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in Telecommunications, Mobile Phone Accessories, Electronics
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About the Business
Business owner information
Kohn L.
Dubbed by Huffpost Tech as "New York's Import Gadget Emporium," AC Gears is New York's shopping destination for import electronics, gadgets & cool toys! Come play with the neat things you can usually see on the Internet right here in the store! Visit our website at www.acgears.com for our latest product releases, and like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/acgears for product launch parties and get-togethers.
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Q:
Is this place closed permanently?
A:
Maybe not according to a NTR post- see http://www.newtechnologyreview.com/?p=752 AC Gears- Much Loved, Much Missed, Will Rise Again To Conquer World ..."So what actually has happened with AC Gears is not an… more
Ant L.Â6 years ago
Recommended Reviews
Overall rating
60 reviews
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1 star
- 2953731418Aug 21, 2012
I came here because of the yelp check-in offer for free eskuche headphones. For some reason, I thought they would be simple earphones. However, they gave me these really cool retro looking headphones. I like them! When I asked the sales associate about the yelp check in offer, she wasn't sure that it existed so I showed her the check in offer on my phone. She went into the back to see if they had any of those headphones left. I got the last one! She put the headphones into a bag and placed the bag at the edge of the counter near her, instead of handing it over to me. She did not look happy giving me a free set of eskuche headphones! She was very reluctant. Definitely check in just to get the offer if you can! So worth it!
The store itself is really cute. They have pennies on little dishes so you can test out their coin banks. There is one coin bank that eats up the coin, which was so cute. There was a bomb bank that 'blew up' and spit out all the pennies that were in there. It scared me. I jumped. Cool, unqiue stuff in there! Obviously a little pricey because everything there is so cute and original.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Peter S.New York, NY457594Dec 8, 2007
I went to the preview party last night, and while the store was not quite finished yet, it shows great promise.
For those who don't know, Audiocubes imports electronics from Japan and sells them on their website (www.audiocubes.com). This is their first physical store. They have so many fun, useful gadgets, and great headphones. I'm so happy this store opened in my neighborhood.
**UPDATE**
The store has been done for quite some while now. It looks amazing and everything is presented nicely. I have bought some great products here and I believe that they will do very well!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Logan F.Chicago, IL3991May 14, 2017
Always loved this place for their super unique gifts for friends and family! Recently stopped in to pick up a new pair of headphones, and their sales girl was very helpful and patient. She also offered competitive pricing by offering to price match Amazon, so I was SOLD. I've been very happy since with my new pair and will be back again soon, for gift shopping of course! :)
Thank you guys a ton!!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Megan C.New York, NY40128501168Jun 8, 2010
Chic Gadgets, Fun Ideas & Imported Goodies
I loved this place! All the gadgets you need to distract you from your day. My favorite by far was the Alarm Clock with the gun and target you shoot, I know Diane C. doesn't like the idea, but you'll definitely be awake by the time you turn it off. (I have always felt like shooting an alarm clock on those extra earl mornings).
The layout of the shop is clean, their selection is good but limited, and unfortunately their items are a little overpriced (I'm sure their rent has something to do with this). I'll be back by again for sure.
The girl working there was super sweet, and there were a few items I do want to buy as gifts in the future.
Date Rating: 3
Pick up Scale: 1
Strong Suggestion: Stop in & Play - beware you'll want to buy toys :-)Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 4Oh no 0 - Tashi G.Astoria, NY103Aug 11, 2016
I visited the store in around 2013. I was looking to try on some headphones. The ambiance is very friendly, and the store employees are knowledgeable and very helpful. I probably spent around a half hour looking and testing out different headphones (another plus point, this store really lets you take your time and you don't have a store rep hounding you every few minutes). I ended up buying a cute Japanese toy for my girlfriend.
It might seem odd me posting this review three years later, but I've been thinking of replacing my earphones and this place came to mind. Will be stopping by soon again!Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Jane K.San Anselmo, CA443912261907Dec 6, 2010
Since I know that my mom stalks my Yelp reviews to keep tabs on my whereabouts, I have to be slightly evasive in my review of AC Gears. Let's just say that it's a super unique store to find gifts for those in your life that appreciate modern design, techie gadgets and Japanese toys.
The space is designed a bit like a museum, with each product displayed with an accompanying description card and pricing. Despite this fancy layout, you can find plenty of products in the $15-$40 range, and of course higher if you're really looking for something in particular. I dig their wall of headphones too; though my distressed iPod buds are still kickin' and I can't rationalize dropping my pretty pennies for designer earpads.
Perfect for a walk through this holiday season, if not for something big then for the random stocking stuffer surprise.Helpful 8Thanks 0Love this 15Oh no 0 - Maria B.Brooklyn, NY34394631May 18, 2016
Thank god stores like these are still around! I been looking for new earbuds to replace my old schools Bose that finally started falling apart after years of daily use. After an embarrassingly long time of looking up options online and asking my friends which ones they use, I walked past this store and thought to myself, how bad can the premium be on buying them from a store front vs online? Ends up, no premium at all. I walked in. The girl at the register took out all the ear bud options and gave me samples to try on. She would adjust them for me and show me different ones depending on how I liked or disliked the prior ones shown. After maybe 20 minutes I got myself a new pair of some super duper $200 earbuds that have 3 year life warranty and fit my ears perfectly. I've never heard of the brand before and if I've seen this box in the store I'd be too intimidated to even play with them. The sales girl made it so simple!
If you're looking for over the head type of headphones, they have a wall of them on display you can walk in and try on independently. But for earbuds, you have to go by the register and the sales person walks you through it if you'd like to try them on. Actually a good thing IMO because it makes it less confusing.
They also sell a $10 in store replacement warranty. They would replace your pair for a new one if anything goes wrong. I didn't purchase this since the manufacture warranty is pretty solid on the pair I bought. They also have some discounts and specials on their website that you can use when you go into the store (I'm guessing if you're reading this review then you're not walking in there randomly and might as well).Helpful 10Thanks 0Love this 4Oh no 0 - Michael R.New York, NY4964Sep 6, 2017
Terrible products. Worse service. I bought a pair of headphones at A.C. GEARS that cost almost $300 that fell apart after a few weeks. I had a warranty, but they didn't have the item in stock. They claimed they would notify me when it came in. I checked repeatedly but, even after several weeks, they did not have the item in stock. About 3 months later, I checked again and they finally had it, but they hadn't called or emailed me. A few months later, the new headphones fell apart, too, despite minimal, careful use. This time, AC GEARS would not even honor the warranty, which they claim was for "one return." How many times should you expect to return headphones that cost nearly $300?!
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Sonal A.New York, NY9305Nov 18, 2017
This is The place for a well curated selection of high quality headphones brands you won't get at Best Buy. The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. A breathe of fresh air in NYC.
Helpful 0Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0 - Ariela B.Brooklyn, NY87290591Mar 16, 2008
Oh dear god.
My first impression of this store was walking past it and stopping dead at the window display. At the time, they had piled up hundreds of yellow, motorized, smiley nodding bobble-head things in two enormous pyramids on either side of the door. All nodding IN UNISON. Very freaked out by this, I decided I had to go in and find out what brainiac decided on creating that sort of display (which was evidently very effective). They don't have that display up anymore, but I'm not gonna forget it anytime soon.
Walking through the door, the store seems at first to be...well, not much. White floor, white walls, white shelves, and a sparse collection of what looked like electronics. Upon closer inspection they were indeed electronics, but...well, not your average kind. "Weird" doesn't quite cut it. Nor does "strange" or "odd". I'd have to go with borderline "freaky" here. Well, it IS stuff from Japan after all.
Lining the shelves are a neat array of electronic appliances like coin banks with motorized faces, USB humping dogs, solar-powered plants, and other oddities. I've seen some of the same merchandise online at sites like ThinkGeek and other places that sell quirky things, but to really get the full weirdness of this store you have to physically be there. I mean, you can check out their website (http://www.acgears.com/ or http://www.audiocubes.com), but you actually get to play with the things in this store, and experience them firsthand.
If you're in the area, stop by. It's a great way to entertain yourself and friends for a little while. And who knows, you may end up buying a toy dog that humps your USB port. For fun of course.Helpful 2Thanks 0Love this 0Oh no 0