Going to be even less at TRU?

[digger]

Nobody said they are done with 1/18 - I think the comments have basically been that TRU has been (and will stay) on the decline.

[75th Ranger]

just don't go to TRU looking for much...hahahahhaa!

[WGP Klaus]

75th Ranger I could not say it better myself. I am not sad to see the 1/18 product disappear out of the mass market stores. When one goes to a TRU or WM they don’t have service at those stores or the selection that hobby stores have, they don’t have a passion for the hobby it is just another item on their shelf. Nothing worse than selling at a show and have people walk up telling your customers at your booth that they could get that at TRU or WM for less. There is no loyalty and as retailer I am not sad to see TRU stop selling1/18. It is only going to help the online hobby stores to grow and offer more selection to their customers. (just my 2cents)

I fully understand where you, being the smaller E-tailer/Mom and Pop type Hobby Shop are coming from, but if it weren't for mass merchants, these lines for the most part wouldn't have received the exposure they have, and many of us wouldn't have had the opportunity to purchase such incredible pieces. I support several LHS's (Local Hobby Shops) but to be honest, I don't buy 1:18 from them as they're marked up at absurd prices, most of which I feel are beyond the fair market value of said items, but will buy from WM's and TRU's and do so on a regular basis. I suspect that if not for places like WM and TRU selling these pieces, most folks wouldn't be able to afford the depth that many of us have, as prices would be through the roof. In regards to online E-tailers, I also purchase quite a bit through them as well, but as most of us know, nothing compares with actually having to hunt down a particular item, and also be able to visually inspect the item prior to purchasing, thus affording us a "piece of mind" and not having to deal with returns and boxing/shipping out an item for exchange/refund. If in fact TRU does cease to exsist, and WM doesn't pickup such lines as BBi, I believe it will actually hurt us in the long run, as these companies will just produce actual "toys" and not the collectibles we're used to.

My $0.02

[WGP Klaus]

Did they ever say TRU is done with 1/18 scale stuff or is it just speculation at this point?

I recall reading here (too lazy to search) or on another related site, that BBi claimed TRU would continue carrying their line of products, but we all know they dumped 21st a while back, now as to whether they'll pick it up again (if it's in the cards) is anyones guess, but I don't believe they're "dumping" 1:18 just yet.

[Coreyeagle48]

Greetings Friends,

I really agree with what someone said about the stores not carrying a certain product, but yet people continually ask for it and look for it. A friend of the young lady I currently date still works for Wegmans near where we live and they get this all the time.

Interestingly enough, those of you from New York, New Jersey and PA will be familar with Wegmans and know the wonderful tradition the company likes to claim about taking care of their customer. But lately while doing some grocery shopping, I have even heard the customers there grumble about the store items being moved, not in stock, etc. It is crazy these companies cannot just give the customer what they want, make sales and make profits.

TRU's problems began when two things happened, 1) they went way overboard with store expansion and the whole Babies R Us Concept stores and 2) They changed the toy store layout and people got mad. TRU was one of the few places that most times of the year, you could get Tyco slot cars sets, cars and train sets. They had the best supply of 1/18 cars out there (we're talking an aisle full) and they have every single Lego set available. I used to love going there. Now I go in there and nothing excites me anymore at all. The store near me carries very little and the only thing I got was a stuffed Black Lab for my niece and a dinosaur for my classroom. Other than that it was just cheap crap.

It seems the toy business is a dying breed. I remember the days of the Sears Wish Book, the real TRU, Kiddie City and when Kay Bee wasn't relgated to the smallest store in the maill. Boy if I had money I'd start a quality toy story chain. You could easily take down TRU and if you carried the good stuff, people would come back.

TRU messed with their successful items, and lost customers. Now the company has lost its way, and is struggling. There is never a problem with expansion, but when you get away from the business model that works, you're in trouble

[corpbob]

Sears catalog died not because of lack of business, but because of lack of business sense. The year before it went belly up I tried to order a bean-bag chair. To make a long story short, after 6 months of trying and failing, their Customer Service called to verify our satisfaction with the chair (that we never received). When I told them this, they put me on hold and then hung up, apparently because they didn't want to fill out a negative report. And I wasn't the only one having things like this happen.

Most of the toy stores are dying simply because they stock cheap crap that only a 5 year-old wants. Kay Bee is a joke now. Even WalMart is guillty of this to an extent. I'd love to see Walmart's sales figures for their toy sections now vs. 10 years ago. I'd wager they haven't kept pace with the rest of the store's growth. Some is a result of what is available, but moreso whomever makes the stocking decisions for each of these stores deserves the village idiot award.