Toys r Us - RIP

[number six]

So Toys 'R' Us is just about gone.. destroyed by a changing economic landscape and corporate raiders (thanks Mitt Romney!). I think everyone over a certain age remembers what a magical place this used to be.. back in the 80s. Nothing cooler than going to Toys R Us.. for the toys or later on increasingly for the video games. They used to be the hit up for not only the console games but computer software as well.. before the chain software stores even existed down here.

As time grew on TRU became less and less relevant. Their game selection dwindled until it became like a Best Buy.. ie maybe a few of the latest releases but that's about it. You might stop in for a collectible but those were often overpriced. It's still sad to see them go.

The close-out has been interesting. When it first started and things were only at 10% off people went crazy buying up the store. Now that it's at 50%-70% there's almost nothing left. I was happy to get one of those tabletop Burgetime LCD gimmicks for $15, about the best thing left in the store.

If you want though you can take home a piece of TRU.. they were selling off displays, and statues.. One Geofrey Statue was marked at like $7,000.. good luck guys!

Another sign of the Star Wars decline.. what many stores do have left in great quantities is Star Wars crap. Nobody is buying this stuff even at a steep discount.. oh how the mighty have fallen.

I doubt i'll be making another trip before they turn off the lights but it does mark the end of an era. Which chains stores are next? It seems like K-Mart will be gone by the end of the year with parent Sears not far behind. Hope everyone likes Amazon.

[HammysHangout ( Hammy )]

60% off and they are still probably making a profit

I only went for the lego.

[FUNWIZ]

Kmart/Sears closed and left last year...  I order stuff online now from their online website. 

[HammysHangout ( Hammy )]

i find it funny, years ago, i said it was WALMART that was going to kill all the brick and morter stores... Now, I see Amazon Killing them all...

But, Honestly, Im ok with Amazon.. and my Local Grocery Store...  Sadly, I hate dealing with the idiots at the local non-grocery store....

[Steve O]

Amazon is even taking business away from the delivery companies.  More and more often when I have ordered from Amazon some guy shows up at night to drop off a package rather than UPS or Fed Ex.

[RAW POWER]

Sad scene here. It's their final couple of days right now. The stores have hardly anything left and most of the area is closed off unless you're going to look at fixtures.

I got a sweet portable staircase for the warehouse though!

[Niloc]

Amazon is even taking business away from the delivery companies.  More and more often when I have ordered from Amazon some guy shows up at night to drop off a package rather than UPS or Fed Ex.

Amazon has their own planes for shipping too.

Won't be long before the warehouses are fully automated, all robots.

Delivery by drone, or self-driving car.

Seems like then it collapses in upon itself, because so many people will be out of work due to automation, there won't be enough to order crap from Amazon.

Problem is, once automation exists at that level, any new businesses that start up after that won't be willing to use people if they can use cheaper robots instead.

[k7]

i love toys r us, actually was a location choice of where i purchased our last 2 houses.

that being said, it's not what it was when i went there as an 8 year old. this exact store.

so sad, that i go for me, and my son doesn't even have interest in going.

but it sucks...oh well...walmart and target still have toys. as well as my closet.

the discount and product movement has been weird. at 20%, every diecast model was gone, as in cleared out in bulk, not sold off.

i'll go today. thanks for reminding me. i want a Geoffrey...and even that...store paraphernalia is sold on a voucher system...that you sign up for sometime in february...

edit. went today...whoever got that geoffrey statue did well. the stores are not allowed to sell anything with store logos/trademarks. that being said, the employees are getting screwed out of any severance they were promised, so i'll bet that 7 grand went in a few pockets.

our store is 85% roped off. they have the registers, a lot of disgruntled employees, and basically 1 long aisle with product. i forgot my phone, so no picture.

they had skylanders cheap. problem is, it was vehicles, and it was 200 submarines. they had toys nobody wants. no figures. no diecast. no games. some plush.

dumpster divers, that's the way to get your good display stuff. next thursday, friday, they should be filled.  wednesday, the 27th is their last day, and bulk purchasers come in that thursday to take the displays purchased for resale.

[RussG]

In my opinion good riddance.

Toy stores quit being fun 25 years ago.
I guess this started with ultra mass production and offshore factories doing everything.

I remember the thrill of going into toy stores of course when I was a child then it just seemed like they changed.

Maybe I changed. Maybe both.

Bah humbug! 

[tufnel1530]

yah we had one when I was a kid..

best part was their very liberal game return policy..

me and my brother used to buy a cartridge play it for a week and then return it and say we "didnt like it" and they would refund us.

Rinse repeat probably 50 times.  The same 30 bucks lasted a few years probably

[number six]

It appears this Friday will be the final day for all Toys R Us locations..

[djude]

They killed the Annual Sears "Dreambook" Winter catalog... so screw them.... the Dreambook had toys and black and white lingerie pages... jus sayin..

[TimothyC]

Ugh, I can't believe they're really gone .  I can't tell you how much time I spent in TRU's during the 90's and eventually my best friend became a manager so I was always stopping by.  I didn't go to the chain much as a young kid, but from age 16 or so I started going often and probably spent 20k (or more) there cumulatively over the years (I used to buy and sell toys). 

I haven't collected toys in over a decade, but I would still stop in and browse out of habit :p .  Over the last month I tried to hit all of the stores in the Central Florida area as often as possible.  Sadly I didn't make it to Waterford Lakes, but I did hit Altamonte, Millenia, Florida mall, and the Loop store repeatedly.  Initially I was waiting for the awesome Star Wars kiddie ride on Landspeeder to drop to certain price (most stores had plenty when they were $125 or more), but I was a couple days late getting to the locations after the 50 to 70% off drop and all the locations sold-out of them when they hit $75 :/ 

Meh, I did manage to score a gigantic playset for my 5 and 1 year old.  Man, I had NO clue the amount of time it takes to put it together when I bought it or I would have left it at the store :p .  We were wanting to build a playhouse for the kids this year so I was stoked to find one at half off.  Sucks I no longer have much of a backyard now :p   

[Steve O]

I know someone that tried to use a $30 Toys r Us gift card once she heard they were going under.  They would not honor as that money was being used to pay off debts.  She might get a portion of that money back some time in the distant future.

[TimothyC]

I hate driving past old locations as I always feel like crap for a few minutes after seeing them empty :/

Just saw this at The Loop a couple days ago: