Posts – The Blue Gryphon

18Apr2023

April 2023 Website update

Good day one and all!

We have just finished updating the website and made a few changes to it, just in time for the arrival of Spring’s warmer weather and the convention season about to begin!

Videogames Inventory

For the moment and until further notice, due to logistical reasons, we have taken down the section with the whole videogames inventory from the website.
If you are looking for a specific item or title, you can always call us directly at the store and we will be able to check live to see if we currently have it in stock. This way, we can set it aside for you if need be.

Concerning games and consoles repairs

We still get asked about the repairs we can do, every now and then, so here goes:

In short, if you have a game disc (for example PS1, Gamecube, Wii game, etc.) that is scratched and gives you trouble, you can bring it in store and we can resurface it for you.

If you have game cartridges or a handheld system in which the battery is depleted, and you would like to have it replaced, that is also something we can do.

If it is a game console that is giving you trouble, we unfortunately do not take them in for repairs.
However, you could always ask our tech for advice about it, sometimes it is not as big a problem as one might think, and it could be easily fixed. Don’t hesitate to ask us about it. 🙂

Conventions Calendar

We have also updated the Convention Calendar section to display the upcoming conventions we are set to attend during the year.
It is, of course, subject to change, if we add some to our schedule, or if something comes up that prevents us from going to a scheduled one.

We hope you have a great week!

23Dec2022

News, Store

Happy Holidays 2022! (Yes, we are still open!)

Greetings one and all!

As Christmas 2022 is at the door, (riding on quite the “marvelous” Winter storm for the occasion), the whole team at the Blue Gryphon would like to wish each and every one of you a great holiday season! We wish for you to have some great, pleasant time, and may the coming year bring plenty of smiles, and good health.

If you must travel during the holidays, we wish you a safe trip.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all!

And yes, we are open during the holidays, following the regular business hours, except for being closed on December 25th, opening at noon on December 26th, closed on January 1st, and opening at noon on January 2nd.

27Dec2020

News, Store

Holidays Forced Closure

Greetings everyone!
(Quick edit: This post dates back from December 2020)

As some (most?) of you know by now, the Quebec Government has decided that all businesses that are considered “non-essential” are to be closed during the Holidays, from December 25th 2020 until January 11th 2021.

Unfortunately, this time around, it is also forbidden for us to made curbside pick-up orders available to our customers.

We have no choice but to wait until the government grants us permission to open again.

We want to reassure our customers that despite this forced break from operating, should there be a problem with an item you bought to offer as a Christmas present, all you have to do is contact is, either by phone during business hours, or on our Facebook page, to let us know about it, on the 26th, 27th, 28th or 29th of December 2020.

This way, we can take note of it, and you can come back once we are allowed to open again.

We hope that despite the current situation, which renders celebrations rather different this year, you will still get to spend some pleasant time during the Holiday season.

The Blue Gryphon team

N.B. Please, do not drop by and knock on the door. Even if we are present inside, we are not allowed to open the door for you. The fine if we are caught opening the door to customers is considerable. Thank you for your cooperation.

13Apr2020

News, Store

Online Sales – April 2020

Good news to those who were waiting on this!

The new section for the website, which contains the inventory listings for the videogames we have in store, is now live!

You can find the link to it if you scroll completely at the top of the page, beside the phone number, links to social medias and to the French website.
Alternatively, you can access it right here: The Gryphon’s Treasure Trove .

In that section, you will find:

Inventory listings for videogames, by sections (Nintendo, Sony (Playstation), Microsoft (XBox), Sega…)
The method for finding what you wish to get and letting us know
Many ways to contact us if you have questions or wish to make a purchase
Methods of payment
Link to Paypal for easy access if you wish to pay this way

For now we focused on the videogames, but now that all of this has been set up, we will work on adding other items as well.

In short, it goes a bit like this:

You browse the lists to find games (there is also a small search box at the top-right of each table)
You contact us with your questions or with the list of items you want to purchase
We decide on your preferred payment method
We decide on your preferred method to get your good
You get your goodies and enjoy

Thank you again very much for your patience!

9Apr2020

News, Store

Coronavirus Pandemic – April 2020

NOTICE TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS

Please take notice that, following orders from the Quebec government, since March 23rd 2020, The Blue Gryphon has been closed to the public.

However, as the crisis is gonna last for some time, and we do not know when it will be possible to open our doors again, we are going to offer the possibility to place orders with us, and have us either deliver it to you, post it, or allow no-contact pick-up at the door.

More details very soon.

23Mar2020

Uncategorized

Coronavirus Pandemic – Temporary Closing the Store

NOTICE TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS

Hello everyone!

Please take notice that, following the most recent orders from the Quebec government, as of today, March 23rd 2020, 13h55, The Blue Gryphon is now closed to the public.

For now, this measure is supposed to last until April 13th.
We will advise from day to day on where we will go and how we will proceed from there.

If anything changes, we will keep you informed here and on our Facebook page.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Please, stay safe, do all you can to remain healthy, and keep following the directives from Health Canada.

See you soon!

The owners of the Blue Gryphon

17Mar2020

News, Store

Coronavirus Pandemic – Business Hours

NOTICE CONCERNING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Hello everyone!
We would like to let you all know that we are still, for now, open to the public.

We understand that in the next few weeks, people will be stuck indoors, at home, and will want to have something to keep themselves (and kids!) entertained.

That is the reason why, at the moment, both owners are covering the hours to keep the store open.

However, because of social accountability reasons, we would like to ask that people do not come to the store for the sole purpose of passing time, for a lack of having anything to do.

The best thing we all can do right now is practice social distancing as much as we can, to slow down the speed of propagation.

Thank you for your understanding.

We hope that all will be well, and that we’ll see you again, in good health!

(Should we need to close the store, we will make an announcement here and on Facebook.)

7Jan2020

News

Happy New Year 2020!

Another year has now begun, and the team at the Blue Gryphon would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2020!

We would like to start off this year by sharing with you an important life lesson we were just served, may it serve you well!

If there is one advice we can give everyone at the beginning of this new year, it is this one:

If you do not have it set up already, contact your mobile phone provider if you have a cellphone, and ask them if you can add a PIN number or extra layers of security to your phone account.

Our master gryphon very recently learned, the hard way, that it is EXCESSIVELY easy for a fraudster to steal your phone number (have YOUR number transferred to THEIR phone, to a new provider).

All they need is your phone number, name, and 2 (optional) personal informations. Given that there were many huge data breaches in 2019 and millions of people now have their personal info in the wind… Just assume someone has yours.

Service providers (like Bell Mobility) will ask nothing more, and even told us that they technically are not even obligated to ask for ID to transfer your number to their service.

And the transfer is very fast (under an hour). So a fraudster can very quickly use your phone number to have a password recovery code sent to your (now their) phone # to gain access to accounts you may *think* you have secured by using this method (like hotmail/microsoft, to name just one).

Trust us: You cannot be too careful. Protect your phone account.
Laws have been modified to make the processus so simple to transfer between providers that it is now an open bar for identity thieves.

May our misadventure save you from going through the same thing.

With that said, may you all have a great year 2020!

16Oct2019

News

New website

After the whole convention season, changes and restructuring at the store, and what seems like an eternity, sweat and tears and a lot of coffee, the new website is finally ready to go live.

More or less.

The French translation of the website is to follow, hopefully shortly. ^_^

-=-=-=-

Après la saison des conventions, des changements et restructuration majeure au magasin, et ce qui semble avoir été une éternité, de la sueur et des larmes, et beaucoup de café, le nouveau site web est maintenant prêt à être mis en ligne.

À peu près.

Il faut maintenant le traduire en français, ce qui, nous l’espérons, ne devrait pas trop tarder. ^_^

2Oct2019

Conventions, Cosplay, News

Costume-Con 38 is coming to Montreal

For the amateurs of costuming, young and old, here is some news that could interest you…

The 38th edition of Costume-Con, a convention all about costuming (which now also includes cosplay) will be held right here in La Belle Province, in Montreal, from March 13th to March 16th, 2020 at the Hotel Bonaventure.

Every year, this convention is held in a different city in North America, and there are people travelling from all over to attend. This is a beautiful opportunity to meet different people from all ages and learn so many interesting things about costuming, the craft, but also its history.

Costuming has gained in popularity in Canada, especially since cosplay is becoming more and more mainstream over the years, but it should be noted that costuming has actually been around for a very long time. Most of our older cosplayers who attend conventions like Otakuthon, Anime North and the likes, would actually be part of the “young crowd” at Costume-Con.

That is pretty sweet, because you can then meet people who have been sharing this passion for decades!

Tempted to attend?

Costume-Con is a convention that spans over 4 days, with various panels on different types of crafts related to costuming, on the history of costuming conventions, fun get-togethers and also 4 different masquerades… Oh, and collecting halls ribbons! =^.^=

You do not have a costume to wear? It doesn’t matter, you can still come and enjoy the convention, shows and panels, and perhaps get inspired for a future edition! You only have an old costume that you have worn a few years ago already? Wear it! People who attend Costume-Con come from all over the continent. For you, it might feel like it’s a boring costume, but for most attendees, it will be a new sight! So don’t let that deter you.

You can check out their website here: Costume-Con38: Another Time, Another World

You can also check the websites of previous editions of the convention, if you are curious:

Costume-Con 37: Witches, Wizards, and Warlocks
Costume-Con 36
Costume-Con 35: Heroes and Villains

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Videogames and anime stuff galore!

News & Posts

April 2023 Website update

Happy Holidays 2022! (Yes, we are still open!)

Holidays Forced Closure

Online Sales – April 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic – April 2020

Coronavirus Pandemic – Temporary Closing the Store

Coronavirus Pandemic – Business Hours

Happy New Year 2020!

New website

Costume-Con 38 is coming to Montreal