They're a customer first store and particularly great with children and families. Genuine people…read more who went the extra step and highly reccomended.

Service was okay. They only greet you if they know you personally or if you say hi to them first…read more The selection for pokémon and yugioh they had was very small but had some good cards. The only thing I would say about this place is they definitely overcharge way above retail for pokemon. (like i get the craze and hype around it) but retail stores like them should not be allowed to sell a $70 item for $130.

This is a great place to buy coins and bullion. the only problem is parking. if you are able to…read moreuse public transit, that is best. if you are disabled like me, welcome to Chicago. they do often go to coin shows, and those can be much easier to attend if you are limited in your ability to walk and stand.

THEY STORE ALL YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IF YOU BUY! AND SELL IT!…read more This place does well for three reasons LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION...other than that it has absolutely nothing to offer you except apparently low ball offers and rudeness according to other yelp reviews). I walked in there a couple of years back b/c I conveniently work near there and I purchased some gold and silver. The 2nd time I walked in, one of the guys I usually see demanded to know my first and last name. I did not have an issue with this since I am not hiding and I figured he already knew my name. Before the purchase could be completed, he took out a pen and paper and demanded to know the exact spelling...this was strange. He also requested an ID to photocopy for a "money laundering" check. I told him that was ridiculous as I wasn't selling anything and I was buying retail products they were selling with cash. Eventually after threatening to walk out, we made the sale all while this guy was jotting down more on his pad. I have a colleague who is an avid coin collector (has coins from ancient Greece to modern day US Mint) and I had been meaning to ask him if he goes to this place but never got around to it as I purchased there a couple of times more times without incident and I felt I was getting the usual customer treatment. The final time I went in there, I didn't have time to go to the bank so I had to use a credit card. This chubby younger guy behind the counter asked to see me id. I gave it this time b/c I figured he just wanted to see if my name matched the credit card...fair.. no one likes credit card fraud. But then he started writing down all the information. When I asked him why he was doing this, he said "money laundering." I again told him I was not selling anything and was a retail customer buying THEIR merchandise off the shelf just as I do at Walmart and Costco but they don't accuse me of money laundering!! We got into a big argument until I finally left as he told me he needed to put my information in data base in order for me to buy there. When I finally got around to asking my colleague about that place, he went hysterical and said "DON'T GO THERE! THOSE GUYS ARE CROOKS!" He told me they trick ppl into giving their info for "money laundering" and sell it to data brokers and ppl search sites. He also said the community knows it as an IRS roach motel. Almost aanyone who buys there past a quantity and is foolish enough to give there information, gets an instant audit. Obviously with selling there are rules. Like a pawn shop, they need your info in case the items you sold are stolen. BUT DON'T BE SO SPITEFUL TOWARDS YOUR CUSTOMERS that you lie to them to make more money off of them by tricking them into giving you there personal information! Lastly, my friend told me if you are a coin collector and want to buy coins at a good price, just go to ebay.

What a really cool experience!…read more Private session for my friend and I to create and customize a scented soy candle. Personalized attention, great explanations and assistance. After measuring and mixing we picked the perfect vessel for our candle to solidify and were handed a label to name it. We were also signed up for the perfume class. There were fifteen of us present, good energy, nice vibe. It was like a science lab of scents and we worked our magic. We were instructed to choose up to six oils to mix into a beaker. We played around with the scents until it smelled like something we wanted to wear. We were directed to shelves of pretty perfume bottles; some included with the price of the class and upgrades that were not. My pretty pink bottle was an upgrade. When we received our perfumer's alcohol, we poured into our bottles, gave a little shake and came up with a clever name for our signature scent. I was really hoping the owner would pop in. It's good to know that we can refill each perfume bottle and candle jar at a discounted price. I named my candle "Priceless" because the combined scents remind me of my travel experiences. My chosen name for my perfume is "Journey" because that's exactly where each note takes you.

Stumbled upon this experience online and I'm so thankful that I did. I had a great time and I…read morehighly recommend this one they validate for your parking if you park in the shared lot of the building this wasn't mentioned where I got the tickets from but there's various places where you can get tickets from. The staff or team were very friendly and welcoming. The energy was great. This was something new that I've never tried before and I would definitely come back again to this location to try some of the other experiences like candlemaking based on the high energy and environment.

I have always had a wonderful time dealing with CFU and this time was no different. Even when the…read morepost office in my country was on strike you were so accommodating and help me get my split early and quickly. I can't express how much I love using you guys as a vendor and I always make sure to recommend you to whoever I can when they need to order splits. Thank you all again.

One of the card shops in the Chicago land for Cardfight!! Vanguard…read more If you're looking for a card shop that has other card games besides Vanguard, keep searching, CU (Cardfighters Underground) only carries Vanguard. The shop is a small section integrated into a record store that has tables for playing, a display case with cards, supplies and booster packs available for sale. The variety of product the shop has available for sale is limited due to the shop being so small. However, there are many Japanese products that are not often sold in card shops including Bushiroad import sleeves and anime-themed deckboxes. The shop is smaller than most which limits the size of tournaments CU can host. There are available areas for play all over the store but the shop likely would not be able to hold anything too big. Tournaments and events that the shop hosts are pretty good events overall; the shop owner and the judge/main vendor are both open minded individuals who will take the time to listen to the questions, comments and concerns customers have. The overall prices of the shop's products are very competitive as well. They are willing to make deals with customers on top of having overall lower prices in general. They are also very flexible. A friend of mine once bought four copies of a card (we'll call it Card A). He later pulled a copy of Card A in one of his booster packs even though he was looking for Card B, a card of equal value. The shop had a copy of Card B; the owner went up to my friend and offered an exchange as soon as he saw it. It was really nice of him to make the offer. The owner also plays the game himself; you can challenge him to a match anytime! There is a healthy variety of snacks and drinks that the shop has available for sale, most not costing more than a dollar. Great for a card shop setting, where tournaments can last longer than a few hours and cut into meal times. Available prices for buying product in bulk, such as boxes or cases, are also quite competitive as compared to other vendors online and shops in the Chicagoland area. My friends and I have bought many boxes from CU and are planning to buy more in the future. TL;DR - Overall, whether you're new or old to the game, CU is great for Vanguard and I'd recommend it. Unfortuantely, their shop is a little smaller than I'd prefer, but it's a great shop nonetheless, with a nice variety of products as well as a shop owner who is very open minded to helping you get what you need at the price you can afford.

This place is actually ALOT of fun looking back! It doesn't have the best of probably any store in…read moreit, but there are some good stores so the overall experience is fun! The Lego Store is probably the lamest of all Lego stores but they have lots of clothes stores for females with some really great dresses. But as a guy, I didn't find 1 thing. However, it's nice to catch that mall vibe in downtown Chicago!

The Water Tower Place has a few stores (literally): Akira, Lego, Adidas, American Girl . . . and…read moresome others. The mall, if you can call it a mall is desolate. Some levels have no stores. Other levels have 2-3, maybe 4 stores. There is an Asian-inspired food place on the lobby level (I didn't try it). Te'amo, a well-known tea spot is located on level 2. The Hershey store is located on the lobby level as well (separate entrance). Te'amo - Waited about 5 minutes before an employee appear from the back to prepare my order that I placed through the kiosk. The tea was decent. The employees in Akira and the Lego Store was excellent. I was greeted immediately and offered assistance. Even some small talk about what brought me in and offering their name and future assistance if required. For me, there is no excitement to return. Hard pass next time I am in Chicago. The highlight was the Lego store which is what drew me to the Water Tower originally. I am Lego geek. This place reminds me of old Route 66 in the Cars movie #dead.

Wow this place is filled to the rafters with stuff. It it goes on back deeper then you think. Don't…read moremiss the back area. Friendly service even boxed a figurine I got. Doesn't look like much on the outside, but totally worth a visit.

ABSOLUTE WASTE OF TIME!! Employees love to racially profile…read morepeople who are obviously dark or when speaking a different language. Came here for the first time with my Hispanic mother who had this place in her bucket list, was COMPLETELY trash btw, the moment we walked in we were welcomed then when I spoke in my mother tongue , they started acting like they needed 10 toes on top of us, the employee basically started convo that there's cameras monitoring the place when all I asked him how much a price was for a certain item, yall overprice the smallest bs and unless ur a white influencer, this is a good spot for u but if ur any sort of minority, don't waste ur time with the white trash working here. I'm coming back but next time I come back I'm unleashing hell on you guys and scaring every customer in that store

I adore this spot…read more The only thing that could make this place better would be more fabulous things for me to buy. Although I'm pretty sure my husband would disagree. The staff is so kind and helpful. I do wish they had a bathroom. But really. It's okay. Cuz my guys just went to Starbies and brought me back a drink. I also wish they had a lot for parking. I don't care... they still get five stars from me.

Paper Source is a good place to find nice, thick wrapping paper, stationery, cards, and all the…read morethings you need for gift giving purposes (you might even find the gift itself here). I'd been to the ones on Southport and on Wells but it was interesting to see the difference in merchandise here. It makes sense--this location seemed to have more office-type merchandise, and for a location in the Loop what better place to sell office supplies? Heck, I even had to stop myself from buying some of the cute office stuff they have here, and I only work two days per week in the office and still don't have my office space fully set up at home. If you need a last-minute card, even if it's beyond the standard congratulations or birthday, this is a great place to stop. And it's directly across the street from the Clark postal station, so may as well get it in the mail immediately before you forget! They had several board games. I'm a board gamer but usually don't play the ones that get mass market attention, and I saw some more niche ones like Steam Up which was truly surprising. I'm not sure who's coming here to buy them but I am totally in favor of stores supporting small publishers. I also saw journals, notepads, coffee cups, and so on. There's no parking here given its location in the loop. Train, bus, and/or foot will be your options.

I go way back with Jon. His dad and my dad were dealers in the 60s. Honestly the most trustworthy…read moreperson you could meet. Make sure you ask for him and make sure you get an appointment directly with Jon and not his assistant. We have done business for 30 years now and I never hesitate to recommend him to my customers with coins. One of the good guys.

John evalated my inherited coin collection which helped me determine what do with the coins. He is…read moreextremely knowledgable, very efficient, and honest! I appreciated his willingness to explain how the coins were evaluated and how they were valued. John was a pleasure to work. I would go to him again. I highly recommend John Subak.