Remembering your First or Favorite Toy Store and the Items They Sold 3 3

[1950's war comics]

1 hour ago, bc said:

They lasted until I got my first bb gun.

firecrackers and the occasional rare M80 blew up all my model planes and cars....

[GeneticNinja]

On 7/31/2020 at 6:24 AM, 1950's war comics said:

Sears toy dept was the place to go when i was a kid ... Sears had a toy section up until the early 80's 

it was heaven on Earth ! and Sears also had a candy shoppe and cafeteria which were superb

You mentioned candy shoppe and cafeteria and I remembered this cookie store. It was called Original Cookie Company.

They had the best cookies. They weren't too big and were always fresh. I would get a bag of sugar and chocolate chip cookies after going to the mall. Usually after playing at the arcade or getting a book or video game. This image doesn't show it but I remember the oven was right up front. They always seemed busy. I can't believe they closed. I remember they were in just about every mall I visited.

 

I don't remember shopping at Sears a lot. I don't know why we didn't do more shopping there. Seems like there was more choice of big stores then. I did use Sears catalog for games at times.

 

18 hours ago, bc said:

The big Sears Christmas catalog.... Me, my brother & sister used to obsess over that thing like it was some kind of ancient religious scripture formulating our wish lists.

We had a cool store called Atlantic Thrift within biking distance that had a nice toy selection. My mom shopped there and let us wander around the store (which was actually a safe thing to do back in the day). I bought tons of those little green army men and GI Joe accessories.

Also bought my first album there (ELO-Eldorado) as well as numerous 45's.

Think it turned into a Kresge's after that, but the selection wasn't as good.

-bc

Christmas catalogs were the best. I would always look for the playsets, vehicles, and games. Toys R Us and Kay Bee were the main ones for me. Also, I'm remembering old Sharper Image catalogs. They always had stuff that seemed so high end and for rich people.

 

17 hours ago, Keys_Collector said:

I don't remember the first toy but I remember going to KB toy store in Oceanside, NY and TRU in Valley Stream frequently.  Being a privileged kid and being able to buy toys there almost every week was awesome.  There was another place that had some type of catalog that i'd order video games from.  Woolworth maybe?  I remember there being a front desk and i'd have to look through the catalog and then they'd check the back warehouse or put it on order.

Sears had a place where I remember picking up games. I think they came out on a conveyor belt sort of system. Kind of like airport luggage. Also I read about a place called Service Merchandise. It's possible that I would check their catalog. But I don't remember visiting the store.

 

I wish I could find more of those old catalogs and mall directory guides. I found my old kiddie camera manual but no camera. Or photos either for that matter.

Edited August 1, 2020 by GeneticNinja

[1950's war comics]

2 minutes ago, GeneticNinja said:

They had the best cookies

oh yeah ! our mall had one of those ! , and before that they had a Mrs Fields cookie store, i'm a big chocolate chip cookie fan  

you have to sell an awful lot of cookies to pay the rent though, and malls have become less popular every year over the last 30 years...

[GeneticNinja]

6 minutes ago, 1950's war comics said:

oh yeah ! our mall had one of those ! , and before that they had a Mrs Fields cookie store, i'm a big chocolate chip cookie fan  

you have to sell an awful lot of cookies to pay the rent though, and malls have become less popular every year over the last 30 years...

You're probably right. I don't remember the cookies being very expensive. No more than a few dollars for a dozen.

I know I went to Mrs Fields once or twice and I remember her cookies were bigger, heavier, and more expensive. Like cookies for a higher end customer. I remember white chocolate and some kind of macadamia nut cookie. Also some kind of semi sweet chocolate and milk chocolate. Interesting options but I didn't want anything like that. Too confusing for a kid. Checking her site, she doesn't make those anymore it seems. But I like the more simple Original Cookie Company cookies.

What are the best chocolate chip cookies these days? I haven't had one in years. I probably should make some homemade. But I wish I could just go to Original Cookie Company and get a few.

[1950's war comics]

5 minutes ago, GeneticNinja said:

What are the best chocolate chip cookies these days

i think the best ones are the tubs you have to order from school kids funding their field trips ... those cookie tubs are expensive but high quality , !! plus when you bake them , you can take them out of the oven while they are still gooey and eat them hot along with a half gallon of milk !

other slice & dice cookie rolls at most stores are nothing really special but not to bad and will satisfy a crave...

most decent sized cities have a chain cookie store these days and many of them even deliver ! we have one like that called "Insomnia Cookie"   

believe it or not "Chips Ahoy" are still a really good cookie ! i actually don't buy them anymore because when i do i eat almost the whole bag in just two days , one sleeve the first day and the other sleeve the next ... (along with a gallon of milk)

[Robot Man]

18 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

firecrackers and the occasional rare M80 blew up all my model planes and cars....

Yep as well as my Rat Fink and monster models. My dad was so pizzed when he drove blown up plastic in the driveway. 

[kpaqu1]

Mr. Big's Toyland 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by kpaqu1

[kpaqu1]

King's Castle Land

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by kpaqu1

[FoggyNelson]

Kay-bee toys was ok 👏👏😷

[Icculus308win]

Toys R Us & Kay-bee for me🤗

He-Man, Star Wars, GI Joe, Silverhawks, Transformers, M.A.S.K. and TMNT

[batman_fan]

For me it was the Dollar Barn in Versailles, IN.  They had one isle of toys.  Bought stuff like Thingmaker sets, GI Joes (got the helicopter there), Hot Wheels, and Megos (got the Thing and Invisible Girl).

 

[JBrown]

19 hours ago, kpaqu1 said:

Mr. Big's Toyland 

 

 

Ah, Mr. Big Toyland! Anyone in the Boston area watching Force Five and Starblazers knew all about this place! Constant commercials lead to constant nagging of the parents to bring you there. When I finally got there, it was like heaven! 

 

Child World was also where I remember getting my Star Wars toys.

 

Then there was I believe a place I think was called Tons n' Tons of Toys. Bought many a Transformers from there!

 

[badback83]

Toys “R” Us.  G.I. Joe and TMNT.  1989-1990.  In the early 1990s I’d get a weekly allowance of $4.  That was enough to get a figure of pretty much whichever line I wanted.  Eventually my parents decided it would be a good idea to introduce me to the tax man (they would usually cover the tax for me when I bought a figure for 3.99) So, yeah.  That pretty much ruined my world.  
 

Oh yeah.  K-Mart for Hasbro WWF figures.
 

 

[01TheDude]

Most of our toy store type trips were just hanging out in the toy aisle at a KMart or Sears.

Later-- in addition to collecting comics -- I was really into AFX/Tyco slot cars. I started out with match box-- then hot wheels -- then SSTs - then Sizzlers -- and finally went the major hobby route and had several (probably about 6) track sets-- along with found tracks and finding cars where I could. One day, I noticed a store called "Frank's Hobby " (I may be mixing this name up with some shop a co-workers father owned later on) -- anyway-- it was awesome. Tons of toys, trains, slot cars, models - so much stuff. They had a case with 100s of AFX cars to pick from. Now understand that the cars themselves are fairly standard-- you are paying for the decorative plastic car that set on the base engine frame. I can't even recall how much these cars cost-- but I ended up with maybe 5 or 8 from the store. Plus they had cool stuff like replacement tires for the cars (they would wear out).

My entire collection made it down to Florida. A few years later, my mom asked me if I wanted to sell them in a garage sale she was having. I was sort of over it-- but man-- I really wish I had at least held onto the cars. They get quite a nice chunk of change for them these days.

[oldbsturgeon]

I got a lot of toys at KMart, Hills, and Hecks. This was in WV in the 80s. I would also go to KB Toys and occassionally Toys R Us as well. We also had a place called children's palace, but I rarely ever went there as my parents thought stuff was more expensive there, and it probably was. They had a bigger selection though for sure.

I kind of for a very long time, even into adulthood, was buying toys so it was very cool that while in graduate school, I landed a job at Toys R Us so had access to stuff before customers did. Notably Toy Biz Marvel Legends. near the end of that run, some of those were insanely difficult to find.

ah the days of old...

[GoldenAgeAddict]

World of Toys and Hobbies in Grand Island, NE.  

[ADAMANTIUM]

.....

I can't necessarily remember the first, but I want to say it was sears or hl greens that had rollerblades on sale in the 80's. By the time we got there and found out they were in the basement, the only size left was like 12 or 14....

I'm 10 years old...

I'm skinny but strong and try them on, and they work good enough that my mom pays the $12-18 I want to say marked down from $30....

I went to private school and the playground was inside and had wood panel floors like a skating rink. Lol everyone laughed at how big the skates were but  I had fun and that was a lot at the time for my parents to spend on me. Someone who lived in the barrio just so I could attend private school. Poor 

I remember the ice cream truck in that part of town, like at 8or 9 years old, buying smoke bombs and stink bombs. I used them at school cause their neighborhood didn't have such, I thought it would make me cool but no they stuck up their nose

Paradox darned if you do and if you don't

 

[Mercury Man]

Oh boy...this was it right here folks.   Dispensa's Castle of Toys, in Oak Brook, IL !!!    Dispensa's opened in 1967.   Bigger than Toys R' US, and guarded by huge toy soldiers.  I used to get my army men from there (I used to have a ton, mostly Airfix and Matchbox, but Dispensa's carried a brand called Atlantic, that other hobby shops never had).   Then a Dipensa's Kiddie Kingdom opened in 1975, in the adjacent lot.    I lost a few bucks in loose change on an upside-down type tilt a whirl, and the haunted house was creepy, in the sense that the paper mache' monsters were more grotesque than they were meant to be.   Unfortunately, they closed in the mid 1980's, and a high rise office has taken its place.   Good times!  

[Mercury Man]

 

 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Mercury Man

[cgcsketcherz]

KB Toys:

They always had the cheapest prices for Hotwheel Cars.

 

Marco's Emporium:

Private toy store by my grandparents house but to a six year old they had EVERYTHING. Plus, you could have pockets bursting with Pogs and slammers for under $5.