I get all of my board games online. There aren't any board game stores around me, so I don't have any other option for acquiring games that are newer and/or more niche than what's at Target or Barnes & Noble.
Over the years, I've ordered board games from several sites and marketplace, and my experience has been pretty mixed. Fake games, damaged games, poor packaging, slow shipping times, cancelled orders, bad customer support—yeah, all of that can happen and I've dealt with all of them. It's a risk you have to be okay with if you're ordering board games online.
But what I've found is that most online board game retailers are pretty good overall, and a lot of the retailer horror stories are exaggerated or even fake. You can find disgruntled customers for any retailer if you look around long enough, and you can tell a lot of them are just out for blood. Truth is, you can't trust one-off experiences. Unless you hear lots of people say the same bad things about a store over a long time, take 'em with a grain of salt.
That said, there are some board game retailers and sites that I personally no longer trust and will never use again. I've decided to compile all the ones I trust, the ones I don't, and why.
I live in the northeastern area of the US, so keep that in mind when reading about my shipping experiences with these various online board game shops. Depending on where you are, your mileage may differ.
In this article:
- Where I Buy My Board Games
- The Sites I've Heard Good Things About
- The Sites I've Had Bad Experiences With
Where I Buy My Board Games
Here are all the online board game retailers where I've personally shopped, had good experiences, and will continue to shop:
Game Nerdz — One of my first stops because they have some of the best prices, a low free shipping threshold ($75), flat shipping fee otherwise ($6), order holds so it's easier to reach that threshold without losing out on stock, excellent packaging and pretty fast shipping (usually about 7 business days from order to delivery) except around busy times like the holidays. Never had to deal with customer service.
Cardhaus — Love shopping here. The fastest and most reliable shipping of the non-Amazon stores (have always delivered within 5 business days from order), with excellent prices and a reasonably low threshold for free shipping ($99), weight-based shipping otherwise, good sales and stock variety, excellent packaging with plenty of protection. No order holds, though. Can't speak to customer service for this one, either.
Detective Hawk Games — I've only ordered from here once but had a great experience. Their deals are priced at cost, so they literally make no money on them. They also have special Speakeasy Deals that only show their sale prices when added to cart, and those prices are real cheap. Packaging is good and shipping is fast, with a good free shipping threshold ($100) and weight-based shipping otherwise. Only downside is the selection is limited. They included a personalized note with my order about the games I bought, which was a nice and memorable touch.
Amazon — With the sheer volume of people buying stuff on Amazon, you're bound to hear horror stories about fakes, counterfeits, damaged boxes, etc. All of that can happen, and it's even happened to me twice. But Amazon ships fast, counterfeits are rarer than people would have you believe, and Amazon's return policy makes it easy to get a replacement or refund with essentially zero questions asked. Sure, there are ethical concerns about supporting Bezos and modern slave labor, but the actual shopping experience is still pretty darn good and reliable. Free shipping kicks in at $35.
BGG GeekMarket — I love buying used board games, and I do so through the GeekMarket at BoardGameGeek (an open marketplace where gamers sell to each other). I stick to "Like New" listings and I've only been disappointed once out of the dozens and dozens of times I've bought from here. Stick to reputable sellers who provide photos when asked.
The Sites I've Heard Good Things About
Noble Knight Games — While the website UX sucks, Noble Knight Games has what might just be the largest selection of games online. If you can't find a game anywhere else, it's probably here. That's because NKG buys games from gamers and sells them, often at a discount based on condition. Some might even call them "the GameStop of board games." The free shipping threshold is a bit high ($149), but flat rate shipping is reasonable ($10). I don't know too much about packing or shipping speed, but people tend to praise NKG for their positive experiences.
Board Game Bliss — I've been seeing this one mentioned more and more over the past few years, pushed as the best online board games retailer in Canada. That last bit is why I never really looked into them. But lo and behold, Board Game Bliss actually ships to the US at reasonable rates! Free shipping threshold is ~$157, otherwise the shipping fee is between ~$10 and ~$12.50 depending on which state you live in. They have over 4,000 in-stock games as of this writing, so the selection is pretty good. I might order from here this year, given all the good things I've heard.
Tabletop Merchant — I've been wanting to order from this site for over a year now, but I've been so happy with my regular spots (see above) that I've yet to actually shop here. The free shipping threshold ($150) is pretty high and hard to hit without order holds, otherwise flat rate shipping ($15) is also pretty high compared to competitors. That said, I've heard numerous people with great experiences saying they ship very fast, pack very well, include handwritten notes, and have excellent customer service. They're the go-to online retailer for many board gamers.
The Sites I've Had Bad Experiences With
Miniature Market — Back in 2021, Miniature Market was acquired by Asmodee, who ran it into the ground. I tried shopping here but experienced terrible shipping times, terrible customer service. It took well over a week to even process an order, plus a few more weeks for the order to finally ship, then another week-plus to deliver. I tried contacting customer support for one order and it took 10 days to even get an initial response. That being said, Miniature Market was sold by Asmodee in 2024 and seems to be back on the up now that they have new owners, so I might try shopping here again and re-evaluating my opinion of this site.
Temu and AliExpress — These places sell all kinds of board games at super cheap, too-good-to-be-true prices. Beware when shopping here, though, because those prices are likely only possible because those games are stolen or counterfeit. I choose not to support sites like this (in general), but they're especially damaging to the board game industry.
Boardlandia — While I don't think Boardlandia is bad, I've shopped here three times and had a poor shipping experience each time. Took several days to ship after placing order, then weeks for the delivery to arrive. Based on my cursory research, they ship out of Wisconsin and shipments route through the Oak Creek distribution center, which is notorious for being slow and backed up. Apart from that, they have a reasonable free shipping threshold ($99) with exclusions for heavy items, with a flat shipping fee otherwise ($14 for heavy items, $8 otherwise). They seem like nice people with good customer service, but I won't be shopping here anymore.
Where do you shop for your board games? Which sites do you avoid like the plague? Have you had any similar or opposite experiences than me? I want to know! Tell me about it in the comments below.
