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Post by WishItWas1984 on Jun 18, 2012 22:47:30 GMT -6
So I had the assumption that Toys R Us would be the gold standard by which I would judge all other stores. I mean, it's THE toys store!
But in the 90s they pretty much ignored the majority of the adult collector market. Sticking mostly to kids and major brands...save the odd McFarlane toy.
That was ok. Comic book stores picked up the slack, and saved their lives, but still took some of the shine off the Toys R Us I came to love as a kid.
Now though. Well I wandered into TRU over the past few months seeing what toys they had but mainly shopping for some cool new games I discovered through the TableTop YouTube show on the Geek & Sundry channel.
Zombie Dice? Nope. Ticket to Ride? No. Munchkin!? Nope. Castle Panic? Big fat zero. Well, they had Settlers of Catan, but that does not a selection make.
Where did I find all of these? BARNES AND NOBLE! And what else have I gotten at B&N? The Riddler POP Vinyl from Funko AND The Joker BLOX from Funko. And they have some other cool toys TRU sticks their nose up at.
I knew what TRU had become....but to see them being consistently beaten at a slice of the business they should own.....by a damned book store. That's just sad man.
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Post by rihia2k on Jun 19, 2012 2:00:27 GMT -6
There was some Munchkin stuff which was exclusive to Barnes & Noble, guess that got the game ball rolling for them...
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Post by 3 3/4"collector on Jun 19, 2012 4:32:42 GMT -6
yeah i havent been in a barnes and noble in years and didnt know they carried toys now. i never go to tru either, i actually get sad when i go into toys r us. when i go into tru i just stare at all the nothing and start remembering how amazing it was in the early 80s when i was a kid. going in there in about 82 when i was 10 was just WOW! but video games and other electric technology is just so much more advanced now, its sad being an action figure collector and watching action figures slowly fade from childrens interest.
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Post by rihia2k on Jun 19, 2012 5:08:55 GMT -6
I visited my 1st TRU about 8mths ago, didn't have 'em where I lived prior. Gotta' say it was large but not all that I'd expected. I can imagine it would've been rad back in the day...
Noticed a few 'toys R us exclusive' stickers on items in other stores too, just makes me wonder, how exclusive is exclusive? Anyone else seen this around?
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Post by bowheadwhale on Jun 27, 2012 13:32:39 GMT -6
For toys, I prefer Frimousse to Toys'R'Us. Why? Because, like you underlined it, Toys'R'Us seems a lot more interested in selling oh-so-common Disney crap than offering true diversity. Back in 1997-2000, I could see a lot of variety in Toys'R'Us: there were National Geographics animal figs (OK, I know I'm biased when it comes to those), plus lots of Animal Planet merchandise, including little suitcases filled with reptiles, coral reef fishes (luckily, I have that one), butterflies (I wish I also bought that one), savannah animals and many other animals. I had lots and lots to look at back then. Other collectors were not forgotten: I saw, back then, lots of miniatured cars and trucks, little airplanes and helicopters, boats of many kinds, kites, balls of all colors. Of course, there were licensed toys like Gargoyles, but they didn't fill the entire store. But today, in that store, what do I see? Pixar Cars, Disney Princesses, Bob the Sponge and so on. More than 70% of the stuff I find there is about some licensed cartoon. Classic toys like miniatured cars are now hard to find, and 90% of the kites and balls are licensed like almost everything else. I haven't seen a classic liner model to build, in a store, since my University years. There definitely is a problem. Can't we see a doll which is not marked "Disney"? Can't we see a toy car that is not featured in a cartoon? A couple of years ago, Toys'R'Us of my region started to have Playmobil, which is good, and I saw other good things like a miniature plastic solar system to build, Chap Mei sets and FisherPrice sets. But too good to last, because now, they got rid of 50% their Playmobil and their FisherPrice sets have disappeared at 40%. And let's not talk about Chap Mei or mini-solar systems, which's numbers have also been reduced. Yup! Things are taking an ugly turn. Soon, all the toys we will see will be marked "Disney"...
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Post by galaxystarshooter on Sept 26, 2012 2:36:11 GMT -6
Yes a lot of kiddie-themed toys nowdays. I remember when it had a lot of different action figure, etc lines; no more.
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Post by figuremod73 on Sept 29, 2012 14:39:50 GMT -6
The last time I went into Toysrus the first thing i noticed was how much smaller it seemed. Everything was spaced out more and the shelves werent as high.
There isnt as much diversity as there us to be either. I did see one area that seemed more for the adult collectors (i consider 8' ghostbuster retro figures more for adults). The biggest area IMO was the Lego section.
Im planning to head strait to the cheapie toy section next time.
I was wondering, do they still sell Cavemen figures in dinosaur sets?
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Post by galaxystarshooter on Sept 30, 2012 9:56:30 GMT -6
The last time I went into Toysrus the first thing i noticed was how much smaller it seemed. Everything was spaced out more and the shelves werent as high. There isnt as much diversity as there us to be either. I did see one area that seemed more for the adult collectors (i consider 8' ghostbuster retro figures more for adults). The biggest area IMO was the Lego section. Im planning to head strait to the cheapie toy section next time. I was wondering, do they still sell Cavemen figures in dinosaur sets? They do  & they are usually in the dinosaur section by the Video Games or in the clearance section. You should be able to find some |
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& they are usually in the dinosaur section by the Video Games or in the clearance section. You should be able to find some