If you contact Kapow they'll exchange it.

 

Had a sunny day, so took the Dinobots out for a group picture.

 

I thought they would, but Andy just said he'd refund it and I could keep the spare, I guess the shipping would be more than the thing is worth? So thats faiir enough, but I still have to buy and ship the third figure.

 

So guess who got up early on his day off to go to this mandatory work training thing only to be told it’s been cancelled?

 

You sure you don’t work for the same outfit I do?
Sounds like one of their usual tricks!

 

Sounds very fucking familiar. Twice now they have cancelled meetings I have had to come in early for. Still, that time back equates to a day off so the upset is on them in the long run.

 

Amazon.com have TR Overlord for just over £40 posted and taxed (all in!) for anyone that didn’t get one.

Hopefully of use to someone  

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01I...ansformers&dpPl=1&dpID=514xlOttRvL&ref=plSrch

 

Good morning!

 

Get ready for bad news

Toys R Us and Maplin on brink of collapse

 

I was reading that in bed last night....can’t say it’s a surprise. There is a quote from a retail analyst somewhere which is brutal...

Thing is, everyone in here goes to TRU for multiple, yet simultaneous reasons.

Collectors, fans, young family etc. We are all objective enough to see it from the point of view of multiple customer bases, not just our little robot corner and it’s been universally pants across the board.

EDIT;

Found the quote;

Retail experts said Toys R Us’s problems were down to a lack of investment in its stores and website. “It would be easy to blame Amazon, but the reality is that Toys R Us has been a victim of complacency,” said Natalie Berg, an analyst at NBK Retail . “As a specialist retailer, the Toys R Us experience should have been a magical one with in-store events, dedicated play areas and product demonstrations. The reality was a soulless shed.”

5,500 jobs at risk as Toys R Us and Maplin face administration

Ouch.

 

"Fly in this? Eff that, I'm waiting for a bus."

TRU. It's a shame but it's been done to death, literally. It hasn't been much cop for what we usually want to buy but it was there for the occasional purchase that didn't require import prices and even better, the odd lucky strike that rewarded patience/apathy.

And where else am I going to get a Wave of Five figures for pennies less than £20?   I'll miss them.

 

I've got school age kids and buying things for them and their friends for birthdays etc, is always a lottery with the same stock across the whole store

 

to be fair, that quote has pretty much smashed the nail square on the head - that and their online ordering is shocking at best - you can see why Smyths has been able to find a place in the market so easily - t'will be a shame to see TRU go, but in all honesty, I think it might be for the best - it's been in a coma for years... mind you, they always did tend to have pretty amazing lego sections, even if a teeny bit expensive.

 

TRU have always been a massive disappointment. Their weird habit of leaving stock to rot on the shelves without discounting it to clear space for new stuff has never made any sense to me. They've been running on inertia for years now!

 

A real damned shame, and not quite as brutal a statement as it could be as it omits the vulture capital money extraction at the boardroom level, but funny that the expert statement echoes the brushed-off various toy fandom complaints about stocking/availability/stock management show's the pile 'em high/sell 'em cheap can only take you so far, especially when you're no longer selling cheap, high staff turnover and resulting poor product knowledge will get you in the end!

 

If they'd had current releases for a decent price at the times I've been in and gotten something else, I would have doubled my spend with them for each visit.

 

Right there. UK/Euro TRU has been shit for an awful long time. It has all the issues I'm seeing TV Pundits/Mouthpieces recite, but it's as if it was common for a Company that has a US Parent that runs at a $600M operating profit but can't meet a bail-out request for a TAX BILL (Y'know, what they are supposed to bank for as they trade along) of £15M.

That's only "common" if the Company as a whole is rotten.

And Toadimus is right in that leaving product to rot or get rotated out after years of not selling - usually at unrealistic RRPs - is a totally different Policy to what TRU has to do in the States where "clearance" is a state of mind Customers expect (and get!) and actually helps contribute to that operating profit. They reduce margin but constantly clear stock, don't have to Wharehouse much and get greater footfall and loyalty.

So why does Big Retail in this country insist on dying in a ditch to maintain high prices?

Answers on the back of a Bain Capital Prospectus.........

 

Maybe if toys r us were more like this instead of this

 

it is kinda ironic, that the most I've ever spent in TRU in one visit was in a Closing down sale... it's like RRP ( + TRU Tax is some instances) is gospel, and it's no doubt part of the reason people haven't been shopping there. The Occasional seasonal stock clearance sale (akin to Argos, where if you're quick, there are nuts bargains to be had) would have helped enormously...

 

Well TRU is in administration. I can't see a buyer stepping in now, sadly. It'll put The Entertainer and Smyths in an interesting position now though.

Thinking of TRUs lack of sales, the one time I splurged in there was back when the one on Old Kent Road slashed the prices on Cybertron stuff to make way for the movie toys, and I picked up Primus for £25. Alas, it looks like it's going the way of Woolworths...

Incidentally, Woolies goimg under was ten years ago this year, meaning most kids now won't remember the place!