Toys "R" Us - 50% scraps are all that's left

[Bold-Arrow]

[terrymc4677]

7 hours ago, exciter1 said:

Loved this comment on Brickset:

" Went in to my local TRU wanted to cash out my 20 bucks in reward points had my 2 brickheadz and a cmf when I got to the register the lady just put the stuff in a bag and said have a nice day, couldn't believe it.  "

 

note: I added that comma on the end there, but maybe we can appreciate it more as a run-on sentence.

I wish they would have done that for me yesterday when I bought the last four Saturn V's they had in stock. That's pretty funny though.

[Starkthunder]

Both of my local TRU had 20+ of 40236 (2017 valentine picnic) on the shelf for $9.99. Also nobody new when they were starting clearance (or wanted to say)

Edited March 16, 2018 by Starkthunder

[jerphisch]

4 hours ago, rolltide2014 said:

I noticed that most of them say "In-Store Only," and only a few say "Use Anywhere," even though all but one listing is email delivery. Safe to assume any of these will be e-gift cards that can be used online or in-store? Thinking about picking up a Switch if there's a lower price out there to be matched and can pay with 21% discounted GC's.

Did you try this?  Can the in-store only be used online? Thanks!

[Bold-Arrow]

2 minutes ago, jerphisch said:

Did you try this?  Can the in-store only be used online? Thanks!

I used one in store today and it prompted the cashier to ask for my ID to be scanned when they scanned the gc barcode  .. then it said it was registered to a Peggy Rxxxxxx.cashier put an override but that a first . 

[exracer327]

On 3/12/2018 at 10:54 AM, hockeyweasel said:

Might be cyclical.  If Amazon benefits from other brick & mortar businesses being their showroom, then when they disappear and the cost of business goes up because of all of the free returns or free returns goes away, I can imagine a market opportunity for "catalog showrooms" and try-before-you-buy opportunities to make a comeback, especially as one-day or same-day delivery gets perfected. Also, as the brick & mortars go away, the loss of revenue will drive governments to find ways of taxing e-commerce and warehouses more and more, as that cost goes up, a brick-and-mortar might become viable again.  Will probably also make a difference how much revenue is lost through credit card fraud versus shoplifting + credit card fraud at a physical store.

Actually, we're thinking about this all wrong.  It's in the life-cycle of a business.  Amazon is the Sears and Roebuck of the 21st century.  Think about it.  When Sears became big in the late 1800s and into the 1900s, Sears was  a mail order service and their catalog, which was inches thick, was golden.  I know people who ordered prefab houses through the Sears catalog in the early 1900s.  Then they began opening stores and the rest is history.

I'm not sure how many know this but Amazon began opening their own store fronts last year.  They will simply replace the stores that are going out of business until another company is the new upstart and does to Amazon what they're doing to everyone else.  I just hope I'm around to buy stock in that company... lol.

[exracer327]

8 hours ago, Darth_Raichu said:

Interestingly, I have never seen so many people at TRU yesterday outside Christmas season.  This store was not part of the original 100s that were closed earlier this month.

My son's birthday was Wed.  I took him to TRU yesterday evening and had the same experience - everyone was cashing out their gift cards.  In fact, I was in TRU this past Christmas for the Star Wars release and there were more in the store yesterday than at Christmas.  I wondered then if this was a sign of things to come.  I thought it would be for that one store, not the whole chain though.

[gregpj]

Actually, we're thinking about this all wrong.  It's in the life-cycle of a business.  Amazon is the Sears and Roebuck of the 21st century.  Think about it.  When Sears became big in the late 1800s and into the 1900s, Sears was  a mail order service and their catalog, which was inches thick, was golden.  I know people who ordered prefab houses through the Sears catalog in the early 1900s.  Then they began opening stores and the rest is history.

My house was ordered from a catalog, but I believe it was Eatons which is also gone. The roof was missing one 2x4 support and another was from two cut ones nailed together - we found it when we opened it up to insulate it properly. Lol, they didn’t follow the blue print so they ran out of material putting the roof on.

[justapilgrim]

So......What JW set was supposed to be the TRU exclusive

[Alpinemaps]

I used one in store today and it prompted the cashier to ask for my ID to be scanned when they scanned the gc barcode  .. then it said it was registered to a Peggy Rxxxxxx.cashier put an override but that a first . 

Uh oh. I know what that is.

Here in SoCal (and I’m guessing everywhere else), they started registering store credit issued gift cards in your name. CS told me it was to minimize GC theft.

I had to return something recently, and I was just going back in the store to buy something so I asked for a credit instead of a charge back. They asked me if I wanted to put anyone else’s name on the GC so they could use it too.

Idk if this is going to be a problem with cars from Raise, etc.

[Bold-Arrow]

38 minutes ago, Alpinemaps said:

 

Uh oh. I know what that is.

Here in SoCal (and I’m guessing everywhere else), they started registering store credit issued gift cards in your name. CS told me it was to minimize GC theft.

I had to return something recently, and I was just going back in the store to buy something so I asked for a credit instead of a charge back. They asked me if I wanted to put anyone else’s name on the GC so they could use it too.

Idk if this is going to be a problem with cars from Raise, etc.

 

interesting... thanks. 

[Stud-Flipper]

          It's hard for me to believe. Obviously, financially it was easy to see coming. But I'm sorta awe-struck in a sad way. Like you just never thought it would not be there. Toys R Us just is. It's like as a little kid watching reruns of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and then finding out that he had died. Or, as I can say first hand, losing a grandparent. Obviously, it's two very different things, and losing a cherished family member is much more somber than a company shutting down, but still. Sometimes I get really sad when I think about my grandparents that have died in the last few years. When I'm in a store, and melancholically remember to myself "Hey, just a year ago I was walking right through this very aisle with grandma." Or driving by their houses and knowing they're not there. It's hard to take in. There's that lack of control, that you can't do anything about it. And I'm sure in years future, seeing those old abandoned store buildings, or that have been converted into something else, and all the empty parking lots will be hard to take in.

          I've gotten those same feelings with K-Mart. It's nostalgic. K-Mart was magic to me in my early childhood, before we got a Wal Mart in my small town. It was the only big, non dollar-store type store we had. The Little Caesar's pizza place we had in it and doing the coloring sheets on the tables. Those early-mid 2000's LEGO's on the shelves. 5 y/o me riding around in the cart with one of those big plush character pillows I had grabbed off the shelf.  Putting stuff on Layaway with my grandma. And then my K-Mart shut down about 2 years ago now. And she died around the same time. And every time I drive by it, and see the imprint of the removed K on the building, it makes me sad. I'd like to go into a K-Mart again sometime before the last ones close down. The nearest one's about an hour and a half away but I'd make it just for the experience. 

         We didn't have a Toys R Us in my town. The closest was in the city about 2 hours away. So, about once a year we'd go into the city for some big outing or shopping trip and stop by. It was so exotic to me, like Disney World. A whole store instead of just a few aisles. And alot of the really big $200+ sets that I'd only ever seen in shop at home catalogs. And now to think in the near future, that'll all be gone. Abandoned buildings where children once ran though the aisles. And one of them was me. It makes me sad. Something that always was there growing up just isn't any more. I feel the same way about K-Mart, about my grandma, about Robin Williams, and now Toys R Us. I just hope we don't lose Chuck E Cheese anytime soon. I don't think my childhood could take it. 

[marcandre]

6 hours ago, Stud-Flipper said:

I just hope we don't lose Chuck E Cheese anytime soon. 

Our Chuck E (later showbiz) was right next to Toys R Us. We went a lot and I can never remember going to just one. We always at least strolled through TRU before getting out pizza and skeeball on. Once I got old enough to ride my bike there it was the same. The bike rack was at TRU so I locked up there, checked out the video game & lego isles at tru, then went to showbiz to play 720 and Paperboy all afternoon. It was just the best. 

[Ed Mack]

Chuck E Cheese closed in my town last year.

[BrickLegacy]

Chuck E Cheese closed in my town last year.

I was there last night. There was an armed police officer with bullet proof vest on duty.

[BrickLegacy]

Thank god.  Was he hiding behind a dumpster?

Yes. We both were.

[exciter1]

Yes. We both were.

Got to protect those tokens.

[Trains 'n boats]

Any indication on how long gift cards will still be good since they’ve gone to liquidation?

[Achilles]

I went to a kids birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese. It is nothing remotely close to the experience in the 80's. It was tough to be a part of.

As far as gift cards, I believe they said 30 days. Someone else asked about discount amount, I was told 10% off start.

 

[hockeyweasel]

They said 30 days when they announced their plans middle of last week.

Bigger question for us on here would be how long LEGO will be in stock and if it will ever see liquidation pricing.  BLUF is use GCs as soon as you get them.  I'm sweating out one of those Cardpool purchases because after ordering they said they'd email within 3 business days of purchase, but I intend to scour all the TRUs around me for worthwhile things to purchase as soon as I receive it.

The Raise GCs are a safer bet and you get them within minutes, usually.  I think when they went through all of their headaches of GC fraud, they put tighter QC on their cards. I think they know who sells them what card.

Edited March 17, 2018 by hockeyweasel

[toni8284]

For cardpool, if you buy on the website, you will receive the email within minutes to days.

But if you buy them from cardpool app on iphone ( I dont know if they have on Andorid), but buy on app is instant.

I tried last TRUTH.

Very good deal with the 10% TRU CC.

[hockeyweasel]

1 minute ago, toni8284 said:

For cardpool, if you buy on the website, you will receive the email within minutes to days.

I'm definitely on the days plan with a website purchase. About 24 hours now and counting

[Average Guy]

16 hours ago, Alpinemaps said:

 

Uh oh. I know what that is.

Here in SoCal (and I’m guessing everywhere else), they started registering store credit issued gift cards in your name. CS told me it was to minimize GC theft.

I had to return something recently, and I was just going back in the store to buy something so I asked for a credit instead of a charge back. They asked me if I wanted to put anyone else’s name on the GC so they could use it too.

Idk if this is going to be a problem with cars from Raise, etc.

 

Something similar is some retailers are now using a third party to keep track of returns. They claim it stops fraud. So for example if you return items at a completely different store chain, you may be refused a return at another store chain, i.e. Best Buy is doing this now. 

[thombockerman]

after hearing on the radio the other day what actually caused the downfall of TRU its hard to be angry with them over their prices, and the fact that they couldn't climb out of that mountain of debt.  pretty sad that they were ruined by the buyout and the way they handled putting the debt on the company so there was no risk to the investors is allowed to happen.  I seriously doubt any company would be able to survive or turn a profit with that amount of payments on their shoulders, no matter what company or industry if your hands are tied when the competition is making moves and you don't have the resources to react to market changes. 

I don't even feel bad that the execs got bonuses.  its a sinking ship and they're grabbing the good stuff before it goes down anyway. 

[jimmajenga]

It's still alive in Canada

... for now.