Replay Games and DVD closes Williamson Road store
This sign outside the Williamson Road Replay Games store says the store has closed. Photo by Amanda Codispoti
The Replay Games and DVD store on Williamson Road in Roanoke County has closed, according to a sign outside the building. The sign directs customers to visit another location at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Gus Nicks Boulevard in Roanoke.
I reported in November that the Roanoke-based company had closed the store except for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays because traffic was slow during the week.
In addition, the company put up for sale the buildings that house two of its stores (one of them the Williamson Road store and the other on Lee Highway in Fairlawn) and its corporate offices on Mountain Avenue in Roanoke.
The company’s corporate operations manager said in November that Replay wanted to sell the buildings to cut expenses. Replay had planned to lease the Williamson Road building from its new owner, had it sold.
The Williamson Road building is on the market for $685,000, according to an online listing.
Replay Games president Mark Tozier did not return a voice message seeking more information about the closing.
Replay now has five stores located in Roanoke, Rocky Mount and Radford.
January 11, 2013 - 5:00 AM
I don’t know if anyone has commented on the Domestications Store at Towers closing. I love this store and am sad to see it go!
I noticed the for sale sign at the store in Fairlawn. We’ve bought from there a few times…they have a pretty decent selection. Their prices are a little higher than Gamestop for new and used items, but it saves us a trip to Christiansburg, so sometimes it’s worth the extra dollar or 2. But, when I go there or drive by there, the place is usually pretty much empty.
@Shari: I’ve been trying to get in touch with the store’s home office to get more info on the closing. When I called the store the manager wouldn’t talk to me.
The fact they routinely overcharged for 3 and 4 year old games that could easily be found on Amazon for 50-60% less could have something to do with their demise.
@No Need…I just discovered this fact regarding a Gamestop transaction I conducted yesterday. I found that they cheated me out of part of a discount, and when I looked on Amazon, I found the same game for a whole lot less.
So yeah, I’m just buying more stuff off Amazon…forget the storefronts, I’m tired of overpaying, and having to drive to overpay.
Greetings from Salem!
The F & M Mart (Valero) at the intersection of 419 (Electric Road) and East Main Street seems to have closed. This is across the street from Lakeside Plaza. They have put plastic bags over the gas pump handles….but the store does not appear to be empty of stock. . .but there is nobody home. . .
Exactly! I stopped buying games at brick and mortars long ago and have saved a ton of cash. Also, I sell my used games on Amazon now and have made close to 800$ in 18 months doing so.
I’ve heard a rumor that the Hallmark in Rocky Mount is closing. I’m thinking maybe this person meant Replay Games, since it is next door to the Hallmark in the Kroger plaza. Could you make some calls to find out the scoop? Thanks!
@Jeffrey: Thanks for the tip. I’ll call and see what I can find out.
@Jeffrey: I talked with the owner of the Rocky Mount Hallmark and he is closing the store because he is retiring. I am planning to write more for Sunday’s column. Thanks for the tip!
Uhh, NN and OJ… no retailer is going to offer the same prices as Amazon, especially because with used items it’s not really Amazon offering them, but independent sellers. The value of buying from a brick-and-mortar is to be able to see the condition of the item before paying for it rather than having to take someone else’s word for it. Granted, RePlay is consistently higher than GameStop on most items, and they aren’t going to survive that way. I think they may have got a bit better on that, but if so it’s too little, too late. My beef with them is that nearly every used game they carry is a former Movie Starz rental that’s completely ragged out and comes with that ridiculous rental sticker over the entire top surface of the disc. Even the smaller one that’s just around the center hub is a deal breaker for me, as is a manual that looks like someone’s dog chewed on it (which is probably what happened).
Unfortunately, game stores are probably going to go the way of video stores as more and more games are released for download and consoles have bigger and bigger hard drives. I’ll be sad to see it, but then again, most of what I want is already out there on physical media… I just need to find it and figure out how to pay for it.
They used movie starz rentals because the owner of replay also owned movie starz