I REALLY miss Toys R Us.

[Jorge Galvan]

funny enough I used to work (PT) at the TOYSRUS at Orland Mall from 11/03 to 8/06. Started as seasonal and then once that was over they called me back for Easter and was permanent part time since then

was a fun gig, most of the time we were CUTTING each other's throat getting the Manifest for the latest delivery truck to see how MANY Marvel LEGENDS were on board.

Needless to say lots of collectors worked there!


and honestly with the exception of GREEN FRiday and Xmas season, it was relatively calm and it was like going to a SOCIAL CLUB every Sat & Sun from 6am to 1pm each weekend, cause all we did was do some stocking, clear and clean up by 8AM, when the store opened and then customer service for the rest of the day,except, most of us were in the freight area, just socializing! HAHA!

Made a lot of friends there, it was great, then lot of people left and I got sick of it and left. Shame. good times.

[PNGwynne]

I'll tell you what I miss: A freaking well-stocked assortment of Imaginext. Because no-one else has that now. Phooey.

[jimbutsu]

was a fun gig, most of the time we were CUTTING each other's throat getting the Manifest for the latest delivery truck to see how MANY Marvel LEGENDS were on board.

When I worked at Kay-Bee a million years ago, the store (don't know if it was a company thing, but our store certainly did) had policies specifically designed to prevent that sort of thing. Stock HAD to hit the floor before employees could pick it up.

I was a fan of that policy, personally. Even as a collector, when the little kid that's been coming in looking for the short-packed Catwoman figure actually gets the damn thing, you go "oh, this is a good thing."

[Random Axe]

If TRU is to make some sort of comeback they'll have to seriously alter the business model and take markdowns on aged goods. Even toys have a shelf life, so they need to recognize what is not selling and move it out to clear their open to buy dollars for new product. How often did we go and see the new Star Trek 12 inch figures from the reboot...five years after the movie release? I think I could have still gone and bought Terminator Salvation figs right before they closed.

They also had waaaaaay too much square footage for the inventory they carried. More than half was dedicated to swing sets and yard stuff. They never made good use of the space they had. My local location was about 50K square feet at least and I'd say at least half was dead space and empty.

[Klosterheim]

This thread makes me miss many stores that used to have large toy sections.

[EmergencyIan]

More than TRU, it makes me miss the toy stores that we had in our city (Evansville) prior to TRU. One was a local chain called Woolsey’s. Then in ‘79 we got Kay-Bee in the new mall, which was super neat. However, the ultimate, a year or two later, was a huge (big as a KMart) Children’s Palace toy store. That place was what TRU, which eventually showed up in the later 80’s, should have been.

The best TRU I ever shopped in was the one that was located in Times Square. There was a point, around 2002, when we would go in there toward the end of our lunch hour. That place was something else. What a way to wrap up lunch time.

- Ian

[Klosterheim]

I also miss the large variety of generic toys that could be used with three-inch figures, and every odd thing that could be played with named brands. Plus all the invented toy characters that toy companies would create and have a go at selling, that never existed in comics, movies or cartoons before.

Also, the Las Vegas Fao Swartz was amazing! And they had one of the most impressive Star Wars section! Huge & Fantastic with the life-size Cantina Band and video on Millennium Falcon type windows.

It was all fully stocked and ready just in time for The Phantom Menace!

[LonnieFisher]

I rode a train today, and it passed right behind the Toys R Us I used to work at. I couldn't see what was up with the building, because I could only see the back and sides. I wonder if it's sitting empty. I really miss the place...

[Random Axe]

More than TRU, it makes me miss the toy stores that we had in our city (Evansville) prior to TRU. One was a local chain called Woolsey’s. Then in ‘79 we got Kay-Bee in the new mall, which was super neat. However, the ultimate, a year or two later, was a huge (big as a KMart) Children’s Palace toy store. That place was what TRU, which eventually showed up in the later 80’s, should have been.

The best TRU I ever shopped in was the one that was located in Times Square. There was a point, around 2002, when we would go in there toward the end of our lunch hour. That place was something else. What a way to wrap up lunch time.

- Ian

I vividly remember the Evansville shops. I think most of my Megos came from Ayr-Way on Diamond Ave. There was a toy store inside the tiny mall next to Kuesters hardware as well. We moved from the city prior to TRU or Children's Palace I think, no memory of those there

[EmergencyIan]

I vividly remember the Evansville shops. I think most of my Megos came from Ayr-Way on Diamond Ave. There was a toy store inside the tiny mall next to Kuesters hardware as well. We moved from the city prior to TRU or Children's Palace I think, no memory of those there

That toy store was Woolsey’s. There was also a Woolsey’s inside of Washington Square Mall.

I got a lot of my Mego’s at K-Mart on St. Joe and others at the Ayr-Way in the North Park area. Woolsey’s, in Washington Square, was lined with the Mego Pocket Heroes, on the red cards.

- Ian

[Random Axe]

Strange I have no memory of Woolsey being the toy store name. It was two floors for sure and an arcade nearby with an Orange Julius. I lived on the north side of town not too far from the airport since my father worked there. I would have gone to North High School had I remained there. I can still remember the layout of Ayrway, the toy department was in the back next to the double doors leading to lawn and garden. If memory serves there was a small toy store adjacent to the Two Bit Bandit arcade that sold tons of Star Wars when they first were released.

[EmergencyIan]

Strange I have no memory of Woolsey being the toy store name. It was two floors for sure and an arcade nearby with an Orange Julius. I lived on the north side of town not too far from the airport since my father worked there. I would have gone to North High School had I remained there. I can still remember the layout of Ayrway, the toy department was in the back next to the double doors leading to lawn and garden. If memory serves there was a small toy store adjacent to the Two Bit Bandit arcade that sold tons of Star Wars when they first were released.

I think that was called Town Square Center or Mall. It was on Diamond Ave, close to that Corvette in the sky.

Yes, I loved that Ayrway! When they were going out and Target was coming in 1980, they cleared their back room toys into the indoor section of that garden center. I vividly recall them having Star Trek and POTA Mego’s in the clearance.

- Ian