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Review of East Coast Gamers, Toms River NJ

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Our 4th stop was to East Coast Gamers in Toms River, NJ. 

Address: 43 Main St, Toms River, NJ 08753

Website: eastcoastgamersnj.com

Selection

East Coast Gamers has a full selection of MTG singles, TCG sealed product, miniatures products, board games, and older video games and paraphernalia. Though its stock has been depleted a bit due to COVID supply line issues, they carry everything new in MTG/Pokemon/Warhammer (40k, very limited AoS support) and have a robust selection of singles in their glass cases.

Cleanliness

The owner was actively cleaning the store and rearranging where shelving / stock was, so we did not get a good indication of the general cleanliness of the store. What was finished, however, was neat and tidy, and the tables for TCG/wargaming events were clean beyond the terrain pieces used for wargaming.

Friendliness

The owner was the one running the store when we visited, and though he seemed a bit disillusioned (who isn't right now?) he was extremely friendly and helpful to us. We had a good conversation while we perused the stock and the singles - nothing much more to say!

Play Space/Events

The space is very large - in non-COVID times, the store could easily setup 6 wargaming games or up to 30 TCG matches. They host all of the normal TCG events and their website works well for information purposes. I definitely wouldn't mind using some of their wargaming space in particular - it was very spacious compared to most LGS' I've visited!

Value

Most sealed product was MSRP, but the MTG singles were priced with StarCity, typically taking the second highest price (Lightly Played, rather than Near Mint) regardless of card quality. Value here was fairly standard in this way, most LGS' we have visited seem to use TCGPlayer or another such website and will work with you to a point to get you a good price on singles. The MSRP on everything else seems rather standard as well - disappointing, but certainly not an issue that would prevent me from recommending anyone.

Niche Notes

The niche here is obviously the old video games and old game consoles. Their selections were varied, though tended toward the Super Nintendo / 90s gaming eras. Definitely interesting if you like those eras, but I am more of a Gamecube guy myself! Pricing on the gaming stuff was good as well - definitely a fun way to engage with the video gaming hobby.

As a small note for Warhammer players; the store had a lot of Eldar stock. Take that as you will.

Final Thoughts

East Coast Gaming was an inoffensive LGS with honestly a great play space. I would definitely attend wargaming events here, though as far as shopping, I would go elsewhere simply for a more focused and more-value oriented experience.

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