Question for the those that grew up in the 80's!!!!

[Bob Crane]

Zellers
The Bay (R.I.P)
Woolco
K-Mart
Consumer's Distributing
Tops 'N' Toys
Toys 'N' Wheels

The last two were a great chain of small, mall type stores, they often had warehouse finds on clearance, like Mego STTMP Klingon ships for 25 cents and magnetic 12" Robin figures for $1.75 . Both shut down after Toys 'R' Us invaded- bastards!

[DSJ™]

Tops 'N' Toys
Toys 'N' Wheels

The last two were a great chain of small, mall type stores, they often had warehouse finds on clearance, like Mego STTMP Klingon ships for 25 cents and magnetic 12" Robin figures for $1.75 . Both shut down after Toys 'R' Us invaded- bastards!

OMG, how could I forget those 2 stores.  Thanks for the memory jog. 

Tops 'N' Toys, I remember when they had there clearence sale. The sale started at midnight & 2 of my friends & I were going to check them out. Needless to say we went at 10 am the next day. I picked up an Estes Maxi Brute X-Wing for $5. 

They had empty boxes for the die cast Space 1999 ships. I thought why would they have empty boxes, people must have taken the ships out of the boxes, never bought any. Wish I did now. 

Toys 'N' Wheels, oh yeah, got lots of Star Trek stuff for cheap there.

There was another kind of store here, I will have to ask my brother what the name was. They were almost like Consumer's Distributing but you did not have to fill out any order slips. The stuff was on the shelfs. Picked up a Mego Star Trek walkie talkies for $3. 

[Lady Jaye]

Ahh Best Products, what an awesome catalog store. Of course the adults came for the jewlery and electronics, but us kids came for the toys!!! And what a selection they had!!! By the time I found about Best, I was involved with Transformers. The ones I do remember getting there were Skids, Grapple, and Sideswipe.

My biggest memory of that store was going to it with a friend before his dad would take us to Showbiz pizza every Thurdays. Why thursday, I guess so the parents could go out on Friday??? But that was an awesome lil ritual. Best and then an evening of food, game, and entertainment!!!

[Scott]

Oh yeah...LaBelle's which was later bought by Best, they had toys too

[Paul]

Ahh Best Products, what an awesome catalog store.

Then you'll appreciate this story......the first Year the MOBAT was in the Catalog I got my dad to take me there before one of his 2 week trips out of town,  needless to say there were none on the shelves.  So he (being an adult and knowing these things) filled out a form at the catalog counter, took it to the cashier who took our money and put the order in the "tube"and we waited.....

Five minutes later down from the second floor on the metal roller slide came.....MOBAT. Oh my goodness. If it was only that easy these days.

[Darthshader]

The 80's...Good times!

Most of my vintage collection came from Zayre. I can remember looking forward to the Sunday paper to see if SW figures were on sale. ($2.88 or less each, I think)  There was an elderly neighbor  that I did house & yard work for that would go every Sunday morning with my list in her hand to shop for my SW figs. My paycheck was SW toys, and I was never allowed to take anything home until I had earned it.

The Sears wishbook was another source of excitement. Can remember going to Sears (with same elderly friend) when the orders arrived, and the hours of playtime that followed. And I did chores for everything I got, unless there was a birthday or Christmas.

Kmart every once in a while. They did not have the same great selection that Zayres did, or the lower price. That was within bike riding distance, so I could make that trip on my own.

My friend Bernice was the only way I ever had a SW collection back then, my Mom rarely bought me anything SW. (She did get me some of the bigger stuff, like the ATAT, Death Star playset, and Millenium Falcon.) Mom never quite understood my obsession with action figures.

My interest in SW collecting faded a year after ROTJ (1984) when I became involved with Kung Fu training, and moved away from home.  I was 15 by then, it was time for being a teenager. 

[DSJ™]

There was another kind of store here, I will have to ask my brother what the name was. They were almost like Consumer's Distributing but you did not have to fill out any order slips. The stuff was on the shelfs. Picked up a Mego Star Trek walkie talkies for $3. 

Asked my brother & he came up with Saveco. Anyone up here remember this store?

[Logray2776]

Only store i can recall that i went to was K-mart, way back in '84. That was when i got the jabba playset for 3.00, also remember seeing the figs on clearance for .88 a piece. Sadly, I didnt get any of them.

[Lady Jaye]

Ahh Best Products, what an awesome catalog store.

Then you'll appreciate this story......the first Year the MOBAT was in the Catalog I got my dad to take me there before one of his 2 week trips out of town,  needless to say there were none on the shelves.  So he (being an adult and knowing these things) filled out a form at the catalog counter, took it to the cashier who took our money and put the order in the "tube"and we waited.....

Five minutes later down from the second floor on the metal roller slide came.....MOBAT. Oh my goodness. If it was only that easy these days.

That is a good story.

Oh Logray if all of us only knew. Then we would have gotten at least a couple of Storm Shadows Snake Eyes v 2, Baradas, Amanamans, and other late but limited figures!!! Oh well, at least we have most of our memories!!!!

Speaking of Barada I remember the night I got him. Of course ROTJ was well out of threatres, and were in the mall on a Friday night.  I looked in Toy Box, which I don't think anyone has mentioned yet, and saw a big metal bin with all these new Star Wars figures I had never seen before, and they all had coins!!!!! I flipped out!!! I was digging and digging and I finally found the one I wanted, Barada!!! Oh man was I happy, he was one of the coolest looking aliens and had a coin to boot!!!

Of course it was a time in which I got 20 bucks a week, and so I had money to burn, went and got a Mad Magazine as well!!! Hey I was a well read kid!!!