Tech Smart

After coming here again for PS3 games, I have to dock a star for the service and their bizarre return policy. Previously, I had thought if the game was nonfunctional, then I could exchange it it back for the same game or another (at the same price). I tried to purchase The Last of Us yesterday, and it happened to be the store’s last copy. I was only informed that I could only do exchanges on the same game (if this copy didn’t work) even though this was literally their last copy. When I expressed a little hesitation, they cashier tried to insist multiple times that the game worked by showing me the underside of the disc and how it wasn’t scratched that much.
And so… I went to GameStop and found a cheaper version there.

I am so pissed at this place right now. I just took in 2 dreamcasts with 2 controllers, 3 vmus, a rumble pack and over 6 games looking to do a trade. The employees text the boss pictures and info and he texts back an offer of $ 16 FOR THE WHOLE LOT!!! I bought 3 of these games from them for ~$ 40 over the past few months… They sell dreamcasts for $ 50 a pop. THEY OFFERED ME $ 16!!! FUCK THESE RIP OFF ARTISTS

I went in here a few months ago and marveled at their selection since they have a ton of games and systems that are old school. Unfortunately I finally had a reason to shop here and it was a disaster.
I need an A/​V cable for an original Xbox ($ 1 – 5 online,) and a power cable for a Slim Playstation 2 ($ 1 – 5 online). GameStop and CEX both carry them for around $ 5 each but none are in stock because they’re older systems.
I called Tech Smart and was asked by the person who answered to text him what I needed so he could quote me a price. He then texted me back and quoted $ 17.99 per item («but it could be negotiable.»)
Since I was going to be in the area anyway I went in to see just HOW negotiable. I’d be willing to pay $ 10 for each item to avoid the wait of getting them delivered. It seems like the actual employees in the store don’t have any idea how much things cost. They checked with the boss via phone and he confirmed the $ 17.99 for the Xbox cable but then the price for the Playstation 2 cable jumped up to $ 24.99, and I was like, you know… absolutely not.
I was then told that I could buy the entire original Xbox system with controller and cables for $ 25. I was like… well, shit, let’s just do that, because that’s about what they cost online and mine is kind of old and busted anyway. But then, AFTER they got the thing out of the case and everything, the guy called his boss again who told him it was $ 49.99.
So long story short, this place is hugely overpriced, and the staff — though very nice and polite — don’t seem to have any control over prices or even know what the prices of things are. I actually felt bad for the staff because you can see in their eyes that they deal with this type of situation every day, and they just want to make a sale. I genuinely wish I could have worked something out.
*EDIT — an hour after writing this I popped into FYE on Broad Street, just on a whim. I thought maybe they would have a more modern universal cable with plugs for a lot of devices on one cord. It turned out they had both the Xbox A/​V cable — for $ 2.99 — and the Playstation 2 power cable — $ 1.00. Just to point out, that’s a price difference in total of $ 38.99.

I usually stop in here to get a new phone case or a screen protector. The selection is limited, so there isn’t too much variety, but you can’t beat the pricing. Typically cases are from $ 13-​$ 16 and screen protectors are around $ 10.
The staff is typically pretty friendly and approachable. I’ve been in here a few different times. I will say there was one time I came in and there was a really terrible employee. I asked to see iphone cases and he pointed to a messy wall behind him. I couldn’t see anything so I asked if I could go up and look and he looked at me as if I had 5 heads. Well if you’re not going to let me behind the counter can you at least pull the cases down and show them to me? It was a strange experience especially considering the fact that every other time I’ve been there the employees have been super helpful and always pull the items down and show them to you without having to ask.
Overall I think it’s worth stopping in if you have a quick need.

Came here with a friend once to find a game. Before we got rung up, 2 employees were busy loudly proclaiming how great a show Steven Universe is and completely ignored us before and during we were being rung up (they still kept their conversation going). Sometimes it takes a while to get prices since the employees have to call their boss for the price. That’s odd.
I called once to see if there was a game available and must have called at a wrong time since the person who picked up was almost yelling at me so he could text me if he had it later. This place is kinda fishy.

This has been my go to spot ever since it opened. June is very knowledgable with gadgets and always enthusiastic to help. Theyre always up to date with preowned phones/​tablets with unbeatable price

They may not have everything, but what they do have, the prices are unbeatable. Seriously worth peeping this place. Traded my iphone here with a pretty decent credit in return.

can i give them 0 stars?
this review is regarding their mobile accessories. beware.
doesn’t work? no problem, they will allow you to exchange your item. for another, more dysfunctional item. don’t expect them to take responsibility for any damages their mobile accessories cause to your device.
all i can say is, shop here at your own risk.

Great prices on games and movies. They have preowned phones and tablets for decent prices. Helpful and friendly staff. Got an iPad for my kids for a good price. Also got a couple of PS4 games for super cheap but the best part is RETRO GAMES! So happy to rebuild my old collection. So happy with my Nintendo NES games and Nintendo 64 games i acquired. GoldenEYE 007, Mario Kart 64, Zelda, StarFox, Super Mario 64. Reliving my childhood!!! Finally glad to see a retro gaming store in Philadelphia!

You know when you get that sudden urge to play Mario Kart 64 on a Sunday night? Yeah. That. Except that we didn’t have the game and we needed to find a copy pronto! GameStop didn’t have any copies, and we saw the Techsmart storefront by accident.
We were greeted warmly and so excited to find that they had copies of MK64! Yay! But, oh noes… we only had one N64 controller and they didn’t have any of those. We settled for MK DoubleDash for Game Cube.
We went home, SO THRILLED for our new find, and dun dun dun… system couldn’t read the disc. We tried other games and everything was fine, which meant a dud purchase.
We went back a couple days later and returned the game. We had a controller on the way from Amazon, so we went ahead and got one of two copies of MK64 they had. They told me about their Amazon storefront, etc. etc.
Went home, so excited… you know the story…
Didn’t work. Other games worked fine, etc.
Took the game back, the other copy had been sold. The supervisor guy (I guess?) said he was sorry a lot, but that «it happens to GameStop, too.» HAH. Well, GameStop is a more established store and 100% of my purchases from you have been broken. So there’s that.
Here’s an idea: test your games before you sell them. Be ethical and don’t sell people broken crap.