Popular family-friendly retail chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Toy stores face some challenges that have caused all the national players to go out of business.
For about two years, I ran a huge toy store in Connecticut. It was a magical place that sold everything from board games to models, doll houses, radio control vehicles, collectible card and miniature games, and much more.
Our core customer base was loyal. We had people who came in every weekend and regular game players who visited more than once a week.
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The store, Time Machine Hobby, in Manchester, CT, still exists (and thrives) but even in my time there, which was over a decade ago, we would see some disturbing customer trends. Sometimes, we would have people come in looking for a train set, a radio-controlled plane, or some other expensive item.
They would ask questions of our staff, look at the item, and otherwise do their homework in the store only to buy the item online at a lower prices. On some occasions, that would literally happen in front of us.
We would do all the work and a customer would jump on their phone to save a few dollars.
