Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle • Hacker News Board

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#251

Post by pbhjpbhj » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 12:41 PM UTC

twiss wrote: post #139

rb808 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Every time I find something unique that I would have never looked for on Amazon, and often I'm hooked by the tactile act of playing with something that couldn't be fully replicated online. You're absolutely right. The result usually is though that the kid finds a toy they like then puts in on their Birthday/Christmas wishlist from where the Santa buys from Amazon. I like to think I never do this, but if the price is…

In many European countries, the prices of books are fixed [1]. Sometimes it's arranged by law, sometimes by publishers. Toy publishers could try to achieve the same. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_book_price_agreement

I think you'd struggle, with the sort of toys ToysRUs sell, to make an argument for cartel-style pricing based on cultural benefit.

Arguably "big box" toy stores work against cultural value in toys.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#252

Post by pbhjpbhj » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 1:03 PM UTC

ars wrote: post #114

icelancer wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not that much different than playing with mindless toys. Research on device usage with children is mixed to say the least.

Most online games are skinner boxes. Just press button over and over. With basically no creativity - or even the possibility of it. A physical game is not like that. For a young child there is no such thing as a "mindless toy".

You don't need cheap plastic crap though, wooden toys and well made plastic toys can last generations.

Some baby/toddler toys look very much like Skinner boxes to me, intended primarily to keep the child occupied so the parent/carer doesn't have to bother with interacting.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#253

Post by pbhjpbhj » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 1:13 PM UTC

andreygrehov wrote: post #176

taf2 wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree... as a kid I have very fond memories... makes me kind of sad. I see the same excitement now in my kids...

I moved to U.S. just a few years ago, but I know what you mean. The bar to kids' happiness is very low, which is, unfortunately, not the same with adults, including myself.

The kids are thinking "did that look cool" and are swayed by the box and presentation (eg big box to hide the small size of the toy, etc.).

Adults are wise to the tricks and look for a toy that's not just good to play with "right now" but also will last to be played with again, and will still entertain when the box is open and the novelty has faded.

In short kids are an easy mark (easy to con).

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#254

Post by germanier » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 1:19 PM UTC

philfrasty wrote: post #239

icebraining wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You doubt incorrectly :) From Amazon.de: "If you want to return an article within Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland or Portugal, we even supply you with a pre-paid return mailing label" Sometimes they even let you keep the item. I barely buy anything from them, but I had that happen earlier this month with an item worth ~30€, despite choosing the option that indicated it was my fault.

This is incorrect for Amazon.de. You generally pay 3,90€ for returning the item via DHL/Hermes (unless you declare the reason for return as e.g. not working). Certain categories (clothing) have free returns. This is only the case if the order was placed through FBA or Amazon itself. Marketplace sellers with their own fulfillment usually charge you for returns or don't provide a shipping-label at all. (source: selling…

AFAIK Amazon.de does not charge for a return label no matter which reason you state if you return within 14 days and the article is valued over 40€ (even though they could legally now). Since this April they require Marketplace vendors to cover shipping back in those cases as well.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#255

Post by ransom1538 » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 1:49 PM UTC

linkregister wrote: post #188

SilasX wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Toy stores are a _great_ example of opportunity for brick and mortar. Just like book stores, they operate in a space where curation, discovery and the physical experience adds real value. Not anymore. Customers just use them as a free showroom and then buy it cheaper off Amazon.

No way. The high-quality wooden hand-crafted toys at good mom & pop toy stores are not available on Amazon. Discoverability of good intellectually stimulating toys is similarly poor on Amazon. You also overestimate the delta between the Amazon price (if the product is carried by Amazon) and that of the brick & mortar price. Often the brick & mortar price is identical after shipping costs. The competitive advantage of…

"No way. The high-quality wooden hand-crafted toys at good mom & pop toy stores are not available on Amazon. "

If they have any kind of success and are visible - the chinese will have copies flooding the market within weeks. Small shops play a game to sell - but don't become too big.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#256

Post by lostapathy » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 2:54 PM UTC

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #248

lostapathy wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ace Hardware is a cooperative, not a chain, or even a franchise system. As such they vary a lot , and it seems on average they are getting worse. We used to have a really good Ace chain around here, with a proper hardware section and quality tools. They now only stock super common hardware, not the stuff I'd go to a specialty store for, and a lot of really garbage tools. And they certainly don't have any experts anym…

I don't understand why it being a cooperative makes for wide variance in staff quality. Do US Americans not like working in co-ops? What is it about profit sharing that causes the variation, in UK cooperatives seem to be more liberal and offer better working conditions but their recruitment seems pretty much inline with other forms of corporation. Can you offer any further insight? Perhaps the demise of this particul…

It's not a cooperative like REI or other much-loved stores are cooperatives. In the case of REI, the end customers are the members. In Ace's case, the store owners are the members.

So in the example of REI, it's a cooperative but there is still a central control and consistency between stores.

Between Ace chains, the only thing common is the word "Ace" and some fraction of Ace-branded products in the store. Some chains have tons of them, some have very little. The "Ace cooperative" exerts very little control over the stores. The cooperative is mostly about branding, not about products or quality.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#257

Post by aswanson » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 4:28 PM UTC

wolverine876 wrote: post #164

dadrian wrote: post #104

The CEO of Toys 'R' Us as of 2015 is Dave Brandon. He was the former CEO of Dominoes Pizza. After he left Dominoes in 2009 is when they started the "We used to suck, we don't anymore, please come try us again!" advertising campaign. After Dominoes, Dave Brandon was the athletic director at the University of Michigan. During his time as AD, he managed to alienate the majority of the fan base, hire a coach who got wors…

I'm amazed and saddened to find this written here. What you read in the parent is the content of a social media slander campaign from years ago led by a blogger named Brian Cook (who runs a blog popular with University of Michigan sports fans called MGoBlog), apparently because Brandon fired Cook's favorite coach. Sorry this is so long, but I can't watch a good person's reputation be slandered. Dave Brandon was a cla…

How was there not a lawsuit against him for what he did to the thirteen year old?

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#258

Post by m23khan » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 5:10 PM UTC

What are toys these days? VTech LED craziness or Lego-on-steroids? No kid (even Babies it seem) are interested in old fashion wooden/metal toys whereas toddlers+ are only interested in digital/musical/mechanical stuff that feels all 'plasticy' and 'gimmicky'.

Let's face it - kids these days are taught to follow the latest 'fads' when it comes to toys and to feel everything they own is super disposable -- similar to their parents.

No wonder Toys R Us can't meet the budgetary requirements of a modern parent whose kids are so fussy when it comes to toys that as soon as the kid is 7/8 years old, the focus is shifted to electronic gadgets and the modern sport 'app'rchery.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#259

Post by makomk » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 5:22 PM UTC

product50 wrote: post #39

Though this may have something to do with Amazon (and retail generally trending online), it does appear that the big culprit here were Bain Capital (and its partners) who took it private in 2005 via leverage buyout and ladened Toys r Us balance sheet with untenable debt from thereon. Apparently, they were paying $500M in interests alone per year vs. reinvesting capital in growth of their offline stores or online reta…

Yeah, here in the UK Smyths Toys (a large out-of-town toy retailer that first entered the UK market a decade ago) seems to be doing doing a roaring trade these days and expanding rapidly, Toys R Us not so much. I believe Smyths are still owned by the original family that founded it too.

Re: Toys ‘R’ Us Plans Bankruptcy Filing Amid Debt Struggle

#260

Post by cookiecaper » Tue, Sep 19, 2017, 5:30 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #222

kamaal wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Customers just use them as a free showroom And that free showroom is now gone. All the best buying something on Amazon, and realizing that you didn't like it after it was delivered at your home. The cost of treating it as a free showroom will now cost customers buying a lot of products they don't like.

Cost customers? Amazon has free returns, and sometimes they even refund you and let you keep the item. Meanwhile, it's not like you can really test a toy in a store, and returning it means another trip.

Amazon only has free returns if you choose very specific options that place the blame wholly on the seller (I think it's "item defective"). If, for example, you say that you found a better price, or just didn't want the item anymore, Amazon charges a hefty return shipping fee and may also charge a restocking fee.

Of course, this means that customers always choose that option, and FBA sellers get harmful demerits on their account every time that happens. This is such a popular way to hurt FBA sellers that people have a habit of ordering items from competitors just to return them as counterfeit and/or defective, in the hope that doing this a few times will get a competitor removed from the seller pool.