My girl and I were just out and about on this New Year's Day and while we were killing time before a movie we walked the mall a bit. I wanted to stop in at K*B Toys one last time to see if there were any good deals to be had and was mildly surprised to see the store was closed. Not just closed but stripped clean and devoid of any signs of life. The sign was still up over the door and there were still the translucent stickers on the glass but the store was gone. I knew this was coming and had half expected the store to be closed but actually being there and seeing it empty was a little sad. I knew they were closing for good but didn't expect it this soon. It's truly the end of an era.

I remember going to K*B Toys when I was a kid and visiting my dad. We'd stop in there before or after seeing a movie and I'd stand in awe of all the cool stuff on the pegs. Back then cost wasn't an issue (I didn't get 95% of what I asked for regardless) and just the sight of cool new toys was enough to send my imagination into overdrive. Later on when I moved back into the area a few years ago I'd stop in the same store hunting for deals. This particular store was closed during the last bankruptcy but when I moved out here to L.A. I found a new store in the mall. My girl and I stopped in a couple of months ago and snagged two box sets of the classic My Little Pony's (on clearance) for her niece so this particular store has a little sentimental value. Seeing it bare and dark was sad and killed a little of the happy mood I had today.

Just like when Children's Palace closed all those years ago, K*B Toys takes a little bit of my childhood with them.

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Yeah - I was talking to the manager of our local KB outlet -- he said that all the California stores are closed and some other regions are shut down already as well. He doesn't have a firm date for his store, but he's hearing rumors of early Feb. They just got a HUGE shipment of stuff in yesterday, so there's still some product to sell off.

As a kid - KBs was the only place in town to get toys besides KMart or the Sears Catalog. The nearest TRU was three hours away and there were no Walmarts or Targets or anything like that. I got most of my Joes from KBs in the 80s - and despite their being more expensive than other stores, I'll still miss 'em.

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KB's were a treat, I remember when they were the only place around to get good H.O. Trains!
And they always had Star Wars figures when Kiddie City and Childrens Palace didn't.
The nearest one is/was an outlet store 60 miles from here. I found two shadow stormtroopers there last summer and paid retail for them.

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Feb. 9 is the last official day given. They're closing the underperforming stores early. Any left over merchandise is being relocated to stores that are still turning a profit. Most mall store if not all will probably be closed within the first half of this month if they haven't already been closed.

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Chris, does 'your girl' have a name?

it's just weird to me that you keep calling her 'my girl' like she's 'Ellie' and you're 'Feck' from 'River's Edge'

//at least, i *think* that's what her name was... it was like 20 years ago i saw that movie...


on topic, it's one thing to have nostalgia for a particular store, and another to have nostalgia for a particular brand --

k*b doesn't do anything for me -- the outlet around here is utter shorsehit. but a lot of my favorite locations (other stores i frequent, or have in the past) have been going dark, and that makes me sad.

so, i know what you mean.

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Will definitely miss my KB. Our TRU in this part of FL just doesn't have the vision, nor the stock. More of a BabiesRUs than anything else.

That leaves just F.Y.E. and Emerald City Comics as the main toy places. Online, while the norm in the past, with increased shipping it always feels like what you spend in shipping could have bought another figure or set.

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KB was great, growing up not having a lot of money I knew I could always get soemthing at KB that was marked down, then when I got into customs thier 3 for 10 was great, I guess that it was not enough in the end, after the first round of closings I noticed their prices seldom came down, oh well here is to the next generation.

I do wonder what will happen to their unsold stock.

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Probably anything unsold will end up at Big Lots. I don't know yet, but that's what I'd figure.

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The KB by me was the bomb in the 80s. I have fond memories of going there with my mother after half-days of school. I remember getting several MicroMachines there when they first appeared, then we'd have lunch at Friendly's. Good times.

In the 90s they were awesome for Transformers, Star Wars, and video games. They were the place to get most of G2, Beast Wars and Machine Wars, and had awesome sales on them. In 1997 I found loads of unsold 80s stock of 8-bit Nintendo games and accessories at my local store. In 1998 I found some unsold G2 Transformers in one. Then the infamous $2 Star Wars clearance netted me most of my POTF2 collection. Great times.

In the 00's, I have no use for KB. Their selection was always godawful, their prices were simply not competitive, and their sales staff left lots to be desired, with few exceptions. With a business model doomed to failure, Im a little amazed they lasted as long as they have. I'll always remember the good times, but their performance over the last 10 years has sullied those memories, and now there is one less chain buying Hasbro's toys. Sad times indeed.

Yeah, a clerk at one of the K*B's here said they were expecting to be open until early February, but they were pretty empty after Christmas. Don't know if they'll get new stock.

I'm really going to miss K*B.

I used to love going to KB Toys looking at the prices, then walking out.

Now to put up these batman beyond variants on ebay...

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It looks like the one near me is getting stock from some others. Closing late Jan here. I may buy a bunch of stuff if it ever gets to 70% off - everything is 50% right now.

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Well, the closest KB to me has always been hit or miss. Truthfully I seldom check it these days, as I tend to bypass the mall altogether. I have scored a few deals there on markdowns in the past.

Wish you the best of luck on the job market, JMan!

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Thanks, as long as my t-shirt shop will pick up, I'll be fine. I might take another second job later on, but for now I'll focus on that.

Yeah if come next week anyone's local KB doesn't have a new stock of items, it's probably about to be shutdown. They are trying to restock the ones still doing fine. I'd imagine the 50% off will stick for a little while too. As well as it's selling at 50% off, I wouldn't think they'd reduce it more yet.

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Weird thing is, the two ones running ACROSS THE INTERSTATE FROM EACH OTHER in commerce, ga were still open after christmas...wonder if they are now or what. It was weird they had two, when people only went in one of the shopping centers anyway.

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