The demise of Toys 'R' Us

[Sylent_Asassin Black Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Sylent_Asassin]

As a kid, I have so many fond memories of visiting TRU with my family and friends. Hopefully, an investor group or business tycoon can take over the business in the 11th hour and keep the last toy-only store afloat and most importantly, save 30,000 jobs. It would be sad to see all the TRU locations become local eyesores like Circuit City, Blockbuster and Kmart... or even worse, become Starbucks.

Even though I'm in my 40's, I'm still a Toys R Us kid.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/16/news...ies/index.html

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/16/news...ees/index.html

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

The lost jobs are the only reason why I care at all that TRU is going under. The only time I would ever shop there was when something was a TRU exclusive product (which my local TRU more often than not wouldn't stock at all, anyway), and I'd grumble about THAT. They routinely charged over MSRP for everything I was looking for, wouldn't hold product for you when you called to check availability (they aren't exactly next door), and generally did just about everything they could to ensure that I'd never shop there.

Frankly, it seems like they've been skating by on their status as really the only major Toy Store left for years, thinking that meant they could avoid making any real efforts to be competitive.

So I feel sorry for the employees, but I won't miss the store at all.

As a kid l liked them, because as a kid I was just browsing and making up want lists. Once I got to the point where I was buying stuff, my rose-colored glasses came off.

[buffalorock Star Sapphire's Love Slave Find all posts View Profile Close buffalorock]

I liked them as a kid and quite a bit as an adult, too.

The dollar or two increase over someplace like Target or Walmart never bothered me, I was rarely buying high dollar items.

For a good while, Amazon has been charging more for brand new Transformers and Legos than any retail place including TRU. I prefer brick and mortar and enjoy the hunt for a toy, but I understand I am in the vast minority there.

I hate to see that many people lose a job though, hopefully they can land on their feet elsewhere, I don't see an angel coming in to save the business.

[Big Daddy Dave Skywalker Moisture Farmer Find all posts View Profile Close Big Daddy Dave Skywalker]

I have a lot of great memories of going to TRU as a kid. And even more as a grown man-child going on toy hunts in my 20s and 30s. Really sad to see this chain go away like KB Toys did. And yeah, that's a LOT of people who are going to be looking for jobs now.

I think Disney's Star Wars push was one of the final nails in the coffin for TRU, especially The Last Jedi. That junk is just sitting there and nobody wants it.

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

uncontrollable sobbing as I try to sing the theme song

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

The lost jobs are the only reason why I care at all that TRU is going under.

Ditto. My local TRU seemed kind of dirty and the clerks were unhelpful on good days (surly on the rest).

As a kid l liked them, because as a kid I was just browsing and making up want lists. Once I got to the point where I was buying stuff, my rose-colored glasses came off.

Yeah, I liked TRU as a kid, but I do remember as a kid liking KB and particularly Kiddie City much more.



As an adult, I did like that TRU had a separate aisle or two for "mature"/nostalgia toys---the stuff based on movies and comics and such. It saved me time and that creepy feeling I assume I instill as a guy with no kids wandering down every toy aisle.

[Big Daddy Dave Skywalker Moisture Farmer Find all posts View Profile Close Big Daddy Dave Skywalker]

As an adult, I did like that TRU had a separate aisle or two for "mature"/nostalgia toys---the stuff based on movies and comics and such. It saved me time and that creepy feeling I assume I instill as a guy with no kids wandering down every toy aisle.

LOL, when I got in my late 30s, I started dragging my nephews along on road trips if my son was busy. Really helps keep you from looking like a creeper when you are checking out toys! The last few years that nostalgia toy aisle is the only place I really bother with, if I go at all which is hardly ever anymore.

The hot moms are still great to see though.

[Sylent_Asassin Black Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Sylent_Asassin]

LOL, when I got in my late 30s, I started dragging my nephews along on road trips if my son was busy. Really helps keep you from looking like a creeper when you are checking out toys! The last few years that nostalgia toy aisle is the only place I really bother with, if I go at all which is hardly ever anymore.

The hot moms are still great to see though.

I couldn't care less what other people think of me browsing and/or buying toys. Is this not "adult" enough for the normies? It's a hobby just like anything else. Should I have a more adult vice like drinking, gambling, recreational drugs or massage parlors to satisfy the masses? I look forward with people getting snide and screwing with me at the checkout line when it comes to my collecting. I always respond with the above and it shuts them right up. At least collectibles have a chance to appreciate in value. If I spend this money at a bar, I'm literally pissing my money away.

The best line I heard was an older cashier lady telling a collector, "Aren't you a little old to be playing with toys?" His response was, "Aren't you a little old to be working at Walmart?" BURN, baby BURN!!!

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

^I've never had anyone in a store actually say something to me. I've probably gotten a few quick glances, but that's about it. I'm surprised since Californians are supposed to be laid back and Jerseyans confrontational that our experiences aren't reversed. But, I'm guessing I wasn't as a regular in my toy shopping as you.



I have no idea what I'd say if confronted verbally. I have a tendency to defuse or self-deprecate, so if someone actually said "aren't you a little old for toys," I'm guessing I'd say either "yep" or "that's what my dad says."



But I wasn't personally thinking about someone judging me because of toy buying so much as the general suspicion people have (like grab your kid closer) when a single man is loitering in an environment associated with children. I like swings, but I don't hang out at playgrounds because I'm pretty sure someone is going to get uncomfortable.

[Big Daddy Dave Skywalker Moisture Farmer Find all posts View Profile Close Big Daddy Dave Skywalker]

The best line I heard was an older cashier lady telling a collector, "Aren't you a little old to be playing with toys?" His response was, "Aren't you a little old to be working at Walmart?" BURN, baby BURN!!!

God DAMN that is a good comeback!

When my family ribs me about my comic room filled to the brim with toys, I simply tell them toys aren't for kids, they are clearly made for adults. And no kids are allowed to touch my toys.

[Sylent_Asassin Black Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Sylent_Asassin]

^I've never had anyone in a store actually say something to me. I've probably gotten a few quick glances, but that's about it. I'm surprised since Californians are supposed to be laid back and Jerseyans confrontational that our experiences aren't reversed. But, I'm guessing I wasn't as a regular in my toy shopping as you.

Californians aren't confrontational, really, but they can be uppity and snidely passive-aggressive. I get tired of having to justify my toy collecting with other people, like it's not something that a functioning adult would do. Sometimes, it seems that it’s only socially acceptable for men to exclusively enjoy sports as a hobby.

I think people assume that toys I purchase are for my children because I don’t fit the stereotypical profile. On several occasions, I've had cashiers ask, "Are these for your son?" I always respond with "Nope, they're for me." If I get a look of disdain and/or snide remark, I further with, "Would you rather I spend this money on beer and cigarettes to satisfy the societal norm?" I have quite a few comebacks teed up in my mind in case someone gets too nosey for their own good. I refuse to cringe, cower and kowtow with regard to something that I enjoy. That goes for comics and cosplay, too. I’m not confrontational, but I certainly won’t back away from one either.

When my family ribs me about my comic room filled to the brim with toys, I simply tell them toys aren't for kids, they are clearly made for adults. And no kids are allowed to touch my toys.

There's a difference between "toys" and "collectibles" that the normies just can't comprehend. To them, a Hot Toys statue is the same as a Tinker Toy... Do they still make Tinker Toys?

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

There's a difference between "toys" and "collectibles" that the normies just can't comprehend. To them, a Hot Toys statue is the same as a Tinker Toy... Do they still make Tinker Toys?

What annoys me is when the manufacturer can't comprehend that difference either, and markets and distributes something that clearly SHOULD be a toy for kids (not that adults can't like them too) in such a way that they clearly have collectors uppermost in their mind. (I'm not talking stuff like Hot Toys statues, but rather regular lines based on properties that one would expect to be popular with kids.)

I guess I can't blame them if that is the model that makes them more money, but then I'm back to being annoyed at adult collectors for warping the toy market to fit them.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

When my family ribs me about my comic room filled to the brim with toys, I simply tell them toys aren't for kids, they are clearly made for adults. And no kids are allowed to touch my toys.

Nobody bugs me about all the LEGO, games, and comics I buy, or the other toys I have kept from my childhood (though I DO let the kids play with it all, as to my mind toys are MEANT to be played with). My wife has on a number of occasions stated her satisfaction that "at least I don't play golf".

(I assume because it would be both a time AND money sink. The money I spend on my hobbies is relatively modest, and generally is something I try to SHARE with the rest of the family, rather than taking me away from them.)

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

^Yeah, I used to let kids play with my Hess truck collection and I assume if I had children they'd get to play with a lot of stuff, but there would have to be limits. I wouldn't be handing my silver-age GLs or Japanese-exclusive Godzilla toys to a toddler.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

^Yeah, I used to let kids play with my Hess truck collection and I assume if I had children they'd get to play with a lot of stuff, but there would have to be limits. I wouldn't be handing my silver-age GLs or Japanese-exclusive Godzilla toys to a toddler.

Well, in my case I buy pretty much nothing purely as a collectible. So if I buy a comic or a toy, it is going to be used. If I was buying stuff as an investment, or purely to collect it, then yeah, I'd probably put more limits on it.

As it stands, the only limits I place are on people being capable of using it in the manner intended. I don't hand over comics (of ANY value) to people that cannot read, or are likely to mistreat them to the point that they become unusable. I don't give LEGO sets to anybody likely to put them in their mouths. I don't hand over, say, a complex Transformer to a kid that doesn't possess the motor skills to transform it without breaking it. But once somebody is capable to using something the way it is supposed to be used, I'll share it with them.

Though actually, that sounds pretty similar to your example of not handing such things to a toddler. Toddlers throw stuff around and put it in their mouths, so yeah, I don't give them any toys that can't handle that treatment, both for the toys' sake AND the toddler's.