KB Toys pulls out of video game market

[cheesystick]

A good friend and former employee of mine has just informed me that KB toys plans to stop selling video games. Apparently, the company does not see video games as raising a high enough profit margin. How long this process will take, as well as many other fine details, are not known to me at this time. The company has been going through some rough patches in the past few years, so this move does not surprise me. Currently, the whole company has a "raise freeze" due to holiday sales not meeting projections.
I used to work at KB toys, but i quit 2 months ago due to the wrestling season. While i was working there, I raised the video sales to second in the district thanks to my knoledge and enthusiasm. I planned to return there after the season ended in Feb., but with my favorite part of the job being removed, I'm not so sure.

This is dissappointing to me as an employee, but probably not too much of a downer to the rest of the world. KB toys often over priced video games, and I would often tell friends to buy their games downstairs if they wanted to save 5 bucks. But KB Toys did carry a good selection of games that appealed to kids, and offered convienence to many parents buying gifts for their kids. KB also had a selection of games for mall-walkthrough traffic, including mature rated games. If nothing else, KB was just another competitior to keep the prices of other super giants like EB down. And worst of all, I gotta find a new job!
-crispy

[maxlords]

I'm not sure what I think of this, but I get the feeling all we'll have is Wal-mart, Gamestop, Game Crazy, and EB soon..... *shiver*

[kainemaxwell]

Wow..talk about bad news...

[zmweasel]

The entire toy industry is ailing, not just Kay-Bee: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/nov2003/nf20031124_6959.htm

-- Z.

[Oobgarm]

It's easy to see why they aren't pulling a profit when they're still trying to get $40+ for a copy of Fantavision for PS2. Their games are overpriced so horribly, it's no loss for anyone. I've seen Dreamcast games at their stores, and they're trying to get $30-$40 apiece for old titles like Hydro Thunder.

EDIT: I just read the article Zach posted. It's sad to see that TRU is closing their Imaginarium stores. I loved going in there when I was younger and marvelling at the cool gadgets they had.

[wberdan]

i dont see how this is bad news.. ive havn't bought a game at KB since 1991.

their prices suck.

willie

[SaturnRox]

yeah, kb toys is a crap place to find games... their prices are generally at the top-end of the scale.

once in a while, though, you can get a deal... i got a game.com and 12 games form them on clearance for $80. in retrospect, it wasnt such a great deal as if played that piece of b & w, slowdown-ridden junk for maybe 20 minutes, but it certainly satisfied my curiosity about the ability of a pre-GBA handheld to do duke nuken 3-d. not so good...

[Sotenga]

WHAT??!?!!??? O_O :O :yipes:

GODDAMMIT!!! We need all the VG stores we can get! This really f**king sucks! :angry:

*sigh* Then again, I don't remember the last time I bought any video game from them... still, this is bad news. :(

Maxlords, what you said, it's not going to come to that. Only when all life as we know it has come to the ultimate end will that prediction become a grim reality.

[Chunky]

I walked into one on saturday, i don't know why. After looking at the small sections of games they had i just thought they left the VG market some time ago.


However I have not been in a sam goody in about 5 years. They had more games in there than the gamestop next to them.

[Gamereviewgod]

I just don't see how a major company can be so stupid not to take advantage of a multi-billion dollar market. Is their market research department that ignorant that they can't figure out WHY their not making a profit?

[Flack]

I was in Toy Liquidators last weekend -- it's the KB outlet in the Gainsville Mall in Northern Texas. They did not have any video game related items. I even asked and they said that they no longer sold any video game related items. I was looking for a couple more Gamecube controllers. I just assumed that it was this outlet and not the entire chain that was cutting them out.

[nildem]

If all of the Kay-Bee's are as unorganized as the two near me, then it's no wonder they're taking a loss.

There was a Kay-Bee near me in a mall that closed a few years ago. They opened up the behind-the-counter section during the last few days to let customers back there to dig through all the crap.

You wouldn't believe what was back there. I found games and accessories for pretty much every system from the mid-80s on. NES, Virtual Boy, Intellivision, 2600, Game Gear, Jaguar... All crammed behind the current systems games and marked at the original price. Most of the barcodes weren't even recognized, some didn't even have barcodes.

Up above the register they had a large shelf where all the systems were stored. Way in the back, and out of view, were several Virtual Boys and Jaguars marked at $30.00...

Crazy.

[Raedon]

A good friend and former employee of mine has just informed me that KB toys plans to stop selling video games. Apparently, the company does not see video games as raising a high enough profit margin. How long this process will take, as well as many other fine details, are not known to me at this time. The company has been going through some rough patches in the past few years, so this move does not surprise me. Currently, the whole company has a "raise freeze" due to holiday sales not meeting projections.
I used to work at KB toys, but i quit 2 months ago due to the wrestling season. While i was working there, I raised the video sales to second in the district thanks to my knoledge and enthusiasm. I planned to return there after the season ended in Feb., but with my favorite part of the job being removed, I'm not so sure.

This is dissappointing to me as an employee, but probably not too much of a downer to the rest of the world. KB toys often over priced video games, and I would often tell friends to buy their games downstairs if they wanted to save 5 bucks. But KB Toys did carry a good selection of games that appealed to kids, and offered convienence to many parents buying gifts for their kids. KB also had a selection of games for mall-walkthrough traffic, including mature rated games. If nothing else, KB was just another competitior to keep the prices of other super giants like EB down. And worst of all, I gotta find a new job!
-crispy



do yourself a lifetime favor.. DON'T WORK RETAIL

[zmweasel]

However I have not been in a sam goody in about 5 years. They had more games in there than the gamestop next to them.

That's because Goody sees videogames as its financial salvation, what with music-CD sales spiraling ever downward as more and more people discover CD burners and MP3s.

-- Z.

[cheesystick]

do yourself a lifetime favor.. DON'T WORK RETAIL
I'm only 17, I dont really have a choice. Its either fast food or retail, what would you pick?
As for KB's shit prices, i hear ya. Get this: At my KB, we were selling copies of Eternal Darkness for Gamcube for 55 bucks a pop. Downstairs at Gamestop, new copies were going for 15. Hmmm.... for shopping downstairs you could get 3 copies of the same game and STILL have money to spare. If thats not whack, I dont know what is.
-crispy

[Oobgarm]

However I have not been in a sam goody in about 5 years. They had more games in there than the gamestop next to them.

That's because Goody sees videogames as its financial salvation, what with music-CD sales spiraling ever downward as more and more people discover CD burners and MP3s.

-- Z.

Not to mention that Goody charges close to and in upwards of $19.99 per CD. At least, that's what they're doing here.

[norkusa]

Not to mention that Goody charges close to and in upwards of $19.99 per CD. At least, that's what they're doing here.

$20 for a CD?!?! Jesus, no wonder why mp3 file sharing is so popular.

[Sylentwulf]

I'm with Willie, I'm glad they're pulling out, I friggin HATE KB. they have all their stores set up horribly, prices suck, and they always seem to play old people elevator music (in a goddamn TOY STORE?!)

I've been watching kb stores drop like flies in NH for the past 5 years, and I've celebrated the closing of each one :rocker:

[rolenta]

I've been watching kb stores drop like flies in NH for the past 5 years, and I've celebrated the closing of each one

I was in New Hampshire three weeks ago and I stopped at a KB that was next door to a Walmart that I went to. I picked up PS2 Defender and a Gamecube game for $14.99 each. Although I've seen them at those prices elsewhere I figured I'd pick them up there and not have to pay any sales tax.

[zmweasel]

Not to mention that Goody charges close to and in upwards of $19.99 per CD. At least, that's what they're doing here.

The music industry plans to address the issue of overpriced CDs by shipping cheaper discs with fewer tracks, similar to the olden days of the LP album. Not a bad idea, since most CD releases are filled with fluff.

-- Z.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Oh..man that's bad news.

[Raedon]

Sounds like the early 80's.. supersaturated market full of crap.. Magazines printing good reviews for bad games. Overpriced games.

I guess it is time for a shakeup. As for TRU and KB, I always got a laugh when entering those stores. Obviously the head offices don't pick the store managers to well.

The TRU in my town STILL has the Genesis, and Super Nintendo overhead marchee's!!! It's a DECADE later and there they are! Now what does this tell me... one, the District manager isn't stopping in or doesn't care to look at the store and two, no one that works there gives a flying fuck about the place.

K-Mart is getting pretty bad about letting the game area go. Old PSX games that were greatest hits still priced $49.99.

[Castelak]

Sounds like the early 80's.. supersaturated market full of crap.. Magazines printing good reviews for bad games. Overpriced games.

I guess it is time for a shakeup. As for TRU and KB, I always got a laugh when entering those stores. Obviously the head offices don't pick the store managers to well.

The TRU in my town STILL has the Genesis, and Super Nintendo overhead marchee's!!! It's a DECADE later and there they are! Now what does this tell me... one, the District manager isn't stopping in or doesn't care to look at the store and two, no one that works there gives a flying fuck about the place.

K-Mart is getting pretty bad about letting the game area go. Old PSX games that were greatest hits still priced $49.99.

Dude, go in there and ask for those! I went into my TRU and asked a guy if they had anything in back that never sold, picked up around 50 games (SNES,GEN, GG) for 2.50 a piece!

[MarioAllStar2600]

This is actually awsome. Well it doesn;t really matter. This was obviuosly going to happen. The don't know jack about video games, and overcharge HUGE! Maybe this will lead to an extremly cheap sale. The otehr dya I asked the guy aif they had any Gamecueb memory cards he said no and then I found some in the back of the store.

[Cafeman]

I'm another person that never buys KBTOYS (overpriced) games. The best prices around here are (1) random Target / BB sales but mostly (2) EB used games.

[josekortez]

So are they clearancing the games out or are they sending them back?

As a former KB employee, I know that the store is an outlet, meaning that they buy large quantities of products for a lower price. In other words, it's a wasteland for certain products. Problem is they're just idiots about the prices. One store near me still has N64 Pokemon Puzzle League for $59.99. O_O

Still, they always have games that you might not find in other places. For instance, I have only seen GBA Klonoa and GC Superman: Shadow of the Apokolips at KB. Hopefully, they'll drop some nice deals on us soon. Also, I will miss the cheap guides they have sometimes.

[josekortez]

Sorry to post twice, but after checking the KB Toys website for lowest priced videogames, it seems that they are serious. The GC demo disc is $4.99, Mega Man X4 is $7.99, and other stuff like that.

[Raedon]

Sounds like the early 80's.. supersaturated market full of crap.. Magazines printing good reviews for bad games. Overpriced games.

I guess it is time for a shakeup. As for TRU and KB, I always got a laugh when entering those stores. Obviously the head offices don't pick the store managers to well.

The TRU in my town STILL has the Genesis, and Super Nintendo overhead marchee's!!! It's a DECADE later and there they are! Now what does this tell me... one, the District manager isn't stopping in or doesn't care to look at the store and two, no one that works there gives a flying fuck about the place.

K-Mart is getting pretty bad about letting the game area go. Old PSX games that were greatest hits still priced $49.99.

Dude, go in there and ask for those! I went into my TRU and asked a guy if they had anything in back that never sold, picked up around 50 games (SNES,GEN, GG) for 2.50 a piece!

Already tried.. Store Manager said TRU was not there for free store displays (marquees.)

[BoOchan]

Dedicated Toy Stores or far and few between in this City, and you won't find them at all the Shopping Centers. Games are the most popular at Department and Electronics/Computer stores, not EB, Toy Stores, etc. In this state alone, only 3 Toys R Us stores are open, one of them a small "Express" one. Reffering to selling old games, Our stores Reduced the last SNES they had to about $15 (This was in 2000) and someone eventually bought it. 64's came down to about $35 here new. However, Most stores here Cleared out All the NES, SMS, 2600/7800, SNES, MegaDrive at around '98-'99 at ridiculous prices, though SMS games still sold well at about $10.00 a pop until '99. The industry only got serious here in about 2000, before that they just sold ANYTHING From the 2600 - N64...

[Iron Draggon]

I'm with Sylentwulf. I wish that KB would just go completely out of business and let a real toy store take their place! Their video game stuff is about the only thing they carry that's new anyway. Everything else in the store is just old TRU overstock that they got dirt cheap so they could mark it back up. I won't buy anything from them until they've had it for so long that even they can't give it away. That's the only time their prices are anywhere near being reasonable. The rest of the time, bend over and grab your ankles, buddy! :moon:

[nildem]

I found this on another forum:


Due to cost-cutting measures, certain KB Toys stores will no longer be carry videogame merchandise (w/ the exception of GBA).

Therefore, all (non-gba) games and accessories (only) are 20% off at these select stores.

This started today at our store. I'm not sure what other stores are participating, so you'll have to find out on your own.

Also, other KB stores will be starting a videogame clearance / sale on certain games Saturday.

Once again, check your local KB.

[kainemaxwell]

So they can't carry any other big name systems, but they can carry GBA stuff? :eek 2:

[Ed Oscuro]

Hmm, I'm getting some ideas about places to go hit up for game systems and games :D

It would be nice if I could find some old stuff like this. Wow.

[cheesystick]

When's the last time you bought an album with at least an hour of music on it?
Tool's new one was the last CD that I bought that was over an hour. Well worth it too...
I checked out my KB yesterday. There was no sign of clearence. What they did do on the other hand, was take all the titles under 20 dollars and shove them in a special table and put them out front. This makes them appear like they are on sale or clearence, but it is just really a way of getting people to think they are on sale. They have done this many times before.
-crispy

[NintendoMan]

Them stop selling video games is really no surprise to me. THey do sell their games higher, but once ina while you do find a good deal. Or some system or game they stopped making like 4 years earlier. I do buy games from thier but not that often.
I would not like to see them do this, but oh well.