Goodbye, Toys R Us? * UPDATE: Toys R Us is preparing to liquidate its U.S. operations, sources say*

Honest question. Where are people buying or looking at physical goods?

Blockbuster closes. We had a place called Hastings (movie/books/cds). I’d love renting old obscure movies. Netflix and on demand databases are weak. Best Buy cuts cd stock ( not just buying whole cds for 99 cents but browsing). Now people are spending 99 cents per song and upwards of $5 to rent older movies online. Used to have a place called circuit city for electronics. I even hear BB is struggling. Not everyone is buying their stuff online.

TRU used to have a bunch of games and toys that you could never get online. Looking, touching, browsing was so fun as a kid. Now they browse on their iPads?

Crazy how we are getting less diverse as the years go on.
less diverse????
i think we getting more lazy and complacent
 
Did anybody actually ride this? Always wanted too as a kid
ToysR-Us.jpg
whoa whoa whoa

where is this paradise? and why haven't I been there as a child?
 
We went to NYC in Jan. 2016 and the Times Square Toys R' Us had closed just a month before. We were more heartbroken than our 7 year old daughter!
 
They really should have done more marketing. I kinda forgot that there was one in town but now I want to go. Oh well... will be checking for da sales
 
Not the kids fault, technology ruined the fun of imagination to extent. It's weird to see a 4 year old kid glued to a phone playing a game. Something about it doesn't seem totally right, even if they are learning something.

The parents could keep tablets and phones out of the kids’ hands and just give them physical toys. I know that’s easier said than done, especially since tablets keep kids quiet on flights and restaurants.
 
Watching someone play a video game and watching someone play with an inanimate object is two different things.

My little cousin watches kids play with ninja turtle action figures. His momma will buy them but he rather watch on YouTube. I think he wants a sibling tho.

Ehh, it depends. There's a bunch of different "genres" of toy youtube vids (I'm the parent of a 5 year old, so I'm pretty much an expert).

There's the unboxing videos where it's exactly what it sounds like, someone unboxing a toy and showing what it comes with, how it comes out of the box, etc. Then there's the play videos, which TBH, remind me of puppet shows. Often times they'll have a storyline and script, so to me, it's basically the reality TV version of a puppet show, if that makes any sense.
 
Toy's R Us were done in by there own poor management. They were saddled with incredible debt even back in the early 00s when Amazon was still a fledgling operation.

Their debt problems got worse over the years & they were ever able to reinvest in their stores to make for a better shopping experience. They tried compensating for their debt issues by pricing their goods a little higher than what other stores charged.

I remember my son used to be into action figures that were normally $5.99 or $6.99 but they would be $8.99 or $9.99 at TRUS... I'd get a Star Wars Lego set at the Lego store for $69.99 & TRUS would have it for $77.99...
 
It's a lot of 25-40 year olds in here acting like they didn't used to burn every free hour on a TV going through Madden, or Golden Eye, Or NBA street Jamz, or....
 
KKR, Bain and Vornado purchased Toys "R" Us in 2005 in a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout, but more than $5.3 billion of the purchase price was paid using debt.

Forbes

How it all started.

Then other retailers started to eat into their profit margins during the holidays by selling more toys (Walmart, Target, JCPenney, etc.) Not just Amazon being the sole reason.
 
My son is a little over 1 and just a couple months ago I was telling my wife can't wait when he's a little bigger to take him to toys r us to pick out a toy when he gets good grades etc...:frown:

I got my PS2 at the times square toys r us. I remember they were still out of stock in a lot of stores...remember calling them and they said they couldn't tell me if there was any avaiable. Took the train from Queens and when I got there they had piles of them :lol:....then had to beg my dad to get me a memory card bc I didn't have enough money saved up :lol:...he did....like 3 months later :lol:
 
I’m just here for the going out of business sales.

Went today.... Sales were trash $1 - $5 max on about 20% of the store.

Very disappointed.

My son is a little over 1 and just a couple months ago I was telling my wife can't wait when he's a little bigger to take him to toys r us to pick out a toy when he gets good grades etc...:frown:

I have a 2 y/o and one on the way and my new go-to store for him is Barnes and Noble and Earthbound.

Both have educational toys and cool little toys that hold his attention. :pimp:
 
Will go next week, cop a few ps4, 3ds and switch games.

Also, pickup a few gifts for my nephews bday.
 
Word, gimme a Nintendo switch on the low low. I wanna grow up, I ain't no Toys R Us kid :lol:
 
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