I think the point that the other person was trying to make, and which is all-but certain to be the reality, is that many of the exclusives that would have gone to TRU will simply NOT EXIST. Exclusives are usually created at the request of specific retailers.

 

It's really depressing seeing them go away. I really enjoyed going there when I was a kid, and even now I still do. I'm planning on going to mine down here in Texas in the weekend, give myself a fun time, one last time.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. Friend bought me Zombie Cliffjumper from Transformers Prime.

 

REally wish these were released on CD's or even via the iTunes store.

 

This. I highly doubt Walmart will take over the MP exclusivity that TRU had. And Titan Class figures? Please. Those will be online only, if they're even made at all.

 

Walmart won't be taking MP exclusives. They haven't for years and no reason to start now. Its not that they weren't offered, they didn't want them. Collectors are partially to blame for this since Walmart got screwed when it came to MP Skywarp years ago.

 

Where do they sell iPhones and filet mignon in Ethiopia?

 

Walmarts are partially to blame for this since Collectors got screwed when it came to MP Starscream years ago.

Why buy Skywarp if you can't even get the Decepticon Air Commander?

 

Hiding them until they were on clearance wasn't a smart move either.

Although, over the years, I've come to believe that many collectors are like horses in that you can lead them to water but cannot make them drink. If somebody's set on waiting for Ollies, you're better off letting them go and helping somebody who's actually interested in the hobby. You'll see online stores take more of that approach because chasing nickels and dimes is more effort than it's worth.

 

While I didn't have the most memorable memories of getting figures in TRU, it's still kinda sucks that another retailer like Toys R Us went bankrupt. This situation feels very similar with the liquidation of Sears Canada again; Maybe that's just me.

I do wonder how the Toys R Us stores in the other regions like Asia and Europe will get affected by this.

 

Kind of depends on the brand and the price point. Take Marvel Legends for example. Toys-R-Us has Marvel Legend exclusives, Wal-Mart has Marvel Legends exclusives, Target has Marvel Legends exclusives, and Walgreens has Marvel Legends exclusives. But Toys-R-Us tends to go with the two pack exclusives or more expensive exclusives. So I don't think the other retailers are going to drop exclusives but the bigger better exclusives might be fewer as the other retailers like something like a single figure.

 

Very sad. Feel bad for the workers losing their jobs most of all. As for exclusives, well, outside of the MPMs and SS Thundercracker, I can't remember the last TRU exclusive I was interested in.

 

TRU may be finished, but the Transformers brand will not fail because of it.

I feel sorry for any workers who lose their jobs though.

Personally, I think the TRUs I visited had gone downhill anyway. It used to be that stores I visited were considerably better organized than the toy aisles at Wal-Marts. Now, the difference in quality is negligible. Actually, I think I'd rather go to Wal-Mart, because I'm more likely to buy at their prices.

 

Those people who think everything will show up at Discounters are fools. The rule of thumb for me has always been that if it doesn't show up at the main stores of Walmart, Target, or Toys "R" Us (say for example titans return wave five with guys like misfire) then you should expect that it hopefully does appear at places like Ollies, FiveBelow, ROSS, Christmas Tree Shop, T.J. Maxx, or Marshalls because it has to show up somewhere. Eventually somebody has to get it to sell it.

 

Right. So now we all have to worry about Predaking and where to buy it. The MP line as well.

My Target never had anything past Wave 1 for TLK except Dragonstorm. Never found TR wave 5 Deluxes anywhere here.

So if Target doesn’t want to stock wave 3 or 4 PotP and walmart follows suit, where are we supposed to buy them?

And we have all seen how certain characters sell out online and then have to wait for what seems like forever for them to come back in stock.

At least TRU was a 3rd option. At least we all knew we could buy Trypticon and Fortress Maximus at Toys R Us. And at least TRU had exclusives that they put on the shelves (unlike Walmart with their Hot Rod TLK exclusive).

Let’s all hope that Monday doesn’t bring bad news and somehow TRU still attempts to recover. Say what you will about TRU and any bad experiences you had there, but the bottom line is, if Toys R Us dies, collecting is going to become a lot harder for everyone.

 

Except Starscream wasn't exactly hard to find, for the most part. Anything that is "limited" to Walmart isn't exactly limited. 2 out of the 4 Walmart Supercenters in my area (back then) had a few Starscreams up to Christmas Eve that year.

 

Sorry I couldn’t read through the whole thread but has anyone heard of when/if they would do a sale?

 

I think the only real profit point for GameStop is their Thinkgeek stores. Which are basically adult toy stores. If they had any brains they would ramp up the selections there to try and capture that adult collector market.

 

It’s not 100% definite yet. They go to court Monday and it’ll be announced then if they are in fact liquidating

 

Thank you