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Toys ‘R’ Us Is Planning Bankruptcy Filing as Soon as Today

Boss Doggie

Boss Doggie

all my loli wolf companions are so moe
RIP giraffe dude

I wonder what it means to the various toys r us overseas though, like we have branches of them in malls here
 
D

Dishwalla

Banned
I don't think TRU filing for bankruptcy will mean they go the way of Sports Authority or Borders, not yet at least, but this does not bode well for their future. Even if they pull out of this they will continue to struggle for a long time.
 
B

BlackDoomShadow

Member
Once Amazon gets their distribution network fully up and running and can do same-day delivery to the entire United States, brick and mortar retail is fucked.

The capitalist world needs to have a long, hard conversation about what we're going to do when 30-40% of the workforce is made redundant by computers and automation.
 
C

Curler

Unconfirmed Member
Dishwalla said:
I don't think TRU filing for bankruptcy will mean they go the way of Sports Authority or Borders, not yet at least, but this does not bode well for their future. Even if they pull out of this they will continue to struggle for a long time.
Click to expand...

I'm still sad about Borders... they had great coupons on the mailing list. When they went down, so did all thr local bookstores, since there were a bunch of Borders :(
 
J

Jinroh

Member
These stores have become less and less attractive. You can find everything everywhere and toys have become way too expensive.

Just look at Lego prices. Last week I saw a dad who was trying to find a lego star wars set for his kid but didn't want to spend 50 bucks for a small ship. Same goes for Transformers toys, everything is just too god damn expensive.

Something has really gone wrong these past 20 years.
 
G

Gaius Cassius

Member
I guess this means the Toysrus exclusive stuff we own will go up in value? The store would always get some exclusive deals with stuff over the years that would quickly be discontinued, Kenner and Hasbro Star Wars toys if I recall, but I'm sure there are a lot of brands too.
 
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BlackDoomShadow

Member
Toy and video game prices are not any different today than they were twenty years ago when adjusted for inflation. If anything, shit is cheaper today.

It's Amazon that's eating their lunch, and to a lesser extent retailers like Walmart and Target that sell other goods besides toys. That's all.
 
C

Curler

Unconfirmed Member
BlackDoomShadow said:
Toy and video game prices are not any different today than they were twenty years ago when adjusted for inflation. If anything, shit is cheaper today.
Click to expand...

This right here. Plus nowadays we don't have the gigantic playsets that take up half a room of space. I can only imagine how much those were after adjusted to inflation :/

Also, the adult toy market is a pretty big thing, and quality pieces also = higher prices. Things like Transformers mentioned, are much more detailed and articulate than what existed in the 80's.
 
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Kalnoky

Member
I used to love Toys R Us as a kid, but the one in my town already closed down back in the mid-2000s.

Now it's a BevMo.
 
S

SMattera

Member
Would love to see Amazon open up some toys stores like they've done with Amazon Book stores. Don't need one everywhere, but a few in a few major cities.

Just cool places to play with toys like the old flagship FAO Schwartz stores.

BlackDoomShadow said:
Toy and video game prices are not any different today than they were twenty years ago when adjusted for inflation. If anything, shit is cheaper today.

It's Amazon that's eating their lunch, and to a lesser extent retailers like Walmart and Target that sell other goods besides toys. That's all.
Click to expand...

You also have to consider the rise of digital. You can give your kid a hand-me-down iPhone or a cheap Android tablet and they can play a million free games.
 
F

Future

Member
In all honesty, toys r us stores suck

I dont know if they always did. I have fond memories of a kid running through those aisles. Now as an adult Toys R Us stores dont feel "nice" like a best buy. They feel stacked with random toys overflowing aisles in a dreary environment. I was actually shocked how run down and generally dead the toys r us's near me were. No incentive to return
 
A

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
People reminiscing about KB Toys going out of business? Seriously? Cue the Michael Jackson Moonwalker XBox360 gif.

That place was all overpriced junk and balls with squirrel tails attached to it. I think the ONLY saving grace was finding Shinobi for GG II: The Silent Fury there on a discount. Everything else was marked up to hell and back.
 
Sp3eD

Sp3eD

0G M3mbeR
I've always found amazon to be crazy expensive when buying my daughter toys when she was a kid. Target and Walmart are really the only stores worth a shit for toys now. Pretty sad.
 
G

Gaius Cassius

Member
They haven't been good in a long time, 10 years maybe? I got a job working at one of their stores in like 2007, and by then it was shit, the managers were crazy incompetent people who didn't have a clue. I'm just surprised they lasted this long.

It was a double edged sword working for them. They still used the paper upc thing for the videogame aisle and the Star Wars aisle was actually pretty nice. Funny story, I got the job by geeking out over a Star Wars vehicle that I was told to pick from the store and 'sell' to my interviewer. Lost the job due to an ex Army dipshit who upon the first day of being promoted to manager, threw a fucking box off a delivery truck at my head for 'not being energetic enough' at a 5am delivery. They refused to fire the guy and wanted me to work under him, but 'away from him'. Fuck em', they deserve bankruptcy.
 
B

BlackDoomShadow

Member
Razgriz-Specter said:
Games yes, toys no.
You only need to look as far as Star Wars toys for examples of the effect.
Click to expand...

Star Wars toys aimed at children are the same price they were in the 90s when adjusted for inflation. For example, the 3.75" line of figures currently has an MSRP of $7.99 (source: target.com). Adjusted for inflation, $7.99 in 1997 dollars was $5.25. Star Wars action figures definitely did not cost $5.25 in the 1990s -- they were likely around the ten dollar price point as they are today.

Therefore toys are, in fact, cheaper today than they were in the 80s and 90s.
 
A

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
Razgriz-Specter said:
Video games definitely, only ever bought RE2 there but here at least toys were far cheaper than ToysRUs, Walmart, Kmart, Service Merchandise and Target.
Click to expand...

Service Merchandise! holy shit, forgot all about that store! That is where we bought our Sega Master System. Damn, now THAT place has been lost to time and memory.
 
T

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Jinroh said:
These stores have become less and less attractive. You can find everything everywhere and toys have become way too expensive.

Just look at Lego prices. Last week I saw a dad who was trying to find a lego star wars set for his kid but didn't want to spend 50 bucks for a small ship. Same goes for Transformers toys, everything is just too god damn expensive.

Something has really gone wrong these past 20 years.
Click to expand...

The price per brick is the same as it was in the early-'80s. Adjusted for inflation they've gotten much cheaper.
It only seems like prices have climbed because there are a lot of large sets available.
 
A

AlteredBeast

Fork 'em, Sparky!
TAJ said:
The price per brick is the same as it was in the early-'80s. Adjusted for inflation they've gotten much cheaper.
It only seems like prices have climbed because there are a lot of large sets available.
Click to expand...

LEGO was too expensive back then and it still is. Last time I went to LEGOland in KC, I laughed at the weight price on the walls. There is no way in hell plastic should cost that much for regular, everyday pieces they make 10 million of.
 
R

Razgriz-Specter

Member
Man I have such fond memories of buying up all of
510ab8e6-498c-44fa-b3d5-6e754537ee41.jpg
Ronin_RyoOriginal.jpg
Resident-Evil-Jill-Valentine-Web-Spinner-5.jpg

MIB-Men-In-Black-Street-Striker-Kay.jpg
Click to expand...
at my local KB.
2 local ToysRUs didn't carry any of those 4 lines.
 
N

Nyoro SF

Member
I'll always have fond memories of TRU as a kid. It was where I got my Gameboy for the first time. And the one near me had a huge multi CRT setup for games like Mario 64 and even had a Dreamcast setup. I remember getting the paper slip so I could get a copy of Pokemon Blue and playing on the Kirby demo station.

But it doesn't surprise me at all that it's in these straits. In this new era of shopping, there's not much TRU can offer.
 
T

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
AlteredBeast said:
LEGO was too expensive back then and it still is. Last time I went to LEGOland in KC, I laughed at the weight price on the walls. There is no way in hell plastic should cost that much for regular, everyday pieces they make 10 million of.
Click to expand...

I thought that until I saw (and smelled) bootleg Lego. They're very noticeably inferior and they're not massively cheaper.
Meanwhile I just saw a Lego set today that was a hair under 7 cents per brick and wasn't even on sale. (Ninjago Movie Destiny's Bounty ship)
 
D

Dash_Riprock

Member
I-hate-u said:
End of an era. Toys R Us is still a magical place to walk through despite my older age.

Retail is dying out all around. Best Buy is next best believe.
Click to expand...

Nah, Best Buy is doing fine.

Next is a toss between Gamestop and Barnes & Noble. Both are specialized with Amazon utterly destroying their profit margins. Both have attempted to diversify by catering to nerds and stocking POP figures/ other memorabilia in their stores. Both have done next to nothing to solve the biggest problems with their business model (Online consistently beating them in price) while they think that stocking even more niche products will somehow fix that.

Syphon Filter said:
no! i love barnes and noble.
Click to expand...

I did too. But I can't remember the last time I actually bought a book in there.
 
S

Syphon Filter

Member
Dash_Riprock said:
Nah, Best Buy is doing fine.

Next is a toss between Gamestop and Barnes & Noble. Both are specialized with Amazon utterly destroying their profit margins. Both have attempted to diversify by catering to nerds and stocking POP figures/ other memorabilia in their stores. Both have done next to nothing to solve the biggest problems with their business model (Online consistently beating them in price) while they think that stocking even more niche products will somehow fix that.
Click to expand...
no! i love barnes and noble.
 
L

LaNaranja

Member
I have amazing memories of Toys R Us. It reminds me of a better time when I would buy games based on the cover or properties I liked. I remember seeing that there was a Scooby Doo game and knowing I wanted it more than anything. My favorite show of all time getting had a game? How could I not get it? Game ended up being awesome too which is always a bonus.

Scooby-Doo_Mystery_box_art.jpg


I also have nostalgia for my time working about Babies R Us. There was a lot of shitty shit with management but there was still something I loved about just being in that store.
 
R

Razgriz-Specter

Member
BlackDoomShadow said:
Star Wars toys aimed at children are the same price they were in the 90s when adjusted for inflation. For example, the 3.75" line of figures currently has an MSRP of $7.99 (source: target.com). Adjusted for inflation, $7.99 in 1997 dollars was $5.25. Star Wars action figures definitely did not cost $5.25 in the 1990s -- they were likely around the ten dollar price point as they are today.

Therefore toys are, in fact, cheaper today than they were in the 80s and 90s.
Click to expand...
Star Wars figures were $5 in the 90's


Look at the articulation they were putting in pre Episode 1-3D, those were regular priced figures($7~).
They nearly doubled the price of those and put the crappy line near the old pricepoint.

NGhaZRV.jpg
Click to expand...
Current vs 2005, nearly the same price

awing.png
Click to expand...
Same exact price, one on the left(2017) is also nearly completely flat and has only 1 landing gear.(right is only from 2008 at that)
(cockpit doesn't even tab closed on the new one)
 
Daffy Duck

Daffy Duck

Member
What does this mean for the U.K.?

Grew up going there when they launched and it was amazing as a kid.

They are now mostly filled with rubbish aside from Lego and a few other main brands of toys.
 
M

MastaKilla

Member
The one ploy my parents had to immediately shut me up as a kid, was promosing me they'll take me to Toysrus. It was like heaven growing up!!
 
T

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
BlackDoomShadow said:
Star Wars toys aimed at children are the same price they were in the 90s when adjusted for inflation. For example, the 3.75" line of figures currently has an MSRP of $7.99 (source: target.com). Adjusted for inflation, $7.99 in 1997 dollars was $5.25. Star Wars action figures definitely did not cost $5.25 in the 1990s -- they were likely around the ten dollar price point as they are today.

Therefore toys are, in fact, cheaper today than they were in the 80s and 90s.
Click to expand...

When Star Wars figures came back in 1995 they were $4.99.
They stayed around $2 between the beginning and 1985, some minor instances of gouging aside.
 
K

Kiko

Member
Great, another of these Bain Capital investments that went to shit because they squeezed it out. They just recently bought one of the remaining German Pharma/Generics companies around here. Sad for the people still working there because I highly anticipate the same route.
Maybe it was bad management, maybe related to Amazon but Bain has a track record for ruining companies like that.
 
D

Dagobert Duck

Member
MastaKilla said:
The one ploy my parents had to immediately shut me up as a kid, was promosing me they'll take me to Toysrus. It was like heaven growing up!!
Click to expand...

Same I remember going to Toys R Us was a very special occasion and didnt happen that often, lately ive been there and I know why.

As an adult you are in a place with kids favorite stuff, and they are loads of kids, and they are running around, showing you stuff, talking about stuff, trying stuff...its prutal
 
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