That bottom one looks like it's the Olentangy River Road location in Columbus, Ohio.

Not really a store or picture but this was the mall in my hometown. I have very hazy memories of the place because it was closed by the late 90's or very early 2000's. It wasnt a big mall, in fact a Lowe's has since been built in its place and it takes up the same basic footprint, so the mall would fit within the Lowe's. The only anchor store was a K-Mart that I remember browsing for Transformers Beast Wars Toys at. My aunt worked at the Payless Shoes when she was in high school.

Did you get it?!? lol..

Seeing this thread for the first time... love it! I am a sucker for all things retro, not just games..haha.  
 

I wasn't ready.

That's an outstanding site! I really appreciate it, though I don't have any ties to that area. I wish someone made something similar for my neck of the woods.
 

nope, the listing is still up for $110 USD....too expensive for a solo adventure lol.
That Fun Dip packet sure takes me back to my early Summer Camp days, the first few years
I went to Summer Camp there was a little camp store that sold snacks and Fun Dip used to
be the most popular item, but by the time I was like 10 years old they had to close the store permanently
and camp kind of sucked after that lol. Plus they banned Game Boy and Pokemon cards my final year there! Ooof

Haha, $110? Geez.. They probably think they'll get that because of the Barbie in there.. 😆 I remember that candy.. lol.. I always preferred Pixie Stix instead. 😄

I bet those two sealed Wonka candies are worth a fair share of that chunk. Wacky Wafers are made by a totally different company these days.

Best thread on the site. Love this stuff.

I scored two Ames bag and a flyer from Summer 2002 for my collection



Here is some of the stuff in the flyer

This thread is awesome! I'm very big into nostalgia. I remember most of these stores. Biggest disappointment as a kid we're when Service Merchandise and Kids R Us closed, Sears took the video games out of the kids section, and Kohl's removed its electronics department. I also remember Marshall Field's having some really cool Nintendo gear back in the day.

I looked forward to my mom shopping when we'd go to these stores and I'd hang out in the video game section or play shoots and ladders and tick tack toe at Kids R Us.

I found this video at the Comp USA in Braintree, Massachusetts on October 25th, 2001 for the release of Windows XP

There is a rumor that Payless is going down too?

I don't recall where but I did read a headline that this is happening.  Headlines aren't facts, but I heard this too.

It is; all locations. That store wasn't really all that special to me tho

Suprised to hear it didn't go down a long time ago. I haven't seen a payless or even heard it discussed in years. I would have assumed Payless was a Bezos victim and among the first. 
 

our AMES and Hills were the most filthiest stores i can remember being in.

Which Toys R Us location was this?
 

North Bay Shore, NY

Thanks for the quick response. It looks near identical to how the Richmond Ave Staten Island, NY location looked in the 90s and early 2000s (before the blue facade renovations). 

I know most Toys R Us locations look very similar, but this one looked near identical with the exit box on the right side of the building. 

Toys R Us closing hurt me more than any of these locations.  

The roof of this building just partially collapsed. It is still a functioning Kohl's. We've had a rough winter.


 

1986 Japanese gaming footage

It hurt us all. Hopefully Toys R Us' comeback isn't lackluster.

You collect Ames bags?   Pretty sure there's a few at my Mom's house holding yarn.