Alameda Video Game Exchange

I wish I could disagree with the overall consensus here, but I can’t. It’s basically a poorly ran business. Basic fundamental customer service, organization and overall respect for what you’re doing could go a long way.
I get that you save cost from eBay shipping and having many titles to choose from versus hunting all over. It still doesn’t make up for the 300% price markup or just bad feeling you get with this place.
Don’t waste your time. Don’t give them any money.

First of all, this place has no customer service at all. I walked into this store and the middle eastern lady is in the back of the store watching TV. She doesn’t even get up or greet me at all. So I look around at some of the games. Also, the place is a total mess. There is no sense of organization here. Random games thrown into display cases, piled up behind the counters and stacked all over the place. The worst thing here, Prices for retro games here are about 200% higher than ebay. There’s a lot of rare video games and systems here. I saw a boxed SNK Neo Geo, an Atari Jaguar and an Eathbound. However, they are extremely overpriced. They must think everything retro is worth it’s weight in gold. I really don’t know how this place makes any money. I was the only customer at that time and I didn’t even buy anything.

Wow, Do I have a story for you.
Went in today looking for a couple of games, most the titles I looked at were incredibly overpriced (50% to 100% higher than ebay prices) and when I came across one I wanted it did not have a case or a price sticker, the worker said it was $ 30 without the case. Then she went to the display that had a copy that included the case and it had a price sticker of $ 19.99 She then told me it was wrong and went to the register and told me it was $ 29.99. Made no sense at all when the copy without the case was supposed to be $ 30. I think this store may be a front for something else because with the prices they have there is no reasonable explanation as to why they are still in business.
Price Examples:
Dead or Alive 2 Dreamcast -$ 49.99
Sonic Adventure Dreamcast (title I was referring to in comment) $ 29.99
Tony Hawk Pro Skater — $ 29.99
Jet Grind Radio Dreamcast -$ 39.99
Resident Evil Code Veronica (only reasonable price I found) — $ 14.99
Shenmue (your mortgage)
I would make a visit just so you know for yourself what this place is all about.
Hope this helps.

The lady who works there is a complete bitch! She is so rude it’s ridiculous. My bf tried to sell two brand new games there and she only wanted to give him 5 each for it. The place is a complete rip off!

Where do I start, this store is insane. The owner is a complete and total dick head. Wife is a psycho bi polar bitch, prices are so insane it’s like they make them up on the spot. After traveling to the store I went to the San Jose flea market and it’s like they don’t even want to be there. This couple is just super rude and they are full of shit. Son is cool. Good luck staying in business when you hate what you do.

If a game store can’t even get a game on the day that it’s released, it’s not a real game store .I predict they will go our of business by next year …

Sorry to say but this place is a disgrace to vintage game stores.
Systems piled up like a droid scrap heap behind the counter. I can almost hear them calling out to be freed.
The prices are insane! Like ff7 for 80 dollars? bayou billy 30 dollars?! Come on now son. The Lady behind the counter saying any game is a «good price». Nintendo games off the wall aren’t tagged so they name the price. They won’t take games out from under the glass for reasons unknown. They have a lot of games I’ll give you that. In box games and systems too. But it’s like Indiana Jones in the last crusade. The games are alluring like the golden grails… but the price will melt your face off! Buyer BEWARREE!

I like to support local businesses but prices on used games here are often more than the price for new copies on line, even with the buy two get one deal. (I’ve only looked at Xbox 360 titles, not sure about older consoles).
Exchanges only, no returns. Even if your used game doesn’t work. Which it didn’t. Don’t waste your time.

I took a risk going to this store despite the not so good reviews! He has alot of products to show but my question is do they even work? His prices are outrageous. I went in wanting a sega cd and asked if he would test it. He said that will cost extra and was bate n switching telling me if it worked instead of $ 70 he would want $ 150. I should report him to the better business bureau but I took it as a lesson. Do not go to this store instead go to Phoenix Games which is 100 times better than this store. Oh and the store is a mess!

So, this store. I went to this place but before going I read the reviews and I do believe some of the games here may be sorta overpriced but I will admit some are actually pretty reasonable in price so maybe you’ll find something within a pretty good price here. They have a very large inventory and on the left of the store as soon as you walk in you pretty much see things like consoles, accessories, strategy guides stacked upon each other but everything looks like its in very good condition. So in terms of the store, its a cool place.
Now my final verdict: this is a pretty good place, it will have some of its games at a high price but it will also have its fair share of some games at a very respectable price.

The variety and selection here is absolutely ridiculous, but there’s a lot about this store that holds back its potential.
Games are organized by console, but that’s about it. The games on the shelves along the right-​side of the store can be browsed up close, but it seems all the good games are on the left-​side behind a counter. You’ll need good eyesight, and hope that there aren’t random item blocking the games. Fortunately, the lady working here didn’t seem to mind grabbing games and checking prices for me.
Speaking of prices, here are some examples of ridiculous prices:
Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) — $ 20 NEW on Amazon, $ 38.99 USED here.
Xenogears (PSX) — $ 40 on eBay, $ 99.99 here.
Metal Gear Solid (PSX) — $ 10 on eBay, $ 26.99 here.
That said, decent deals can be had here. Secret of Mana (SNES) for $ 59.99 and Skies of Arcadia (GCN) for $ 69.99 is very reasonable. I saw a sealed copy of ZHP Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman (PSP), which starts at $ 60 on eBay. The lady told me it normally cost $ 39.99, but she would give me a $ 10 discount. SOLD!
Moral of the story: Bring a device to check prices, and come with plenty of time since you’ll be searching through an unorganized trove for a potentially great deal!

Did a marathon NES/​Saturn shopping spree last weekend, doing both Phoenix Games in Concord and this place. Overall these reviews are pretty spot on.
The good:
Plenty of stuff in boxes or rarer things.
Can negotiate prices on games
Saw the NES Miracle Piano system, pretty rare stuff!
The bad:
The prices are WAY high. Case in point — a TG16 goes for about $ 50 online, $ 75 – 100 in box. Their price for a loose one: $ 149 firm. Boxed games are a little high according to value lists. I’m willing to pay $ 5 more for a game so I dont need to deal with shipping or eBay, but comon guys, you can’t expect me to pay $ 20 more for a game that I want. Most of the rarer stuff isnt marked for a price, so you have to offer something and see if its about the right price.
Organization: There is absolutely none. Everything is stacked up, shoved into any available slot possible. If they’d take away space from newer games and dedicated it to the older stuff, it would be possible to actually see what they have.
Communication:
The woman that runs the store is actually the wife of the owner, who runs the booth at the Berryessa flea market. She had to call him 3 times during the course of the transactions to make sure that she was charging the right prices.
Overall, call to see if they have something in stock, get a firm price on it, then go. If you want to browse through games, go somewhere else.

Just called AVGE after looking up local video game retailers to see if they had a copy of Just Dance 4 before I buy it from
(I really DO try to shop locally, when it’s reasonable to do so). Man who answered phone went to check if he had it in. I asked for a used copy, if possible. He came back & said «Yes, I have it, it’s $ 35.99.» I said for a USED copy? It’s $ 25 brand new on Amazon! He said (rudely) «Well, that’s Amazon.» OK, dude! Thanks! I won’t be giving AVGE my business, that’s for sure!

I recently began collecting video games of previous generations and decided to check this place out after I overheard someone at GameStop mention it. I checked reviews here before heading over there, so I knew I would expect high prices on current items and poor service, but I thought I might get lucky and find a rare game for a decent price.
There’s definitely something really fishy about this place, as everyone else has said.
When I walked in, I wasn’t greeted by the woman working here at first. She was busy in the back of the store, on her phone yelling at someone over personal business. I tried not to give her any eye contact while I browsed. She did ask me if I needed help while she was on hold, but other than that, I made almost no interaction with her.
People weren’t kidding about paying higher-​than-​MSRP for used copies of recent games, so I just skipped over the current generation consoles. I spent the most time at the PS1 section. I didn’t find anything of great value here. Instead, I saw some games like Final Fantasy VIII go for $ 40, when you can just buy it online for $ 15 brand new. Rarer games like Final Fantasy VII went for $ 70+, but I was able to snag a used copy online for $ 30 a while back. I didn’t spend too much time in the PS2 section. However, with the discontinuation of the console and GameStop stopping the trade-​in of PS2 games, I’m sure a lot of games will shoot up in price and maybe you’ll find something in here at a good value.
Another thing that irked me about this place was their display of Nintendo 64 games. None of them came with boxes or manuals, and the store had written on them poorly with Sharpie on the sides so they could be identified without being pulled off the shelves. They could have just used a sticker, at least that can be ripped off if someone bought it.
Aside from sorting by console, there’s pretty much no organizational system in place here. You would think with their general lack of business, they would have the time to put some effort into their shelf organization. It’s also weird how they managed to amass so many video games. With their terrible trade-​in values, I can’t imagine many people choose to bring their old games here.
In the end, I didn’t find anything here that I wanted. If you want to buy some cheap games, just shop online and you’ll definitely find better deals than this place. I gave it an extra star just because it’s impressive to look at their collections, but other than that, I can’t imagine myself ever picking anything up here.

Worst rip off ever, terrible customer serivce. DO NOT EVER GO HERE.
Traded in a bunch of old games and consoles for store credit. Using the store credit, plus an equal amount of my own money bought a used xbox 360 at arguably a bit more then it was worth. The woman who works there failed to mention a store policy of a ONE MONTH WARRANTEE upon purchase and when I returned 3 months later with a red ringed console was told it would be half of what I paid to fix it. I will never take my business here again.

Let me set the record straight about this place. Most of the reviews here complain about high prices, but that’s only half true. In my experience, COMMON old games (i.e. NES, SNES, and Genesis) are way too expensive. However, RARE old games are priced just right, and in some cases, very underpriced! Yesterday I snagged Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom for only $ 20! (Paying $ 35 for this game is a good deal.) Also, their greatest strength seems to be their boxes and manuals. I’ve been to a whole lot of used game stores, but never have I seen so many SNES and NES boxes (many of which in excellent condition, mind you) in one place. And many of the boxes come with instructions also!
So, long story short, this is THE place to get rare old games, often with boxes and instructions. But you should stay away from common old games unless you know the going price and know you’re getting a decent deal. Finally, my friend who’s been to this store since it was opened tells me most people don’t understand that you can attempt to haggle the price down.

If you already didn’t know by previous reviews, Alameda Game Exchange prices are high. Even for more common retro games that you find on eBay and Amazon aren’t as expensive as they’re selling them 4. But you don’t have to worry about games getting lost in mail or not coming as described or coming at all, that’s the Good thing about this place verses shopping online. Another Great thing is they have Absolutely just about every game made. Wall to Wall, floor to ceiling. Look like a lil boy didn’t clean his room up in there.
I had bought a Sega Cd system with games. The negative: Wife of owner didn’t bother to want to test system out. I had to ask. First system I tried didn’t even power on and this was the one she was selling for $ 129 that is in original box. Second system worked but she didn’t know anything about the tv to test it on nor the system. The positive: she was nice. She was very patient with me, I was very picky on what games to buy price wise. She even brought to my attention with games buy 2 get 1 free. Overall she seem to know the products but I can tell she don’t be there ²⁴⁄₇.
If it wasn’t for the mass selection, I’m certain I wouldnt go back. I live in Hayward and AVGE is definitely worth checking out. I was simply impress and will go back but will shop online on eBay 1^st and if I can’t find it online, I’ll come back to AVGE. Beats Game Alley n Possibly Games n Electronics in Hayward on Foothill (Yea, I said it lol).

AVGE is, by far, NOT the cheapest video game store around. For some of the more common goods, just hit up Amazon and/​or Glyde.
This place does excel in one area though: retro and vintage gear. It’s been years since I’ve seen so many classic goodies lining the shelves! Virtual Boys, Saturns, Dreamcasts… you name it, they got it.
Speaking of vintage goods, I’ve been eyeing that Saturn there. The owner said he’ll even throw in two free games if I buy the system for $ 50! Not bad sir, not bad.

Alright, I have really, really mixed feelings about this place. For one, I have to agree with previous reviewers — there is definitely something fishy going on here regarding possible stolen merchandise. I’m an employee of Game Stop and I’ll tell you right now, there’s no way we’d let our goods slip out of our hands so easily, only to be sold at another place, unless something shady is going on behind the scenes. I’m not sure what the hell it is exactly that IS going on with all the Game Stop merchandise being sold here, but whatever, I’m not a detective, just a patron.
My other problem with the Game Exchange are the prices; sometimes you can find things that are reasonably priced, but then at other times things will be outrageously priced for seemingly no reason. I was going to buy both a Pokemon Special Edition Game Boy Color and a Pokemon Game Boy Advance from the Pokecenter in New York, but upon closer inspection both were missing the battery covers and in somewhat bad shape, yet the owners still wanted upwards of twenty-​five to thirty for each. Conversely, however, I’ve found rare and hard-​to-​find games to add to my collections that I wouldn’t have found in many other places, as well as pristine classic instruction manuals and players’ guides for incredibly cheap. My brother even snagged a very rare copy of the Collector’s Edition of Resident Evil 4 for the PS2 that not was not only complete, but was reasonably priced and turned out to be very valuable.
The owners of this place have always been very friendly to me when I’ve been here, which is a plus and part of the reason why I’m not giving this store a lower score. I am also impressed by their selection of NES, SNES, and Game Boy games they have, as well as rare items that are sometimes affordable (but unfortunately, often are not). All in all I find myself on occasion returning here, but not always. Basically this a good place to go if you’re looking to find older games that stores no longer carry and you don’t really want to go through other resources to find them. However, this store could benefit from some price changes and some serious reorganization and freshening up.

My husband has old games he has brought here and enjoyed this place. It’s small but filled floor to ceiling with games new and old. They have some great classics and some obscure games.
My husband hasn’t had problems exchanging games and found great ones to play. This is a local business and it’s great to support it.
Parking is on the street but there is a parking lot in the back which you should park in.