The Exchange

Terrible selection of PS4 games. The past two times I have visited they have not any any of the games I am looking for. They offered me $ 3 trade-​in for a game they were selling used for $ 24.99.

This place was awesome! Nice to walk into a retro game store and seeing all the old game systems and games still going hard. Was actually pretty nostalgic. What’s nice that everything is in alphabetical order, so it’s pretty easy to find what your looking for. Purchased 2 products and I was absolutely satisfied. Thanks guys!

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.

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!

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.

What a great store. The staff seems really friendly and knowledgable, and they seem to have a great selection of everything! Music, movies, and games for all the consoles. The prices seem really great too.

This review is based on their vinyl selection.
Poor selection, overpriced and damaged. I think this sums it up. Their vinyl bins not the proper size so everything that gets shelved will be damaged in order to fit in these bins. This is such a bizarre phenomenon? A true red flag that a shop simply does not care or they are just clueless.
Also what a sterile environment to buy and appreciate music? CDs are all kept behind security cases (like CDs are such a valuable medium — hello?)
Seriously, not worth a visit for vinyl or music. Lowest possible rating. :(

I’m not a hipster but we share something in common — the appreciation for all good things retro. I’m a gamer and a geek to the core and The Exchange in Wicker Park is a retro games heaven.
The Exchange differs from GameStop in that they sell, buy, and trade games from current to old generation consoles. GameStop only carries the most recent and current generation merchandise so places like The Exchange definitely have a niche in the market. You’ll find games, consoles, and controllers for PS2, PS1, Wii, Xbox, Super Nintendo, Ninendo, Sega Saturn, and even Dreamcast. I picked up a PS1 controller in the rare white color for only $ 2.50. It felt and looked unused and worked fine when I tried it at home that same day.
The prices are completely reasonable. I have found similar merchandise on Amazon for more and you get to examine the merchandise before purchasing. The store is very clean and organized which is great in comparison to other retro stores that do the same but are a complete mess. Even if you aren’t a gamer, they have a wide range of other products like collectibles, CDs, and vinyl records. Try walking in — you’ll find something nostalgic to your childhood or inner geek.

Came here solely for vinyl, the selection was tiny… but organized alphabetically. They had a mix of old classics and new vinyl, I noticed a lot more new hip stuff though.
What’s super awesome is that I found The Dresden Dolls 2014 RSD colored vinyl for 15 bucks! This was REDUCED! I’ve been searching all record stores in my area (in LA) and never find it… saw on eBay people were selling it for $ 70 or more. I don’t know what this fantastic piece was doing being neglected, but I’m more than happy to give it a good home :) it’s like stumbling upon buried treasure, so this place was totally worth checking out in my book!

Wow, this place is a gem! Most people go here for DVDs or video games, and their selection was great. I bought two DVDs for under $ 10. There were a lot more that I didn’t have time to look at otherwise I would’ve probably bought lots more. But, what I don’t think people talk about a lot was their record collection.
I love Reckless Records, but I have been disappointed by their selection recently. The Exchange didn’t let me down. There was a good mix of classics and new, as well as vinyl from the past few years. There were so many albums that I wanted, but my big purchase was a $ 6 Ryan Adam’s 1984 7 inch album. Next time I’m in Chicago, I’m coming back to the Exchange.

I love coming here to always check the toys, recently bought the last 2 killer klowns from outer space toys and for an incredible price. They are always friendly and have new merch every few weeks or so, so I’m looking forward on what’s the next horror/​sci fi toy I’ll be snagging up next.

the store have quite some nice used stuff that you can get for cheap,
but this is my experience
i went there and bought a console and games for a total of $ 326
when i went home i noticed some of the games were in bad cheap and i just decided to return them just couple of hours later in the same day.
the lady JB wasn’t friendly as she was when i came to buy, she wasn’t nice to me at all
and didn’t wanna give me my money back, but instead she proposed me to buy back the merchandise from me and she proposed me $ 15 for games i have bought just few hours earlier $ 50 and ended up by giving me a store credit of value of $ 30, she didn’t wanna take two games because they did not have a price tag because the never put it in those items.
so i end up with a $ 30 store credit that i will never use it because i’m just a tourist,
i will not advice this place for people
if you want cheap stuff go on craigslist or eBay
this place wont appreciate your business and all the want is money not costumer satisfaction
i would have spent more money if they were nice to me and give me money back but no, money is more important for them
you definitely need to check items before taking them
Most CD/​DVD are scratched
they tell they give you warranty but they will find the way to come up with stories
very bad costumer service, no appreciation

I love it! I stepped in here for the first time and wow, they have every DVD ever made (seems like) in addition, all sorts of old video game consoles and video games. It’s like a kid in a candy shop! Ultimately, I wish I could have left with a few old consoles, but my lady was too worried that in my excitement I’d forget about her.

As an avid movie collector, this place is key to my collection. These guys are always super helpful. Even if I call ahead to ask about movies. There’s never any hesitation or huffing and puffing for making them look something up before I make the trek down there. I really appreciate it, every time.
Their selection is crazy huge and their prices are some of the most reasonable I’ve found in the city.
They also carry a lot of classic video game systems and games (and new ones, obviously). I love being able to buy new (old) accessories for my N64 or dreamcast.
Raiding this place and stocking up at least once a month is always the highlight of that week!

I love the store on Belmont, but this Milwaukee location has that one beat. So much selection at great prices, and being a game collector I always find something to pick up at a steal. Nice employees too. I chatted about Dreamcast RPGs with one dude behind the counter for a few minutes and that sealed the deal. A lifelong fan.

Are you in the market for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (original) Nintendo game? How about a VHS Disney movie or $ 5 DVD of Harry Potter? You can find all that stuff under one roof — at The Exchange.
In addition to old weird classics, they have a wide variety of old and current CDs, DVDs, Blu Rays, and lots of other more current games for a range of gaming systems.
Prepare to spend a bit of time if you are just «browsing» because they have a ton of titles to look through. Also be prepared for a kink in your neck because of all the sideways reading. Enjoy your treasure hunting.

I would put the exchange on par with a bad crack addiction. All I wanted was Zombie Ate My Neighbors for SNES, and now I have an N64 and two video game collections. I’ve lost contact with my family, my girlfriend is threatening to leave me, I shower with Febreeze, and my fingernails are beginning to curl…
Great store, excellent location, nerdy employees, and a mountainous selection of multimedia entertainment are enough reasons to keep me regularly visiting. I would definitely check it out if you’re in the market for anything movie or game related.

This is probably my favorite place to go in the city. Whenever I develop a new ‘celebrity crush’ or have an urge to watch a random movie I haven’t seen in years, I go here. Amazingly, about ¾ of my current DVD purchases over the last 6 months have been made here and most of them are movies that would be considered obscure or not all that popular. Whatever I wasn’t able to find on their shelves, they’ve been able to order for me from another store. Bonus points to them for not charging anything to order something for you, and it’s your call whether you even want to buy it or not when it arrives. If you don’t want it, they just put it up on the shelf. No obligations.
I just recently traded in some old DVDs and PS2 games (I opted for for in-​store credit instead of cash), and although you’re not going to get rich that way, I received way more than I expected for some really really bad movies I can’t imagine anyone would want, and the in-​store credit was almost double what I’d have gotten for cash, so I can’t complain about that either.
Every employee I’ve dealt with has been fantastic and eager to help as much as possible in regards to finding things on shelves, checking their other inventory or searching at other stores. I stop by the store at least once every few weeks and will continue to do so until I run out of money or they run out of DVDs.

This is a review of the VINYL music selection at The Exchange…
If you are interested in collecting used bread and butter rock/​pop/​metal, this place will do fine for you. If you are interested in other genres (for instance, jazz, classical, folk, blues), you will be better served next door. Positives are they sell both new and used vinyl, and they seem to do a pretty good job of sorting through what’s coming in the door, so that what they sell is going to be VG or higher when it comes to the used stuff. Downsides are a somewhat limited selection and pricing that is a tad erratic. Some things seemed priced pretty fair (versus what you’d pay at other places in the city that also have fair pricing), but then other things are a bit higher than average.*
Overall, I feel meh about this store (and that’s a category for rating, it appears!). Given that fact, I’ve given them a low average rating. There’s enough other stores in the city that do at least as good of a job if not better, that there’s not much more to give the place than that. Me personally, I’d walk on and go down the road to the other places nearby.
[* See my other reviews for the comparative net I am casting here for other stores in the city [and beyond]. I have currently reviewed 39 stores in the Chicagoland area. In most cases, I have visited the seller several times, at least, to ensure I’m reviewing based on a consistency of experiences on several occasions.]

I had a great experience at the exchange. I went in for a gameboy and tetris game. They had exactly what I wanted for under $ 20! I got a gameboy color even! I ended up getting a couple more gameboy games for less than $ 5 a piece, a steal!
Customer service was quick and attentive despite several customers.

Back in the old days when I was youthful, naïve and stupid (read: three years ago), I played in a band of questionable quality and we would sometimes fool enough people into thinking we were good enough to actually be paid to play music for them. Sometimes this would take us all the way out to the East Coast. As the singer of the band had roots in Ohio (which was along the way), we would often stay for a few days near Cleveland.
There isn’t much in Cleveland save for an ironic juxtaposition of cleaner streets and more aggressive pan handlers — what little there is is allocated to a small section of town where there seemed to be an Exchange on every corner. The layout of each location was practically identical in its sterility and each location offered an equally decent amount of media across the board from music to video games to films. The lady and I purchased a few things inbetween the set of stores and immediately forgot about them once we crossed over into Illinois state lines again.
The Exchange? Just some small Ohio eccentricity.
About a year ago, one opened right next to the venerable Reckless Records — passing by it, the lady immediately snapped her fingers as if she were having an epiphany (she often does this when consuming cupcakes as well) and recalled our misadventures of years past of which stopping into this once exclusively Ohio based chain was one of them. Curious to see, we walked in. It was as if we had walked into a time warp. Had I gone to sleep and had my entire culinary school education erased? Was I now back in some bizarre commune playing in some bizarre pseudo goth band with an over the hill 40 year old never was?
Nope. I was in the Exchange. Having now spread its mossy reach from Ohio to Pennsylvania and now to Illinois. For the first few months, we found their dollar section unbeatable with many obscure gems to be found. In those first few months, we would be harangued by staff three or four times per visit making sure we didn’t need anything — this was frustrating. As time went on, the staff relaxed, but so did that dollar section.
I’m not a gamer, so that aspect of this chain does nothing for me. Their vinyl selection though small is very much wanting (though god bless them for trying by stocking every reprint Radiohead 12″ they could find) and that beloved dollar section? Now filled with the pop tarts of yesteryear (or 1999) and no longer the obscure tiny press releases that no one knew what to do with or how to price.
Is the Exchange an eye sore on landscape of Milwaukee Avenue? Nah. But it certainly isn’t much to write home about either.