401 Games Vaughan Reviews: Price Match Hassle, Store Smell, And Customer Experience

401 Games Vaughan Reviews: Price Match Hassle, Store Smell, And Customer Experience

Store details

• Business name: 401 Games Vaughan

• Full address: 7700 Keele Street, Unit 6B, Concord, Ontario, L4K 2A1, Canada

• Phone number: 905 660 4464

• Website: https://store.401games.ca

401 Games is a well known Canadian retailer that sells board games, trading card games like Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu Gi Oh, as well as sports cards and other collectibles. This article shares our personal experience and adds to the growing list of 401 Games Vaughan reviews, focusing on price matching and the in store environment.

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Our Visit And First Impressions

When we walked into 401 Games Vaughan, the first thing we noticed was not the games or the shelves. It was the smell.

The store had a very strong, unpleasant odour that resembled heavy body odour that has built up for a long time. It was not a faint smell in one corner. It was in the air as soon as we entered and it stayed noticeable the entire time.

There were many people inside, easily around 80 or more, sitting at tables and playing games. It is clear that 401 Games Vaughan is a community hub with tournaments and events. That explains the number of people, but it does not excuse the level of smell that we experienced.

Right from the beginning, the environment made it difficult to feel comfortable browsing slowly or staying for a long time.

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The Pokémon Price Match Situation

We went to 401 Games Vaughan mainly to buy a Pokémon Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box. Before going, we had checked prices online and found the same product cheaper at another Canadian store, Chonky Collectibles, with a difference of about 10 dollars.

Because 401 Games advertises a price match policy, we decided to buy the product from them and ask for a price match instead of going to the other store.

According to their own policy (summarized in plain language):

• They say they will consider matching the advertised price of major Canadian competitors.

• The competitor's product must be in stock and listed in Canadian dollars.

• The price match must be requested and approved before the order is placed.

• All price match requests are considered case by case, at the discretion of management and ownership.

This sounds reasonable on paper. The problem is how it played out in real life.

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What Actually Happened At The Counter

Here is what happened step by step.

1. We showed the staff the lower price for the same Pokémon Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box at Chonky Collectibles.

2. We asked 401 Games Vaughan to price match that lower price.

3. The staff member, who was very friendly and professional, told us he had to call the owner to get approval.

4. This turned into a long wait, even though the price difference was only around 10 dollars.

5. During this wait, we were just standing there, stuck in the middle of the process, in a store that already smelled very bad.

In the end, the owner did approve the price match. To be very clear and accurate:

We did buy the Pokémon Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box from 401 Games Vaughan after the price match was finally approved.

So the complaint in this review is not that they refused the price match. The complaint is about the hassle, delay, and lack of clear process for something as simple and small as a 10 dollar difference.

It is reasonable to ask: if a 10 dollar difference causes this much waiting and requires the owner to be called, what happens if the price difference is 50 or 100 dollars or more. How long would customers have to stand around and wait then.

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How The Hassle Changed Our Shopping Plans

We did not come to 401 Games Vaughan only to grab a single item and run out. The original plan was to:

• Look around the store

• Possibly buy more Pokémon products

• Maybe even grab other games or accessories while we were there

The store has a lot of potential for serious gamers and collectors, and normally this could lead to a bigger purchase and a positive review.

Instead, two things combined to change our plans completely:

1. The strong, unpleasant smell in the store made it hard to feel comfortable staying inside.

2. The long wait for a simple price match, just because staff had to reach the owner, created unnecessary stress and frustration.

Even though we did end up buying the Elite Trainer Box from them, we did not stay to browse more and did not buy anything else. We left the store feeling upset and disappointed, not because of the final price, but because of the overall experience.

This is an important part of honest 401 Games Vaughan reviews. The sale was made, but the way it was handled likely cost them extra business that day and possibly in the future.

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Credit To The Staff, Problem With The Policy

To be fair, the manager or staff member who helped us was very friendly, kind, and professional. He was clearly doing his best within the rules that have been given to him.

Our criticism is aimed at the policy and the way the store is run, not at that individual employee.

• It is unreasonable that staff have to call the owner for a small price match and leave customers waiting.

• The policy creates a bottleneck and makes what should be a quick decision into a long process.

• This is especially problematic when the store environment is already uncomfortable due to the smell.

In other words, the frontline staff are not the problem here. The problem is the rules created by ownership and the lack of empowerment for staff to make fast, basic customer service decisions.

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Store Smell, Air Quality And Health Considerations

The second major point in this review is the store environment.

The smell was so strong that we could not comfortably stay any longer than we had to. This is not just about being picky. In a crowded indoor space, bad air quality and strong odours can become a health and comfort issue.

In Ontario, employers have general duties under occupational health and safety laws. One well known provision is in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, section 25(2)(h), which requires employers to take every reasonable precaution in the circumstances for the protection of workers. That obligation is written for employees, but the same conditions directly affect customers who are in the same environment.

We are not saying that 401 Games Vaughan has legally violated that section. That is something only a regulator or court could decide. We are simply pointing out that in a space with:

• Dozens of people sitting for long periods

• Limited fresh air flow

• Strong persistent odours

it would be reasonable for the business to:

• Improve ventilation and air circulation

• Use air purifiers suitable for the size of the space

• Clean carpets, chairs and surfaces more frequently

• Consider basic hygiene reminders for long tournament sessions

From a customer point of view, it felt like the store had not taken enough practical steps to prevent the kind of smell we experienced.

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Legal Context For Pricing And Representations

Since this is a detailed review, it is worth mentioning some of the legal framework that exists in Canada and Ontario around pricing and how things are represented to consumers. This section is general information only and not legal advice.

Competition Act (federal)

• Competition Act, section 74.05 deals with situations where a product is advertised at a certain price and then supplied at a higher price than the advertised one.

• Competition Act, sections 52 and 74.01 deal with false or misleading representations and deceptive marketing practices, including misleading price claims.

In our situation, 401 Games charged the price that they themselves advertised. The difference was with another store's price. Since price matching is voluntary, section 74.05 about selling above one's own advertised price does not really apply here.

If a business loudly advertised something like "instant, no hassle price matching on all competitors" but then almost never honoured it or made it extremely hard in practice, there might be questions about misleading impressions under the general misleading advertising provisions. However, 401 Games describes its policy as case by case and subject to management discretion, so legally it is less clear.

Ontario Consumer Protection Act, 2002

• Consumer Protection Act, 2002, section 14 deals with false, misleading or deceptive representations.

• Under this law, certain unfair practices can allow a consumer to cancel an agreement and seek remedies if they were misled.

Again, in our experience, 401 Games did not refuse the price match. They honoured it, but in a slow and frustrating way. Unless the store promised a very specific type of easy, instant price match with no conditions (which we did not see), it is hard to say that this situation falls neatly into a clear legal unfair practice. What is clear is that it created a bad customer experience, which is exactly what honest reviews are meant to highlight.

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Suggestions For 401 Games Vaughan

Based on our visit, here are practical suggestions that could dramatically improve future 401 Games Vaughan reviews:

1. Empower staff for small price differences

Let managers or staff approve price matches up to a certain amount (for example up to 20 dollars) without needing to call the owner. This removes unnecessary waiting and makes the policy feel real instead of painful.

2. Explain the price match process clearly

On the website and in store, be very clear that price matches are discretionary and may take a few minutes if approval is needed. That way customers know what to expect before they get to the cash.

3. Invest in air quality

Improve ventilation, add air purifiers and schedule regular deep cleaning. When you regularly host large crowds, the air must be treated as a serious part of the customer experience.

4. Monitor event capacity and comfort

If too many people in the space at once make the environment unpleasant, adjust the number of tables or the scheduling of events.

5. Protect both staff and customers

A better environment is good for workers and for visitors, and it lines up with the general duty to take reasonable precautions to protect people in the workplace.

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Final Thoughts On Our 401 Games Vaughan Review

In summary, here is our honest 401 Games Vaughan review based on this visit:

• Positive points

• The staff member who helped us was friendly, polite and professional.

• The store has a wide selection of products and an active gaming community.

• The store did eventually approve the price match and we did purchase the Pokémon Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box there.

• Negative points

• The store smelled extremely bad, to the point that we could not comfortably stay inside any longer than necessary.

• The price match on a small 10 dollar difference required calling the owner and made us wait far too long.

• Because of the smell and the hassle, we did not stay to browse or buy anything beyond that one item and left feeling upset.

For future customers reading 401 Games Vaughan reviews, this is not a warning that the store is a scam. It is a warning that you may run into a strong smell and a slow, owner dependent price match process. For the store, this is also an opportunity. With some simple changes to policy and environment, they could turn experiences like this from negative reviews into positive ones and keep customers coming back.