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Toys R Us to file for bankruptcy

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  • Werewolf
    Inhuman
    • Jul 14, 2003
    • 14616

    Toys R Us to file for bankruptcy

    I was just recently thinking to myself "Could this year get any worse?". Yes, yes it can.

    You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated old mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but you don't believe in such myths. One dark and stormy night, a light appears in the topmost window in the tower of the old house. You decide to investigate... and you never return...
  • Confessional
    Maker & Whatnot
    • Aug 8, 2012
    • 3410

    #2
    It's a strange world where a company can [still] exist at 5 billion in debt.

    Comment

    • Bruce Banner
      HULK SMASH!
      • Apr 3, 2010
      • 4327

      #3
      Wow...
      PUNY HUMANS!

      Comment

      • Nostalgiabuff
        Muddling through
        • Oct 4, 2008
        • 11290

        #4
        this is not the first time they have filed and had to reorganize. I think on line sales are slowly killing all the actual stores

        Comment

        • Mr.Marion
          Permanent Member
          • Sep 15, 2014
          • 2733

          #5
          Originally posted by Nostalgiabuff
          this is not the first time they have filed and had to reorganize. I think on line sales are slowly killing all the actual stores
          You're not kidding. Brick and Mortar stores in general are hurting big time. People are going to miss shopping at actual stores one day.

          Comment

          • PNGwynne
            Master of Fowl Play
            • Jun 5, 2008
            • 19444

            #6
            ^You're so damn right. You can't check paint decos, sewing, dust jackets, or book-bindings online. Every sale is an impersonal crap-shoot.
            WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

            Comment

            • cjefferys
              Duke of Gloat
              • Apr 23, 2006
              • 10180

              #7
              Sad to hear but I can't say I'm surprised. I can't imagine the expenses of keeping open huge stores that are almost deserted eleven months of the year. And the one time of the year they do sell a lot, the profit margins are probably razor thin as they try to compete with online sales. To be honest, I'm shocked that they are still even open.

              Comment

              • MRP
                Persistent Member
                • Jul 19, 2016
                • 2036

                #8
                If the Toys R Us near me is any indication, they sort of deserve to go under. The only thing brick and mortar stores can really offer a customer that online sales don't is the shopping experience and customer service, and both there are terrible.

                The store is poorly laid out, it is impossible to find anything and product lines are divied up and spread out over the entire store in a lame attempt to make customers go through the entire store and possibly impulse buy other items while they look. The store is constantly a mess even when its dead. Toys are strewn about, pegs are off the rack lying on the shelves below, the merch from them scattered in heaps on various shelves or the floor. Packages are torn, crushed, missing items, etc.

                Their prices are 10-20% higher than other brick and mortar stores in the same shopping district (Target, Kohls, Wal*Mart, and an indy toy store) less than 5 minutes drive away.

                The only associates you can find are standing at the registers and if there is no on at their register they are playing on their phones, screwing around, and ignoring customers. When you do manage to get a clerks attention and ask where something is, you get an I don't know they changed displays the other day so you'll just have to walk around to see if you can find it.

                There is absolutely no reason for me to shop there. Their selection is barely better than a Wal*Mart, but only some of the time, usually the other department stores are better and that's if if you can find it when you are at the TRU, and if you do, you'll pay more for it while having a terrible experience trying to buy it. I rarely go there anymore and it is as a last resort if I do, but then I can't remember the last time I actually bought something when I went because the experience was so terrible and the I didn't want to pay more for that terrible experience, so I waited and got it elsewhere.

                They are not entitled to my business just because they are a brick and mortar store devoted to things I like. If they want my business, they need to earn it by providing a pleasant shopping experience that is customer friendly.I will pay a higher retail price on occasion if it is a pleasant shopping experience at a store I want to support. But, if TRU isn't willing to do that, they will not survive in the current marketplace, and they will have no one to blame for it but themselves and how they set up their stores, train and maintain their employees, and the business model they choose to follow. Online competition is one thing,you have no control over that. Driving potential customers to seek out other brick and mortar or online alternatives because you provide a crappy shopping experience is another thing altogether. That's on them and they have no one else to blame for that but themselves.

                -M
                "Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding." -Plato

                Comment

                • Earth 2 Chris
                  Verbose Member
                  • Mar 7, 2004
                  • 32498

                  #9
                  Not surprising. Although I saw improvement when I was in there last week, both nearby TRUs have seemingly had the same stock for the last 2 or 3 years, with little refreshing. And what was refreshed was quickly gone and not re-ordered.

                  A far cry from the days when you could walk in and pretty much find anything you want there.

                  Oh, and I was trying to find the specific Star Wars app for the "Find the Force" signage in the store, and the employee I asked in the action figure aisle acted like he had never even heard of it. Now, you would think they would let employees know that these giant signs that are all over the store are interactive, and meant to draw traffic. Not so much.

                  Chris
                  Last edited by Earth 2 Chris; Sep 16, '17, 10:57 AM.
                  sigpic

                  Comment

                  • enyawd72
                    Maker of Monsters!
                    • Oct 1, 2009
                    • 7904

                    #10
                    Yeah, TRU customer service pretty much sucks. Whenever some disinterested teen asks me in scripted monotone if need help I think to myself, "I know waaay more about toys than you do, so NO."

                    They are unfamiliar with the toylines they sell, have no idea who manufactures what...if you do ask about something you usually get a blank stare followed by "I don't know."

                    Comment

                    • jacoblb
                      Persistent Member
                      • May 7, 2009
                      • 1128

                      #11
                      Not surprised. I worked for TRU in the late 90s. Besides sometimes looking at all the Lego shelves there's no reason to go there anymore.
                      They hardly clearance anything and often times items sit on the shelf for years and years. The only time I'd buy anything is when there was a BOGO (buy 1 get 1) type deal.
                      Oh, and the occasional Lego builds, whereby they give away either a Lego polybag or the equivalent in loose parts for kids to build for whatever theme they're promoting.
                      I bought some Mezco Thundercats 18" on sale and online from them, beyond that, I can't think of anything else they sell where I could alternatively buy from Amazon, Wal-Mart, or Target for cheaper.

                      Comment

                      • comicmike
                        Persistent Member
                        • Sep 22, 2009
                        • 1824

                        #12
                        Personally, I love TRU. I grew up in Canada, so I used to have to hop the border to go to one in the US. When they started opening stores in Canada, it was a happy time. I always feel good when I go there. For me personally, this is sad news.

                        Comment

                        • Blue Meanie
                          Banned
                          • Jun 23, 2001
                          • 8706

                          #13
                          Doc Mego posted this on facebook about a week ago and this was my response:

                          Doesn't surprise me one bit. Has anyone been in one of their stores lately??!!?? First thing they need to do is separate the Babies R Us and Toys R Us brands. Just a horrendous set up. Second they need to be smaller stores. Way too much EMPTY space. They also need to rethink the way they do business. You can't wait for the 1st wave of a toy line to completely sell out before you put the next wave of that line on the shelves. It's the biggest joke I've ever seen when it comes to retail. Oh yeah, you need to come down on retail pricing...especially with the MASSIVE discounts they get. You want to actually move toys off the shelves lower your prices. They've had the attitude that if they don't sell the stuff in the store they'd rather eat it and put it on their website for the same jacked up prices THEY CAN'T sell them at their outlets. Doesn't make sense. Also, you need to start blowing out the dead stock on the shelves. They used to do this a lot back in the 90's...not so much anymore. They've had this problem for more than just the last few years...looks like the last 15 years or so that they have no clue what they are doing.

                          Comment

                          • Bravestarr
                            Museum Super Collector
                            • Mar 26, 2017
                            • 185

                            #14
                            End of an era so sad

                            Comment

                            • Iron Mego
                              Wake Up Heavy
                              • Jan 31, 2010
                              • 3532

                              #15
                              I go to the local TRU here, either alone or with my daughter. Our store is well laid-out, the staff is courteous, and it's usually clean. Sometimes it's a disaster area, but that's mostly due to lazy customers just putting stuff down wherever they feel like it. My kid loves going, but I rarely find anything for myself anymore. Wouldn't be happy if our store closed, but we'd survive I guess.
                              Wake Up Heavy Podcast

                              Find me on Twitter

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