Toys R Us bankruptcy filing?

daewoo

I would so bust open those displays to get to the good stuff.

BrickByBrick

^ all the stuff inside is usually glued as far as I know

teal93mr2

One day I will own one of those displays! 

Thanos75

About 90% of the bricks inside are glued together. The only display I have that isn't glued is my Dimensions display. Which is neat because I can change out the display but is a pain everytime I move it. The manager also asked if I wanted all the signage from the Lego section. I said sure do now the back of my truck is full of the banners,  translights , and the rest of the Lego badging. Not sure what I will do with it all but I think a bunch of it will be used to spruce up my Lego mancave...lol

Astrobricks

Thanos75 said:

About 90% of the bricks inside are glued together. The only display I have that isn't glued is my Dimensions display. Which is neat because I can change out the display but is a pain everytime I move it. The manager also asked if I wanted all the signage from the Lego section. I said sure do now the back of my truck is full of the banners,  translights , and the rest of the Lego badging. Not sure what I will do with it all but I think a bunch of it will be used to spruce up my Lego mancave...lol

The former Target employee who told the story of wanting those but being told they all had to be destroyed must be grinding his teeth at this.

Thanos75

I tried to get some displays from another closing TRU amd they wouldn't come off of them. The liquidator literally had the employees smash them infront of me then threw them in a dumpster. Such a waste.

NeilJam

Stores are required to destroy those displays if Lego doesn't have someone pick them up. Sometimes store managers will look the other way and let employees take one home, but they really are not supposed to allow that.

Smashing it in front of someone who would like to have them is overkill though (a case of schadenfreude perhaps?). Do you know if it was a regular store manager or someone with the liquidation company?

pharmjod

Destroying them is fine if you aren't going out of business. I can't imagine what kind of insufferable slave to dumb rules would care when the ship is going down. There is no business relationship to maintain at that point.

Bumblepants

Also, why smash stuff in an area with customers? Surely they have high powered compactor in the back to do the work for them with none of the mess or potential for accidental injury. Maybe some people like sweeping that much?

Thanos75

It was a liquidation guy who did it.  He also did it to the big Barbie display that an employee was wanting. Good thing the liquidation manager at the latest store closing was much more understanding.

samtheq

I asked at my local TRU about displays, and the cashier told me they were going to SELL all displays sometime near the end of the closing process!

GIR3691

samtheq said:

I asked at my local TRU about displays, and the cashier told me they were going to SELL all displays sometime near the end of the closing process!

Probably meant the shelving units and such.

SumoLego

Thanos75 said:

It was a liquidation guy who did it.  He also did it to the big Barbie display that an employee was wanting. Good thing the liquidation manager at the latest store closing was much more understanding.

Was it Michael Bolton?

juggles7

Does anyone know of a forum where helpful shoppers post information about TRU's sales and the percentage discounts in a particular area? Because this forum doesn't seem to be it. 

teal93mr2

juggles7 said:

Does anyone know of a forum where helpful shoppers post information about TRU's sales and the percentage discounts in a particular area? Because this forum doesn't seem to be it. 

Brickset shoppers are too well informed to shop the TRU liquidation sales. Perhaps in a few more weeks folks will be able to find some good deals, but by then I'm guessing it will be a big case of YMMV. 

SumoLego

juggles7 said:

Does anyone know of a forum where helpful shoppers post information about TRU's sales and the percentage discounts in a particular area?

That would be this thread:
http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/17673/us-toys-ya-us-deals#latest 

KingAlanI

@SumoLego
I've debated what to post in this TRU thread and what to put in that one, but tried not to duplicate
I suppose the 'ya' in the link is the technical name for the Cyrillic letter that looks like a backwards R.
Maybe TLG contractual issues with not destroying displays would dig them into an even bigger hole.
-

Happened to be in the neighborhood when I'm rarely am, so I had to take a look.
I wasn't sentimental last time, but it was sad now. So little was left, and they were even selling the carts and shelving.
Large quantities of a few sets

dannyrww

You know, I am going to try to be less cynical about this. I have a lot of fond memories of Toys R Us and their is something magical about a toy store that I am going to miss.....they can't take the Toys R Us in my heart (or on my Lego shelf).

SumoLego

KingAlanI said:

Maybe TLG contractual issues with not destroying displays would dig them into an even bigger hole.

LEGO has been consistent for decades with model cases - they are to be destroyed at section resets.  Target takes this particularly seriously, and it is very difficult to get any of those model cases.  The TRU ones are far more common, as they had less regard for the policy.  

There are a few entities that end up with fairly large quantities of surplused model cases, but I've only seen that on a few occassions.  (I think there was a guy in Texas that used to sell them along with Barbie, SW and other display cases.)

MrJackson

All display materials for anything in-store at LBR - gallery, primary, secondary, or brand ribbon display boxes - gets destroyed once it's rotated out.  Which can be unfortunate and wasteful, but I can understand why. It's proprietary and trademarked, and since it's not for sale it isn't designed to be out in the wild, so to speak. I've seen some really cool displays come and go the last four years.

Ma1234

Astrobricks said:

Ma1234 said:

Astrobricks said:

madforLEGO said:

datsunrobbie said:

77ncaachamps said:

dehnehsu said:

Toys R Us Sunnyvale, Calif. LEGO only 5% off the already marked up price. Most other stuff only 10% off. The LEGO section was already picked thru by customers that don't seem know what a good deal is or what LEGO should cost. I saw lots of overpriced abandoned LEGO by the scanners.

Funny thing about this "liquidation" is... prices were cheaper before!

Liquidation sales are not designed to give customers great deals, they are designed to generate the most cash possible. Prices are often reset to higher than they were prior to the liquidation sale as a starting point. Then the signs come up, displaying markdowns based on the inflated starting price. Many customers lose their minds at 10% off, not realizing that the price is actually just MSRP. If the liquidation company is doing their job well, most inventory is gone before they have to get into truly substantial markdowns.

I believe it is illegal to artificially raise prices before a sale; I'm presuming even for liquidations. RRP is one thing, bumping them higher than this is a no no if Im not mistaken, at least in IL

Maybe, but who are they going to come after for it? Maybe the liquidation company if they make a habit of it, but then the liquidators will probably just blame the dead company.

Not maybe. Totally illegal. KB Toys was infamous for it and got in trouble 

How much trouble exactly? Slap on the wrist fine?

Class action lawsuit and they had to run a national "we're sorry" sale.

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/businessnews/2003/10/14/Class-action-suit-settlement-leads-to-K-B-toy-sale/stories/200310140025 

NeilJam

My TRU (Robinson Township, PA) got sudden notice that their lease is not being renewed and will close at the end of this week. I was expecting this store to stay open for another month. Discount on most of inventory jumped to 50% now and will go up to 60% on Saturday for the last day the store is open.

Discount for building toys is at 20% for this week going up to 30% for the final day, but most Lego product was pulled off the floor and sent to a different store to avoid deeper discounts. Only Super Hero Girls sets and Jyn Erso buildable figures were left on the shelves.

datsunrobbie

I think the thing that really got KB Toys in trouble was advertising discounts from a price they never charged in the store. If you sell the item for 20% over retail and later mark down from that, it is legal. But if you never sold it at a higher price and advertise the discount off the higher price, that is illegal. As long as the discount is calculated based on a legitimate prior selling price, TRU should be fine.

Astrobricks

datsunrobbie said:

I think the thing that really got KB Toys in trouble was advertising discounts from a price they never charged in the store. If you sell the item for 20% over retail and later mark down from that, it is legal. But if you never sold it at a higher price and advertise the discount off the higher price, that is illegal. As long as the discount is calculated based on a legitimate prior selling price, TRU should be fine.

Exactly. The KB case isn’t comparable to the current TRU situation for the above reason, plus they were not liquidating. Also, the penalty they settled on, $3 million, I think qualifies as a slap on the wrist for a 1300 store chain. 

sonsofsceva

I was playing the old Space Quest I game from the 80s last week and even then it made fun of TRU being the most expensive store in the galaxy. Very interesting.

madforLEGO

sonsofsceva said:

I was playing the old Space Quest I game from the 80s last week and even then it made fun of TRU being the most expensive store in the galaxy. Very interesting.

I miss those old Space Quest games, Surprised someone has not redone them for a console systems online service, or even made an adult-ish cartoon based on that franchise

KingAlanI

Saw some borderline stuff Saturday, went back Tuesday night. I was hoping the stuff was still available for even bigger discounts, but it was nearly all gone. Maybe I should've gone back sooner - but even if that would've been logical in theory, maybe it wasn't feasible in practice. Can't win 'em all. Some non-building-block items are still there in large quantities.

gmonkey76

Stopped by my local TRU today and LEGO is still only 5% off. The store is only at 30% off and the store is still well stocked with everything.

juggles7

Went to a TRU today that's closing on April 15th. The signs outside said 70% off, but inside the Lego never got any deeper discount than 40% off. That's all it took to clear the Lego aisle. Only thing left? Star Wars Constraction figures. And lots and lots of other crap that still no one wants. 'Twas like the island of misfit toys...

SumoLego

(@juggles7 - Is there a high concentration of talking Teletubbies?)

ryjay

gmonkey76 said:

Stopped by my local TRU today and LEGO is still only 5% off. The store is only at 30% off and the store is still well stocked with everything.

That the same situation at my local TRU.   I wonder if these stores a part of the 200 that the Canadian company is considering buying....and if so, then maybe they want those stores operating and intact...dunno

juggles7

SumoLego said:

(@juggles7 - Is there a high concentration of talking Teletubbies?)

Sure is. Powerpuff Girls abound, too. 

SumoLego

There was also a TON of DC SuperHero Girls dolls, playsets and vehicles.  That appears to have been a flop all the way around.  Or just way too much product.

scotty12

So has there been any other official closing date on all the stores?  Or is that still in limbo?

juggles7

@scotty12, the stores that only began discounting after the announcement that all stores would close, their sales could continue until June, so said a national magazine article I read online. I can't recall the source, and that's old information by now. If you're considering a road trip to a particular locale, Google reviews might help. Google toys r us and the city, which will, by default, show you the "most helpful" reviews. Re-order them by "most recent" and you might, just might, learn something useful. 

Pitdroid

2 stores in the Dallas Tx area closed yesterday.  Irving and one off The Dallas tollroad by a mall called the Galleria. 

JooTog

Don't know much about these things, but here you go:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/billionaire-bids-dollar890-million-to-help-save-toys-r-us/ar-AAvQHtG?ocid=spartanntp

dehnehsu

Sunnyvale, Calif. TRU has LEGO at a tremendous 5% discount. Shelves still looked pretty well stocked. 

77ncaachamps

dehnehsu said:

Sunnyvale, Calif. TRU has LEGO at a tremendous 5% discount. Shelves still looked pretty well stocked. 

Tis a shame.

Glad I bought what I did before the Liquidation but also I should have gotten a few more but didn't.

eggshen

I popped into my local store in Madison WI, it looks almost exactly the same as it did 1 1/2 weeks ago. People bought a ton of LEGO sets at the beginning of the liquidation sale, now the rest is just sitting there. I walked the whole store and it is pretty much the same. Wonder if we will see more markdowns here. This store was not on the initial list of closing stores.

Mr_Cross

TRU are apparently relaunching.
Looks like they're rebranding as a wholesaler and also potentially opening some pop-up stores within stores. The venture is being called Geoffrey's Toy Box...

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-10-09-toys-r-us-comeback-tease-infuriates-former-unpaid-staff

I think it stinks.

leetshoe

So it was all just a scam to rip off the proletariat who slaved away making them money.

PapaBear

^Sounds like the description of most businesses right now.  Cue the stock sell off lol

SumoLego

leetshoe said:

So it was all just a scam to rip off the proletariat who slaved away making them money.

It makes for a less sexy story if they highlight the millions and millions of dollars lost by three different rounds of investors.  Since those folks got money, nobody cares.

Retail-level jobs are ubiquitous.  I don't have a lot of sympathy for former TRU employees.  I'd rather save my rancor for jobs exported to employment markets that don't have the same level of human rights, reasonable conditions and appropriate wages.  

(Oop, pardon my soapbox.)

Mr_Cross said:

I think it stinks.

It appears that the only value in the entity is the distribution network.  But who knows if a whole distribution network for toys is sustainable.  Or if it just becomes another cog for Amazon, Wal-Mart or other third-party wholesale distributors.

I'm not sure I would support TRU pop-up stores, anyway.

samtheq

Really? The master plan for "bringing TRU back" is pop-up stores within stores? Ironically, this is the arrangement TRU worked out with American Girl and Claire's, and how did that end up?

So what this really means is, if you even have one of these pop-ups in your area, they are only going to carry a small percentage of whatever is popular for Christmas? This is certainly not the "return" of TRU from what I have read...

Hanzo

The store within a store thing has always been a head scratcher for me.  I know it's off topic, but the worst one I ever saw was RadioShack setting up shop inside of Blockbuster Video.

Astrobricks

Hanzo said:

The store within a store thing has always been a head scratcher for me.  I know it's off topic, but the worst one I ever saw was RadioShack setting up shop inside of Blockbuster Video.

ROTFL! Selling buggy whips, I assume?

SumoLego

Astrobricks said:

Hanzo said:

...RadioShack setting up shop inside of Blockbuster Video.

ROTFL! Selling buggy whips, I assume?

Pagers.  They were selling pagers and MP3 players...

Buggy whips were last available at Woolworth's.  When penny candy was a penny, not a dollar...

ryjay

Im very curious to see it all plays out.   "They" had said the brand, Toys R Us, was too valuable to just give up, but I see very little brand value with the Geoffrey's Toy Box angle.

KB Toys did this pop up thing with Sears in their final run

Astrobricks

ryjay said:

Im very curious to see it all plays out.   "They" had said the brand, Toys R Us, was too valuable to just give up, but I see very little brand value with the Geoffrey's Toy Box angle.

KB Toys did this pop up thing with Sears in their final run

I think if you read the background of the two resurrected TRU threads, there was mention that the pop-ups were just a first step to get the brand back in people’s minds as “alive”.