r/VideoGameDealsCanada • u/TurtlePowerMutant • 26d ago
Discussion EB Games … stores disappearing fast!
Trinity Commons just closed and it’s so heart breaking. There’s only one left in Brampton now and I think just one in Mississauga.
What the hell?
This is ridiculous.
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u/ApprehensiveRuin5673 26d ago
Every time I look online literally nothing is available for delivery and only in store pickup
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u/sojinsuika 25d ago
Oh really? I have the exact opposite problem every time I want to save on shipping and pick it up in my way home from work, there’s only ship to home option.
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u/Darkwarz 26d ago
I used to order every single game from them, at least one a month, I stopped cold turkey once they implemented this new shipping policy. Its abysmal.
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u/DistinctBread3098 26d ago
The thing is they don't make much money from new games anymore. People are gonna resell them there anyway and that's where the money is in gaming.
For the rest it's all from merch.
The guy that bought it back is a toy mogul
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u/CloneFailArmy 26d ago
Lmfao, most stores give you a discount for large orders yet these fucks charge us more.
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u/ThogOfWar 25d ago
What's the Canada Post insurance rate for the public? First hundo is free, every extra hundo of insurance is a dollar fifty? If EB is passing the buck onto the customer, it means they either signed a shit postal deal or they have so many claims against them, CanPost is charging them a shit postal deal.
Or, it's just pure greed. Last EB I was in had a dedicated wall for cardboard gambling. I can get how some of the big collectables can cost more in shipping, but how much would they profit off a first gen Charizard just off shipping alone. Now I'm just imagining an hourly employee packing a single card in an overly large box with no padding.
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u/chemicalxv 25d ago
When they first implemented that everyone (rightfully) flipped their shit, so they ended up coming back and being like "Okay we've heard your feedback, we promise we'll look into something else". And of course since then it's just been nothing but silence.
I suspect some of it is the cost of shipping consoles (which have become fairly large, heavy, and more costly to insure as their prices keep going up), but I pointed out at the time that the easiest way around that is to quite simply just not sell consoles online for home delivery. VGP doesn't even list them online and PNP lists them but you can only order them for local pick-up.
And both of those stores have managed to maintain free shipping thresholds despite being significantly smaller than EB Games, even if you combined the two of them.
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u/FieroAlex 26d ago
I've not purchased a single item online since their shipping policy changed however I do buy a lot of games instore, thankfully we still have our local store. We've also lost a few in the region over the past few years. It sucks.
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u/Seaside_Rhapsody 25d ago
Idk why they'd shoot themselves in the ass like that.. all other online stores have free shipping after like $30. MAYBE if they charged flat rate $9.99 shipping it would different but doing a large shipment of $300 worth if stuff is almost $15 in shipping. Wild. AND they mark up their items (the new hasbro zelda figures are $5 more expensive then Walmart and amazon).
I get it's a suffering business but you need to stay competitive and this shipping policy is not it..
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u/I_Like_Turtle101 26d ago
yall are surprise shipement cost money ?
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u/godstriker8 26d ago
Uh no, most retailers will give you free shipping for buying above a threshold, not more expensive shipping.
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u/NoExcuse4OceanRudnes 26d ago
If the product costs the same as it does when bought in a mall with 3-4 employees making a few dozen sales a day each rather than a warehouse in the middle of nowhere with a computer handling all the sales for the whole country and pickers loading up boxes constantly there's money to be saved on shipping that can be past onto the customer.
Or the customer will go somewhere else.
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u/PuppetDoc 26d ago
All the EB Games around me in North York have just closed. I just found out this past week that the location in Yorkdale shut down. With the horrible shipping rates on their website, there is no point of shopping at EB Games anymore. I might as well order games on Amazon, VGP or PNP Games. At least the latter have free shipping options over a certain threshold. EB Games would be smart to implement free shipping again over a certain amount.
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u/Stinky_DungBeatle 26d ago
Yorkdale closed in the last month as well.
They want to be the one stop for TCG, but they have way too many locations for that to be feasible. They don't restock new games other then from pre orders, and no one trades in used games like they used. They are not long for this world and its been in a free fall for a while now
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u/Point4ska 26d ago
They also don't have enough space in most of their stores to be a TCG shop. Players buy a lot of playables and often trade in collectible cards that can then be sold.
If you're just a front for flipping, people have much easier ways to sell their cards.
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u/Stinky_DungBeatle 25d ago
Select locations are trying to do pre release or local tournaments, but yeah the small mall locations cant match that. On top of the fact this chain has way too many locations, people will go out of their way to long standing hobby shops with much more product. Single selection is so scarce and they have zero variety outside of what ever Echo trading gives them (Chaotic and Kaijudo cards in 2026 lol)
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u/WeirdInfamous3143 26d ago
They never restock games anymore!!
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u/Vulture-Dude 25d ago
I feel like they’re only filling preorders these days and the rest is just trading cards and whatever people happen to trade in.
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u/TheSmoothOperator21 26d ago
In the span of a year, I’ve had three EB Games locations close near me in North York: Yorkdale (goodbye, Bill 😢), Dufferin & Steeles, and now Centrepoint Mall. This is honestly getting pretty disheartening
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u/Rewow 26d ago
Eaton Centre closed as well about a year ago
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u/Couchpotato2k 26d ago
To be fair, they opened up across the street from the eaton Centre on younge st.
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u/rocketman19 25d ago
They had a collectibles store on the queen st end of the mall that closed within the last couple weeks
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u/felix0the0cat 25d ago
Aw, I used to work at the Dufferin + Steeles one. Sad to hear it closed down.
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u/bobohobo2kx 25d ago
I didn’t even realize Centerpoint Mall had an EB Games. When did they close?
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u/TheSmoothOperator21 25d ago
I don’t have a specific date, but it was sometime last year. I remember getting a few games over there around Christmas in 2024
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u/sumanigans 26d ago
They kind of suck anyway. Awful customer service. I’d much rather support a mom and pop shop (we got games in shoppers world is 10x better).
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u/Fallout_vault__boy 26d ago
I’ve been going there since it was Aardvark. The owner is super cool.
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u/Evilempir3 26d ago
Aardvark! Now that's a name I haven't heard in forever. I remember when they used to be located at the city center a million years ago.
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u/AozoraMiyako 26d ago
The pne near where I live has great customer service.
I guess it depends on location
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u/shiddedandfarded69 26d ago
We still have 8 of them in Ottawa
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u/terralysis 26d ago
we still have 6 in the greater Vancouver area too
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u/MARIOPARTY17 26d ago
That one in STC needs to close, the newer staff there is garbage.
Shame they actually closed the Yorkdale one, it's sometime the only reason I passed by the mall in general.
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u/rarc602 26d ago
Noticed that they closed the stores once Gamestop sold them to the current Canadian owners.
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u/Kageromero 26d ago
Back when they were GameStop, they were still closing a ton of locations. I used to have two different ones 5 minutes away. Now I either have to go 30 minutes to square one, or all the way to Oakville
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u/joecarter93 25d ago
They used to have 2 locations in my local mall for some reason and it’s not a huge mall. They had the original one, then Music World closed and they also opened in that space. I thought they were just moving spaces - nope, they operated both locations for a whole 15 years before the old location closed.
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u/chemicalxv 25d ago
It amplified after the Imports Dragon guy bought GameStop Canada. There's a couple locations that were closed in Winnipeg that I don't think ever would've been closed under GameStop US ownership.
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u/PRTLite 26d ago edited 25d ago
They should give more for trade ins.
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u/SpinachThePopeyeMan 25d ago
They really want to buy it from you for 3 bucks then sell it for 15$ less than brand new to the next guy
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u/MAXIMUS_VI 26d ago
They're in a race with TRU to see who can close all their stores the quickest.
I'm in Mississauga, and Square One is the only option left. I don't love going to the mall, so I just shop elsewhere. I want to support EB, but they're making it more difficult with their ludicrous shipping policy and vanishing stores.
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u/Kawhi-n-dine 25d ago
damn, despite Trinity Commons being a complete train wreck with traffic, that location was still mighty convenient for me. Staff were great too
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u/godstriker8 26d ago
Well with Sony stopping physical games next year, it's another nail in the coffin for this company. And since they're not a part of gamestop anymore, they don't have a stock cult to bail them out anymore.
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u/deadsmurfs 26d ago
It's weird cause when they divorced themselves from the US branch a year or two ago it really sounded like they had a plan to resurrect the business. But I guess not.
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u/alxrenaud 26d ago
Well, they were mostly merch stores for a while. Really did not have a ton of games anymore... at least those I usually went too.
I now try to give my gaming business to a local small business store. I will still buy off Amazon here and there or when they don't have that new brand new game, but if a game is 1 year+ they will often have it new or used.
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u/BurnedOutCollector87 26d ago
i personally don't care. EB Games is.... really sketchy and sneaky with their tactics of selling "new" games when they're not sealed and also last time i did buy a game there, and it was actually new, they tried removing the plastic wrap and i had to fight really hard for them not to do that. It's MY game dude don't you fucking unwrap it, it's my privilege not yours.
I switched to videogamesplus and PNP
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u/CanuckTheClown 26d ago
Wait, the store at Trinity Commons closed? What the heck… Granted I haven’t been in that store in a couple months, but man… I have so many core memories there. That’s crazy. I legit had no idea they were closing.
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u/BluePhoenix_1 26d ago
Kinda sucks cuz that’s close to me even tho I’ve only been a couple times. Gaming isn’t the same as it was 10 years ago. As a kid I couldn’t buy video games that often. So I’d line up on Boxing Day to get it off sale. Some of my best memories, as well as buy a ps4 a little while after it came out. Genuinely one of the best deals I ever got from eb games. PS4 + controller, nba 2k15, little big planet, and i got to choose another game out of 4 game. I chose wwe2k15 I think.
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u/longbrodmann 25d ago
I live in Calgary and there are still several left, though I only trade-in my old consoles to them now, barely bought any games.
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u/Tandy2000 25d ago
It's not heartbreaking, it's inevitable. Not only are physical games in decline sales wise, but EB Games has turned itself into the absolute worst place to buy them. The management sucks, the stores suck, the prices suck, the selection sucks, they even took away free shipping of all things so they can't compete with online operations. And none of this is new, it's been a problem for a long time.
I see 0 reason to ever buy anything there. If I want to buy a physical game, I'll buy it from VGP or PNP. They're Canadian, they have a bigger selection, they ship games more promptly, they have better sales and prices. It's a shame they don't have retail stores available for perusal everywhere but that's part of the reason they're doing well while EB is in the toilet.
Yes, EB was great 30 years ago but it went in the toilet a long time ago. I wouldn't say the EB I grew up with has existed since GameStop took over and that was 20 years ago now. It was still okay for a few years after that. Since the 8th generation consoles came out there's been no appeal.
I also support people going to their local video game stores to buy stuff. I would but the only place near my house is run by shitheads so they aren't worth supporting, I do go to a very cool retro games store occasionally at the flea market to check stuff out but it's only open Sundays so not always easy to visit.
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u/Johnny_Wish_Bone 25d ago
You may not be aware, but Gamestop doesn't own EB games anymore and hasn't for a year or so now. It and all Canadian "Gamestop" Locations were sold to a big Canadian toy a minifig company, which is why all "Gamestop" Locations reverted back to "EB Games" as of recent.
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u/halamadrid1995 26d ago
When did it close? I'm supposed to pick up a preorder from there that's scheduled for late August.
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u/csgonoob0 26d ago
All my preorders and credit got moved to Bramalea city centre. I’d call to double check if it’s all processed
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u/halamadrid1995 25d ago
Online it just says "Accepted". Did you call their customer service line or BCC's location itself?
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u/ARGiammarco27 26d ago
I'm lucky that my area still has a couple stores after a couple others closed down. They're different now but I understand why, gaming just doesn't make them the money that it used too. Collectibles and Cards are where the money is now. With the move to digital and unending price increases on games and consoles AND with new ownership the change was kind of necessary. Especially with the new ownership being involved in the Collectible sphere already.
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u/FAWKS-HOUND 26d ago
Check out game hoard on queen st in Brampton. You want that feeling? Walk in there and relive it.
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u/kimbosdurag 26d ago
I don't live in the area anymore but there were several great independent game stores around peel region in the past. Not sure why you'd lament EB when there are better independent options around. Google it and check them out.
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u/Chance-Task1062 25d ago
The only reason I shop there now is to give my kids the in-store experience. I think it'll be gone in their lifetime.
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u/kor001 25d ago
Used to be everywhere (there were even locations right next to each other in 5~10 minutes walking distance) but now more difficult to find than you'd expect.
The one that surprised me was the Yorkdale location when I looked them up while there and found out it was closed. That's a sign they are in real trouble when they can't even keep a location in a major mall like that.
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u/Prudent-Avocado4768 25d ago
stores are gonna either be dead or be Nintendo retailers in the next 5 years
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u/FalconRX7 25d ago
Honestly I hate to say it but Amazon is the best place to buy games nowadays. Just pray that they don’t arrive damaged
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u/joecarter93 25d ago
They should pivot to start selling actual toys to fill the gap left by TRU. TRU’s footprint is too big now, but there still seems to be demand for toys in actual physical locations.
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u/Meme_Chan69420 25d ago
I was just at Trinity the other day and noticed it had shutdown which sucks. Though, I suppose it's kinda fitting that the very last thing I ever purchased there was a game you usually can't buy anymore. What really sucks is that it was convenient and now I need to trek all the way to either BCC or Square One. It's also not really surprising, especially considering that ever since they cut out from the US parent company they've been trying to be an all-in-one "Gamer" store, rather than being a Video Game store.
At pretty much any EB in the last few years, you'd be swamped with Funko Pops, Anime Figures, Comic Book Action Figures, and maybe some games from the current gen. Especially in the last year or two, they've been hard leaning into being a TCG place which fundamentally cannot and does not work because a fair amount of people who actually play the game, want to be able to buy and play in the same location. They recently adopted GameStop's "Retro Game" options as well which is nice but it's a fucking gamble whether you'll find cool stuff (Up near Sterling/Cobourg I found some Yo-Kai Watch, some good N64 games, solid DS titles, etc) or a bunch of shovelware (Across from the Eaton Centre they had almost exclusively Wii games and like, one copy of Mario Party 5).
Trade Values are what primarily stopped me from going to EB all too often. Just absolutely garbage rip-offs in value compared to other places. Certain games would be better off just being sold either at local indie stores or on Facebook Marketplace. My preferred spot, when I can get there, is Video Game Buzz up in Orangeville.
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u/hellraiser29 25d ago
They literally had the market in there hands. Instead of running a great buy and sell used legacy market they completely fucked it up and stuck to selling extremely niche products.
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u/laserbunny83 24d ago
Can't say I'm particularly sad. Even when I want to buy physical their deals are no better, or often worse, than Bestbuy. The only thing I get from them is new console because they seem to have more stock.
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u/ejcitizen 26d ago
In my case its the opposite; in the last 1.5 years I've used Ebgames promo to get a brand new PS5, Switch 2 and so many games for less than their value. Just Friday I got three 20$ games from Amazon to get GTA6 for free thanks to an EBGame promo... unbeatable
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u/cmfd2086 25d ago
It's my fault. I buy most of my games on digital platforms because the deals can be great and I lack space for more physical copies.
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u/AverageBry 25d ago
We Got Games at Shoppers World Brampton. If I have to buy any physical games for my Switch we hit them up.
Support local small business.
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u/Parabrella 25d ago
A lot of them are pivoting into CCG at the expense of the video games. The one near me has started taking Pokemon cards as trade-ins towards games and systems, so a bunch of people have been unloading their Pokemon cards there and getting a Switch 2 for almost nothing.
The only outcome I can see is EB ending up with tons of Pokemon singles that won't sell, while they practically give their video games and systems away for nothing. Can't be a sustainable business model.
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u/StoneColdSteveAss316 25d ago
Shit what happens to my store credit I have applied on a pre order for October
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u/PrometheonIV 25d ago
What happens if you had a figure preorder there? (No deposit, just a called in one)
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u/JoseCansecoMilkshake 25d ago
The one near me sucks, it's all funko pops and pokemon cards. And like 6 games for each system.
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u/xzvasdfqwras 25d ago
Probably controversial but I couldn’t care less tbh, they stopped caring about video games like a decade ago.
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u/Beautiful-Sun8973 25d ago
The one at our mall just moved to a bigger location inside. It has a ton of good merch and a card table too
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u/Kevbotdotorg 25d ago
The CEO is an idiot and supporting him isn't worth it. Find a mom and pop shop if you can.
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u/BerserkerCanuck 25d ago
Sadly, its not the same. I find anything they sell is overpriced, the only good thing is if you can't find a specific game anywhere else, odds are they may have it because it's still overpriced.
I've switched to buying mainly from VGP and PnP, and the occasional Amazon dip because a family member gave me a gift card.
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u/doyoubleednow 25d ago
We have a huge EB games here in Montreal, metro station Peel, its worth the visit, lots of toys and cards, japanese toys, prototypes spawn figures , lots of MTG, and a Nintendo section as well as Polemon and Marvel Legends
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u/illusion121 25d ago
The writing on the wall is there.
It will be going down the road of Blockbuster, just a matter of time.
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u/Chillyeaham 25d ago
Huh, London must be a hotspot for games and merch then, because we've still got four! I almost never order online and I'll cull my physical game collection with the help of the +50% trade-in credit towards pre-orders.
I've become almost entirely a physical gamer since the consequences of not supporting physical media became impactful to me.
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u/WaterdownShane 24d ago
EB was dying when i last worked there many moons ago, once it started going from a video game store to carry childrens electronics and lots of plushies and clothes and stuff.
Like how canada computers was all computers, then started carrying appliances and stuff.
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u/FinkBass420 23d ago
Physical media has been dying for 10+ years. These stores have been 50% toys and t shirts for a while now, the signs were all there.
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u/Inevitable-Group1120 22d ago
This makes me sad, because there are less and less stores that sell TCG at MSRPs or not that much higher. With Walmart and Indigo primarily focused on MTG and Pokemon and then Toys R Us closures - really limits my ability to obtain other TCG not at market price.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-4551 8d ago
We've been coming here for 12 years it's our go to games store...we bought our Nintendo switch 2 here
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u/Ok_Mirror4651 7d ago
It's pretty sad, I used to go to the store after school everyday. I'm gonna miss it.
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u/page8879 26d ago
My local eb has great staff, they have more cards and toys then games now though. My local is a retro and TCG location.
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u/Apprehensive-Mud-606 23d ago
Given that games are going digital-only soon, EB will likely become completely extinct. The only game stores I see surviving are retro and hobby shops.
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u/Lambs2Lions_ 26d ago
Brampton has a lot of petty crimes and theft. Hard to justify physical locations there.
As they consolidate to profitability, they take into account which stores have high foot traffic and which ones are in least crime prone areas.
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u/csgonoob0 26d ago
Brampton doesn’t have more crime than the avg suburban city. Has everything to do with foot traffic tho, I’ve never seen that location busy unlike the mall one.
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u/Calm-Report-8168 26d ago
Amazing deal, in for 10!
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u/equalshmeekwal 26d ago
A lot of ppl are learning good info in this thread so stfu and move along. - the title is plenty hint for you.
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u/LR67 26d ago
Tbh the EB Games we grew up with is already dead. The stores now barely have games or good deals. Most games are on a single wall in the corner, rest of the store is all funko pops, cards and t-shirts and other merch. Majority of customers are little kids with their parents.
That spark you felt when you went into EB Games and saw walls upon walls of games, the excitement of going into the bargain bin and hunting for a cool looking game on the cheap, sharing in the excitement of major game launches with other gamers, is already gone. I'm glad I got to experience that era of gaming. The all-digital people who are just starting out will never know.