One of the things I hear a lot from friends here in the UK is that they don't know the best places to purchase retro handhelds from. We spend lots of time with these devices everyday and can recommend ones that we love as well as the websites we use, but some people just don't feel comfortable making a purchase on something from the other side of the world that they've never played on before.
I get it; money is tight for lots of us these days, and having money-back-guarantees, warranty, and an address in the same country as you that you can send things back to can be incredibly reassuring. Plus, we live in a world where we don't always want to wait 28 days for something to arrive, and that's fine too. When you gotta game, you gotta game!
So when I got an email from GameSwap owner Tom, I knew I had to investigate more. Not only has he lived very close to me in my previous city of York for many years without either of us realising, but he's been a big fan of Retro Dodo since we started in 2019. As the founder of GameSwap, he stocks many of the handhelds we talk about here on Retro Dodo and offers all of the assurances you would expect from a tech business including warranty, guarantees, and a repair service.
Tom isn't just a drop-shipper either; he partners with big names like AYANEO, Anbernic, and GameSir, travelling to Shenzhen to meet and speak with representatives and build relationships between companies. All of his stock is here in the UK and physically in his warehouse, meaning that there are no importing issues whatsoever.
With free returns, next day delivery, a repairs service, 30-day money back guarantee, one-year warranty, and the assurance that you won't get left out of pocket as you're dealing with an official UK retailer, it makes the idea of buying Chinese handhelds much more appealing and removes all the risk.
I had a chat with Tom recently while checking out his stock, and it's nice to know that such an affluent Retro Gaming scene is flourishing in my old home town. Sore Thumb Retro Games have the retro games covered, and Tom has handhelds and controllers nailed down. GameSwap are also in the process of creating add-ons and accessory bundles too with each purchase, making them the one-stop UK shop for all your retro handheld needs.
Tom explained that he's looking to get in items from GameSir and Hyperkin like the X5Alteron, as well as keeping his finger on the pulse for the latest releases and trends on the market. We're excited to back a local UK Store, and can check out GameSwap's current stock on their website!
