Toys R Us called a timeout Thursday to its plan to begin liquidation sales at hundreds of stores, saying "unforeseen circumstances" had caused the delay.
Shoppers throughout the country headed for Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores in the morning expecting to see markdowns on dolls, games, baby supplies and all other merchandise. Instead, they were greeted by signs alerting them that the sales had been postponed, and in some cases apologizing for the confusion:
Adding to the sadness of the chain's expected demise, Toys R Us founder Charles Lazarus has died, the company confirmed Thursday. The 94-year-old had created what would become one of the nation's best-known superstore chains in 1948.
How long do I have?
The retailer hasn't been specific about official closing dates. Check with your local store to find out specfic dates.
What happens to my gift cards?
The best advice: Spend them immediately, if possible. The chain plans to honor gift cards for the next 30 days.
In bankruptcy, retailers technically don't have to honor gift cards at all. But most ask a bankruptcy court judge for permission to do so — at least for a while.
Toys R Us has been honoring gift cards since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. But now that the company has filed to liquidate its U.S. operations, the end is near.
Even if the chain had decided to honor gift cards until the bitter end, customers might not find anything worthwhile to spend them on after a few weeks of going-out-of-business sales.
Stores will honor the cards until April 21. Customers can't return a gift card for cash
Can I use coupons?
Nope. You can't use them online or in the store and this includes Geoffrey Birthday Clb coupons.
What are some of the deals?
Expect sales to start ranging anywhere from 10-30% off but there may be further discounts as the days before the retailer closes its doors permanently.
Inventory dwindles rapidly toward the end of a liquidation sale. If you're concerned that the store will run out of your desired product, don't let the perfect deal be the enemy of the good discount.
Can I still return things?
Anything you buy during the liquidation sale is final sale.
What to do with a Babies 'R' Us registry
Many parents were drawn to Babies R Us because of the potentially lucrative endless earnings rewards program that the Toys R Us-owned stores offered.
The plan allowed parents-to-be to earn 5% cash back on the first $300 of purchases made by you or others through your baby registry and then 10% on everything over $300.
The perk helped the chain to be named the baby registry with the best bang for the buck by consumer website Best Reviews, which called it "the best deal for those on a budget."
But now that Toys R Us has decided to liquidate and close all its stores including Babies R Us, many parents-to-be counting on these rewards are left in the lurch. Many of them are steamed.
The cash-back rewards come in the form of a gift card that gets sent to parents about 12 weeks after the baby’s due date
But the company has said it will no longer accept gift cards after mid-April and many will not receive their gift cards before that date, making their rewards they have been racking up worthless.
What to do?
"Unfortunately, Toys R Us and Babies R Us are in no hurry to assist their customers," DealNews.com consumer analyst Julie Ramhold said.
"The company announced that as of April 19, it won't accept gift cards or other rewards anymore," she said. "Essentially, the only advice Toys R Us is offering is to take your registry elsewhere, and to do it sooner rather than later."
Some of the other baby registry programs like Buybuy Baby and Babylist are offering extra perks for Babies R Us customers.
