Toys R Us to close all 800 of its U.S. stores

Tron

Test
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When Toys R US changed from this setup and removed the glass display cases it was the beginning of the end. I can't imagine how much merch they sold in the 80's and 90's from people window shopping and seeing merch in those cases for the first time.
Pretty much i think by time the 360,PS3 and Wii were out i was buying games from amazon more.
 

NeoSneth

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TRU was still getting exclusives, and was one of the few companies that had a great relationship with Nintendo.
The Wii era was quite big for TRU.
 

geise

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Scored a ton of Duo Tg16 in 93 when they were starting to get rid of inventory. Also got PD Saga at launch there. Not to mention so many Genesis games in 91. I am now trying to think of the last time I bought something from there. It has been years and probably something for my nice or nephew. Had good memories when I was younger there. Would be nice to still have a store besided Wal-Mart or Target to take my son to. Tired of Amazon. Am one of those weirdos that still likes walk into a store and buy something.
 

SML

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There wasn't one around, so I never went there as a kid, but I saw plenty of commercials. It was a myth.
 

Rocko

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I have once purchased a game from Toys R Us. It was Goldeneye for Nintendo 64.

Big store chain like this are bound to go one by one, unless they can get their customers to their online store and downsize the physical stores fast...
 

@M

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I've read a lot about them over the years, and saw tons of their commercials on TV, but, to the best of my knowledge, there's never been a Toys 'R' Us store in my area of Michigan and I've never set foot in one in my life (we never had a KayBee either). Most of my childhood toys came from Woolworth's or Kmart (both of which are long-closed here as well). Nowadays, Walmart, Target, or Shopko are the brick-and-mortar stores I go to for toy purchases. Amazon or eBay for online stuff.

I feel for the many people that are going to be losing their jobs as a result of the closings, but I just don't have any personal connection to the franchise like many of you do.
 

LoneSage

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I've read a lot about them over the years, and saw tons of their commercials on TV, but, to the best of my knowledge, there's never been a Toys 'R' Us store in my area of Michigan and I've never set foot in one in my life

My god I feel so sorry for you

There's a limited amount of time where things are magical in our lives, and going to Toys R Us and being dwarfed by towers of paper slips of games in a TRU is a part of that time
 

oliverclaude

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There's a limited amount of time where things are magical in our lives, ...

How are things otherwise in our lives? Wait, I think got it...

Spoiler:
lisavsmalibustacy7.png
 

@M

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,
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Yeah, I missed out on the TRU & KB experiences, but such is life.

join us.jpg
 
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Poison Sama

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Funcoland and Showbiz Pizza didn't die quite like that though, since they were absorbed by Gamestop and Chuck E Cheese, respectively.
 

Neo Alec

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My brother bought his Turbo Express from Toys R Us. It was full price at $200. Really exciting to see it behind the glass case and pull the yellow slip and take it back to the cage.

The foam in the package was damaged, but bought it anyway since it was the last stock they had. Soon after they restocked the Turbo Expresses, and the price was changed to like $130.

It took a long time to save that much money back then.
 

BIG BEAR

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I'm surprised they lasted this long. My thoughts about this place changed for me in the early 90's when I had the opportunity to get a glimpse at the inner workings.
BB
 

marktheshark

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What a shame. Although I barely went there until I was around 12-13 (and even then not too often), it was a pretty cool store to browse.

As for the paper slips that they use in the games section, when exactly were they phased out? I remember going to Toys R US with my brother back in 2000 to get a GBC game, but I don't remember whether or not the store still used paper slips at the time. When I started going more often in the mid or late 2000's, I never saw paper slips in the gaming section although it might've been a different location.
 
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vincewy

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Like what many said, they hang on to the games much longer than any other retail chains. Very sad to see it go but with games going digital this seems inevitable as TRU can't adapt quick enough. We can say the same about our own jobs, if you're complaisant you may not find another one if you lose it.
 

Igakajook

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I didn't go to TRU very often as a kid, but when I did it was overwhelming in the best way. I have some great nostalgia feelings from those times. My brother had a job at the local TRU in his teens, so his feeling about the store are... different than mine.
 

sr20det510

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I have four nieces, and five nephews, and Toys R Us had some great deals once in a while.

My nephews and neices all got a shit load of Legos from me. Most were purchased at Toys R Us, especally when they were on clearance, and had % off coupons or B1G1, or B2G1 free deals.

Scored 6 Guardian of Galaxy Milano space ships for less than $100. They had about 600- 700 pieces in the set.

Only thing that probably sucked for my nephews and nieces was that they all had the exact same Lego sets. LoL

I like Toys R Us, but Kaybee still made a bigger impact on me.
Always found amazing deals on SMS, Genesis, and SNES games there.
 

Xavier

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Well I did my part, since I had kids I've taken them on about a dozen shopping sprees there.

They've been wanting to shutter them and just keep babies r' us open for over a decade now. IMO they cannibalized themselves big time. BRU is just around the corner from TRU in my town
 
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snes_collector

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I was close by a Toys R Us store yesterday and hit it up one last time. Place was completely packed and even though nothing was on sale some things were already gone pretty much (hotwheels, wrestling figures, etc.) I never really went to TRU much as a kid (or as an adult) so I can't really compare then vs now but I hate to see another retailer hit the grave.
 

kitkit.com

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Sad news but expected. I did have some fond memories at TRU in the 90s. I remember my cousin took one of those paper slip and purchased Sonic 2 when it first came out. I remember looking at a Turbo Grafx CD unit and TG Express behind their glass display case. I remember purchasing one of my first US Saturn game: Darius Gaiden for $19.99 and got a Virtual Stick and a 6 Player adapter during clarence there. I remember seeing a stack of SNES Castlevania IV (re-print made in Mexico version) for $10 in San Francisco, but didn't pick one up.... great time!
 
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GregN

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I was close by a Toys R Us store yesterday and hit it up one last time. Place was completely packed and even though nothing was on sale some things were already gone pretty much (hotwheels, wrestling figures, etc.) I never really went to TRU much as a kid (or as an adult) so I can't really compare then vs now but I hate to see another retailer hit the grave.

Same story here. I went to the Blaine, MN one and there were no signs saying it was closing but it was still packed. Drove by the Minnetonka one and noticed a closing sale sign.
 

Neo Alec

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Yep. Minnetonka one was 40-60% off on Saturday, with shelves getting empty and a 45 min wait to check out. The Burnsville one was business as usual, with a larger than normal crowd, but still fully stocked shelves and no deals.

28752729_1028960663929140_8450863340502122496_n.jpg
 

GutsDozer

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I bought a Jeffrey The Giraffe Figure and a Skeletor.
 

itsofrustratin

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Yep, I just heard this on the radio this evening. It brought a smile to my face.

We definitely lucked out for now. I remember cases of American bankruptcies bringing down their healthy Canadian counterparts but not in this case thankfully. That being said , the Canadian Toys R Us are hardly doing well and i would say its a matter of time. Its really Baby R Us propping up the rest.
 

Taiso

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There seems to be some social media backlash against the people being sentimental about TRU going down.

They just don't get it. TRU has struggled for a long time now, and it isn't all about mobile device distraction or 'kids just not caring about toys anymore'. It's not as simple as all that.

But when they're gone, the only place to get any toys physically will be department stores.

That's depressing.
 
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