var json_comments = new Array("

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December 11, 2008 7:21 PM

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Not sure how they stayed in business this long. Toys \"R\" Us is next!

4 replies

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December 12, 2008 3:40 PM

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@Mfalconieri: I never understood how the place stayed in business. Every time I've been to the California locations, the places looked half out of business as it was with unstocked shelves (clearly not from being sold out), opened packages, and products lying all over the floor. With the exception of getting good deals on older items, I always thought the place was a cesspool.

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amuro98

December 12, 2008 5:26 PM

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@FunkmasterC:
Their stores are pathetic, but you can find an occasional deal online for LEGOs or videogames.

However in recent years, even their online selection has gone sharply downhill.

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Skunky

December 11, 2008 7:36 PM

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@Mfalconieri: As a minor toy collector (I'm not at all hardcore) I loved Kay-Bee since they never really wipe their inventory. They'll hold onto items and just slap lower and lower price tags on it until they sell. I've scored a number of Transformers on the cheap that way, usually ones I missed when they originally came out, cause I wasn't paying attention or didn't have the money at the time.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly

December 11, 2008 8:33 PM

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@Skunky: i used to work there and really enjoyed that practice when it came to getting old barbies and 'Alien' action figures for my barbie art. [seen in icon photo - demon lilith barbie with horns from the 'bull alien' toy]

the \"3/$5\" bin + employee discount was my special shopping friend....

we once upon a time discovered overnight that The Tick toys were discontinued overnight and clearanced out. i freely admit to holding a few things back [they never were a big seller] when i was repricing them down to 17 cents apiece:

[www.flickr.com]

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December 11, 2008 7:23 PM

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That's crazy. For a while, KB Toys was the only toy shop in town. It was in the mall. If it closes, then there's no real \"toy shop\" in my hometown, as Toys R Us already bit the dust.

3 replies

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December 11, 2008 7:32 PM

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@lalaland13: Walmart has pretty much beaten down the mall toy store along with the local independent toy store for generic toy purchases. Any toy store surviving has high end toys or other lines helping it keep afloat.

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December 11, 2008 10:18 PM

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@econobiker: By local independent store you mean Toys R Us, right?

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Skunky

December 11, 2008 7:37 PM

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@econobiker: Walmart has a crappy plush selection. That's one thing that keeps me going to smaller toy stores.

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kayfox

December 12, 2008 4:10 PM

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I think everyone's selection of plushies is dismal, try finding things like normal looking Orcas and any kind of Fox. Are plushies going the way of playing make-believe?

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Skunky

December 15, 2008 8:06 PM

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@kayfox: I don't think it's that bad yet, there are a ton of fantastic plush critters out there to be had, it's just harder to get them from a mainstream store. Check out Amazon, they carry all the Wild Republic and Folkmanis brands of plushies, probably the best ones out there. But if you're like me and really need to be up close 'n personal when shopping, you'll absolutely have to find a small toy store to find these and other good brands. Here in the bay area we have Talbot's in San Mateo, and Jeffrey's (Jeffries?) in San Francisco, both of which have literally walls of plush.

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pb5000

December 11, 2008 8:15 PM

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@Skunky: My wife and I have noticed that Target's toy prices have been cheaper than Wal-Mart's this holiday season. Nice

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meekrobe

December 11, 2008 7:28 PM

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I walked into a KB just a few days ago to relive some memories. I was shocked, everything was cheap garbage from China. There was nothing in that store I could see that I would have found interesting when I was a child.

No wonder kids only play video games now which KB didn't even carry.

7 replies

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Dyscord

December 23, 2008 4:30 AM

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@meekrobe: Now that I think about it, I've only bought a few things from KB. A transformers figure, some nickelodeon products and one NES game on sale. For about two years it was the only place to get toys around here until Walmart and Super Kmart opened. Plus, Electronics Boutique opened across the hall from the KB in the mall here. Once that happened, many never really set foot in KB again.

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biggeek

December 11, 2008 11:16 PM

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@meekrobe: I hate to break it to you, but KB Toys has ALWAYS sold cheap garbage from China. It's not a recent development.

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December 11, 2008 9:42 PM

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@meekrobe: ... and that's about when I stopped going to KB. Granted, as an adult I'm not nearly as interested in other toys they carry, but I wonder how much of a difference it would have made if they'd carried video games, particularly now if they'd sold Wii games (which seem to be more in line with their overall philosophy).

Of course, selling cheaply-made toys probably had more of an impact on their demise. If they'd carried quality stuff, the lack of video games wouldn't matter as much.

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MightyDwarf56

December 12, 2008 1:21 AM

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@zlionsfan: The KB toys in my hometown mall sold videogames when I was a kid. This was before Gamestop, Wal-Mart and the like. I guess they gave that up after awhile, too bad I guess.

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December 12, 2008 3:22 AM

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@MightyDwarf56: They never tracked video game sales. That is, any sales of software they sold were never added to their store's sales for the day. The margins were just so low that they didn't count it.

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paladyn

December 12, 2008 4:03 PM

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@Shadowfire: Never? I remember buying Final Fantasy 3 for the SNES there when it first came out because it was the only place in town that had it in stock. It also cost me more than $80, which was well over MSRP... That doesn't indicate low margins.

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MightyDwarf56

December 12, 2008 4:36 AM

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@Shadowfire: That explains it.

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valthun

December 11, 2008 9:48 PM

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@zlionsfan: They did attempt to sell video games, with the Xbox, PS2, and GC. It didn't do too well for them. Right about that time they indicated they were going down for good. I am surprised they lasted almost a decade longer than even they expected.

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December 11, 2008 7:33 PM

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@meekrobe: I remember roaming about it as a child as well. Now it's likely just depressed and cheap. Kind of like the adult version of me, come to think of it.

KB Toys: Your Childhood Has Been Liquidated.

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December 11, 2008 7:44 PM

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@lalaland13: too true.

I feel like their products trailed off to target only sheltered kids that find barbie and cheap plastic swords entertaining.

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December 11, 2008 7:33 PM

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If memory serves, this is the umpteenth time KB has flirted with death. I seem to recall store closings, bankruptcies, closeout sales, and the like over the years, and the zombie toy store kept shambling along. I was always mystified as to how it could stay in business, sort of like Radio Shack.

8 replies

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December 12, 2008 3:44 PM

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@AtomicPlayboy:
I used to work at Radio Shack here in Canada before they were bought out - the markup on the junk they sell is crazy. Its usually a 300% markup. It showed on the sales tills what the cost was and what the sale price was. Every time i rang up a sale i really wanted to tell the customer how much he was getting ripped off.

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ArcanaJ

December 11, 2008 9:18 PM

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@AtomicPlayboy: Yeah, I swear I thought they went out of business a couple years ago.

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December 11, 2008 8:29 PM

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@AtomicPlayboy: I'd say they're done with flirting and have moved on to \"presenting.\"

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maciejb

December 11, 2008 8:26 PM

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@AtomicPlayboy: Radio Shack already went out of business in Canada a few years ago. Bought up by Circuit City and renamed \"The Source\". Hmmm...

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kayfox

December 12, 2008 4:08 PM

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That wasnt going out of business, that was a series of lawsuits:

[en.wikipedia.org]

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Anonymous

December 12, 2008 1:30 AM

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@AtomicPlayboy: @maciejb: The store that were bought by Circuit City were not owned by RadioShack but rather run by a company called InterTAN who had a licensing agreement. RadioShack took them to court over the name when InterTAN was bought out by Circuit City and thus the name change to \"The Source\". The Wikipedia article has all the tidbit nonsense. Also, for everyone, it's RadioShack, no space :P (They switched to the CamelCase name for the stores in like '95 and renamed the whole company in like '00).

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DerangedRoleModel

December 11, 2008 7:59 PM

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@AtomicPlayboy: Isn't Radio Shack now in decent shape since they're selling a lot of cellphones now?

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December 11, 2008 7:47 PM

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@AtomicPlayboy:
Indeed, I agree...the very few KB's I remember are long gone in my hood. The greatest anomaly is Radio Shack, how the heck do they do it ? Who even buys from that place...severely overpriced junk. You Go Girl (R.S.)

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Chols

December 11, 2008 7:38 PM

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Another one falls at the hands of Wal-Mart.

2 replies

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December 12, 2008 2:13 PM

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@Chols: That's like blaming your neighbor for not being able to make your mortgage payment. Sorry. K B Toys is a victim of their own failure. 1) Consumers not buying toys, not Walmart's fault. 2) Running a business where competition is tough, not Walmart's fault. bad management decisions, not Walmart's fault. Toys R Us is next and it won't Be Walmart's fault. It's China's fault!

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December 12, 2008 4:37 AM

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@Chols: survival of the fittest. If you can't keep up with the big dogs then ya gots to go home. It's all about free market capitalism baby!

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December 11, 2008 7:43 PM

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KayBee has always been a fun place to go. Many times I would score great deals on clearance items. Several years ago, I bought 4 Lazer Tag pistol/target vest sets for like $10 each!!!

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Anonymous

December 11, 2008 7:45 PM

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Don't blame Wal-Mart. People walk through the doors and choose where to buy their Chinese crap.

1 replies

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SpruceStreetPhil - in a new Pine flavor

December 11, 2008 8:32 PM

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@CaraKlilyn: correct, or nowadays, people choose to never walk through the doors and get the stuff with a click of a button. (plus 6.95 shipping and handling)

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December 11, 2008 7:51 PM

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ok, I really like KB....cheap cheap clearance and since everyone always seemed to forget about it because of TOYS R US, you could usually score stuff there.

RIP KB...I just did a black friday, at midnight line thing this year. It was always my BF goto store!

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December 11, 2008 7:52 PM

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KB Toys was my favorite job ever. You got to work with toys, giving you that nostalgic feel, and at the time for me the pay was good. It was only a temporary job, but it was still a lot of fun.

3 replies

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Trick

December 11, 2008 10:30 PM

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I was an assistant-manager at one for about a year when I turned 18. I had to work 48 hours a week (mandatory OT) and yes, some of the coolest swag found a way to my home in my own little 2008 CEO kinda way :)

Back in 1988 the pay was $8 so it wasn't all that bad for a 18 year old. I left though because the store had a lot of high-school students working for them and the drama was just too much to deal with... and knowing how irresponsible and full of drama I was back then, that says a lot about the rest!

Still, I'll never forget the two old Asian ladies that had a spit fight in one of the isles over one last toy...

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly

December 11, 2008 10:56 PM

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@Trick: oh! spit fight is good! my favorite was in 1994 when a 12 yr old was angry that we didn't have a 5\" rogue [x-men] with green eyeshadow [rarer than blue] so he dropped trou and took a dump in the aisle. in front of his mom. and she didn't do anything.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly

December 11, 2008 8:36 PM

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@xAnarChisTx: did you ever get to be a toy demonstrator and enamor kids of the toys so much they had a tantrum if their parents tried to leave without buying it? *sigh* - that was my favorite part of the job.
why yes, i AM evil, why do you ask?

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December 11, 2008 7:53 PM

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Most of the locations near me closed 4-5 years ago. Occasionally I could find something interesting in there, but it was definitely a shell of what it once was. Walk into a K-B 25 years ago, and they had an aisle of plastic model kits, model rockets, and model trains. On the other side of the store, video game cartridges. And of course, toys. The prices were rarely the lowest around, but they had a better selection and variety than anything outside of a big toy store like Toys R Us or Children's Palace, and they were in the mall. It was a great refuge on my mom and aunt's all-day shopping marathons when they would spend 2-3 hours each at JC Penney, Sears, and Montgomery Ward.

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Ash78 ain't got time to bleed

December 11, 2008 7:53 PM

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When I was a kid, most of the toys were part of a longstanding franchise: GI Joe, Barbie, He-Man, or even short-lived ones like MASK or Voltron. For years you could count on being able to drop in and find something you didn't have, and at a reasonable price--even on your small allowance.

But now the stores are 50% random Chinese crap, 50% short-term promotion crap (usually from some movie). And even if it is a Batman toy, they seem to re-release new series with each new movie, and the compatibility (by scale) is usually lost in the process.

When I was a kid, nothing got me into the toy store quicker than the prospect of a new GI Joe man for $2.79 (and my mom was cool with the low price). Or even a small vehicle for under $15. Now it seems like the figures themselves are $15, which makes parents less likely to give into the kids' whims on the spot. And when you don't offer whimsical and longstanding \"franchised\" toy choices, I don't see your business succeeding.

10 replies

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Greg Oryschak

December 13, 2008 7:04 AM

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@The Name's Ash78, Housewares:

Forget MASK... Starcom is where it's at.

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December 12, 2008 4:57 PM

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Don't forget about the Bionic Man dolls - the one where you could look through his eye socket for super vision, or replace his bionic arm with a flamethrower. Why did I ever have to grow up?

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December 11, 2008 8:56 PM

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@The Name's Ash78, Housewares:
I recall the same fond experience. But KB hasn't been a decent toy store for more than 10 years, and it's not just because I'm older.

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Ash78 ain't got time to bleed

December 11, 2008 9:11 PM

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@ZenMasterKel: Yeah, I was hoping my viewpoint was objective, and not just a change in perspective with the passage of time. Kids really are at the leading edge of our overconsumption and \"planned obsolescence\" culture.

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zentex

December 11, 2008 8:02 PM

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@The Name's Ash78, Housewares: ...MASK...

You sir, are a men among men for knowing what MASK was.

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Thaddeus

December 12, 2008 2:31 AM

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@zentex: I have the Corvette RAVEN on my desk as you read this.

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December 12, 2008 7:25 AM

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@Thaddeus: Yeah but there's still something special when it comes to playing with toys. When I was visiting Pittsburgh, I went into this unbelievable shop on the South Side just filled with old school toys.

Too bad the fun of toys is lost on so many kids today.

On a positive note, GI Joes are still around.

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Thaddeus

December 12, 2008 3:32 PM

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@dragonfire81: If you're ever in Cleveland, Ohio (by accident) try checking out a place on the east side called \"Big Fun\" it's like 80's toy chest in there.

Yes... GI Joe... at least we still have that.

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December 11, 2008 9:03 PM

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@zentex: I have several MASK toys, I think I have the little dune buggy that converts into some kind of fighter-plane-thing. Good times.

Now, what about GO-BOTS! And if you know about them from the reference in Clerks (was it the cartoon? one of the movies?), it doesn't count. :)

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Gearhead_42 - Nibbles ate my garage!

December 12, 2008 2:29 PM

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@lannister80: I had that same dune buggy! Loved that thing :)

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December 11, 2008 8:58 PM

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@zentex: I am a girl and I was a huge fan of MASK when I was a kid!

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December 11, 2008 8:55 PM

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My question was always: if they're working overtime fighting crime, do they get time-and-a-half?

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SpdRacer

December 11, 2008 8:41 PM

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@zentex: I still have one of the toys floating around in all my crap, err I mean \"collectibles\" that I have boxed up.

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Raekwon

December 11, 2008 7:54 PM

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My favorite were these Super Soaker brand nerf styled dart guns I got from a KB outlet. You pumped them to build up pressure to shoot the darts. You could get them to shoot through glass :-D Made awesome welts too during dart gun wars. Completely owned actual nerf gun users.

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December 11, 2008 7:55 PM

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Toys today are crap. If I want to shop for a kid, I'm going to a store where I can buy a wooden yo-yo. If the kid isn't happy with a wooden yo-yo, maybe they don't deserve to be happy.

3 replies

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December 15, 2008 5:54 PM

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@josephbloseph: do you remember those super fancy plastic yo-yos with the spring action that you had to have your parents call in to order? those were amazing...

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January 5, 2009 7:24 PM

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@snowburnt: I had a yomega Brain, one of those clutch-action things. Some yo-yo company came to my school, demonstrated the Mr. Pro-yo (a yo-yo I like), and sold them through the school for $5, along with the \"brain auto-return\" yo-yos for $10. I'm glad I got the $5 one at the time; the return-action was overrated. I like wooden and other fixed-axle yo-yos.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly

December 11, 2008 8:59 PM

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@josephbloseph: oooh, wooden yo-yo's on sale!
[www.duluthtrading.com]
as long as all the brick and mortar stores are closing anyway, why not get your wooden yo-yo's online?
that was sarcasm - i often miss being able to go into a store that sells only toys and not also candy, dog food, diapers, lingerie and shoes. i'm about 25 miles from a toy store

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Segador

December 11, 2008 7:59 PM

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Ho Ho Ho!

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December 11, 2008 8:01 PM

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The KB's around here have stayed dirty for years. I never thought of it when shopping for toys. If we saw one in the mall, we would walk in, but very rarely buy anything. The front of the store was always cluttered with crap. I was in one just a few weeks ago that had Game Cube game on SALE for $40+. Not just Mario/Luigi stuff either.

1 replies

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sockrockinbeats

December 12, 2008 12:27 PM

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@joeblevins: yeah, every KB around here (we have a KB toy works and a smaller KB in a mall) is...dirty. their tiled floors are yellowed and cracked, water stains on the ceiling, stuff is dusty and cluttered. it's just not the most appealing place to walk into

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December 11, 2008 8:09 PM

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KB always seemed kind of pricey to me (probably because of mall rents), but they do have an awesome selection. I'm no economist, but 20% seems like a modest decline to cause a business to go bankrupt. If we were talking 50% or 60%, I'd definitely understand. There must be more to this story...

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December 11, 2008 8:12 PM

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time to start making your own toys out of Popsicle sticks, googly eyes and glue like we did in the 70's.

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Sucko-T

December 11, 2008 8:18 PM

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The store near me pulled their gift cards yesterday. About two weeks ago they told their employees, \"We're not closing\"

Liars.

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El_Fez

December 11, 2008 8:23 PM

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Didn't KB Toys already go bankrupt years ago? All the ones around here have long since closed.

1 replies

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December 11, 2008 9:27 PM

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@El_Fez:
They entered bankruptcy back in 04 I think it was. They shut down a large number of stores, leaving whole states without any KBs, but they did not close down all together.

At the end of the 90's there were around a dozen KB stores in my general area, currently there are 4, and one was GOB next year even before this announcement.

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December 11, 2008 8:26 PM

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Ugh. I just bought some disney princess stuff there for my neice yesterday (no discount... blah >_<) . I bet it will be 50% off by Monday.

I has a sad.

3 replies

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Quake 'n' Shake

December 11, 2008 9:54 PM

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I have 2 memories of KB:
1) After the video game market collapsed in '83, they had tons of game cartridges that they had to liquidate. I recall picking up some (then) cool games for Intellivision for 10 bucks, whereas 1 year earier, the games were $40 or so.
2) Dark Tower. Greatest Game EVER!

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December 11, 2008 8:36 PM

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@Mistrez_Mish: Don't worry, the liquidators will mark it back up to full price and then some. You probably bought at just the right time.

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December 11, 2008 8:32 PM

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@Mistrez_Mish: Aw, don't has a sad. It's more likely that on Monday the price will be jacked up 300%, then \"discounted\" 50% from that. You probably got the better deal.

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December 11, 2008 8:32 PM

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Interesting. KB Toys starts to downgrade its stock to marked-up plastic generics, while at the same time starts its decline to bankruptcy. It comes out the other side miraculously still alive, then continues the exact same business model. Declines back into bankruptcy again.

How many stores have you seen that follow this pattern? Fail, come back from bankruptcy, neglect to change, fail again.

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December 11, 2008 8:56 PM

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Wow this is surprising, every time I went in there prices ON AVERAGE were 10$ HIGHER on every single toy I looked at than in other stores. A toy typically priced 9.99 would be 17.99 at KB, etc. Toys R Us and Amazon had them beat by a long shot. Anyone who shopped at this store had to be a complete moron or VERY VERY desperate for a toy.

2 replies

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December 11, 2008 9:56 PM

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This is because KB's target customers were desparate people who found out that item X was sold out everywhere else, were in too much of a hurry to compare prices, or were for whatever reason unwilling to return things.

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December 11, 2008 10:16 PM

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@VOIDMunashii: Except for the fact that the store is so crammed that you can't even move (even moreso than other retail stores) and the fact that they have extremely low stock of everything. I was recently looking for a toy for a gift, I went to KB and they had exactly 3 of them despite the fact that it was an ad item for that week. I went to walmart and there was at least more than 20. I don't like to shop at walmart but there are no dedicated toy shops in my area so walmart or target it is.

The only thing KB seems to have a high stock of is overpriced chinese junk, piles and piles of no-name toys. Their brand name toys while those are china made as well I am sure, they have almost none of. The brand name toys are what kids want, if they want toys at all, all the kids in my family want video games and Ipods. Toys are dying out fast for any kid over 7 and Apple is getting all their money.

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December 11, 2008 8:57 PM

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Not to be pedantic about it, but they're not going into Chapter 11 - they're likely going into Chapter 7. Under Chapter 11, the company reorganizes, sheds debt, restructures contracts, etc., and then reemerges. Under Chapter 7, the company liquidates: sell the inventory, sell the furniture, pay whatever you get for it to the creditors, and everybody goes home.

2 replies

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December 12, 2008 1:21 AM

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@JustThatGuy3: There's this in an AP article (via AOL News):

Filing for Chapter 11 protection rather than Chapter 7 liquidation allows a company to retain more control over selling off assets. Under Chapter 7, the court immediately appoints a trustee to take over the case.

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December 11, 2008 11:08 PM

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@JustThatGuy3: That occurred to me, too, but all three of the online news articles that Consumerist posted links to say they filed for Chapter 11. The Bloomberg item says the filing doesn't mention their Web site, www.kbtoys.com, so maybe they'll try to continue as an online-only merchant.

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UniComp

December 11, 2008 9:05 PM

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I'm going to miss their poorly organized, highly overpriced stores.

2 replies

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Posthaus

December 12, 2008 3:06 AM

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They were alwasy fun to wander in...I'll miss them. Those sort of stores in general seem to be slowly caving toeither of the extremes of super-high class boutiques, or to big-box \"everything under one roof\" retail.

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UniComp

December 14, 2008 6:34 AM

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@Posthaus: Yeah, I must admit, I've probably bought something from KB even after my teens...

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December 11, 2008 9:12 PM

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I was just in KB two nights ago and they wanted more for a used copy of Halo 3 than Amazon wants for a brand new copy.

The only things we ever bought there were when a relative gave my daughter a Christmas gift that we returned for store credit.

Their prices really aren't competitive with anyone.

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tinmanx

December 11, 2008 9:23 PM

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I didn't know KB was still in business. I assume this time they won't be coming back from the dead.

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December 11, 2008 9:25 PM

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It's sad, but it has been coming for years. The company's leadership never figured out what to do with the company once the economy started to tank at the start of the decade. They screamed \"more customer service\" while cutting hours, passed up on popular toys that people would actually buy for cheap junk with high profit margins that no one wanted, and somehow thought that everything would be okay.

Inept leadership + Wal Mart trying to run toy stores in general out of business + crappy economy = One dead KB Soldier.

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Anonymous

December 11, 2008 9:33 PM

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I was a manager at a KB for a couple of years back from 2000-2003. My store bit the dust in the last bankruptcy filing. I still must say that was my favorite place to work out of everything I've done over the years.

I got to play with toys everyday, got one heck of a workout during the holidays, and I got to see some smiles (a rare thing in retail).

May they Rest In Peace...

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illtron

December 11, 2008 9:45 PM

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Fond KB memory: Playing Super Mario World on the SNES demo unit at the front of the store in the weeks leading up to Christmas in 1991.

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December 11, 2008 9:53 PM

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Dammit, I just went to them recently because they were the only toy store that sold cap guns, now where will I find one of those items that should be common, but aren't sold by Target or Wal-mart because they don't take batteries?

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December 11, 2008 10:57 PM

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Cap guns kick fucking ass. I've always been fond of them since I was a kid. We'd pretend to be cops, robbers, and especially cowboys because I saw Young Guns II right around that time. Just a few years ago I went to the OK Corral with a friend of mine from NYC and we blasted the shit out of each other. Must've been funny to see 3 20+ year olds running around shooting each other.
Anyway, I usually buy my cap guns and caps at the supermarket in the cheapy toy section. They almost always only have 1, but you of course need at a minimum of 2 (if you don't already have one). Otherwise, I've seen them at the dollar store. Failing that, there's always online...

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December 12, 2008 2:48 PM

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@trujunglist: I'll remember that. I had needed a prop gun for a Halloween costume, and a cap gun was the first thing I thought of, so now I have something fun for home, and lots of caps :-D

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December 11, 2008 10:17 PM

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@theblackdog: There should be some at Walmart, our Walmart has all kinds of cheap toys like this however cap guns usually come out around summer time.

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly

December 11, 2008 10:00 PM

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@theblackdog: dollar tree is the last place i saw cap guns

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December 11, 2008 9:53 PM

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Thank goodness Wal-Mart is there to pick up the slack.

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December 11, 2008 10:04 PM

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Since they are using their own company to liquidate, does that mean they WON'T hike the prices up 200% then say it's half off?

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December 11, 2008 10:20 PM

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@morganlh85: I don't see how they can hike the prices anymore and actually get sales. They are already way way higher than the competition for toy prices. The fact that they will be liquidating after Christmas for the most part means that it will likely take a long time to get rid of that inventory. No one buys toys after Xmas.

But of course since the sale will be advertised like crazy the shoppers will bombard that tiny store.

Another trend I seem to see with liquidation sales held after the holidays is that people who hold yard sales in the summer almost always have SOMETHING from that liquidation sale. You can tell because they leave the price tags on the toys. I think I will wait to see what the summer holds.

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December 11, 2008 10:17 PM

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All the KB toys stores around me in closed down a few years ago, but they were probably the worst toy stores in the city anyway.

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mbz32190

December 11, 2008 10:23 PM

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Part of the issue is many kids, except very young ones, aren't buying toys anymore like they used to. Everything is video games, computers, or sporting equipment. That and most of their stores are in antiquated shopping malls where people don't shop anyway,

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Anonymous

December 11, 2008 10:29 PM

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I was a freight manager for KB right after Sept 11th, and the store I worked at was in trouble then.

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December 11, 2008 10:42 PM

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Notice how all the glowing comments are from folks getting closeout toys at $1, $0.17, etc... Not much of a way to manage your inventory if you want to stay in business..

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catastrophegirl chooses not to fly

December 12, 2008 7:29 AM

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@el_smurfo: heck, i worked at 5 different central florida locations in three years [because the stores were closing left and right even in the late 90s] - i was always one of the two or three people not getting fired for stealing. all three managers at my first store were skimming off the top and sometimes entire videogame consoles were walking right off the truck into employee cars without even making it into the stockrooms.
i'm guessing they have to keep the stuff overpriced to cover the shrinkage.

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sponica

December 11, 2008 10:48 PM

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I worked there years ago, before they entered restructuring around the turn of the century, I wasn't surprised then and I'm not surprised now. Although I always wanted to go to HQ, there was rumored to be a lego darth vader and storm troopers flanking the halls to the CEO's office.

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battra92

December 12, 2008 2:51 AM

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@sponica: I will so have to ask my coworker about that.

Pittsfield isn't a really fun area to be in, though.

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bleigh

December 11, 2008 11:24 PM

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the only thing i can remember about this store is when i was about 6. I was behind a mother holding a baby and the baby vomiting on the floor about three inches from me. i never went back inside that store.

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battra92

December 11, 2008 11:31 PM

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I feel bad since I know people at corporate.

This will hit Pittsfield pretty hard, I'm afraid. :(

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gStein_*|bringing starpipe back|*

December 12, 2008 4:05 AM

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i'm sorry, i have Déjà vu...
i thought they closed down last holiday season.

but that was probably some other mall-based toy store i was thinking of.

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Anonymous

December 12, 2008 5:32 AM

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This is really sad for thier employees. Best of luck to all of you. As for the rest of you saying oh they were overpriced, thier stores were dirty it was your fault as your kids were the ones I saw always breaking things which you then tired to hide in with the undamaged items.

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December 12, 2008 2:54 PM

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I remember when I was a kid I could buy a G.I. Joe figure for exactly $3.00 at Wal-Mart. And KB was always more expensive than that. In fact, I don't remember anything I ever got from KB. It was just a store to pop into while the parents were shopping elsewhere.

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corinthos

December 12, 2008 4:14 PM

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I've always found the KB store annoying because of those toys that have that walk around in that glass box making all of them noises. Everytime I walk in the store I get a headache. The ones near me have been closed down for over 10 years.

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December 12, 2008 4:32 PM

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Everyone keeps saying \"But they were so fun to walk around in\"..

Maybe they should have a cover charge to enter the store and not worry so much about selling toys.

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Chuck Barris says ROLL TIDE!

December 12, 2008 4:44 PM

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My husband and I took the kids to the mall last night, and as always, they asked to go to KB before we left. I'm sure their interest in KB is strictly because it is the only dedicated toy store in the mall, since they have NEVER asked us to buy a toy from KB (which is practically unheard of, since they're known to beg for crappy convenience store toys), nor do they argue or pout when I tell them it's time to leave. That to me says as much about KB as anything.

I'm sad to see KB go because it means more jobs will be lost, but when 6 and 7 year-old kids aren't even enticed by it, you know it's doomed to fail.

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December 12, 2008 7:24 PM

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Just another little part of my childhood dying. Though this does not sting nearly as bad as when Child World went out of business.

Of course, here's reason number #1 why they are back in Chapter 11:

GeoTrax Airport Playset: $54.97 @ KB
GeoTrax Airport Playset: $42.99/$44.99 @ Wal-Mart and Target

Bought @ Target for $34.99 on Black Friday

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December 13, 2008 12:37 AM

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Disappointing. Our local KB Toys closed a while ago, but I have fond memories of going there when I was a little kid. Ah well, there's a KB Toys store at a local outlet mall, so my dad and I are going to go there and pick up all of the McFarlane figures we can get our hands on. They're really cool if you've never seen them.

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Anonymous

January 3, 2009 1:39 PM

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It's not because of the store...it's because of corruption amongst the ownership/investment company that owns KB...121 million dollars was spent by the top executives this year...that's more than the entire debt that's owed to loan companies!

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Heri Marie Castro

February 17, 2009 5:09 PM

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Noboddy thinks in the people that work there they had family and things to pay I work at KB Toys and i like what i do there we make a lot of kids and parents happy and the only thing your are doing is talking bad about them you really do not now what customer service and great associates are.Sorry that its what i think

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Anonymous

March 19, 2009 8:34 PM

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As a former Mgr at KB Toys ...I can indeed understand, long before working there...I would go to KB for all or most of my toy needs. Please though, don't start assuming that we automatically limit the types of merchandise that we carry. It's a 2-fold thing, a lot of toy makers STOPPED making the model cars for example b/c it became too cost prohibitive to produce something the ordinary guest would buy. I do sympathize with a LOT of you how things that KB would carry was junk...though a LOT of it wasn't ...just depended on what stores you were at.

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Lulumemh Saleh

March 30, 2009 2:41 AM

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i have a gift card from kb toys for $25,00 and when i found out that the store was closing i went to buy any thing and use the gift card will i couldnt ues it because they had there own reason and now i cant do anything with this stupid gift card

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Lulumemh Saleh

March 30, 2009 2:42 AM

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oh forgot hohoho looooooooool actually i loved that store untill i couldnt do anything with that gift card

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Anonymous

April 9, 2009 5:09 PM

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I went to the Anderson Northern California factory outlet on \"Dechures Road with a sound ativated rifle toy gun, I walked in and ONLY asked if I could get something of equal value, this toy did not work anymore. the Girl/worker was sitting on the counter with a her child in her arm, She yelled at me: No returns!!! I said I did not want money back, just replacement! She yelled NO! I had ny 3 grade school chilren with me, I stated as I was leaving, \"I guess they don't care! A family member \"Skinhead punk\" of the woman cashier yelled : Yea, We Don't give a \"u_ _ \"!!!! KB Toys Company does not have the right for their employees to curse me out and in front of my kids!! Shame on KB Toys! They are jerks for hire of scummbags to work for them!

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Anonymous

May 6, 2009 2:51 PM

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KB was a big part of my childhood. I used to get my Virtual pets there: Nano, Giga, Tamagotchi, Digimon and the offbrand virtual pets. I remember when they had a bunch of them at $5 each. As the years went on, I went to KB to get my digimon mini figures, and digivolving figures as well as a patamon talking figure. I got my first Zoid model kit at KB as well, the blue command wolf. As time went on they had alot of the battery operated zoid kits for close to $10 each. But I didn't take them up on their offer though.....I regret it... I got many disney plushes as well, like the dalmations that did things. I remember wizzer, the pup from the 2nd live action dalmation movie. You fill its bowl with water and you put the play newspaper down and press its rump against the base and the water came out of the hole in the base. And then there was dipstick, you pull his licence tag and let go, then his tail would wag.

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