The name drew me in! And so glad it did. I was on 6th Avenue for lunch, so decided to walk around…read moreand check out all the nearby businesses, which is when I spotted a huge, colorful sign with a narwhal wearing sunglasses. It was The Nearsighted Narwhal! Of course I had to check it out. The shop is small, but has a ton of fun and witty gifts and items, from local zines to buttons to prints. I spent a good amount of time, checking out all the different and detailed items. Specifically, I really liked the magnets they sell here, as they have clever sayings with a colorful background. In fact, when I was checking out, I asked the owner if there were any more and she mentioned that she was making more magnets and to stop by again for different sayings. One that I bought says, "Not today motherfucker." Now who wouldn't want that hanging at their office? The Nearsighted Narwhal is a great store to browse and shop local. If in the area, definitely pay this shop a visit and support the local artists that sell their work here here. Plus, ya gotta love the Tacoma pride found, as they sell many items from tees to magnets, expressing Tacoma is cool and Seattle drools. Hah!

Cute shop! We popped in twice while in town to have lunch at nearby Shakabrah. The owner arrived as…read morewe were admiring the cute vinyl decals through the window. She let us in and was very pleasant and helpful as we shopped for t-shirts, lotions and decals. The jewelry was amazing-very bold and wearable. Loved that the t-shirts were high-quality, soft, amazing colors, and in all sizes, not just small and mediums. We each bought a t-shirt and I got a pepper lotion to use on sore muscles- whoa, its very potent! But I think I like it. The book and zine section was cool. I wish I had more time to browse that section.

Really great selection of well organized and out together stationary items. Beautiful store. I came…read morein while shopping in the area to support local businesses that supported other local businesses I love in the area. Amelia rang up my order and was lovely. I will be back once I work my way through my entirely too large stock of stationery or perhaps when my stationery obsessed sister is visiting. The prices reflect the quality and intentional choices of items that are more sustainably sources. That said, I would say its in line with similar shops I have been to in NY, if not a bit more affordable.

I stopped by this small stationery shop in downtown Tacoma yesterday and was pleasantly surprised!…read moreAlthough the store is small, it's thoughtfully curated with a beautiful selection of journaling essentials. They carry Midori journals, Travelers notebooks with inserts and leather cases. These are items I usually only find in specialty stationery stores in Seattle or Portland. There's also a nice assortment of pens, cards for different occasions, and various journal setups. I even spotted paints and colored pencils, which makes this a cozy creative hub for anyone who enjoys journaling or mixed media. It's clear this shop was created with the journaling community in mind. I completely understand how challenging it can be for a smaller store to keep a wide range of stock when people don't always take advantage of having such resources nearby. I truly hope the local journaling community supports this gem so that the store continues to grow and maintain a steady flow of new and inspiring materials. So happy to see this kind of stationery store in downtown Tacoma. I'll definitely be back!

I ordered some books over the phone with them. First time I've bought through them because I wanna…read morebuy local. I honestly didn't want to leave when I went in. I love the way the store is set up, and the woman at the desk was super nice, we had a short chat. Definitely will be coming back. Thank you guys for nabbing some books for me!

Steve and I were on 6th Ave a few weeks ago and came across Grit City Books purely by accident. We…read moredidn't know of it's existence but it was a very pleasant surprise to come across. The bookstore is sleek, clean and very well organized with a good selection of books. The staff member was very friendly and eager to assist me in getting a special order started for a book I was looking for. The special order came in a few days ago which is going to prompt a return visit and perhaps even additional books to purchase. Looking forward to continuing being a customer at this lovely bookstore!

The staff here is so, so kind! Autumn is lovely!! The ambiance is adorable! I love the selection of…read moreartists goods, and touristy items. There's a variety of prices (from under a dollar to high-end pieces) that can fit into anyone's budget. Love it!!

My favorite place to grab gifts for the people in my life. The staff is always helpful, kind and…read moreready to chat.

Not sure why my comment keeps disappearing? Not sure if it's getting deleted. This place is full of…read moreunprofessional people. They are rude and the management is TERRIBLE. I will NEVER purchase anything from them again. Save your money and shop elsewhere where both the product quality and the customer service is worthwhile.

Applied for a wholesale account, sent in all my info and had full communication with Martha until…read moreit was time for them to call me with the information on how to place an order. Then all communication stopped. I emailed to see if they had forgotten about me, and still have not heard anything back from anyone. Why would they have me go through the process of signing up and sending all my info if they had no plans on letting me place an order ....

A wonderful spot to get all sorts of video games, VHSes, DvDs, toys, figurines, TCGs, board games,…read moreand so much more! The perfect store for all ages. They are still trying to organize the store but my boyfriend and I were pleasantly surprised by already how well organized everything was and the store is very spacious! Plenty of walking room which was nice as I always am fearful of bumping into anything in retro stores. Additionally, there was a cozy spot with a TV, table and a bench to sit on for maybe future gaming or TV/movie watching as it was there DVDs, VHSes, and video games nearby. There is a sign that lets you know that there are cats in the store but they were very friendly and followed us around the store as we were browsing. The store owner greeted us politely and told us if we had any questions that he would be more than happy to answer them. We didn't have any questions at the time as we just wanted to check out the store and see what they offered as we had never been before. They also support other small businesses which I thought was extremely generous and sweet of them to do! We ended up buying two Lorcana packs which the owner made sure to price fairly in comparison to other card shops or retail stores. Overall a very awesome experience and we hope to come again soon!

Don't waste your time here, spend your money elsewhere. Trade ins get vouchers. He lies about…read moreeverything. You will never get your money back. He uses the vouchers to allow product out of the building so he can claim loss when there is no corresponding transaction and cheat on his taxes. Is being sued by a few distributors. Check Reddit, check Google, the stories are there. ​

Greeted by the owner he was super nice and welcoming. Answered all our questions we had. Great…read moreselection tons of fun things you could go all the time and find something new you wanted. I took my 3 year old here and just like any store with fragile things told her not to touch and we had a great time looking at everything. She had fun shopping the bags of figurines in the back. He gave us VERY good deal bought an N64 and some figurines. Fun rainy day family adventure.

such a cool and unique place! Drove an hour just so visit again because I came here as a kid and…read morecouldn't forget it 10 years later

I really wanted to take a little bit of time to drop some love for Alex, Andy, and Deshawn over at…read morethe Hyper Sonic shop. I'm a little disappointed with myself that I was not aware of this shop in all this time I've resided in Tacoma. They have a neat interesting variety of toys and video games. This review is going to focus on my interaction with Alex and Alex from a seller's standpoint. I have a fair amount of collectibles and there were a couple action figures I was looking to (reluctantly) unload (a 1983 Inspector Gadget doll and a NECA Ada Wong to be exact). I had looked online and consulted various other stores in the area and the few offers I had received were far from fair. I'm happy to report that Alex and Andy knew the market and what my items were going for online. We even looked them up together. We had some obligatory endearing haggling and in the end they offered me a fair price for my beloved items. They were the only store that I had spoken with in the local area that were not only fair in their evaluation but even in the same league as the market value. They even appreciated the items as much as I did so I knew they would end up in a good home. Again, I only wished I knew about them sooner. I will definitely keep them in mind for the future when I inevitably decide to sell some cherished childhood treasures. Cheers, guys.

I was back down in my old stomping grounds of Lakewood due to work and wanted to see if there were…read moreany local retro game stores nearby - lucky for me this shop popped up on my maps and was less than 10 mins away. I didn't know what to expect but was super surprised by how much cool stuff the store had! I was looking for a gameboy game but ended up finding about 10 things I wanted to buy on my next visit. They had tons of old toys that I used to have or have been wanting to get from pretty niche series like Monsieur Bome, Masamune Shirow figures, and even my old favorite army vehicles from Mega Force. The owner was playing Pokemon on the big screen when I walked in but was super helpful and friendly. I am definitely a fan of this place and will stop by any chance I can get when I'm down in the area.