Consumerist
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toys
Toys R Us Advertises Zhu Zhu Pet Sale, Forgets To Stock Zhu Zhu Pets
Arnold was excited to receive an e-mail from Toys R Us advertising a special early-bird sale of Zhu Zhu Pets. The inexpensive little robot hamsters are in short supply, and the chain promised critters to the first fifty households who showed up at their local store on Sunday morning. Only Arnold reports that not only did his local store never have any of the battery-operated rodents in stock, it wasn't open at the advertised hour at all. More » -
black thursday
Toys R Us Manager Says Store Will Be Open On Thanksgiving This Year
Retail isn't a great field to be in if you enjoy having nights, weekends and holidays off. A disgruntled Toys R Us manager wrote us to say Thanksgiving, one of his three guaranteed holidays per year, will vanish in order to give the store a jump on its Black Friday competitors. More » -
sale fail
Toys R Us Charges You $10 More For Game With Bonus 'Free' T-Shirt
Brent snapped these photos of sales displays for Carnival Games for Wii. The store is charging $30 for the game by itself, but $40 for the game with a bonus "free" t-shirt. -
holiday toys
Experts Predict Widespread Robotic Hamster Shortages
When you were a child, did you own a hamster? Did you say to yourself, "this pet is okay, but I wish it didn't poop, bite, or sleep, and that it could skateboard and surf?" Well, envy the children of today.
One of the predicted "hot" toys for this holiday season are Zhu Zhu Pets, adorable little robotic hamsters. Are they right for you and your family? As one of The Consumerist's leading hamster experts, I've assembled a handy chart to help you determine whether a robot or traditional hamster is right for you. More »
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csi: toys r us
Who Killed The Toys R Us Giraffe?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating the death of Tweet, a giraffe best known from commercials where he played the Toys R Us mascot Geoffrey. Tweet died last Wednesday at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo, after completing filming on "Zookeeper," a new comedy. The official cause of death is a brain aneurysm or stoke, but PETA claims another possible explanation: ingestion of chunks of a toxic tarp that covered his pen. More » -
christmas creep
You Will Not Escape Toys R Us This Christmas
One good thing about the bad economy: There are plenty of empty storefronts in malls across the country, and the owners are more than happy to rent them to short-term tenants during peak seasons. And, this year, you can add Toys R Us to the usual gang of Halloween and Christmas stores that pop up suddenly in your local Simon, and disappear in the night a few weeks later. Jeffrey and his posse are expected to open 80 temporary stores next month, along with new toy sections in 260 Babies R Us shops. More » -
video games
Toys R Us Muscles In On The Games Trading Racket
Kotaku reports that Toys R Us has gone nationwide with its video game trade-in initiative today. Now the chain is stepping on GameStop's turf. The site's Mike Fahey quotes a Toys R Us bigwig: More » -
success stories
EECB To Toys R Us Results In Refund, Personal Apology, Free Toy
Seth had what should have been a fairly simple problem. His son's radio control car broke after only a few weeks of use. The toy was purchased at and manufactured by Toys R Us, and an e-mail to the support address included with the toy bounced. No one in the company's usual customer service channels could resolve his problem, and the people whose job it was to help customers in this situation never managed to contact him.
With no other options, he researched the e-mail addresses of the company's executive board and fired off a carefully crafted executive e-mail carpet bomb. More »
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recalls
Toys R Us Wants Your Recalled Baby Gear
Responding to a rash of recalls involving cribs and other baby paraphernalia, Toys R Us is starting a trade-in program Friday, asking for recalled items in exchange for discounts on new stuff. More » -
christmas creep
August? Pretty Much Christmastime, Declares Toys R Us
Mark, a host of a radio show called the Parafactor, is always on the lookout for paranormal activity. He found himself a bounty when he happened upon this Paramus, N.J. Toys R Us, which has bent space and time to move the holiday season into the dog days of August. Alert Santa Claus and Hanukkah Harry. More » -
inventory issues
Walmart Doesn't Want 7-Year-Old's Birthday Money
The parents of a seven-year-old took him to Walmart this weekend to spend his saved birthday and allowance money on a pretty awesome looking swimming pool & slide combo. They'd checked online first to make sure the item was in stock—and Walmart said it was, at three different locations in fact. More » -
misleading
Not-So Accurate Free Toys 'R' Us Shipping Promise Makes Reader Shoot Self In Foot
Toys "R" Us has a clever little "free shipping" trap going on with its Nerf guns, reader Chi writes. The site offers a couple of compelling deals that, when combined together, cancel one another out and pretty much screw you over. More » -
recalls
Recall Roundup
Umbrellas, toy beach chairs, swingsets, and mysteriously collapsing benches. What do they have in common? All of them have been recalled for various reasons in the last month. More » -
Toys R Us to buy FAO Schwarz. The venerable toy retailer and backstop for Apple's flagship store has been owned by investment firm D.E. Shaw since filing for bankruptcy a few years ago. As part of the deal, TRU is expected to swap its Times Square ferris wheel for FAO's giant piano keyboard. [Bloomberg]
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babies
Jardine Crib Recall Program Tells Customers To Screw Themselves
Aw, get a load of that smile. That's my 3-month-old daughter, Emma, whom I found out has been sleeping in a wooden minefield rather than a crib. More » -
toys r us
Toys R Us Bathroom Stall Falls On Child Safety Advocate
In 2006, Jennifer—the co-founder of popular parenting/consumer advocacy site Z Recommends—took her two-and-a-half-year-old to the bathroom at the local Toys R Us store. What she didn't know was that this particular store featured the awesome striking power of the Action Toilet Stall with Collapsible Mom Trap! As she closed the door, the entire partition fell over on top of her and her daughter. Jennifer managed to protect her daughter from harm, but in the two years since the event, she's developed chronic pain from the accident—and the response from Toys R Us has been "don't call us, we'll call you." More » -
clearance
Save Over $0 At Toys R Us
This sign is accurate. You do save more than nothing at all if you buy this reduced-price Batmobile. More » -
bratz
This Bratz Price Tag Is Surprisingly Honest
This price tag for a Bratz doll found at a Toys R Us in Massachusetts seems a little too honest. Don't you think? More »
toys r us
New York, 2:11 PM
Wed Nov 11
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