Really sad to see this, something else from our youth going away.

I read through all these pages this morning and Let me tell you all. Some of the comments about TRU closing means toy makers will stop producing toys and sending them to stores etc etc really gave me a chuckle....

The current TRU stores and the way they've been operating are in NO WAY AT ALL compareable to what they used to be in the late 80s and early 90s. Damn near every single time i've went to My local TRU, ( which has been close damn near not at all this year.) usually right when they opened, pegs for marvel legends weren't fully stocked or had figures from god knows how long ago.

The half an aisle with the few Neca items was nothing to brag about either.

Customer service sucked and honestly i can name just about every item i've bought with the last few years from their store because it was such a small amount stuff.

If some of you are old enough to remember this is the same thing as Lionel's playworld, KB toys, and even the world famous FAO Schwarz closing. TRU took took it over. This is no big deal and life goes on same as above retailers closed down.

Most of my purchases for toys have been in walmarts and online shopping.

Like i said in my first post in this thread. I won't lose much sleep over them closing.

I am however curious to see what i can find on sale when they close for good. Hopefully it won't be nothing at all, like when i would decide to take a look and see if they had anything worthwhile but left empty handed.

If you really did read through this thread then I'm surprised that you still have this outlook. This is NOT the same as when Lionel's, KB, and FAO Schwarz closed, as this is the LAST nationwide brick and mortar toy store in existence. There's a reason the stocks of major toy manufacturers such as Hasbro and Mattel are tumbling at the news.

No, it's certainly not the end of the toy industry, but this will have a HUGE impact upon it, make no mistake about it. Companies - especially smaller ones like NECA - will most likely end up making changes to their business to compensate for the huge loss in distribution and income. Prices will go up, some toy lines will be harder to come by or even be cancelled, and people - many people - will lose their jobs. But at least you won't lose sleep over it.

Plus I love how people complain that their TRU was poorly-stocked or managed and automatically assume that means that every TRU across the country was exactly the same. Personally, mine is clean, well-run, and always fully-stocked. I guess it helps that it's in a very busy shopping district and not way out in the middle of Bumblefuck, however.

I agree that the negative posts and berating of TRU is so foolish at this point. Regardless of your opinion of your local stores, the model worked and most stores were profitable. The problems lies at the top where so much debt was added to the successful name that the company could no longer sustain the payments.

There were over 600 stores across the nation plus combined with their online presence had huge buying potential. Pulling that "guaranteed sale" rug out from under the toy producers means that they now need to think about production quantities and how to be profitable with much lower production runs. All markets are a percentage game and take away the last retail toy giant means a huge percentage of retail space just vanished.

I personally hate that this is happening, and feel everyone is entitled to their opinions, but this is going to have huge ramifications on our hobby regardless of how frequently you shopped at TRU.

Hills, Ames, K-Mart, Media Play, Blockbuster, Video Factory, Zappers, Bells, Hollywood Video, Circuit City, Woolworth's, Child World, Media Play, Sam Goody, Suncoast, Record Theater, KB Toys, Walden/Borders, Seeley & Kane's Cards & Comics, and now possibly Toys R Us. When will this serial killer be stopped?!

I wish the government would do a bailout for ToysRUs like they did for the Auto industry but that will never happen.

Blockbuster was fun to wander around in, same for Borders, I had 2 near to where I work I liked to go to during lunch. Hope Barnes & Noble can hang on.

Fuck that, Govtoys would suck ass! It would look like soviet soup lines. Everyone would get toy ration cards, and you’d only get to go on certain days depending on the last four of your social. Plus it would be shut down every time Washington couldn’t get there shit straight... no, I don’t think the answer is more yuppie ass holes in suits, that’s what started this mess in the first place.

Apparently MGA is trying to save TRU. We'll see if they can make enough of an impact to save any in the US.

Looks like my local R Us is planning on closing tomorrow, every item I price check says "sale ends 3/14" when it used to say 4/15...

Possible good news: Toys R Us Is Exploring A Plan That Could Keep 200 Stores Open Even After Liquidation

Man, I hope they can find a buyer for that plan (and really hope that the TRU my sister works at is among those 200 stores).

Apparently TRU's CEO has finally gotten around to telling his employees that they're either closing or selling all their stores. That's 33,000 people who will be out of jobs soon if someone doesn't buy at least some of the stores.

I sincerely hope most of those people were looking for new jobs anyway

Got my baby registry reward so I spent that quick today. Pretty bummed that they are closing now that I’m actually collecting and not just looking. Whenever I was feeling really down my wife would ask me if I wanted to go look at toys, always made me feel better. Mostly sad that my daughter is only 3 months old and I’ll never get to take her when she’s older and just spend hours roaming around and talking about toys

Yeah..that exactly..
The writing was pretty much on the wall but so many people I spoke to were surprisingly optimistic..... wishful thinking???

I'm still hoping someone is able to understand what's actually going on so they can tell the truth to people that need to know.

Jobs in retail are important to people who do not go to college or cannot afford it. It was a great way to build a career and financially successful. I know some managers in retail who make way over 100k...but those numbers are disappearing as companies look to trim the guys at the top or rather replace managers who made it big.

I am not sure what the TRU upper managers made, but it's sad when I see retail dying. Sometimes people do not have the IQ. It is very much genetic and having retail is a great way to make a living if you stay and work your way up.

I really hope America becomes a thriving manufacturing industry again but it is doubtful as robots have replaced many workers and the overseas production. Seeing Apple for example, slowly moving their business and abandoning America is concerning. That scares me as much as retail dying.

dude, If you're talking about manufacturing, that ship has sailed.

Well shit. I mean granted most trus suck ass but they did carry things that target and walmart wouldnt and they did have em...now theres nothing left to sate those figs. Target and walmart wont carry anything that doesnt have a media backing for the most part. I hope somehow a new store pops up...or maybe hasbro will open hasbro shops and maybe carry collector focused items. Atill its sucks cause i now will never get any of those tru sets and i sure as shit am not gonna pay scalper prices.

you forgot FAO Schwarz.
woolworth? im surprised you know about that

Hasbro and Mattel will eventually be ok. They can shift their main line exclusives as needed. But it's the second and third tier companies that will really lose out. Companies like NECA and Mezco come to mind, as their product is offered in very limited quantities (or not at all) in most retail locations outside of Toys R Us. Neither Target or Walmart carry niche licenses that don't have a direct connection to something popular now.

Bummer news. I knew this was a long time coming, but I never thought I would actually care when it happened. Seeing Japanese import figures in TRU felt like the beginning of a great, new era for toy collecting. Seeing the same inventory in Gamestop put it into a different light for me. It's too bad.