Retro Game Trader

4/10/2016

Retro Game Trader definitely has the largest collection of retro & vintage video games in the greater Portland area. The store is clean and every game is alphabetized. Their clearance section is their best feature which offers either 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 deals on retro games. No other store in the area has anything like this. They also offer a free bin where you can get free games that are case-less, poor sellers, extra inventory, etc. Each purchase also qualifies you for a free game from a selection right behind the check-out area. Definitely a huge plus, I won't ever say no to a free game regardless of quality.

You may be thinking that I'd rate this place 5 stars. I would if it wasn't for their pricing. They are definitely above eBay prices and above most of the prices in the Portland area. It's unfortunate because I really like this store but due to pricing I don't frequent here as much as other stores in the area.

If you're looking for a retro game and can't find it locally this place will most likely have it. Be sure to check eBay pricing to see if you're getting a decent deal for that impulse buy.

3/28/2016

My husband and I are video game collectors and have been for a long time. He is military so we have moved around a lot and have been to countless video game stores.

This store is downright insulting to game collectors. Don't get me wrong, they have a lot of unique and hard to find games and hardware. It is really fun to look around because they have things you don't see too often. BUT....like many other reviews have said...they are so overpriced! It's absolutely ridiculous. Do they not think people do their research or know the market at all???

The staff was less than helpful and not very friendly. I overheard someone come in and try to sell some games. I don't know what they were but The staff weren't interested. Which I understand,  it happens but they way they talked to him! It was rude and condescending. The whole "why are you wasting my time" attitude. It was just mind boggling how they treat people like that. Not to mention the insulting prices.

We have been to this place twice, because I think it's important to give a place a second chance. Maybe a staff member was having a bad day...? But nope. This is how it is here. There are much better video game stores in the area. Don't waste your time with this place.

6/17/2016

Cool store hands down. If your looking for something and need it right away, great. But extremely OVER PRICED. They will by your game for 4 bucks and sell for 30. Shop around. I wanted to do a good thing a support a local store. F that. Pawn shops will pay more. And it's cheaper to by most things brand new. You want to get ripped off. Shop here. The only person who treat you like they are better than you is the manager. Sweet guy. But he will also brake your bank. Why. Because they can.

6/15/2016

The store is very overpriced. All of these games you can easily find on eBay for way cheaper. The workers are also not very helpful. I talked to this guy named John and he had an "I'm nerdier than thou" attitude when I asked him about old games.

I would not recommend this store to anyone.

6/2/2016

I really like browsing this place for the nostalgia. Like the other reviewers, I'd say the prices are definitely on the higher end which is keeping me from putting 5 stars. Having an actual store Vs. an ebay store is probably in direct correlation with the pricing. Some of the pricing is right in line with market, You just have to look around.  I've had a few discs buffed here, and they're upfront about whether they think it's recoverable or not. The staff is friendly, and the prices are adjusted depending on the condition of the games. Good local business

9/13/2015

When you first pull up to this place you can tell that it's going to be quite the game store, giant posters in the windows of all your favorite game characters referencing how many systems they carry games for. It's pretty impressive.

As soon as you step into the store you're greeted by a massive amount of Sega games, they even have the LaserActive with the Sega game packs, a unique find that most people probably have never even heard of. They had quite a few boxed consoles ranging from the Intellivision up to the Xbone.

The reason I give this place such a low rating is the pricing. It is completely absurd, from what I saw many of the games were priced double the perceived ebay value. $84 for Smash Bros Melee, $90 for Toe Jam & Earl on Genesis, etc. They had a clearance section that I had hoped would be a bit of a saving grace, but as expected they were mostly sports games.

Of course I know that retro gaming is an expensive hobby these days, but you'd have to be completely desperate and incapable of using the internet to cave and purchase a game at these inflated prices.

With all that said, I would still recommend stopping by and checking out the store. Newer games may be reasonably priced but if you are looking for any time of retro games, stick to online.

11/20/2015

Decent selection but way over priced and their offers for when you want to sell are pathetic. The bald guy behind the counter very condescending, not sure if that is his usual demeanor or if he was acting like that because a girl came in to sell some games. Doesn't matter I didn't take the low ball offer and I won't go back to buy or sell anything again. Shame because the few times I was in the store everything seemed cool, but then I had not dealt with the bald dude.

10/21/2015

Let's start with the good- Retro Game Trader's inventory is easily the best of any shop in the area.  If you're looking for a specific title from the NES era all the way to the PS3, these guys are more likely than not to have it in stock.  Just be prepared to pay a little extra than you would online or at another shop.  

My big complaint with this shop is the customer service.  The vibe in this store is almost always unpleasant.  I often hear the staff being rude to customers or broadcasting their employee drama for all to hear.  Game Star has a weaker inventory, but I much prefer going to one of their shops first.  Or the similarly named (but not affiliated) GameTrader in Cedar Hills mall.

9/9/2015

This place has terrible pricing, everything is way way over priced and the trade in value they give has significantly gone down. Their selection is varied but pricing is out of this dimension; so freaking high I know I won't be making another trip to this store anytime soon.

5/3/2014

• 1 check-in
• First to Review

This place is awesome! The interior is a little drab upon first appearance, but the selection speaks for itself. They have a TON of games both new and classic, boatloads of accessories, and obscure systems of which you've likely never even heard. The prices seem to be a little more than what you'd pay online, but they have a really good trade in value for both in store credit and cash, plus just about everything you want there on hand and tested to ensure they work. Also it's locally owned!

Employees are friendly and engaging, and the owner showed me a couple of rare things they have off the floor because he overheard me saying I didn't know there was such a thing as a laserdisc player that also plays games (hell yeah, outdated dinosaur trivia!). It was amazing. I really appreciated their enthusiasm and knowledge. Between all of them you can get pretty good input on just about any question you may have on games or systems.

They offer some classes (such as caring for and missing systems, etc.) and offer repair services, too. Also carry some game-related merchandise like jewelry, belt buckles, stickers, buttons, etc. I believe you can also rent the back area for pretty cheap to play games with a group and sometimes they host game tournaments. There are also a couple free to play arcade machines.

If you love gaming, definitely check these guys out and buy all the things!

• 

  ROB! Yes, he's for sale, but you can just admire him, too.

  ROB! Yes, he's for sale, but you can just admire him, too.

3/24/2015

I am not a fan of this place at all based on the few times I've gone, for a few reasons. The selection IS huge, and they have a lot of really awesome stuff. Seriously if you need - it they probably have it. The store is easy to spend a lot of time in just browsing.

That being said, the prices are outrageously high, like offensively so. Take the highest e-bay price you can find for an item, and then increase it by quite a bit, and that is how they price their merchandise. This place is priced higher than any other shop around here, even with volume. Trade-in prices for credit sound great, but then you should realize it's negated by the fact everything you spend it on costs too much. If you are a serious collector, this is not the place to buy, as you should know even e-bay prices are too much as is for building a collection. Staff don't seem interested in negotiating either.

Speaking of staff; myself and companions have felt some of the staff have a bit of condescending attitude, and lack some of the finer customer service skills necessary for face-to-face interaction (while displaying ones better for phone interaction, aka call centers). I can deal with those quirks, except for one; tendency of a particular staff member to speak over you, I assume in an attempt to control the conversation, rather than letting you talk. That said, the staff do try to be helpful and welcoming for the most part.

Last complaint; They sold us a counterfeit DS game, the only purchase we've made from them. Upon learning it was a counterfeit (that wouldn't even work on a 3DS), we returned it to the store with receipt in hand. They DID let us exchange it for another copy after taking a very quick look to confirm it as a fake, which was exactly what we wanted, but also told us that because it had been over 48 hours that they wouldn't have given us cash back. We weren't looking for cash back, but that really rubbed me the wrong way, because they'd sold us illegal merchandise they failed to catch when it was brought to them originally.

Honestly though? I could deal with all the other issues if the prices were reasonable and collector friendly. My group of game hunters will stick to flea markets, craigslist, and a couple of the more reasonable stores for now I guess.

3/24/2015

Not a fan of this place at all the few times I've gone, for a few reasons. The selection IS huge, and they have a lot of really awesome stuff, seriously if you need it they probably have it. The store is easy to spend a lot of time in just browsing.

That being said, the prices are outrageously high, like offensively so. Take the highest e-bay price you can find, and then increase it by quite a bit, more so the more expensive the game is. This place is priced higher than any other shop around here, even with volume. Trade-in prices for credit sound great, but then you should realize it's negated by the fact everything you spend it on costs too much. If you are a serious collector, this is not the place to buy, as you should know even e-bay prices are too much as is for building a collection. Staff don't seem interested in negotiating either.

Speaking of staff; myself and companions have felt some of the staff have a bit of condescending attitude, and lack some of the finer customer service skills necessary for face-to-face interaction (while displaying ones better for phone interaction, ala call centers). I can deal with those quirks, except for one; tendency of a particular staff member to speak over you, I assume in an attempt to control the conversation, rather than letting you talk. That said, the staff do try to be helpful and welcoming for the most part.

Last complaint; They sold us a counterfeit DS game, the only purchase we've made from them. Upon learning it was a counterfeit (that wouldn't even work on a 3DS), we returned it to the store with receipt in hand. They DID let us exchange it for another copy after taking a very quick look to confirm it as a fake, which was exactly what we wanted, but also told us that because it had been over 48 hours that they wouldn't have given us cash back. We weren't looking for cash back, but that really rubbed me the wrong way, because they'd sold us illegal merchandise they failed to catch when it was brought to them originally.

Honestly though? I could deal with all the other issues if the prices were reasonable and collector friendly. My group of game hunters will stick to flea markets, craigslist, and a couple of the more reasonable stores for now I guess.

7/27/2014

• 1 check-in

Hands down best game shop in greater Portland area. The stock is really organized, easy to find what you want, and staff is all extremely helpful.

Great atmosphere where everyone wants to help you or offer recommendations.

Tons of selection from every gaming console and loads of first/third party peripherals.

11/26/2014

First of all great huge selection. But overall WAY overpriced! Really unfair when it comes to trades they give like 15 for a ps2 and sell it for 69. Also saw pokemon stadium selling for $26 when you can buy it at game trader for $7.99.
Too overpriced!!! But has almost everything in retro gaming

6/15/2014

This is a great place to go if you're looking to expand your collection. They have tons of rare and hard to find games, and if they don't have what you want, they'll order it.

A lot of the more rare stuff is overpriced, but the collection they have is massive.

The people that run the place are great and very willing to help you.

2/15/2015

Great service combined with a huge selection and good prices make this store a must stop for gamers. They're family friendly and were great with my interest in family games for our kids. They helped me get a game system that I can use and that will allow for family fun also. Their trade in values are great too!

1/18/2015

This place is very impressive. Best selection of SNES games I've seen since I was buying them at Walmart when I was a kid. I would give them five stars if not for the inconsistent pricing. I don't mind paying a little more when shopping local, but some of the games are ridiculously priced. That being said: some of them are much cheaper than elsewhere. I think the owner is just too apathetic to research the price of some of the games.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed my visit. Great place to buy OEM accessories and hard to find games.

2/6/2015

These guys know their games on just about every single system and format. The staff is awesome. I think they have some of the best selection in the area and the products are in pretty good shape.  I think the only problem I have with retro is they started out so strong with great prices and inventory and  amazing trade in value to build a clientele and then they fell into the same old commercial pricing/trade value like gamestop and game trader. Such a shame because the staff is so much better than that.

9/15/2014

Best game store around portland. Great prices and very friendly staff, love coming here!

6/23/2014

Great place to get something fixed! they fixed my Xbox 360 in under a week, and charged me $30 less than the other places I called! I will be taking all my future repairs here!