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Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus

Transformers News: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus

Friday, March 23rd, 2018 2:15AM CDT

Categories: Toy News, Company News, Store News
Posted by: Bounti76   Views: 18,951

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Thanks to site owner Seibertron himself, we've been pointed in the direction of an L.A. Times article detailing an effort to save a majority of Toys R Us stores in the U.S., spearheaded by MGA Entertainment Inc.'s CEO and majority owner, Isaac Larian. MGA Entertainment Inc. is best known for it's line of Bratz dolls, whose entrance into the market dominated by Mattel's Barbie line was once thought foolish, until the line took a good chunk out of Barbies' share of the fashion doll market. The businessman is leading an effort to save over half of Toys R Us locations by pledging US$200 million, and trying to raise the rest of the US$800 million needed through a crowdfunding effort.

"I'm very hopeful" about salvaging hundreds of the stores, Larian said. "I am more than 85% to 90% sure I can get [the buyout] funded."

Saving at least part of Toys R Us' operations not only would benefit Larian's company — which noted it was not financially involved in Larian's effort — but also rival toy makers such as El Segundo-based Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc. and several smaller toy manufacturers.

"People say that if there is no Toys R Us another retailer will pick up the slack. I don't think so because they don't have the room," Larian said.

Major retailers with large toy departments, such as Walmart and Target, carry about 3,000 fewer items on shelves than Toys R Us stores, said Jim Silver, editor in chief of toy-review site TTPM.com.


Larian is hoping to raise the needed money by May 28th, and if you feel inclined, you can help at the website http://www.savetoysrus.com, or by clicking the image below

Transformers News: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus

What do you think of his effort to save the beleagured toy maker? Let us know below, and stay tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest news!
Credit(s): L.A. Times

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Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947686)
Posted by -Kanrabat- on March 23rd, 2018 @ 4:52am CDT
Even if the toy stores will have a different names than Toys R Us, at least so many jobs will be saved. Plus, children and collectors will not be screwed.

Let's hope that they will succeed and the administration for the next stores will be more competent.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947690)
Posted by dragons on March 23rd, 2018 @ 5:19am CDT
Well that’s good maybe Walmart should have offers buy them out at least Walmart will have decent selection for once and bigger selection possibly friendlier customer service
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947692)
Posted by kurthy on March 23rd, 2018 @ 5:36am CDT
I love that a billionaire has started a GoFundMe page so that he can get money to buy the store that sells his toys. He's not giving stock to people that contribute, he's just sending them a pin. ;)^ No different than Bain Capital.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947693)
Posted by spiderbob007 on March 23rd, 2018 @ 5:49am CDT
From the gofundme site: "Be advised that this is not a donation to a charitable cause, and there is no tax deduction available. It is a donation to a potential commercial venture. The funds raised would be added to other capital being gathered by the potential purchasers of some or all of Toys“R”Us. A donation to this campaign doesn't qualify you to claim equity in any potential acquisition; it simply means you want future generations to be Toys“R”Us kids.

Therefore, before donating, please note that there is no guarantee that the offer to purchase Toys“R”Us described above will be made or accepted. You are donating “at your own risk.” If your donation is not used to achieve the purchase of Toys“R”Us in some form, it will be returned to you."

Granted if TRU wasn't used as a debt shield by venture capitalists the company wouldn't be in the situation it is now, but if it had real value it would have several suitors with cash in hand and not this attempt by a billionaire to ensure his cash cow had a field to graze.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947694)
Posted by Yotsuyasan on March 23rd, 2018 @ 5:56am CDT
If this guy is at all serious, instead of croud funding a "Save Toys 'Я' Us" campaign offering token crap rewards to people he is asking to invest in his business venture, why not strike a deal with the people trying to bring KB back? Think how much easier it might be if they combined efforts, bought up TRU locations, and rebranded them? And then it will be done with real business partners rather than trying to get thousands of average people to invest in their business in exchange for a bumper sticker or a pin.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947707)
Posted by reluctantyouth on March 23rd, 2018 @ 8:16am CDT
This is a really really stupid gesture...I wouldn't give this guy a nickel. I wish Amazon would just buy out TRU or at least some of its stores.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947710)
Posted by Bun-Bun on March 23rd, 2018 @ 8:28am CDT
Echoing everything the last couple posters have said.

This is a snake oil salesman preying on peoples nostalgia-clouded emotions.

Great job advertising on your site to help him bilk people.

*edit
If your donation is not used to achieve the purchase of Toys“R”Us in some form, it will be returned to you."

Oh boy. They could buy 1 store in Nowheresville Idaho and say "Hey we saved TRU in some form!"
What a buncha crap.
TRU as a physical place is dead. It's sad but you need to move on to the next stage of grieving.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947723)
Posted by o.supreme on March 23rd, 2018 @ 10:03am CDT
Wow I've never really seen such an effort to save any business before, it is inspiring, even if it doesn't work out, which I hope it does.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947724)
Posted by Gunmetal on March 23rd, 2018 @ 10:05am CDT
Meh, I still chucked in a few bucks.

Some thoughts:
1) $5 isn't bad for a bumper sticker representing something I care about. How much do some people spend on loot box subscriptions?

2) Even if only half of that $200M up front is his own, that's still about 10% of his entire net worth. Granted, 10% of my own net worth is nowhere near that, but it's still more than I'd just toss away.
This guy, an immigrant, took a risk and succeeded in the declining 21st century toy industry in a field with an established, dominant competitor. That's like if Gobots were still around today, but also didn't start until 1986 and the 1983 video game crash didn't happen.

3) Let's face it: this is a world where Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and the oil industry exist. If money is all you care about, you don't choose to sell toys.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947732)
Posted by ScottyP on March 23rd, 2018 @ 11:03am CDT
I think I'd rather donate to a charity.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947737)
Posted by Va'al on March 23rd, 2018 @ 11:11am CDT
For those of you who have been waiting on various Toys R Us stores to start their liquidation sales, though we only have confirmation for the US side of the chain (in the UK, for example, other conditions apply), Friday March 23rd, 2018 seems to the be the day in which most US stores should start their liquidation sales, according to sources such as USA Today. The liquidation process was supposed to begin yesterday, but was apparently delayed while waiting for the bankruptcy judge to sign off on the process.

USA Today wrote:Toys R Us delayed the start of liquidation sales until Friday because attorneys were still preparing a court filing for the bankruptcy judge to sign off on the process, said a person with knowledge of the company’s deliberations.


While most Toys R Us locations in the US begin their nationwide liquidation process, a movement has also begun by MGA Entertainment (makers of Bratz, L.O.L. dolls, and Little Tykes) to save Toys R Us, which we reported on in the past 24 hours. More information about the #savetoysrus movement can be found right here on Seibertron.com.

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Several of our fellow Transformers fans have reported that some Toys R Us locations have not started their liquidation process yet. Adam Myrick and Action Figure Insider have both shared that specific stores still have signs posted that the liquidation process has not yet begun. If you are traveling a long distance to get to a Toys R Store, we advise that you call ahead to verify whether or not that specific store has started their liquidation sales process yet.

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Let us know what your local store is up to, what deals you were able to find, and how this is affecting the area in which you usually shop and look for Transformers, or if you're directly involved as an employee of the store, by joining the Energon Pub discussion.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947738)
Posted by Megatron Wolf on March 23rd, 2018 @ 11:26am CDT
Id rahter fund KB toys revival than save TRU, hate to say it but TRU needs to go and a new store with new owners & management need to come in. Also in case anyone is thinking about going to TRU for the sale dont bother, transformers and other similar stuff is only 10% off & lego is 5% off. Not worth it if you ask me, feel like TRU is just trying to take advantage of us one last time before it dies.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947742)
Posted by o.supreme on March 23rd, 2018 @ 11:32am CDT
TRU 10% off still doesn't compete with Walmart & Target. I'm basically looking for any exclusive item (not just Transformers) that I can get anywhere else. TRU has a few, but timing is critical. Not sure if the gofundme will succeed or not, but in any event, if it does, I'm sure any surviving TRU would be very different form what we have now, for the better most likely.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947750)
Posted by Gunmetal on March 23rd, 2018 @ 12:25pm CDT
ScottyP wrote:I think I'd rather donate to a charity.

I do that too ;)^

Don't get me wrong, there's a reason I only tossed in $5. No one should give more than (or even equal to) what they would give to a charitable cause they believe in.

But hey, if any of you are going to throw stones over not giving every last dollar toward saving the whales and curing cancer, I have 2 words:

Earth Wars [-(
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947751)
Posted by claborn on March 23rd, 2018 @ 12:34pm CDT
this is the transformers section in the Burbank,CA TrU on march 23rd 2018 10am on the first day of liquidation.

this is also how this section has looked most of the 3 years i browsed here. so theres that....
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947763)
Posted by Ironhidensh on March 23rd, 2018 @ 1:34pm CDT
It's time to let go.

TRU was in trouble before the leveraged buyout, and if saved, they will be in trouble again.

The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world beyond local owned specialty shops. This plan to "save" it..... well, it sounds a bit shady.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947767)
Posted by o.supreme on March 23rd, 2018 @ 1:56pm CDT
Ironhidensh wrote:The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world


I strongly disagree. If you absolutely trust the interwebs for all your purchases without reservation that's fine. I use it myself when I have to. But personally, Id always rather See/handle *know what I'm getting* in real life, what I'm going to purchase before I do.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947771)
Posted by Ironhidensh on March 23rd, 2018 @ 2:18pm CDT
o.supreme wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world


I strongly disagree. If you absolutely trust the interwebs for all your purchases without reservation that's fine. I use it myself when I have to. But personally, Id always rather See/handle *know what I'm getting* in real life, what I'm going to purchase before I do.



I get that, and I ev3n respect and understand the sentiment. The issue is that this whpay of thinking is in the vast minority, and shrinking daily. As the older generations shop less, and the younger generations shop more, online will be the way to go. Only massive corporations like Walmart will survive, and even they will have do make massive adjustments.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947781)
Posted by Gunmetal on March 23rd, 2018 @ 2:40pm CDT
Ironhidensh wrote:
o.supreme wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world


I strongly disagree. If you absolutely trust the interwebs for all your purchases without reservation that's fine. I use it myself when I have to. But personally, Id always rather See/handle *know what I'm getting* in real life, what I'm going to purchase before I do.



I get that, and I ev3n respect and understand the sentiment. The issue is that this whpay of thinking is in the vast minority, and shrinking daily. As the older generations shop less, and the younger generations shop more, online will be the way to go. Only massive corporations like Walmart will survive, and even they will have do make massive adjustments.
I agree that shrinking and transformation will happen, but I don't think it will disappear entirely. Business interests, nostalgia, and the desire for "hands on" always seem to keep the online universe from true monopoly.

Look at digital media: that was supposed to replace physical copies long ago, yet DVD and even Blu-Ray sales continue, probably because, besides the "collection aspect", DVDs don't require subscriptions, can't be throttled back, and won't be taken away over a rights dispute.

Need any more reason to not underestimate old ways?
https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-original-television-series-score-vinyl-repress-announced/40874/
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947789)
Posted by Seibertron on March 23rd, 2018 @ 3:14pm CDT
Yotsuyasan wrote:If this guy is at all serious, instead of croud funding a "Save Toys 'Я' Us" campaign offering token crap rewards to people he is asking to invest in his business venture, why not strike a deal with the people trying to bring KB back? Think how much easier it might be if they combined efforts, bought up TRU locations, and rebranded them? And then it will be done with real business partners rather than trying to get thousands of average people to invest in their business in exchange for a bumper sticker or a pin.


The KB Toys deal isn't anything to get excited about. It is certainly not a Toys R Us replacement as it is currently being discussed. It's more or less going to be the Halloween pop-up store equivalent except with toys. The Chicagoland area had some of these 2 or 3 years ago around Christmas time where it was just overpriced leftover stock from the past 5 or 10 years with really unfriendly pop-up store employees. The locations I was aware of in the northwest suburbs simply moved in after the pop-up Halloween stores moved out. It was my assumption that it was the same organization, which I thought made a lot of sense (to go from Halloween products to Toys and Christmas products).

One of the articles I read where the guy was talking about the pop-up stores made me realize that this is nothing special at all. What it seems he wants to do is purchase the leftover toy inventory, I'm sure at bargain prices, from Toys R Us warehouses or from toy makers like Mattel, Hasbro, Lego, MGA, etc who need to find a home for upcoming products they already made for Toys R Us prior to its collapse.

As toy collectors, we will most likely have already purchased these products by the time these pop-up stores "pop up". Just putting it on the record that the KB Toys that we might have some possible fun memories of will be very different from of these leftover merchandise pop-up stores that we'll potentially see later this year. From my experience, the products were way over priced and were still over priced even after the blowout clearance prices which began after Christmas that year. For those of you in the Chicagoland area, there is a similar store to the pop-up toy store that is open all year round in the old KB Toys location inside the Golf Mill mall in Niles, IL. This store also carries a lot of KO products as well as leftover retail stock (again at very high prices).

If you carefully read the articles about KB Toys and look past all of the fluff, you can figure out what the guy wants to do with these pop-up stores, and it's not what it sounds like on the surface. There are more articles out there like this one, but I think the CNN Money one sums up all you need to know. Having seen these pop-up toy stores here in Chicago, I can assure you that this is definitely NOT what it seems. It is definitely NOT KB Toys as we remember it from 10 or so years ago.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/20/news/co ... index.html

CNN Money wrote:"My assumption is that there's about half a billion dollars worth of toys that have been produced for Toys "R" Us with no place to go," said Strategic Marks president Ellia Kassoff, in a phone interview with CNNMoney. "That's a big, big void that we're hoping to fill up."

Kassoff said he's been in contact with Hasbro Inc. (HAS) and Mattel, Inc. (MAT) and up to 200 smaller toy suppliers who are looking for new brick and mortar retailers. He said he plans to take advantage of a glut of toy manufacturers that have inventory but no place to sell it.

To get a quick retail footprint, Kassoff said he's working with companies that specialize in holiday and pop-up retail, like Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc., Go! Retail Group, and Party City Holdco Inc. (PRTY)


I'll repost this in the KB toys discussion as well.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947790)
Posted by Seibertron on March 23rd, 2018 @ 3:19pm CDT
Seibertron wrote:I'll repost this in the KB toys discussion as well.


LOL. Apparently this topic is the "KB Toys might make a return" topic as well! :BANG_HEAD:
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947796)
Posted by -Kanrabat- on March 23rd, 2018 @ 3:44pm CDT
o.supreme wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world


I strongly disagree. If you absolutely trust the interwebs for all your purchases without reservation that's fine. I use it myself when I have to. But personally, Id always rather See/handle *know what I'm getting* in real life, what I'm going to purchase before I do.


Online is just perfect and convenient... as long that constantly paying for the damn shipping fees don't bother.

IMO, I'd rather have the thing in hand before buying too.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947798)
Posted by Rated X on March 23rd, 2018 @ 4:06pm CDT
I was off today and decided to hit the Hialeah TRU where I was there for the grand opening back in 1985. Got there at 10 am when they opened the doors and started off with the transformers section. Lousy 10% off and only wave 1 potp. Some guy grabbed a primus and then put it back when he realized it was only 15 bucks off. I saw the cart of boxes being unpacked and reconized the hasbro logo. I found 4 studio series thundercrackers. I bought one for me and one for a friend and left 2 behind. (26.99 each) with the crappy discount. I roamed around the entire store to try to get a feel of nostalgia but it wasnt there. As a kid, I was never a buyer of multiple brands so the whole "wonderland" thing didnt really touch my heart. Gone are the walls of video games (1988 Nintendo heydays) when you had to grab a ticket and take it to an enclosed pawn shop style booth to purchase your game. I did also used to buy garbage pail kids cards out there in large cellophane packs with 3 decks. Thats another TRU memory I have. But I cant say I ever ran around a TRU as as kid aisle by aisle like it was some kind of heaven for kids. I never hung out there to play free video games. After about 10 minutes I was done and ready to buy my thundercrackers and get the hell out of there. When I stuck my card in the credit card slot, the machine froze and they had to move to another machine. I called my credit card company and my card got charged twice so tgey go to f**k me one last time. Went back and the manager couldnt really do anything but assured me tge transaction was pending and would be voided by the end of the night since it never made it to the "transaction processed" screen like it did the 2nd time. I wont know for 3 days so hopefully he is right. So there you have it....my final TRU memory. Its not the store you grew up with. All these people going into secere depression over this need to let it go. On a side note, before this closing I had no idea TRU had been around since the late 1950s. I always assumed since my childhood that they opened in 1985 when they came to miami and the "grand openings" were all around the same time. We got the dukes of hazzard signing autographs so I dont know why but I really believed it was a big thing and the store must be brand new. We had Lionel Playworld down the street where I had gotten my first transformers (and also Service Merchandise) and within a few years TRU literally took them out the game. So I always thought TRU had just came into being in 1985. Hell what did I know I was only 8 years old. Oh well, thinking of keeping my thundercracker MISB as a memento especially since I know my friend will likely bust his open. So go pour out a little liquor if you choose. They had a good run. Better than most. Most of the specialized hobby stores closed by 2000 because here in Miami people just dont seem to care about collecting stuff as much as people do in middle America. Theres no money to be made by opening a small brick and mortar business here. Isnt it ironic that TRU killed Kay-bee and now Walmart killed TRU? Survival of the fittest. Oh well, thats just food for thought.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947803)
Posted by o.supreme on March 23rd, 2018 @ 4:21pm CDT
Rated X wrote: All these people going into severe depression over this need to let it go.


Sorry you had that rough experience. I've been victim of really bad customer service there recently as well. However...I don't think anyone is going into "severe depression""...as you say (except anyone who stands to lose their job, which is completely understandable). I'm saddened to be sure, but I'm not losing any sleep over it. It's not like this is the first time this has happened. We lost a local store (Gemco) in the late 80's, probably the best "one stop shop" ever, even 30 years ago, was way better than todays Walmarts, and way better toy selection also. My old elementary school got leveled and replaced by another, Video Arcades are a thing of the past, Shopping Malls that were actually fun to go to, Blockbuster video...I can go on and on. But of course as with all things, there is balance. I'll monitor the situation with TRU closely if for no other reason than it is so convenient I pass mine each day to and from work. But when its all said and done, life goes on, I get it.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947815)
Posted by WreckerJack on March 23rd, 2018 @ 5:36pm CDT
I agree, it's time to let go. TRU screwed itself by screwing it's customers and employees. Overpriced and understaffed is the reason that they are going under. They could have saved themselves years ago if they priced things better and didn't do so many bad business deals.

That being said I don't want TRU to go under. I'd rather have them fixed things before they went south, but that happened years ago. I'm probably in the minority here but I have never actually purchased a transformer at TRU. What I really want is a toy store that has competitive pricing and good stock. But of course that's just too much to ask. >:oP
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947818)
Posted by Ironhidensh on March 23rd, 2018 @ 6:02pm CDT
Gunmetal wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:
o.supreme wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world


I strongly disagree. If you absolutely trust the interwebs for all your purchases without reservation that's fine. I use it myself when I have to. But personally, Id always rather See/handle *know what I'm getting* in real life, what I'm going to purchase before I do.



I get that, and I ev3n respect and understand the sentiment. The issue is that this whpay of thinking is in the vast minority, and shrinking daily. As the older generations shop less, and the younger generations shop more, online will be the way to go. Only massive corporations like Walmart will survive, and even they will have do make massive adjustments.
I agree that shrinking and transformation will happen, but I don't think it will disappear entirely. Business interests, nostalgia, and the desire for "hands on" always seem to keep the online universe from true monopoly.

Look at digital media: that was supposed to replace physical copies long ago, yet DVD and even Blu-Ray sales continue, probably because, besides the "collection aspect", DVDs don't require subscriptions, can't be throttled back, and won't be taken away over a rights dispute.

Need any more reason to not underestimate old ways?
https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-original-television-series-score-vinyl-repress-announced/40874/



Been to a blockbuster recently? There are no "dvd" stores.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947823)
Posted by primalxconvoy on March 23rd, 2018 @ 6:26pm CDT
Gunmetal wrote:Look at digital media: that was supposed to replace physical copies long ago, yet DVD and even Blu-Ray sales continue, probably because, besides the "collection aspect", DVDs don't require subscriptions, can't be throttled back, and won't be taken away over a rights dispute.

Need any more reason to not underestimate old ways?
https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-original-television-series-score-vinyl-repress-announced/40874/


DVDs? You mean those things many people buy online from Amazon? You've confused digital distribution with digital products here. Although they can appear the same, they differ.

Regardless, Netflix, Hulu and the likes of Bitorrent are here to stay. I haven't bought a DVD or Blueray since the recent(ish) TF:TM remaster, and then I downloaded a copy of THAT off the internet afterwards. DVDs and Bluerays suffer more from region restriction, higher prices, take up too much space in my room and I have to get up and change the disk to watch something else.

Digital is simply the new standard and that's coming from someone who grew up with G1 in the 80's.

As for digital shops, then I don't care if most regular shops for most products go under. I'm more interested in availability and prices than seeing it in hand. Although it IS nice to do so, ice usually been disappointed in most retail shops due to something being unavailable, due to being sold out, or that shop not selling imported products.

Online all the way for me.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947825)
Posted by WreckerJack on March 23rd, 2018 @ 6:38pm CDT
I always like to have a hard copy. Computer glitches suck when they eat all your songs and stuff.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947830)
Posted by primalxconvoy on March 23rd, 2018 @ 7:06pm CDT
WreckerJack wrote:I always like to have a hard copy. Computer glitches suck when they eat all your songs and stuff.


That's what hard drives and cloud storage are for.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947831)
Posted by Seibertron on March 23rd, 2018 @ 7:13pm CDT
Ironhidensh wrote:Been to a blockbuster recently? There are no "dvd" stores.


Family video chain is still kicking it and apparently doing well, last I heard.

https://www.familyvideo.com/storelocator/
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947839)
Posted by WreckerJack on March 23rd, 2018 @ 8:02pm CDT
primalxconvoy wrote:
WreckerJack wrote:I always like to have a hard copy. Computer glitches suck when they eat all your songs and stuff.


That's what hard drives and cloud storage are for.


Indeed, but why do all that when I can just pop a DVD in my CD drive or my xbox and watch? Same deal with CD's and my boombox.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947847)
Posted by william-james88 on March 23rd, 2018 @ 9:00pm CDT
Ironhidensh wrote:
o.supreme wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world


I strongly disagree. If you absolutely trust the interwebs for all your purchases without reservation that's fine. I use it myself when I have to. But personally, Id always rather See/handle *know what I'm getting* in real life, what I'm going to purchase before I do.



I get that, and I even respect and understand the sentiment. The issue is that this way of thinking is in the vast minority, and shrinking daily. As the older generations shop less, and the younger generations shop more, online will be the way to go. Only massive corporations like Walmart will survive, and even they will have do make massive adjustments.


I studied this as a business student and still pay close attention to this, but the latest facts show that Brick and Mortar retail is still a viable business strategy.

Online retail ends up being just as expensive if not more to maintain, since you now have to bare added logistics costs to ship out to clients, and plus have a better monitoring of inventory. Brick and mortar is pretty easy in that sense, someone shops there and they take the product with them and what they find in the store is at least what you have available. Plus, retail adds that impulsive purchase or cross sell, which is almost non existant at the online level.
This is why Costco is still very profitable while Amazon has smaller profit margins.

Also, you guys forget that the US has 20 Million unbanked consumers who thus cant shop online. Thats 2/3 the population of Canada, a country where Toysrus is doing really well (just to show that its a big number which can sustain a big brick and mortar operation).

So right now, brick and mortar is a very viable business strategy.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947868)
Posted by lakebot on March 23rd, 2018 @ 10:40pm CDT
o.supreme wrote:
Ironhidensh wrote:The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world


I strongly disagree. If you absolutely trust the interwebs for all your purchases without reservation that's fine. I use it myself when I have to. But personally, Id always rather See/handle *know what I'm getting* in real life, what I'm going to purchase before I do.



I agree with this. I guess I sound ultra pessimistic but my hesitation is because I have had so many mishaps with items shipped to me that every time I buy something online, one of the factors that goes through my mind is literally the odds of the item arriving undamaged. That doesn't even take into account the times things never showed up or it was the wrong item. This sounds stupid but I have a pretty much 100% success rate when buying anything in store. Not so much online.

At the same time I do not feel this is a reason for TRU to stay open. But I do want choices beyond Walmart/Target.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947882)
Posted by primalxconvoy on March 23rd, 2018 @ 10:57pm CDT
WreckerJack wrote:
primalxconvoy wrote:
WreckerJack wrote:I always like to have a hard copy. Computer glitches suck when they eat all your songs and stuff.


That's what hard drives and cloud storage are for.


Indeed, but why do all that when I can just pop a DVD in my CD drive or my xbox and watch? Same deal with CD's and my boombox.


Why pop a dvd in your drive, when you can download them all to a harddrive and watch them on said xbox? No need to get up, no need to worry about region locking.

DVDs are simply moribund.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947904)
Posted by WreckerJack on March 24th, 2018 @ 2:02am CDT
primalxconvoy wrote:
WreckerJack wrote:
primalxconvoy wrote:
WreckerJack wrote:I always like to have a hard copy. Computer glitches suck when they eat all your songs and stuff.


That's what hard drives and cloud storage are for.


Indeed, but why do all that when I can just pop a DVD in my CD drive or my xbox and watch? Same deal with CD's and my boombox.


Why pop a dvd in your drive, when you can download them all to a harddrive and watch them on said xbox? No need to get up, no need to worry about region locking.

DVDs are simply moribund.

No idea how to do that, but if you'd like to explain it please PM me. (I don't want us to get too off topic here)
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947922)
Posted by -Kanrabat- on March 24th, 2018 @ 6:22am CDT
I used to buy a lot of DVDs and I was amazed at the new features over VHS. By the time BDs rolled in, the new car smell was gone so I bought way less. But now, I'm being a bit stingy and I just watch movies via streaming or torrents. Same thing with anime. It's cheaper, it dosent use storage space, and I don't have the trouble to switch disks. TBH, it's convenience that make me pirate.

So, dear corporations, how about taking example from Steam and put ALL of TV and movies into a single service that require NO subscription fees? Because having to PAY for 20+ sumbscriptions to watch all of my sh!t legally is just ludicrous.

Hmmmmmm.............

Oooops..........

Image
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1947963)
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 24th, 2018 @ 11:11am CDT
Ironhidensh wrote:It's time to let go.

TRU was in trouble before the leveraged buyout, and if saved, they will be in trouble again.

The brick and mortar toy store is on life support, and has no place in the modern consumer world beyond local owned specialty shops. This plan to "save" it..... well, it sounds a bit shady.



You can say that, but it's inherently not true. Online shopping is only a small fraction of the entire sales in retail. That's a fact
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948004)
Posted by ZeroWolf on March 24th, 2018 @ 2:28pm CDT
It's only a small faction at the moment but growing, especially as time goes on.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948015)
Posted by Rodimus Knight on March 24th, 2018 @ 4:05pm CDT
Be Aware that if you are buying a collectable item that you want to keep mint in package, they are running permanent marker over the barcode after you make your purchase.

I was pissed when they did that to me today.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948016)
Posted by primalxconvoy on March 24th, 2018 @ 4:19pm CDT
Rodimus Knight wrote:Be Aware that if you are buying a collectable item that you want to keep mint in package, they are running permanent marker over the barcode after you make your purchase.

I was pissed when they did that to me today.


Good to know. I suppose it's another reason to keep on buying from Amazon?
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948058)
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 24th, 2018 @ 8:50pm CDT
ZeroWolf wrote:It's only a small faction at the moment but growing, especially as time goes on.


Yes, but it's going to take years to even come close to over coming retail brick and mortar.

I work at Costco, you know what our company wide daily sales in North America are compared to our North American online sales are? Not even .01%

And that's the same for nearly every company.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948061)
Posted by Seibertron on March 24th, 2018 @ 9:16pm CDT
Galactic Prime wrote:
ZeroWolf wrote:It's only a small faction at the moment but growing, especially as time goes on.


Yes, but it's going to take years to even come close to over coming retail brick and mortar.

I work at Costco, you know what our company wide daily sales in North America are compared to our North American online sales are? Not even .01%

And that's the same for nearly every company.


Not sure if you worded that incorrectly, but according to USA Today Costco's brick and mortar sales are 95%.

USA Today wrote:Still, roughly 95% of Costco's sales continue to occur in stores, where foot traffic in the U.S. was up 6.6%.


Source: Costco holds its own against Amazon as online sales soar

I think you meant to write "you know what our company wide daily North American online sales are compared to North American stores? Not even .01%", though apparently it's up to 5% according to the article above from USA today.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948082)
Posted by Seibertron on March 24th, 2018 @ 11:49pm CDT
primalxconvoy wrote:Why pop a dvd in your drive, when you can download them all to a harddrive and watch them on said xbox? No need to get up, no need to worry about region locking.

DVDs are simply moribund.


Why? Because where can you legally watch Transformers G1, the original 2001 Robots In Disguise, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, Animated, Beast Wars, Beast Wars II, Beast Wars Neo, Headmasters, Masterforce, Victory and other Transformers shows other than Rescue Bots, Transformers Prime and the current Robots In Disguise series?

I still buy Blu-Rays or DVDs of my favorite things that I want to have "on demand" so that I don't have to worry about what Amazon Prime Video or Netflix or Hulu want to show me currently. I subscribe to the former two, and as much as I wanted to buy Stranger Things on Blu-Ray on Black Friday last year, I determined that's where I could draw the line for the time being because that show should always be on Netflix so there's no need for me to buy it at this time. However, I still buy all of the Marvel and Star Wars movies as they come out and the occasional really awesome movie. Basically anything that I hold near and dear or anything that I wanted to see in the theater really bad but wasn't able to due to life, kids, work/Seibertron, etc which only lets me see 1 or 2 non-kid movies a year at the theater.

While I love watching streaming videos, I still prefer to own what it is that I really like.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948086)
Posted by EunuchRon on March 25th, 2018 @ 12:32am CDT
Yeah I dun like havin' peeps tellin' me what to watch. I got my GeeWon on DVD, Japanese on DVD, all that good stuff whenever I want. If the net's out I can watch my toons. Pop in a disc, pop some corn, and chill. i watch B movies that don't get shown on netflicks too, an why pay a subscription if I can buy it one and done?
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948129)
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 25th, 2018 @ 7:45am CDT
Seibertron wrote:
Galactic Prime wrote:
ZeroWolf wrote:It's only a small faction at the moment but growing, especially as time goes on.


Yes, but it's going to take years to even come close to over coming retail brick and mortar.

I work at Costco, you know what our company wide daily sales in North America are compared to our North American online sales are? Not even .01%

And that's the same for nearly every company.


Not sure if you worded that incorrectly, but according to USA Today Costco's brick and mortar sales are 95%.

USA Today wrote:Still, roughly 95% of Costco's sales continue to occur in stores, where foot traffic in the U.S. was up 6.6%.


Source: Costco holds its own against Amazon as online sales soar

I think you meant to write "you know what our company wide daily North American online sales are compared to North American stores? Not even .01%", though apparently it's up to 5% according to the article above from USA today.


I never said the USA did I? I said North America, that includes The USA, Canada, and Mexico. Comprehension when reading is your friend.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948132)
Posted by Qwan on March 25th, 2018 @ 8:04am CDT
Even so, it seems unlikely that taking Canada and Mexico into account could reduce the statistic from 5% down to less than 0.01%. That works out to one five hundredth of 5% - are the Canadian and Mexican markets really so large / their online sales so unfathomably miniscule that they bring the number down that much? Realism when estimating figures (or perhaps citing a source as Seibertron did?) is your friend.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948137)
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 25th, 2018 @ 8:56am CDT
Qwan wrote:Even so, it seems unlikely that taking Canada and Mexico into account could reduce the statistic from 5% down to less than 0.01%. That works out to one five hundredth of 5% - are the Canadian and Mexican markets really so large / their online sales so unfathomably miniscule that they bring the number down that much? Realism when estimating figures (or perhaps citing a source as Seibertron did?) is your friend.


I am quoting a source, ME. I work there. The USA has 517 Costco warehouses, Canada has 98, and Mexico has 38.

The Average Costco warehouse makes between 700k and 1 million each day. So let's use the low end of 700K as an average when you multiply that you get 456.4 million, let's round down to 450 million. Online sales in Canada and the USA from costco.com and costco.ca amount to 20-25 million each day combined. Is it higher than .01% yes, it is, I was exaggerating a bit, but the fact is, it's hardly a drop in the bucket, and that's without adding in the Costco stores from Taiwan, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Iceland, Spain, France, or Australia which is an additional 95 locations and the Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea Costco's all average over a 1 million per day.

And that is just the statistics for the 7th LARGEST retailer in the world. Think about that. Online sales are Minuscule compared to Brick and mortar sales.
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948158)
Posted by Seibertron on March 25th, 2018 @ 10:38am CDT
Galactic Prime wrote:I never said the USA did I? I said North America, that includes The USA, Canada, and Mexico. Comprehension when reading is your friend.


I was trying to help you out by clarifying what you wrote.

I work at Costco, you know what our company wide daily sales in North America are compared to our North American online sales are? Not even .01%


That statement above states that store sales are not even .01% of online sales. My comprehension of what you wrote was that you meant to state that online sales were .01% of store sales. It appears that is not what you intended to write. Just trying to help!
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948281)
Posted by Galactic Prime on March 25th, 2018 @ 6:21pm CDT
Seibertron wrote:
Galactic Prime wrote:I never said the USA did I? I said North America, that includes The USA, Canada, and Mexico. Comprehension when reading is your friend.


I was trying to help you out by clarifying what you wrote.

I work at Costco, you know what our company wide daily sales in North America are compared to our North American online sales are? Not even .01%


That statement above states that store sales are not even .01% of online sales. My comprehension of what you wrote was that you meant to state that online sales were .01% of store sales. It appears that is not what you intended to write. Just trying to help!



Ok, but I didn't need help clarifying it. The simple fact is that online sales for EVERY company (unless they are strictly an online business) are tiny compared to their brick and mortar sales.

It will be a VERY long time before online sales over take or even come close to over taking Brick and mortar
Re: Campaign to Save Toys R Us Stores Is Beginning #savetoysrus (1948294)
Posted by lakebot on March 25th, 2018 @ 8:10pm CDT
Rodimus Knight wrote:Be Aware that if you are buying a collectable item that you want to keep mint in package, they are running permanent marker over the barcode after you make your purchase.

I was pissed when they did that to me today.


You might be able to get them to just not give you a receipt so you can’t return it. No need for the marker at that point.

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