McVan's Video Games, a Fort Wayne buy-sell-trade store that specializes in rare and vintage games, is closing its doors after 20 years in business.
All three McVan's locations were selling games at 50 to 75 percent off Monday, and people filtered through the shops gathering items that would become harder to find in a few days.
“We want to thank you for the past 20 years of business,” a McVan's worker told callers in an automated voicemail greeting. “But now we're leaving. Closing the doors. Hasta la vista.”
A company spokesperson could not immediately be reached. But a store manager at the west-side location, 3810 W. Jefferson Blvd., said all the stores would likely close permanently in “a week or two.”
The manager, who would not identify himself, referred further questions to Chad Guy, the company's operating manager. But no one at any of the stores would be answering their phones, the manager said.
“We will not be buying or trading any games from here on out, nor answering our phones. Thank you,” the voicemail greeting said.
According to the voicemail greeting, McVan's would be selling recent video games at half price and older titles at 75 percent off. The store is known for carrying used titles for vintage game systems such as the original Nintendo and Sega Genesis, along with newer games for X-Box and Sony Playstation.
A handful of people browsed the West Jefferson store, including two branch managers with the Allen County Public Library. McVan's often has sold used video games to the library at deeply discounted prices, helping it grow its collection of titles, they said.
“We always felt like buying from McVan's was like buying from the local vendor,” said Deb Noggle, manager of the Tecumseh library branch. “They were always real good to us.”
