Great gift shop and a lovely experience in Schenectady. Love the new location. Convenient and…read moreperfect.

Unique selection of gifts for myself& friends. The owner is friendly&helpf-…read moreParking is a pain as Ussually in Schenectady but otherwise I get there as often as possible.

This place is great but the front end help doesn't care about customer service. I was there today…read more(May 28 - noon) and whoever was working at the checkout was rude, impatient and could care less about delivering a terrific experience. I'm a Platinum customer and have been loyal for years. If Hallmark cares about sending the very best this person isn't helping you to deliver that message. Give it some thought they're not helping your business. Not sure I'm coming back when you're treated like this.

This is a nice Hallmark store. Admittedly, they are mostly of the cookie-cutter variety in that…read morethey have the same items, usually are arranged the same way, have the same prices, etc. However, this one was pretty convenient to get to when I lived in Clifton Park. The staff was always friendly, which is the most important thing in a store like this. One thing I missed about other Hallmark branches was the 40%-50% discount on Christmas ornaments the day after Christmas. Here, they offered a discount but it wasn't as generous. I suppose I shouldn't fault them for that, but I rely on those sales to decorate next year's tree!

All I wanted was a birthday card, and I had to walk past an unbelievable amount of merchandise…read moredisplays to get to the card section in the very back part of this large store. They even have shopping carts if wanted. On the Plus side-- There were at least 20 sister birthday cards. Very good variety of cards! After I found the card, I had to walk to the front of the store to find the solo salesperson to check me out. She was stocking shelves. She was pleasant. Then we walked back to the center part of the store to the only check out counter. I paid $6.95 for the Hallmark card. In my opinion, if you only want a greeting card, be prepared to deal with what I think is an overload of items ranging from theme socks to trinkets to costume jewelry to stuffed animals to franchise merchandise. It is a very large store. And the greeting cards are not in the front of the store. The layout might encourage impulse buying.

I have to say I do like the products they sell here but, the customer service is terrible. Every…read moretime I come in no one acknowledges me. The women who work there just keep on with their conversations about their personal lives and to be honest are quiet snooty. I've been here at least 5 times and every time it's the same thing. If I'm going to patronize a business I'd rather do it where I feel appreciated as a customer. Update 7/12/2020 Went in to check out their children's book selection for a gift and to see the new store. Hate to say this, but customer service has not changed. No one said a thing to me and I walked around for quite some time looking for the section where they keep their children's books, so it would have been nice to have an associate willingly ask if I needed help. The women were more interested in their own conversations to acknowledge customers. There seemed to be at lest three women working. I left without purchasing a thing.

I've yet to see thousands of people packed in here to watch a game, so clearly the store name is…read morefalse advertising. This is a pretty cool sporting store with two different names located in the heart of the massive Crossgates Mall in Albany. It's definitely one of the better stores I've been to in malls for sporting goods. I'm not sure what sort of customer they expect to be able to pay these prices, but people must have paid them anyway because they've managed to stay in business. That's pretty good for them. This store is more fun for me than Barbie when we're walking around Crossgates, so we didn't stay long, but I'm glad that it's here and it surely adds something to the mall.

They have fabric but it's a pretty crappy selection very basic stuff. Very limited colors and…read morefabric makes. It's sad. As for their non sewing stuff saw a lot of stuff some of it's just junky.

Great place !! All of it friendly people! We have stores with no more help on the floor takes to…read morelong so I avoid those stores or not speaking English! Hate seeing a lot of stores closing! Rose

Can you feel personally attacked by a Thanksgiving party supply display? Asking for a friend…read more.. Shake a turkey leg and get over to Party City to shop some great last-minute decoration trimmings for your Thanksgiving shindig! If your family takes its eating as seriously as the rest of America, then what makes you think you can just skimp on the fun decor? It's okay to be a little extra when it comes to Thanksgiving decorations, arguably the most underrepresented holiday in the decor game, and thanks to Party City, you can let your freak flag fly high and gobble til you wobble this year! Want to stick your face through a large foam piece of pumpkin pie and wear it like a hat/mask? Done. Don't have much of a sweet tooth? Wear a foam turkey hat instead. Afraid of hat head? Throw on a pair of turkey shades and sit next grandpa - you might have to give him a nudge to wake him out of his turkey coma, but that's showbiz, baby. The possibilities are endless at Party City, so don't @ me -- there's something for everyone. In all seriousness, if Party City can pack three large display racks to the gills with a variety of fun and festive Thanksgiving party supplies, mix 'n match paper goods, photo booth props, turkey dinner to go bags, turkey lanterns, garland, dish towels, and DIY pilgrim hats for the kiddos, in addition to the countless other aisles chock full of party supplies, then it's my firm belief they can make any holiday a little extra. Party City is what it would be like if Charming Charlie's (the accessories store, RIP) got in the party biz: everything is organized by color, and probably made in China. Can I mention their balloon game is poppin'! I ordered a few basic balloon "arrangements" for an event I threw recently, and not only did they blow them up with some of that premium grade A, hard to find helium, but they also attached strings, anchored them to cute little balloon weights I purchased, and perfectly sized/spaced them out, achieving that height/aspect ratio only realized by a true balloon master. Just another reminder that there's genius walking among us, and not all heroes wear capes. In closing, I walked in just wanting to place the balloon order, half expecting this place to be a glorified dollar store, with aisles looking more like the morning after a wild rave than those belonging to a neat and tidy, "we have everything," party supply store, but boy was I wrong! I was blown away by all the goodies packed inside this party in a vanilla box, ranging from the in your face Thanksgiving display (it saw me coming from the parking lot, I never stood a chance against that beast) to the super helpful staff (shout out to Rosey and Malika for modeling some photo booth props, and just being generally awesome people/Party City employees). I can't speak for all Party Cities, but this location was a slam dunk, and I 100% would return to this particular location to see what my homegirls, Rosey and Malika, have in store for the Christmas schwag, and to see what seasonal flare I can add to an event or dining room near you!

Located in the Mohawk Commons, Party City has just about everything you need for your next…read morecelebration: birthdays, graduations, holidays, weddings, sweet 16, fiestas, luaus, sports, or any celebration that you can think of. Party City has a great selection of all kinds of theme and colorful decorations, plates, napkins, cups, cards, costumes, hats, leis, noise makers, balloons, wrapping paper, party favors, toys, candy, supplies, and much more! Gibson greeting cards are 50% off! They carry many kids theme items such as balloons, favors, (plates, napkins, cups, & table covers are 50 percent off MSRP) for Spiderman, Superman, Power Rangers, Muppets, Disney characters, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Bratz and more! The costume masks in the back of the store are pretty cool. The Burger King mask is my favorite one! They have lots of colorful fiesta beads, sombreros, and ponchos for that Cinco de Mayo celebration. Overall, the prices and selection are very good here!

The Fortress of Gaming is a new all things gaming event center referred to as, "A Country Club For…read moreGamers". It is located in the warehouse district of Railroad Avenue and a bit tricky to find until the signage is updated but it is more than worth the time you spend searching for it. The Fortress of Gaming is owned by the same person that runs Zombie Planet. The ambition of this place is as grand as the size the venue offers with a small storefront for things like paints, play mats, and dice, the majority of the other two large sections of the location are dedicated to running events and offering space to play games. A flat $5 entry fee gets you access to the facility, their large gaming library, on site concessions, and many tables. Currently, they have spaced out tables, a new HIPPA rated HVACC system with plenty of ventilation, and a requirement to prove you are vaccinated to enter. Masks are optional once inside as a result which is a nice upside to the requirement to prove you are vaccinated. I went for my first visit to try out a event called, "Paint and Take" which is where you buy a $25 kit that includes a pre primed miniature, the paints and brushes you need, and a cup for water so that you can essentially sit and paint with others and have a good time. Eventually, there are plans to get a liquor license and to possibly host "paint and sip" instructional events as well. The venue currently runs magic the gathering, digimon, Warhammer 40K events and really, the potential is vast right now for future events from regular board gaming nights to conventions. This is the gamer equivalent of a field of dreams. He built it, the only question now is, will they come? I hope so. This is a great space and I plan to visit often and see everything they have to offer. This is a local small business that is very niche and it is my hope that it is one of the examples of how we have built back better since the pandemic threw a wrench in all our lives. For those who know about Zombie Planet, note that the store is still there and not closing. It is going to be a full retail location now with more product to offer. It is shifting all it's event business to The Fortress of Gaming. This is an exciting new place to visit and I recommend doing so. It is not crowded, it is not noisy, it is clean and they follow current covid best practices. The owner is open to new ideas too. If you happen to have some nifty and feasible ideas for events you'd like to host at the Fortress, try talking to George about it. You may just find yourself with a venue that meets your gaming event needs :)

I am a pretty active boardgamer. My BGG account goes back to 2009, and I have been gaming since I…read morewas a child. I usually game a couple of times a month, as well as attend various board game conventions. However, I don't like to go to game cafes in general... I just don't see the need. That being said, this place was new so my wife and I checked it out on a Saturday. They are located in practically the middle of nowhere in an old industrial section of Albany. They don't have a sign yet (bureaucratic red tape is slowing it down) and GPS will get you to the right area but not exactly there. Just keep driving around and behind the buildings until you find it. Inside, there are several rooms: one is for general gaming, the other appears to be set up for tournaments (or space rentals). We paid the $5 each for attendance (all-you-can-game) and checked out titles on the shelves. The owner said they had 300, but it looked like much less. They do own a gaming store (Zombie Planet) and he said they were hoping to get up to 500 titles. I recognized about 50% of the games they had, and probably had played 20% already. It is a nice collection, but if you want something in particular you might not find it. You could always bring your own, but I would rather stay at home and play. If you don't have a local gaming group, this is a good alternative. A miniatures tournament was going on in the back room and they were clearly having a good time. A couple of my friend's were getting killed (some things never change!) and it is a good venue for a tournament. Everyone is packed together and it is loud... but that is how things go. Speaking of which, you need to be vaccinated to get in so bring proof. I supposed post-covid that note won't be necessary anymore. They offer some hot food (chicken fingers, fries, pizza rolls, etc.) and cold food (pretzels, chips, candy) and various drinks. Prices are reasonable and any profits go to help support the operation, so I didn't mind paying a bit more than the local grocery store. I don't think you can bring food in, so keep that in mind. We stayed for a couple of hours and played 3-4 games. It was fun. If you are looking to connect with other local gamers this would be a great place to start. They clearly have a nice space for gaming.

Shopped here with two grands. It was an ideal spot to kill time before lunch at Five Guys. There…read moreare lots of items for children and tweens. They found several fun items including: Halloween costume for their Golden ($5.00) Harry Potter Fact Book Mini had held computer Uno card game Puzzle There are sections loaded with lots of candy, snacks, games, stuffed animals, and sticker books. Prices are clearly marked. Store is well lit, tidy, and well organized. There is a lot of makeup etc. in several aisles. However, several identical items such as nail polish and press on acrylic nails that were priced at $2.50 here can be found at Dollar Tree for $1.25. My 10 year old granddaughter is a savvy shopper and noted the price difference right away. The staff was helpful when asked questions. Check out was efficient. Shopping carts are available. They enjoyed shopping here, especially for the first time.