wish I could check it out some day.
It's more retro than a retro gamestop lol.
Fun video, much love guys!
To each their own ...but I've always hated "Pokeman" & will never purchase any past or future releases.
Really sucks the retro scene has gotten so insane, but it's really not the shop owner's fault. Though I've also seen some stores try to exploit it! This store seems very well stocked and fair though. I have actually had game stores order things for me, but it really doesn't make sense for them to do it. Just resort to ebay if the store doesn't have it.
Great video and interesting topic to cover. Russel has a very cool store there.
From what I've learned is to look up the game play before you buy the game and if you have to think about it for a while thats all right. That's what I've learned the hard way but yeah people don't really realize that they don't produce the game anymore so what comes through the door is what they have honestly. It's not like the game store has a warehouse connected to the store. The same problem for grocery stores about having product. I am surprised about how games have gone up in price like for instance I bought back then devils third for $50 bucks back then know over $200 and know it's expensive even Castlevania Dracula x bought it for $200 bucks back then know around$300 today dang. Video game collecting has gotten to be expensive today from where it was that's why I'm glad to have the games I have even though if I were to sell any of my games I would not be able to find it again with out a high cost, just have to be happy with what you got.
Came to watch to make sure I’m not annoying Russ! Hahahaha! Hi Russ! At least I bring you nice games with brand new unique artbooks.
if you buy a game in 2024, especially a retro game, with all the information we have at our finger tips, and you try to return it because you don't like... that's 100% your fault. should've done your research!
Exactly. We have youtube for that.
If I don't like something... I wouldn't even bother to return it.
I'd just resell it and count it as a loss.
@@b4rs629same
Thanks for reminding me of this store, I know you’ve shown it before but I just haven’t had a chance to come down there in like 7 years or something. I’ll check out the Dreamcast stuff maybe ,I’m at my friends in new west alot recently so why not
That store looks so cool.
I've been here before, I wish I had known at the time y'all knew each other! I'm going to go back and ask every one of these questions and see if he catches on 🤣
That store looks awesome!
I get that kind of customers on my Ebay items. One guy in particular sends me a message, "This last sold for this amount, take my offer for this.". And it doesn't end there, then I get "Set it up", "Make it happen" numerous times. I ended up blocking him permanently. I don't think some kids realize that there is like a 13% charge that's deducted from our sales on top of shipping costs. Sometimes people will get a really good price on an item if the seller just wants to dump them or doesn't realize what the current market prices are. I'd rather give the customer a really good price, but Ebay really takes a ton of profit from the sale of our items.
They are whining. On Ebay I still save more money than I would spend at a retro store. I have a couple salers I deal with exclusively on ebay, all great people that do great business and at a fair price. Some people overcharge on ebay for sure but in my experience I've had some good finds on Ebay. I got a CIB okay condition twilight princess copy on gamecube for like 80 or 90 bucks. Not bad at all
I never sold on ebay, but this is one of those reasons ^.
This store looks really awesome
Thank you for being so positive
Collector Game Store tours would be a sweet segment for this channel!
Owner - "Welcome in!"
Customer - "Excuse me, do you sell game?"
Owner - "Get Out"
As someone who has watched a number of Pink Gorilla Twitch livestreams there is some silly stuff that comes up. I can only imagine the ludicrous nature of so many of those interactions that I havent witnessed. At conventions you expect a more in-tune buyer because many of those folks are collectors or gaming fans but random people? Yikes, those conversations have to be brutal when they come up so much. Thanks you both for addressing this
Honestly, this guy should probably take suggestions to heart when it comes to the layout of the store. I would walk in, see that there is stuff all over the place and leave. If there are bulk items scattered, put them somewhere else. Out of sight, out of mind. Anyone can talk about how long they have been in business but a professional will focus on improving rather than talk about a 14 year badge of honor. For ordering games, I'd do that for the more rare titles on ebay and add your markup to make some money off it. If the customer doesn't like that, oh well. You will still make some money throughout the day.
Well, let me turn this around. You know what I hate hearing from clerks in gaming stores?? “It’s not for sale. It’s display only.”
Well played good sir *tips hat*
Press start is the best video game store in the lower mainland
Loved this style of video from you! Is a nice change!
Love this vid feels like a return to form ❤
I live in NYC and really miss all the independent game stores. Some of the big ones survived but there used to be tons all over the 5 boroughs. Such a fun environment to be in. Really miss it.
Greetings from Sweden! The most saddest visit I ever had to a video game store was to GameStop. I knew the shop manager very well, one of the nicest people ever. BUT upon a purchase of the collector's edition of Age of Empires III I asked if I could buy within two days when I get money. It was no problem. The new employee took down this massive box, placed it on the counter, stuck a sticker note straight on this beautiful tome filled with art and history books etc....and starts writing in the date I will pick it up. Both me and the shop manager were in a state of schock. It was heart breaking to see.
Love his Isaac shirt
What a great looking store! So much product!
Man I wish there was a store like this near where I live 😥
I have owned a game store for 5 years now, and everything this man said is accurate
This would have been funny as a skit. Where you walk into the store and try to be all the people that he was talking about.
They would make great shorts as well.
Fun video! I feel like a lot of those questions and actions are common sense not to ask or do but maybe that’s just me. I wish I had a game store like that near me
I've been going to game stores my entire life there's a very fine line between a game store and a museum masquerading as one. I wonder what his prices are like.
08:23 Spot the Anamanaguchi album! Nice!
I had a fun time meeting you at PRGE. Reggie napping in the back of your panel. Eavesdropping on a conversation about Iron Maiden between you, Metal Jesus and Gabbo the Giver.
"What is your favorite Iron Maiden album?"
"Number of the Beast"
Gabbo points to his Iron Maiden shirt
Metal Jesus: "Well, there's also Piece of Mind and Powerslave".
I can't help but feel like if Bithead1000 were there, he would have championed Somewhere in Time/Long Distance Runner.
"Hey man can you toss my salad"
Happy Sunday 😎
Looks like a great store
Wish I had one in my area
Nailed it
The refund bit is interesting because it can change country to country. In most parts of Europe the customer has a "right of recess" if he brings an item it back within 7 to 10 days (obviously in the same condition he bought it in and with a receipt), by law, no question asked.