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08/27/2004: 84 Mewtwos, 200 Gray Gorillas.

When faced with a clearance sale — a major clearance sale — I often encounter trouble. Instead of just buying a single liquidated item, I tend to buy as many as possible regardless of need or even desire to own them. The sickness first surfaced eons ago (eons meaning several years of course) at Toys ‘R’ Us, where I found Wheeled Warriors accessory packs marked down to a literal eight cents each. (these were the blisterpacks containing extra tires, alien brains and guns for Saw Boss and pals) When I realized that a measly buck could a dozen toys, some little bell went off in my head and has consistently forced me to repeat the process whenever the opportunity presented itself. With that…

Some of you might have noticed TRU’s major clearance sales going on — not sure if this plays into the alleged “no more toys” rule, but whatever the case, shit’s cheap. They’ve got this deal where anything with an already marked-down green price tag is 50% off, so you’re really clashing oars with all the housewives doing their early Christmas shopping. If you can survive that, treasures await — check out that bag of Pokemon Mewtwo plushies. Quarter a pop. I have no conceivable use for 84 Mewtwo dolls, but stand confident that, someday, I will undoubtedly safe a life using 84 Mewtwo dolls.

And, found at a nearby closeout store, here’s a bag of 29-cent promotional Congo figures. Gray gorillas! The chilling fact that promotional figures for Congo actually exist notwithstanding, it’s always interesting to waltz up to a tired checkout girl and dump a basket full of plastic monkeys on the table. I think there’s twenty of ‘em or so. Twenty gray gorillas, 84 Mewtwos, another chunk of the closet that can no longer be used for clothes.


Posted by Matt. E-mail me!

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Discussion Thread: 145 comments

This is a whole new meaning to Gotta Catch’em All. And I salute you for it, sir.

Ghosted by Eriond @ 08/27/2004 10:53 AM EDT

I’m going to TRU right now. You’re talking about Times Square right. Cool, only a block away.

Ghosted by Pedro @ 08/27/2004 11:01 AM EDT

Nah wasn’t talking about that one, but I had seen some greeners there. Check near the big JP dinosaur up the ramp, there should be a section lined against the top of the ramp with assorted junk.

Times Square TRU doesn’t keep as much old stock as Suburby TRUs.

Ghosted by Matt @ 08/27/2004 11:03 AM EDT

I officially resign as The-Person Who-Has-Too-Much-Crap and pass on the crown and sceptre to you. Wow.

btw, what is that ball called that the kings hold? I googled it and got a whole bunch of classy porn (aka artsy-fartsy photography).

Ghosted by SovietRocket @ 08/27/2004 11:11 AM EDT

84 Mew-Twos? Wow….Just wow…..

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 08/27/2004 11:33 AM EDT

You could build a Mew-Two army and take over the world. Use the gorillas as personal body gaurds.

There is SO much you could do with this. Any chance of setting them all up in various positions around the room and getting some photos?

Ghosted by Stilewalker @ 08/27/2004 11:56 AM EDT

I gotsta go look! More legal looting, fellow posters! Quick, into the KlashKart!

Ghosted by kingklash @ 08/27/2004 11:57 AM EDT

I went to toys r us last weekend and got the GI Joe mobile command center for 25 bucks and a he-man transformer bird thingy for 2.50. Most of the orange tags were half- off too. And that definitely "a good thing.

Ghosted by Kennef @ 08/27/2004 12:08 PM EDT

SovietRocket- the ball is called an orb, the King’s Orb to be exact.

Ghosted by Allicat @ 08/27/2004 12:17 PM EDT

matt, have you considered ebay? or starting fires? Nothing burns faster than children’s toys. But really, ebay only might work, because I doubt too many people would pay a dollar for a toy and then three for shipping. feh, it’s worth a shot, I’d say. But now I’m just rambling. And I’m going to subject you all to it. And you can’t do anything about it, unless you…shit. You stopped reading three lines ago. well, I lose.

Ghosted by quentin mcalmott @ 08/27/2004 12:27 PM EDT

Sweet! :-D

Is there any reasons why TRU is having a crazy discount sale? Someone told me that the company was closing down their TRU stores or something?? o.O? I hope that’s not true- where will I get my toys from then? O_O!

-Boglin

Ghosted by Boglin @ 08/27/2004 12:42 PM EDT

I might go to my local TRU and pretend it is one of the old time contests they used to have to see how many toys I can fill a cart with and race to the cashier. If they ask how I am going to pay for all of it, I will lick the tip of index finger and make a 1 in the air in tribute to the wizard guy in the opening of "Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors".

Thanks to Matt mentioning Wheeled Warriors the wizard guy will haunt me for the rest of the day no matter what happens.

Ghosted by ME @ 08/27/2004 1:04 PM EDT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2607&item=5915531276&rd=1

Matt, you could make a small fortune off of them once you get tired of…erm…playing with them ;p

Ghosted by gamersource @ 08/27/2004 1:05 PM EDT

Yeah…its true, Bogling. Jeffy is finally throwing in his pretty lil’ Barbie towel….but not entirely.

They want to stop selling toys, but continue the wildly-popular Babies-R-Us and I think Kids-R-Us. Basically the competition finally stifled that lovable mammalian’s pocketbook. And the competition? Wal-Mart. I don’t have a Wal-Mart ANYWHERE near me or my college, yet I have three TRUs.

If you shop at Wal-Mart, tell me about it, because I have never been to one. To quote Paris Hilton "do they, like, sell walls there or something?" But according to my newspaper, they’ve been dominating all sorts of industries lately (including toys and housewares). Crazy.

I have such fond memories of TRU and its video game stations. I bet wal-mart doesn’t have THAT!

Ghosted by SovietRocket @ 08/27/2004 1:10 PM EDT

Those pigs look evil.

Oh, I was in Maine recently, and there was an outdoor restaurant/ice cream parlor that served, of all things, lobster ice cream. I neglected to try it.

Ghosted by Yama @ 08/27/2004 1:22 PM EDT

I wish I could take advantage of the big liquidation going on at Toys R Us, but I’m only interested in out-of-print video games that are good. Toys R Us doesn’t stock many CURRENT video games that are good.

Ghosted by Mars @ 08/27/2004 1:36 PM EDT

Matt: Keep the tags on those MewTwos, keep them in the bag. Then stuff them somewhere dark for the next 15 years, then pull them out again. There will now be an entire horde of nostalgic people who would do anything to have an untouched MewTwo from 1999. You’ll be rich!

Ghosted by Mars @ 08/27/2004 1:40 PM EDT

Holy crap you found a load of Wheeled Warriors stuff at discount? That was my favourite cartoon when I was a kid, still got any of the stuff?

Ghosted by Vhaal @ 08/27/2004 1:48 PM EDT

Sorry Matt, but I have to say this…you’re an idiot.

Promotional Congo Monkeys. Now say that over and over again. Now thing to yourself that you paid over $6 on plastic Congo Monkeys that were originally given away for free. CONGO!! Tim Curry.

Ghosted by Cobra Soldier #18 @ 08/27/2004 1:59 PM EDT

I have six thousand gray gorilla figures. You have zero. You sir are the idiot.

Ghosted by Matt @ 08/27/2004 2:04 PM EDT

I used to be a pretty smart shopper, but I too have to say that I’ve found myself beginning to hoard stuff, especially if it’s on sale. I mean, not just useful stuff, like the twenty gajillion pens I go through during the school year. Useless crap. I mean, how many change purses does a person who almost invariably uses her debit card really need?

No gray gorilla figures, though. Yet.

Ghosted by Molten @ 08/27/2004 2:20 PM EDT

Matt, I have already begun to see Mountain Dew Pitch Black in supermarkets. Cases of cans and 20 oz. bottles. It doesn’t look "Pitch Black" though. More like Grape Soda.

Ghosted by Y2JB78 @ 08/27/2004 2:23 PM EDT

I can’t believe TRU is getting out of the toy biz. The "I don’t wanna grow up" song is written in my brain with a permanent sharpee. I drive by their corp headquarters everyday on RT. 17 in Paramus. I even had the honor of designing a part of their store called Super-Hero City when I worked at Marvel in the 90’s…
Goodnight sweet Giraffe…

Ghosted by AstroBoy @ 08/27/2004 2:24 PM EDT

On the bright side, we now have a completely new reason to hate, despise, and ultimately revolt against the Wal-Mart machine. Because they’re not really in it for the money. They’re in it because they enjoy destroying your town. ~John Stewart

Ghosted by Jedoc @ 08/27/2004 2:32 PM EDT

Maybe you could hold more coloring contests and send the winners an autographed Mewtwo…I don’t care about Pokemon but I love kitties!

Ghosted by B-Dawg @ 08/27/2004 3:03 PM EDT

I buy too many used books from clearance shelves. Too many to read. To many to store easily.

I am dumb.

Ghosted by Ubu Rex @ 08/27/2004 3:34 PM EDT

If you ever decide to start doing the account thing for posting here, you could always give a MewTwo to the first 84 to create accounts. Did I say doing?

Ghosted by kingklash @ 08/27/2004 3:37 PM EDT

Moo-Twos are my favorite thing in the world besides unicorns.

Ghosted by Boglin @ 08/27/2004 4:01 PM EDT

The best deal around is finding stuff at the local thrift store w/ the price tags still on. I don’t care what they are, I have to buy them. An electronic foot bath from Bradlees one going for $24.85? Mine! A 2XL flowery muumuu made out of polyester, originally priced $14.99? Even more mine! I bring them home and stack them in my re-gift closet. Ya never know when the occasion might arrise where I need a gift for some distant relative’s 50th birthday and don’t have time/money to shop.

Ghosted by trajeal @ 08/27/2004 4:23 PM EDT

sovietrocket, Wal-Mart is a miserable place where miserable people go to die and work. They are also a place where the po’ kids go to play playstation II, gamecube, x-box, and gameboy advanced. I will continue with more magical tales of Wal-Mart should anyone request any. Like the much beloved tale of the cashier beotch. If something scans cheaper then the price tag the cashier will argue with you so she can keep it and buy it later.

Ghosted by kennef @ 08/27/2004 4:23 PM EDT

Damn I wish I had money now :( I want old Toys R Us crap.

Ghosted by Mr. S @ 08/27/2004 4:35 PM EDT

Speaking of sales, I bought Unicron (the one Matt reviewed) for 13 bucks at Target.

Ghosted by Wenthral @ 08/27/2004 5:41 PM EDT

I think you should use the mew’s to finish the Chia saga

Ghosted by mindsuckr @ 08/27/2004 5:54 PM EDT

CONGO???
Wow.
Those toys have been sitting in the back room for almost a decade.
Its no Hi-C or chicken Spaghettio’s, but I’d call that some kind of… "find".

Ghosted by Piscez @ 08/27/2004 6:11 PM EDT

When some little brat in your family has a birthday, you could make a kick ass gift bag for everyone.

Ghosted by Will @ 08/27/2004 6:17 PM EDT

Who the f@*%k even decided to name it "Wal-Mart". "Toys R’ US" or the cheery cherry "Target" is so much more appealing and comforting. The name "Wal-Mart" evokes images of dry wall and asbestos.
And um…has anyone heard of a chain of stores called "Piggly Wiggly"? I wanna go I wanna go.

Can I befriend someone in the south just to visit that store with such a magical name?

Ghosted by SovietRocket @ 08/27/2004 6:37 PM EDT

Well, I surivive my first week of college, and I can see Matt found some interesting things for us to talk about. I agree with everyone else, Wal-mart is indeed evil, force everyone out of buisness or ruining them(eg. Toy-R-Us and Thriftway, a grocery store chain in Cincinnati, OH., and the government is doing nothing to stop them.

Ghosted by Beta-Theta @ 08/27/2004 7:02 PM EDT

But, I glad Matt found some cheaps mewtwo plush and Congo Gorilla for us to look at.

Ghosted by Beta-Theta @ 08/27/2004 7:05 PM EDT

Piggly Wiggly is truly a magical grocery store!

Wal-Mart is also very evil. However, I really can’t diss them too much, because I grocery shop there due to lower prices and have been known to end up buying DVDs while I’m there as well. At least for the local Wally Worlds, the toy selection sucks. No Simpsons figures = BAD toy selection.

However, I’ll never understand why they won’t sell explicit content CDs but they’ll display "Kill Bill" front and center.

Ghosted by Andy @ 08/27/2004 7:49 PM EDT

go for it Matt!

One time the 1/2 price store had a bunch of bulk star wars stuff for sale, They were, like, Ackbars in promo bags and others and trays with weapons in them. I grabbed several of Ackbar’s stick things.

Go Gorilla Army!!

Ghosted by dgfdg @ 08/27/2004 7:50 PM EDT

I wanna Mewtwo!Mmy Mew plushie needs someone to feud with.

Ghosted by Freezair @ 08/27/2004 7:52 PM EDT

Wal-Mart for toys:

I’ve found wal-mart is a good source of discounted Lego..If I’m looking for something REALLY old..

However, TRU beats Wally World hands down in selection of toys–all kinds, not just Lego. They also have good sales, sometimes, and I still enjoy just going in and looking around.

However, part of the problem, IMO, is not Wally World’s fault; Kids simply don’t seem to buy as many toys as they used to. More money is getting spent on Video Games, DVD players, and other electronics in an attempt to get little Jimmy whatever the hot electronic product is for Christmas, so he can be popular.

However, I think TRU is stupid to want to get out of the Toy Business. TRU has HUGE brand name-recognition. Ideally, they should want to get parents hooked on "Babies-R-Us," then migrate to "Kids-R-Us" and then finally start spending the big bucks at TRU.

Ok, enough Ranting…I need to head to my TRU to see if they’ve got cool stuff on clearance! :)

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 08/27/2004 8:22 PM EDT

Dude! MATT! CAN I B UY A MEWTWO PLUSHIE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

shotgunsteve@gmail.com

PLEASE!?!

Ghosted by Henry @ 08/27/2004 8:28 PM EDT

I got almost all of my Pokemon stuffed animals for 99 cents or less (though none from Toys R’ Us). It’s a good question, though. Why IS Toys ‘R Us getting out of the toy business? I’ve heard Babies ‘R Us and Kids ‘R Us aren’t doing spectacular, either. If kids are buying electronics, why not expand their electronics department, instead of shutting down all together?

As for Wal-Mart…I have mixed feelings. I’ve heard some very nasty things about them, how they don’t treat their workers well and drive the competition out of buisness. However, the only real shopping in the entire Southern New Jersey area is one medium-sized K-Mart in Rio Grande. Every other department store in the area has gone belly-up in the last ten years, replaced by grocery stores or discount stores like Big Lots. When you have to take two busses for almost two hours just to buy some things at a decent price…you know it’s time for a change.

Supposedly, we’re getting a Wal-Mart here very soon, so I guess I’ll find out first-hand within a few years.

Ghosted by starwenn @ 08/27/2004 8:53 PM EDT

Matt, this is a little off topic but oh well. Have you seen these commercials for Apple Jacks lately? They’ve returned to their old shape but now they come with a dvd explaining the mystery behind the fucked up shapes and colors of the past year or so. Finally, we will all have answers to the blue carrot mystery!

Ghosted by Zombie Cop @ 08/27/2004 10:18 PM EDT

Down with wal-mart! Matt will you sell me a discounted mewtwo? Last year I found a giant stuffed togepi at TRU for $1.50. I was going to get the meowth too at the same price, but it was really dirty and the charm was wrecked.

Ghosted by pikachulover @ 08/27/2004 10:33 PM EDT

fuck wal-mart. Praise the giraffe. My most fond memories were drooling all over the "World of Nintendo" section of Toys ‘R’ Us each time i went. It only pissed me off everytime I saw there weren’t any more tags for Super Mario 2 and Super Mario 3 everytime I went to buy those games (super mario took me 3 months to find in stock at ANY store). So alas mighty Geoffery, we all love ya and will miss ya when they give you the ax…

Ghosted by phunqsauce @ 08/27/2004 11:08 PM EDT

phunqsauce:

Yeah, "World of Nintendo" Rocked!!! At my local TRU, they still have the "World of Nintendo" signs in the aisles…Of course, no displays, but oh well.

Ghosted by Cameron T. @ 08/27/2004 11:27 PM EDT

Mmmh matt…I want one =-)

I’ll give you $50 and my first born

Ghosted by Ant @ 08/27/2004 11:36 PM EDT

Oh god video game tags *sigh* I do miss them.

Ghosted by Hyper dingo @ 08/27/2004 11:49 PM EDT

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