Great place, great employees. I really enjoy having a place like this to go to. It's family owned, personable and fair. I have sold, traded and purchased from here before. They always give me a fair price on both ends and can usually dish out a good recommendation. The employees are helpful and friendly, sometimes I just go in to look at new games/movies and chit chat about what is new. Really awesome place, I love giving them my money quite frankly read more

So in my quest to locate the best spots for retro videogames in the city, I've visited most of what there is, and finally visited The Exchange today, a place with a good reputation that turned out to be a disappointment. Here goes: Location: Wicker Park. Trendy and cool, sure, but impossible to find parking most of the time, and one of those claustrophobic neighborhoods where it feels like half the streets are always closed for repair and you're trying to figure out one-way traffic patterns while swerving to avoid bike messengers. I did it on a day off, in the middle of a weekday, to minimize the hassle factor, but even then it wasn't great. Inventory: Good in terms of variety. They had lots of NES, SNES, and especially original GameBoy games (which hardly anyone else has). Also, their stock was alphabetical and shelved in cases, which meant the carts weren't being regularly tossed around, dinged up, scratched, or disarrayed by other customers, which is a big plus. Some of the stuff I pulled out of the cases was in mediocre-to-bad shape, but they do appear to have at least cleaned some or all of the games I looked at and I did buy a copy of Super Mario Land in very good shape for a reasonable price, so it's hit or miss. They also had a decent selection of systems and rarities, including a NES copy of Metal Storm, which I'll get to in a minute, but they got two stars instead of one from me purely on the strength of having their act together inventory-wise. Prices: This was a big disappointment. I'd heard that cheap games could be had here from a large selection, and I didn't spot a single title of any of the systems I looked at that was cheaper than Pricecharting's listing for average ebay sales. Their games and systems were both broadly overpriced (some just a buck or two, and they do have a rewards card, but a few as much as $30 over what I've seen online or even in other stores in Chicago). Add in the $5 in gas it took me to drive down and back from the north suburbs, the $1 parking meter, and 11% Cook County tax and I was already feeling that good deals on prices were a must to justify coming here in the first place. Wretchedly, several games on my list were priced $5, $10 or more above their current market value. And I don't mean rarities or boxed games, I mean loose carts of popular things they printed millions of like Contra, Final Fantasy, and Super Metroid. These games in particular are already overpriced on the collector market, but instead of an already-absurd $30 Contra, which every kid in the 80s had, The Exchange was asking something like $40. Final Fantasy (usually $17-19 on eBay) was $30. I'm not a newcomer to the city, so I expected a "Wicker Park lease" markup, but again the reputation of this store is that you can find good games at good prices, and that's just demonstrably not the case. Bummer. They did, however, have that copy of Metal Storm, in reasonable shape, for $100 against an average online price of $95. I was interested, reached for my wallet, and had them unlock the case. Customer Service: The most basic thing that every retro game collector knows is to look at the circuit boards of rare old cartridge-based videogames in order to confirm their condition and authenticity. This is just a given, and it's neither paranoid nor unreasonable to ask, even when you have no reason to think a game isn't functional and authentic. I was leery because Metal Storm in particular is a game that is frequently bootlegged, reproduced, or otherwise tampered with precisely because it's rare and valuable, which is why I haven't purchased one online and I was hoping to find one in person that I could check out before I bought it. So I assumed, wrongly, that a store known as THE place to go for retro gaming in the city wouldn't even blink at being asked to open the cart so I could visually confirm the board and check the condition of the connector pins. I was told flatly that they do not open any of their games. They offered to plug it into a system and boot it up (which wouldn't necessarily confirm its authenticity if it was a reproduction), and to take returns in the store up to (I think) 30 days, which is reasonable, but again: I deliberately have waited months to even go here because I dislike driving and parking in Wicker Park. I politely declined and passed on the game, and left disappointed. Some advice for the bro behind the counter who clearly doesn't understand what it means to put a $100 price tag on a 30-year old Nintendo game and lock it behind a glass case: you MUST be willing to open these and let customers confirm their authenticity and condition. Not doing so is to fundamentally misunderstand both your own product and the customer you're trying to sell it to. The verdict: Hey, if you live nearby, maybe it's better than nothing, but this is hardly the goldmine of retro gaming its reputation suggests. It's a used media store that's uncompetitive with eBay. No thank you. read more

Awesome selection, Awesome customer service. If Reckless Records was smart, they'd up their game.... Not only do they have more movies and a better selection of music, but they primarily sell video games! Sorry Reckless, I'll walk the extra hundred feet to the exchange every time! Every Single Employee Is AWESOME!!!! read more

Staff was friendly and location had a massive amount of merchandise. I was impressed with my visit, and feel I got a great deal on the game I purchased. Will return again someday. read more

This store is phenomenal. The people who work there are very friendly and awesome. The store has a load of movies and tv series, vinyls, video games, vintage toys, music, video game accessories. Etc!. This store is a must go to for anybody. read more

Went in looking for a pair of headphones. Found a pair and asked one of the employees if I was able to return them if I didn't like the quality. He answered yes, as long as I have the receipt. (Ended up testing them out that night, didn't like them) Came in two days later to return them with the receipt and a different employee (woman) at the register refused to take them stating, 'if there isn't anything wrong with them, we aren't returning it'. Even after telling her I've been lied to and now being scammed of my money ($50) she refused to give my money back. Having worked in retail before, any managers I've worked with would have happily returned them under those circumstances, but the management here value a few bucks over customers here. read more

The Exchange is seriously one of the best hidden gems in Wicker Park. They sell obscure DVD's for super cheap prices and have a gigantic selection of VHS and games. Every time I go in there I end up spending far too much money. Just be careful if you carry a large handbag or backpack as they'll make you leave it behind the desk while you browse. read more

ive been going to reckless for years.. and as much as i like a good "old fashion" record shop... i really like the exchange.. the people there are really nice and they pretty much buy and sell everything. read more

Employees were more interested in chatting it up with each other than helping a store full of customers. It's cool to socialize with your co-workers but do your job first and foremost. I felt rushed after waiting 15-20 mins for someone to open the case and noticed that the employees would talk about the other customers who left the store which I found to be very rude and disrespectful and I find it unnerving to think that they said something about me once I had left. Great selection but they should practice better customer service and unless you really need to get to a game and don't feel like waiting on an online order I guess you can go here but I'd personally deal with the wait instead of the shoddy customer service here. read more

Okay this place is border line terrible if it wasnt for the old fashion games they have and the low price systems and ps3 games i would never show my face here- first off when you walk in the store it smells TERRIBLE- like a mildew kinda smell- i almost dont want to be in there too long considering how musty it is in the store- aside from the funky store its boring to go through/ no creativity just plain games in glass shelves and thats about it- they need to throw some posters up/ disorganize a bit stop trying to make a fun place so uptight and boring to walk through- also i dont know what kinda experience people are getting but mines was flawed- the girl who bought my ps3 system/ a video game and over 9 different movies charged me 110 for the whole bunch and thats store credit i was going to get 80 dollars cash- that personally is just as worst as gamestop- aside from that the girl taking my stuff for cash seemed really out of it/ i dunno if she was high or tired but she seemed a bit slow in the head- i asked her simple questions and it seemed to not register fast enough/ over all i really am disappointed in this place/ it sucks cause when i first saw it i was shocked as soon as i walked in i wasnt so happy read more

My new favorite place :) the staff was incredibly helpful, friendly and funny. I got a couple great deals on dvds and want to go back for some games and music! Seriously, stop in, you won't be disappointed! read more

Me and a friend were on our way to Reckless Records as well, but decided to stop by here first. Exchange by far had more than werexcepted. they have a wide range of used cds from $1, $2.50, and $5. For vintage gamers, they carry all the old systems and games like snes, nes n64, ps1, etc..all and all great store which you cant go wrong with. read more

Have been ok in the past, but just locked me out at 2 minutes before close after I spent 20 minutes trying to get there. Uncool.

I often go in on my days off to browse for some musical gem or movie I just can't live without. If I don't find it, the employees have been extremely accommodating about finding my items at different stores and ordering them for me. Everyone I've come in contact at this store have been pleasant, helpful and laid back. It is because of my experiences with them that I come back to order more items when I can't find them. read more

Soo much better than people play games, people play games had a very tiny stock of gamecube games while The Exchange had every single gamecube game i was looking for at a reasonable price the employees were really nice, they also have records, cds, video game peripherals, and almost all retro video games you can think of they're the best in Chicago! read more

don't go here bad service i was trying to see if i could trade in a game and this jerk who looks like kramer from seinfeld got real loud and unprofessional with me when all he had to say was no i will never step foot in that place again horrible just horrible read more

I have been to this store and gotten some good cds but depending on who you get at this stores and the one on Belmont I bought a dvd that was in a blu-ray case they charged me a blu-price and it was only a dvd and bonus disc these people have deceptive. Sales practices .they have done this to me twice.once at others store on Belmont.there is no such thing as honestly with these people and on top dof it if I take it back I'll get hit with a restock fee so no matter what I do .I was taken at there Belmont store Too. I was told by one of there sales people a certain price after looking I went bought this cd and when I got home and looked at the receipt they had charged me the regular price not the discount price there guy said he would give me. they not above slipping one past you. I will never go to any of there store again nor will I recommend them.be careful I will not go back to them a 3rd time read more

I LOVE this place. The past couple of times I have been there, I have walked out with a film that has been on my list and some are rare.

i called couple days ago to inquire about a game , the guy(Jordan) that answer te phone was very rude ! seriously if you don't like your job ? don't do it , customer service is terrible except for some girl that is very friendly and always willing to help . read more

amazing prices amazing staff the place is speecheless if you havent been there go