Best store to find the remnants of old lines?
 

The bad part about suddenly getting interested in an older, now OOP toyline? Trying to track them down without paying high Ebay prices. KB Toys used to be my go-to store for this-I managed to find some figure waves and whole lines there that had been out of production for years but still hung around. But with KB long gone, I haven't found any store since then that matches them for their ability to hold onto stuff long after it's disappeared everywhere else.

So does anyone have suggestions for chains that have a tendency to hold onto that other stuff, or is online pretty much the only market left for finding overlooked line remnants?

Depends how old.

Like at TJ Maxx and/or Ross I've seen them recently get Mattel Young Justice and Hasbro Thor and Captain America movie figures. I've even seen some remnants of Transformers Generations.

Other than that, try KMart or Toys R Us. TRU still has Dark Knight Movie Masters (not the new Dark Knight Rises ones. . .I mean from the second movie). My TRU also still has Thor movie stuff, Iron Man 6" figures, GI Joe (from the 30th/Renegades lines), Justice League Unlimited. . .

I do know that out here in Vegas its 3 or 4 different shops that have older figures. Alot of older heman, go Joe, DC superpowers. But again there only in vegas

Look around for warehouse stores that buy overstock. Also, smaller chains. They buy the stuff the major chains can't sell.

But keep in mind you're not going to find popular characters. You're going to find the stuff people didn't want to buy. That's why they never sold. You're not going to find untouched cases that languished in the back of a stockroom for 3 years.

What lines are you interested in? Maybe some Arkers can help you. Poke around for collectors who might have old figures in storage that they don't want to display anymore.

Can you drop some locations? I live in the Victorville area and frequently visit family in Henderson and surrounding areas. I have found some things at a few of the comic shops out there but have been wondering what some good hunting grounds are in Vegas.

Yeah, I'm not expecting to find much, if anything of the line I'm looking for at the moment, due to long time gap and (again) the loss of KB, but it made me wonder about where those last few troves of old stuff might be. I'm looking for unbuilt Zoids. I have the misfortune of being recently dragged into it by a friend, and I'd like to actually build a few, rather than buy pre-built, but the most readily available ones are also the most expensive.

Sure. Its one in the fantastic swapmeet on Decatur n oakey its open Friday - Sunday.
The boulevard mall on Maryland parkway, then its one in rge fashion show mall (I think that's on the strip) and its another major mall closer to Henderson but I can't remember. He has eBay type prices on alot of the hotter items, but still has a huge selection, plus I think he runs all 4 spots

Yeah I remember when KB was good. I got a lot of Spiderman Animated long after it came out. Nowadays, the only places to find older toys are sites like this, ebay, and if you're lucky yard sales and flea markets.

Isn't KB Toys one of those companies Romney ran into the ground? I'm not looking for a political discussion, I just heard this a while back. Anyway, your best bet for the toys you're looking for is eBay.

Kay Bee Toys was amazing. If I could preserve a entire store it would be Kaybee toys.

Do they have Toy Stores in Malls anymore? The rare times I am in the Mall I never see one I dont think.

i wish they did. kb toys used to be in every mall.

I think there's a mall like an hour from my house that has a TRU Express. . .

Other than that, there's a mall in town that has a Ross just inside the doors. I buy toys there pretty often.

Every year there's a seasonal toy store that sets up in an empty space at my local mall usually they have older toys at clearance prices. It really depends on how "old" you're talking. Kohls, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls all have selections that are from 6 months or a little older.

In my area, there's about 3 LCS and they have older items in from time to time, sometimes it's just their stock that doesn't sell or items they get on trade. I check the 2 local pawnshops from time to time, 1 time a guy sold his ML collection and Movie Maniacs collection, I had no $$ atm, but there was series 1 Iron Man figures and such for like $10-15. Thriftstores like Value Village, salvation army, are great resources, sometimes you can find grab bags of random toys for a few bucks. My first ML I owned was a Cyclops figure I found in a grab bag. Even used stores like babystores that sell toys/get donations can be a good find. Using other resources such as buy sell and trade, craigs list, if in Canada " kijiji.ca" is a good resource. Ebay,amazon are the obvious, check bbts sometimes they get trades and have older items available, toyark and marvelousnews.com b/s/t is great as well. A lot of large end grocery stores have a small toy isle and can have some rare gems. A lot of arkers would agree that wholesale buying stores like TJ Max, Ross, Winners, CostCo, can have some great finds on older lines as well, and when all else fails, spend a sat/sun hitting up yard/garage sales and fleamarkets, Hope this helps.