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Post by workingclassdog on Sept 19, 2017 15:33:08 GMT
I'm sad about it. There has always been a Toys R Us. "The worlds biggest toy store is Toys R Us, the biggest selection, Toys R Us!". There has always been a toy store to go to. To buy kid birthday gifts and go Christmas shopping. I love toys. I love being in toy stores. At my TRU I have the same issues with overpriced toys, low stock levels, can never find anyone to help me. But still I go. I can think of several really long term employees there, this must be devastating for them. There are no more toy stores. This makes me sad. FA Schwartz, KayBee. TRU hung in the longest. Our TRU isn't bad, although we don't go there that often, but when DD who is 9, likes to go there to check out Littlest Pet Shop stuff and Legos that Walmart or Target doesn't have. I don't think the items we bought were overpriced, they were comparable, but more expensive Legos are much higher. I am usually pretty picky before buying something there but we love to go to see the better variety than Walmart or Target..
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chendra
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,861
Location: The 33rd State
Jun 27, 2014 16:58:50 GMT
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Post by chendra on Sept 19, 2017 16:37:41 GMT
Aww, my first job. I worked the doll aisles during the Cabbage Patch craze and was asked a gazillion times a day if we had any more "in the back". I loved climbing the ladders and tossing merchandise down. Good times!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 21, 2024 16:43:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2017 17:26:53 GMT
Toy R Us was ridiculously expensive when my kids were little. I'm surprised they were actually hanging on with Amazon and Walmart beating their prices every day. This. How do you survive when you are almost double than the box store? And they were more expensive than the mom and pop tox store.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Sept 19, 2017 17:33:15 GMT
Boy I haven't been in a TRU in 10 years or more - and considering the number of toys I buy, that tells you something. It epitomized the worst of brick and mortar retail - chaos, poor selection, poor customer service and high prices. We're lucky enough to have an independent toy store, and that's where I go if I want to buy something unique or need assistance (particularly now that my kids are older and I'm buying for young family members) - and yes I do pay more. When I'm looking for the generic whatever - I buy online.
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Post by epeanymous on Sept 19, 2017 17:36:41 GMT
I have six kids and never go to Toys R Us, which is a pretty decent indicator that they are missing the mark.
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PaperAngel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,365
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Sept 19, 2017 18:05:50 GMT
I'm surprised to find the company still exists. While it's been almost a decade since visiting a store, I recall the messy aisles, ridiculously long check out lines, & horrible customer service.
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Post by Basket1lady on Sept 19, 2017 18:15:56 GMT
13 years ago when I was pregnant with our daughter, I registered for my baby shower at TRU & signed up for Geoffreys Birthday Club when my daughter was born. All was good - I got a card when she was born, coupons in the mail, etc. Then she passed away at 6 months and I called to get off their mailing list. No problem they told me, they would remove my name. 6 months later on her birthday? We got a phone call from Geoffrey wishing our (now deceased) daughter happy birthday. Awesome. I call again, asking to be removed from their list. EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR for the first 10 years we got a call. And I would call and demand to be removed from their list. And year after year they would tell us we weren't on their list. And then we would get another call. They finally quit calling after 10 years. Im guessing our daughter 'aged out' of their birthday club. SaveSaveI'm so sorry for this. What a horrible thing for a company to do. I stopped shopping there about 10 years ago because of their horrible customer service. But my experience doesn't come close to this.
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Post by Jockscrap on Sept 19, 2017 18:18:45 GMT
I haven't been in a TRU shop for about 15 years, but I absolutely hated them. Our local one had the most badly trained, completely clueless staff in any shop I had ever been in, but if you needed help it would take you ten minutes to find someone who would invariably turn out to be no use at all. It's always sad when big businesses fail and folk lose their jobs, but if the US stores are anything like the UK ones I've been in, then it is no surprise. All the big supermarkets here, plus Amazon, have loads of toys and prices you can compare in the comfort of your own home, then have them delivered.
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azredhead
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,755
Jun 25, 2014 22:49:18 GMT
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Post by azredhead on Sept 19, 2017 18:33:06 GMT
We were talking about this on facebook with my cousin yesterday. He said did anyone NOT have a bad experience there lol! but I had been to four different stores of theirs and a few sports stores looking for a pink soccer ball for one of my neices. We found one there. I am short it was on a higher shelf, even DH was just out of reach so you're supposed to get help right? Well, we went to the check out and one girl there. I said can someone help us get it down. She said I'm all alone in the store. (This was late Oct so toward Halloween starting to get busy time). I said it's late afternoon and you're all alone? A line was starting to form behind me. I worked for years at Mervyns before it went under so I try to have a lot of patience with her. Not even five min later a guy comes walking through with a walkie talkie on his belt carrying a box. Dh asked if he worked there and if he could help us. He said 'no I just stalk shelves- I don't do customer service!!" It was a good thing Dh was there cause I nearly lost it on both of them. Even the guy behind us was really mad. two ladies put their stuff back and walked out.
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Post by papersilly on Sept 19, 2017 18:34:20 GMT
i think the fact that lots of kids are playing games on their parent's phones or tablets doesn't help the toy industry. that and competition from the big box stores.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Sept 19, 2017 22:23:33 GMT
I think their mistake(s) is that they only sell toys (that not a lot of people buy on a regular basis) and their merchandise is more expensive than other stores for the same item. They should have found a way to expand their necessity as a store.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Sept 19, 2017 22:25:35 GMT
i think the fact that lots of kids are playing games on their parent's phones or tablets doesn't help the toy industry. that and competition from the big box stores. I agree with this as well. My 8 year old has not asked for toys for the last two years. I did buy a few the year before last just so he would have something to "play with" at Christmas, but overall he would rather be on technology or playing sports. My 5 year old still wants some toys, but doesn't play with much. All four boys ask for sports related items for birthdays and Christmas now.
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
Jun 25, 2014 21:31:58 GMT
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Sept 19, 2017 22:27:39 GMT
I feel like toys stores are geared more towards younger children, and with the creation of 2-day shipping, what mom wants to dress the family and drag the kids out (who will have a case of the gimmes) when it can just show up on your doorstep for 30% less?
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Sept 20, 2017 2:13:12 GMT
I'm not surprised.
TRU is so much more expensive than ordering online at wm or target.
And going into their b & m stores is just an exercise in frustration because their is only one line ever open and no staff on the floor.
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Post by Marina on Sept 20, 2017 2:28:49 GMT
Ours always had more variety than Target and Walmart. So for certain things I would go there. And while I love Amazon at Christmas time most of their collectible toys are 4x normal selling price. I hope they make it.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Sept 20, 2017 2:59:10 GMT
I'm very sad about this. TRU is the last real toy store that I can take my kids to where they have a good selection. Nowhere near here has the Lego choices, train options, etc. The Target items are much less and same price. At least I earn rewards at TRU. BRU is also sad, as everyone I know registers there and they have everything. They are much cheaper than Buy Buy Baby and better organized. The baby aisles at Meijer and Target are pretty much always more expensive for formula and diapers and TRU had good coupons on diapers. I'm glad my kids are moving out of that phase so I won't "miss" it as much. Having kids shop only online for toys takes the fun out of shopping for kids and parents. I don't buy toys online. TRU always has the highest price on Lego. Their sets are consistently 20% more than at the actual Lego store. Plus I get much better rewards and freebies at the Lego store. The Lego Store has way better perks.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Sept 20, 2017 3:10:45 GMT
i think the fact that lots of kids are playing games on their parent's phones or tablets doesn't help the toy industry. that and competition from the big box stores. I agree with this as well. My 8 year old has not asked for toys for the last two years. I did buy a few the year before last just so he would have something to "play with" at Christmas, but overall he would rather be on technology or playing sports. My 5 year old still wants some toys, but doesn't play with much. All four boys ask for sports related items for birthdays and Christmas now. This is what's happening in our family too. Her big Christmas present last year was a pair of roller skates. Our 7yo doesn't have a lot of interest anymore in regular toys. She does like games she can play with us or with friends but she would rather play on a tablet, draw or do crafts, ride her scooter or bike, roller skate, or jump on the trampoline. If you asked her today what she most wants for Christmas, her answer would be Robux gift cards.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 21, 2024 16:43:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2017 11:29:21 GMT
I don't think I've shopped at TRU in years! The one in my city closed almost 20 years ago. The next closest one is in a very busy shopping area that I absolutely hate driving in. As much as I prefer buying clothes in person, I hate driving that area even more so I rarely go there.
Part of me isn't surprised. Online shopping has become the most common way now. Have you noticed that many retailers will offer "online only" items? How long before that becomes the way to shop?
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Post by stefdesign on Sept 20, 2017 15:10:23 GMT
I think their mistake(s) is that they only sell toys (that not a lot of people buy on a regular basis) and their merchandise is more expensive than other stores for the same item. They should have found a way to expand their necessity as a store. Full disclosure: I'm a former design manager at Toys R Us corporate, and your comment kind of epitomizes what TRU was meant to be: the kind of toy store where you could find anything, not just the most popular toys. Sure, you can find toys cheaper at Walmart or Costco, but you'll never see anywhere near the choices as at TRU. Of course, Amazon beats Toys R Us anytime, even TRU.com, but that's the case with almost any kind of retail merchandise. On the corporate level, the company is always trying to improve the customer experience, and my own personal experiences have almost always been good. Corporate employees were encouraged to volunteer to work in a TRU retail store on Black Fridays, and I did. It was chaotic but fun. Well organized and well staffed. In the years before I worked for TRU, when my own kids were little, I often found shopping there frustrating and depressing. But the past few years they have really made the stores much more open, user friendly and attractive. I was involved in several panels that were tasked with coming up with design and implementation programs to improve the shopping experience. (Sorry about surly and unhelpful store staff, that's just inexcusable), and the stores were always evolving. If Toys R Us closes its doors (which I pray does NOT happen), it will be a huge blow to the toy industry. It's not just one less toy store, it's the reason for existence of many small toy manufacturers and toy lines. Even large companies will greatly suffer if TRU is gone. Amazon is fine, but it's difficult to shop Amazon unless you know what you want. Also, I believe if TRU is gone, Amazon will have fewer choices, because some manufacturers will fold. Brick and mortar stores are still important, and in an industry as small as the toy industry, essential. I hope some of you who have stayed away will support TRU as they sort through their restructuring. If you haven't been for 15 years, you'll find it much changed. Oh, and several of you mentioned your kids "aging out" of toys at younger ages- this has been going on for a long time, and in my 35 years experience as a toy designer, this is one of our biggest challenges: how to keep children interested in traditional play until they are at least 8 or so. But you might not know the breadth of the imaginative and exciting toys for kids (including tons of tech toys) unless you actually visited a Toys R Us store. And I had nothing to do with setting the prices, sorry for that!
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Post by Darcy Collins on Sept 20, 2017 15:17:41 GMT
Thanks for sharing your experience stefdesign I found it interesting. This thread also shows just how hard it is to rewin customers after they've had a bad experience.
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Post by stefdesign on Sept 20, 2017 15:32:41 GMT
Thanks for sharing your experience stefdesign I found it interesting. This thread also shows just how hard it is to rewin customers after they've had a bad experience. I certainly can agree with that. I haven't set foot in a Best Buy for years!
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Post by katmandu on Sept 20, 2017 18:46:03 GMT
I hope Toys R Us is able to restructure and pull out of this a stronger company. I love Toys R Us. I have cherished memories of walking through Toys R Us as a kid, making up birthday and Christmas lists. I want that for my son, who is 2. It is simply not the same to shop for kids toys online. I know that Toys R Us is more expensive than other places, and I do avoid Toys R Us for big ticket items (like car seats) where a 10%+ uptick in price is real money, but I am happy to pay more on the little things to support a real brick and mortar store that has a great selection and provides an experience for my little one. I don't think I have even one bad customer service story to boot!
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Post by petenthusiast on Sept 20, 2017 23:33:20 GMT
My main worry is how this bankruptcy might affect April , Oliver, & Tajiri the giraffes and everyone at Animal Adventure Park in little Harpursville NY. Toys r Us became their sponsor and hope that isn't going to be a hardship for them. Haven't see that aspect discussed anywhere yet.
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Post by *leslie* on Sept 21, 2017 22:12:07 GMT
My coworker's brother is a district manager. He sees this as a good thing and doesn't seem worried about losing his job.
Our TRU is kept pretty nice and has a way better selection than Walmart and Target. I really don't have occasion to shop there anymore, my youngest is 12 and has aged out of most of the toys there.
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Post by stefdesign on Sept 26, 2017 1:51:19 GMT
Pleased to hear Toys R Us was successful in restructuring their debt (or whatever technical term it is). You can read a little about it here.
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