No bot protection
I want to like Hobbiesville. They are a Canadian TCG store with a strong reputation, and having a dedicated app should make product drops easier and more accessible for real customers. Unfortunately, my experience has been the opposite.
The biggest issue is that Hobbiesville does not appear to have meaningful protection against bots, monitors, or scraper-driven buying behaviour. Product SKUs and URLs are routinely surfaced through Discord monitor servers before regular customers can reasonably find them through the app or website. Those links often appear to let people jump directly to products or carts faster than normal users ever could.
What makes this especially frustrating is that some products seem to be accessible through these direct links before they are properly available in the app or searchable on the site. I have had multiple experiences where a Discord link opens to a 404 page on mobile or in the app, while the same link on desktop leads to a live product page. From a customer perspective, that makes it feel like regular app users are at a disadvantage compared with people relying on automated monitors and backend/frontend URL tracking.
I have raised this issue with Hobbiesville multiple times. To their credit, they have acknowledged the problem, but the actual customer experience has not improved. The app still feels unreliable during high-demand drops, and it does not feel like real consumers are being adequately protected.
This is not about being upset that popular TCG products sell out quickly. That happens everywhere. The issue is fairness. If Hobbiesville wants to position itself as “Canada’s premier hobby shop,” then the app needs stronger drop protection, better product visibility, and a more level playing field for normal customers.
Until that changes, I cannot recommend the app.
The biggest issue is that Hobbiesville does not appear to have meaningful protection against bots, monitors, or scraper-driven buying behaviour. Product SKUs and URLs are routinely surfaced through Discord monitor servers before regular customers can reasonably find them through the app or website. Those links often appear to let people jump directly to products or carts faster than normal users ever could.
What makes this especially frustrating is that some products seem to be accessible through these direct links before they are properly available in the app or searchable on the site. I have had multiple experiences where a Discord link opens to a 404 page on mobile or in the app, while the same link on desktop leads to a live product page. From a customer perspective, that makes it feel like regular app users are at a disadvantage compared with people relying on automated monitors and backend/frontend URL tracking.
I have raised this issue with Hobbiesville multiple times. To their credit, they have acknowledged the problem, but the actual customer experience has not improved. The app still feels unreliable during high-demand drops, and it does not feel like real consumers are being adequately protected.
This is not about being upset that popular TCG products sell out quickly. That happens everywhere. The issue is fairness. If Hobbiesville wants to position itself as “Canada’s premier hobby shop,” then the app needs stronger drop protection, better product visibility, and a more level playing field for normal customers.
Until that changes, I cannot recommend the app.
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Appreciate yous!
Thanks so much for all you do!!
Terrible App
Good luck getting back to where you were in your shopping if you add something to your wish list. Their filtering options are pretty much useless as well.
Horrible customer service
I had a very frustrating experience with Hobbiesville’s final sale policy. I accidentally placed an order and tried to cancel it immediately, but there are no options to cancel an order, even right after it’s submitted.
I contacted customer service right away hoping they could help reverse the mistake, but they told me there were no options available for cancellation or refund due to their final sale policy. Unfortunately, customer service was not helpful in offering any alternatives or solutions.
I understand that stores have policies, but a complete lack of flexibility for instant mistakes and no self-service cancellation option makes for a poor customer experience. I would strongly recommend double- and triple-checking your order before submitting, as there is no recourse if something goes wrong.
I contacted customer service right away hoping they could help reverse the mistake, but they told me there were no options available for cancellation or refund due to their final sale policy. Unfortunately, customer service was not helpful in offering any alternatives or solutions.
I understand that stores have policies, but a complete lack of flexibility for instant mistakes and no self-service cancellation option makes for a poor customer experience. I would strongly recommend double- and triple-checking your order before submitting, as there is no recourse if something goes wrong.
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Customer service was rude and insisted on charging me for redelivery despite courier's fault.
I placed three different orders for the Mega Evolution Booster Bundle. Unfortunately, I only received one order, while the other two were returned to the sender due to courier issues. I reached out to Hobbyville about the problem and requested them to redeliver my two orders. However, they informed me that they would charge me a redelivery fee for each order. I provided them with a screenshot showing that it was a courier issue, but they insisted that it was an invalid address. I explained that if the address was invalid, then why was my first order delivered successfully, and the delivery address was Scotia Bank in Timmins. It was impossible for it to be an invalid address.
Despite the long wait for the pre-order and over a month for the delivery, They insisted that I pay another redelivery fee, so I ended up requesting a refund minus the delivery.
To save time avoid dealing with this store, there are better options available out there.
Despite the long wait for the pre-order and over a month for the delivery, They insisted that I pay another redelivery fee, so I ended up requesting a refund minus the delivery.
To save time avoid dealing with this store, there are better options available out there.
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