MOTU Origins Thread

Discussion in 'The Toyark' started by Pharoid, Feb 21, 2020.

  1. fujishig

    fujishig Well-Known Member

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    Why leave it dead? It was a shell of it's former glory but it was still another outlet to get toys at, which is a good thing for the hobby. And it's not like they went under because selling toys was no longer profitable.
     
  2. stprime

    stprime THE コンボイ that the Matrix refused

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    Yes. Boil and pop like MANY figs. I was just sharing. It doesn’t take much heat to pop.

    If not comfortable or sure of ability then don’t try it.

    it’s not hard. I’ve not had any issues.
     
  3. Rewind

    Rewind Swoosh!

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    While I didn’t always find what I was specifically looking for, I DID always find things that I never knew existed, or had forgotten about. It was also a damn blast taking my girls there. My youngest was only 1 or 2 when it went under, but my older daughter has many fond memories of Toys R Us. We’re actually planning to drive to Thunder Bay (Canada) next summer for our family vacation- specifically to go to Toys R’ Us. It was her idea! :D 
     
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  4. Pharoid

    Pharoid Time Traveling Robot

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    Ah got it MOTU is just one of those things I buy extremely heavily. So yeah I just buy the whole wave most of the time. I can’t stand missing things at department stores, so BBTS is my weapon of choice. As I say this I just bought two of those damn Target Battlefield sets online, supposedly I can pick them up any time but I am probably going to get fucked over sometime this evening.
     
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  5. Smitty.1981

    Smitty.1981 Well-Known Member

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    Even with put their financial problems TRU would has been struggling. I would say about half they toys that are made are not for children and if you want to sell toys you have to match your merchandise to what's manufactured and the balance it out with what you actually sell.
     
  6. Pharoid

    Pharoid Time Traveling Robot

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    I am not convinced TRU would be doing that badly. It was saddled with debt from a ridiculous overseas expansion what was really a masquerade. It was a “cash out” for Bain Capital. In other words they borrowed money to pay for an overseas expansion A LOT of that money went into the pockets of Bain etc as fees for their top-notch management and expansion plan. And what do you know when TRU went bankrupt they got paid again liquidating the company’s real estate etc.... and kept the fees.

    TRU was an experience. I loved going in there and my kids loved going in there. I would never walk into Walmart or Target again if I had a choice. It’s an “experience” but not a good one.
     
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  7. Smitty.1981

    Smitty.1981 Well-Known Member

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    Bain did the same thing to KB toys. Going into one of those was just as fun as going into a TRU. Wen I was younger my mom would take me to the mall and I'd look around the KB then we'd go down the road to TRU. Good times I'll never get to have with my children or future grandchildren.
     
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  8. IceCreamCyborg

    IceCreamCyborg Well-Known Member

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    20210916_155346.jpg
     
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  9. Pharoid

    Pharoid Time Traveling Robot

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    Yeah I get how transactional everything has gotten in the US but it does suck. I wish companies would focus on experience again. I don’t mind paying for experience. Everything is so fast and easy now but it’s also so impersonal and bland. Like I am hard on Walmart but it’s convenient as f*ck you just never want to run into the place... and I am pretty old so I wouldn’t run into TRU but I definitely fast-walk it a lot.
     
  10. shapercreator14

    shapercreator14 Vae Victus

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    My biggest issue regardless of whatever you could find on the pegs at TRU (which in my experience, was nearly nothing in those last few years), was the markup price. The fact that I could walk into TRU and find things on the shelves that I could have ordered on ebay or Amazon with free shipping at standard retail price and still spent less than at TRU was an issue.

    Saying "well it was a toy store, you should want that as a toy collector" is very dismissive of my points. I'm a toy collector of very specific things, and it was extremely annoying to go to a toy store looking for transformers, one of the largest toy brands ever, and never finding them even though they were in stock in other stores locally, and if they were available on TRU's website I would have to pay that markup price plus shipping because they weren't offering free shipping whereas their competitors were.

    I LOVED KB Toys and Toys R Us when I was a kid. And well into my adulthood, but putting blinders on to the failures that led to their bankruptcy, is nonsensical. Saying "bring them back" and thinking that they wouldn't run it just as poorly as they did puts a lot of faith into a capitalistic corporation solely for the hope that they would cater to us more than any other capitalistic corporation.

    But I digress, because I don't want this to devolve into anything more off topic than it already has. And I have a really bitter pessimistic view on TRU that i could go on forever about.

    On topic. How accurate would anybody say BBTS is on their shipping dates? Amazon can be sporadic with their pre-order dates, and it makes me disbelieve many other pre-order release dates.
    I find myself hovering to BBTS multiple times daily to see if anything has changed.
     
  11. MightyMegs

    MightyMegs Well-Known Member

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  12. Pharoid

    Pharoid Time Traveling Robot

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    No one is being dismissive of you points. I didn’t even know you made them. You are welcome to shop anywhere you like. BUT saying the store didn’t cater to your specific desire to get the lowest possible price kind of misses to point while simultaneously making mine.
    One person’s “nonsensical” is another person’s “being completely ignorant of the facts that led to their bankruptcy.” Your analysis is heavy on anecdotal evidence and opinion and light on facts.
     
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  13. Slave IV

    Slave IV more wealth than you can imagine!

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    I used to get most my toys from BEST.
     
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  14. Pharoid

    Pharoid Time Traveling Robot

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    What is Best? No Conan jokes...
     
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  15. Smitty.1981

    Smitty.1981 Well-Known Member

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    Look man I have a wiping problem...
    Best was awesome. As was that little toy shop Sears use to have.
     
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  16. fujishig

    fujishig Well-Known Member

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    I realize you don't want to go further off topic but please, please read up on why they went bankrupt, because it's not what you're saying at all. And ironically enough BBTS has a similar markup for "hot" toys like... MOTU O. And they don't offer free shipping. :) 

    I think the knock on BBTS for this line in particular was that their ship dates were sporadic. I have no idea if they've gotten better but I wouldn't necessarily put that much stock in them (the release dates, not BBTS, they're great).
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2021
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  17. TranslucentBag

    TranslucentBag Definitively "Graph Guy"

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    Damn man. Now there is a deep cut. I remember going to the one in Greensboro, NC as a kid before they even got a Toys R Us. In fact my parents got me the original Kenner Imperial Speederbike and Jabba the Hut set from there.
     
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  18. Slave IV

    Slave IV more wealth than you can imagine!

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    It was a retail shop where most the things were out on display for demo and you could check them out before buying. They usually had all the hard to find Star Wars, GI Joe and Transformers in stock.
    best-mesquite-tx.jpg
    Best Products - Wikipedia

    Yep!
     
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  19. shapercreator14

    shapercreator14 Vae Victus

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    Fair. I will admit that I was following the news on it during its death, but my news resources may be very one sided. But mostly I am talking to my personal experiences during its bankruptcy. The lackluster "Save the chain" and Liquidation sales that only offered retail equivalent pricing. My experience with the barren aisles and primary focus on their video game section without ever ordering new stock from main retailers. And the poor treatment of employees who were scraping by for low pay and hours at my local store.
    My shipping statements were made about the stock of what was in store at the time. I am well aware that BBTS doesn't have free shipping (I'mpaying for it after all), and I do judge them for it the same way I judged TRU for it. But right now I'm more judgemental of Mattel and Hasbro for the exclusivity of their items, especially during a pandemic period. And I'm judgemental of Walmart and Target for their lacking in prevention of bots on their site, if they do have exclusive items they need to ensure a better method of dealing with offering access to those exclusives.
     
  20. Pharoid

    Pharoid Time Traveling Robot

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    I’ll see you Best and raise you a

    16C0539A-FBCE-4E9A-B8B9-03651A6B4444.jpeg FB3F00A7-A288-4D2C-ABE5-13F1EE53C961.jpeg
     
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