Hey all, This is Shelby from the Rochester Chess Center. This was the first K-6 in a while that I did not sell at. I was wondering what people thought of the store.
I would like to hear what you thought of the selection, knowledge of the staff, location, and the service. I want to be able to provide the best store possible and your suggestions and comments will help.
I hope to see everyone at the next couple of tournaments I will be at. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #.
There were no Chronos clocks available, I went there early specifically to buy one. They did have a good selection of the new Easy Gametimer DGT clocks, however, not that they are any comparison.
It took them a few hours to find the adult large size T-shirts with the Nat. Elem. event logo, but eventually they made it onto the display tables.
Yep. On Friday I went there for a chronos bag as well, and they had none. Later on Sunday morning my son accidentally dropped his chronos, and the parts inside became loose and started rattling. I went by the bookstore to see if anyone could maybe take a look at it, but was suggested that I buy a Game Timer for half the price of a chronos.
Which reminds me, I still have yet to open it up and see if I can fix it myself. If I fail, is it worth to send it for repair or should I just buy a new chronos?
At any rate, the store had a great selection of books and other merchandise. The T-shirts were priced at a bargain rate of $12.00. There were items for the kids such as necklaces, and rattlesnake magnetic eggs.
However there was some minor griping about how commerative boards were not sold seperately as an individual item. In order to obtain one, people had to buy it inclusively with a chess bag and weighted pieces for $30.00.
Which reminds me, I still have yet to open it up and see if I can fix it myself. If I fail, is it worth to send it for repair or should I just buy a new chronos?
I can fix them in under a minute. Here is what I think happened. The battery case came loose (a common problem.) Remove all 4 screws holding the case on to the base. Carefully pull the top off and set it on it’s side. You will see on the middle of the base the battery case. The little legs on the end of the top have pulled out. Unscrew the top and put the batteries back in. Remember the batteries should be good for at least 3 years. replace the cover and put the screw back in. To stop this from happening again, take a strip of packaging tape or duct tape and place it over the whole battery case. This will prevent the top from coming off till you want it to.
Hope it helps!
Shelby Lohrman
if this does not work, I can fix it at the next tourney you see me at!
Thank you so much, I will give it a try and take preventative measures so that the part does not become loose again. My son will be competing at the Susan World Open for Boys in Vegas on June 9-10. I think this event is taking place at the same time as the National Open in Vegas. If so, I will stop by your store and purchase a chronos bag from you if you sell them. Thanks for your help.
I was a coach for a large NYC school at this tournament. I must say I was extremely disappointed with this store. It seemed to be quite empty. Most tables were simply covered with cheap chess sets to make the store look larger.
As some have also pointed out there were no chronos clocks at all, something this seller never has: good clocks
Many of my students were looking for a nice magnetic chess set for traveling; they were looking for the 3-D green and white one that sells for ten dollars. We went to the store on Friday morning and there were none left. I was told they had no more. I was told they brought only 40-50 of them. Which is a really low number considering the number of players.
The software section was also weak, no new titles and very few to choose from.
But what ticked me off the most was the fact that in order to obtain a commemorative board one would have to pay 30 dollars and be obligated to purchase a plastic set with travel bag. Keep in mind that only the board was personalized. This was unfair to the parents, kids, coaches who almost all already have such sets. I would understand if in some way the bag was also personalized. They would no move on this whatsoever. In fact I was treated rudely by the staff, who consistently made it seem as if they were doing me a favor. I believe their refusal to sell the boards individually was based on some business decision to clear out unsellable supplies. The sad thing is most people told me they were willing to play upwards of 15 dollars for the board because that’s all they really wanted. I witnessed several of these offers get declined.
I simply think the seller was not prepared for over 2000 kids and really only had enough stuff for a small weekend tournament. He also sold cheaper stuff as evidenced by his unwillingness to sell the player favorite chronos clock.
Even my kids said things were much better in Sacramento and Kansas City.
“USCF Sales” is Hanon Russell of Chess Cafe. He got a multi-year contract for the name and business when the USCF dropped the B&E business a few years ago and bid it out. Chess Cafe is not a subsidiary of the USCF, but it’s what you link to when you “Buy from USCF,” and they give member discounts comparable to the ones the USCF gave before.
‘Best’ is a term that is not always easily quantifiable. Best to whom?
If vendor X offers the USCF a fee of $5 per head and vendor Y offers $6 per head but is likely to have less suitable inventory, which is the best offer?
Moreover, if vendor X offers a per-head fee and vendor Y offers a percentage deal, which is the best offer?