Smyths Toys open store near me

 

  • Smyths Toys open store near me

    Posted by Huw, 10 Nov 2012 10:11. Filed under Shopping (UK).

    Smyths latest branch in FarehamIt makes a refreshing change to see new superstores opening in out-of-town retail parks when we are more accustomed to seeing their closure. It's even better when it's a toy store, and it's about a mile from your own house :-)

    Smyths Toys originated in the Republic Of Ireland but have been rapidly expanding into the UK over the last few years, mostly in the north of England and around London. Their newest branch opened today in Fareham, Hampshire. It's good that they are making inroads into what was previously Toys R Us territory because they are so much nicer than TRU in every way.

    Smyths latest branch in FarehamThis is the LEGO aisle where you'll immediately notice several differences between this and the LEGO area of TRU:

    - It's tidy: sets are arranged by theme and not scattered randomly wherever there's space. And, it's all in one place - not all over the shop, at the end of aisles and at the front in a special promotions area.
    - It has almost every retail set that's currently available.
    - The prices are not marked up. In fact there are some real bargains to be had, which is becoming uncommon for bricks-and-mortar shops (apart from when they are running 3-for-2 offers).

    Furthermore, you are not persecuted if you enter the shop with bags. It's altogether a much more pleasant experience, and you don't feel 'dirty' once you've been in it.

    So as you can probably tell, I'm happy to have a branch so close, and I can see I'll be visiting every time I pass by (which I foresee will be often :))

    Do you have a Smyths near you? What do you think of it? If you don't, remember you can keep an eye on their bargains using our Smyths Quick Shopper.


    41 comments, latest one posted 6 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by simonskluk in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 10:42

yes theres a new one in edinburgh and i agree with everything you say esp in comparison to TRU

Posted by ramon123 in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 10:47

Very good shop.I got the Gungan sub at mine today on sale. They get a polybag now and again E.G Darth maul.

Posted by CapnRex101 in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 10:48

In Eastbourne toy shopping can be tricky. We have one proper toy shop in the town, but even that is quite small, otherwise I have to go over to Brighton where they have everything one could want Lego wise! It is close enough but it takes a good forty minutes to get there which is a little inconvenient. A Smyth's opening would be welcome but I cannot see it happening, although the local council are constantly trying to get shops which young families would appreciate into the town to get rid of the 'God's waiting room' branding which surrounds Eastbourne currently. I suppose I cannot complain too much though as we do have all the major supermarkets and two Argos shops in the town which are very useful, and having a Lego shop within fairly close range is fantastic.

Anyway, it looks like a great store Huw and that Lego aisle looks absolutely fantastic to me. I have only been to a Smyth's once before and that was when I was in Dublin where the store is enormous! It is great to see some competition for Toys R Us expanding as well as maybe then they will try and improve their shops which are frankly awful at the moment.

Posted by Starwarsgeek500 in United States, 10 Nov 2012 10:49

wish I was in the UK, we have nothing like this anywhere near my city in the US.

Posted by Pricey73 in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 11:17

Always check the bargain bin aswell, usually located by the tills.
Best through the week though! Got 5884,
Raptor chase for £9.99 without instructions a couple of weeks ago.

Posted by ggauge in United States, 10 Nov 2012 11:22

Also being in the States, we really have nothing to compete with TRU. I wonder if Smyth's has any future plans on crossing the Pond to the USA? It would be nice to shop at a real toy store!

Posted by Nightshroud99 in Canada, 10 Nov 2012 11:49

My Toysrus organizes LEGO by theme, but that's about the only good thing it has going for it.

Posted by Noahs-Dad in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 12:08

Was curious as about what you meant in saying your not persecuted for entering the shop with bags? Does your local TRU frown on you taking your own bags and not using their carrier bags?

Posted by halfpenguinhalflego in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 12:53

Never even seen a Smyths, perhaps one will open near me soon. Indeed it looks like a better version of Toys R Us.

Posted by LukeSkywalker in Ireland, 10 Nov 2012 12:53

I love my local Smyths toystore. They have an excellent range, and they've dedicated one whole aisle (practically the length of the store, and it's massive!) to LEGO, not to mention extra offers at the end section, and Friends and Games in different areas of the store. Apart from them increasing their prices for collectible Minifigures from €2.49 to €2.69 recently, they have great offers and prices are often discounted by 10-20% (e.g. Ninjago and licenced sets too like Star Wars, SuperHeroes and Lord of the Rings), which is always nice. And if you sign up for the newsletter, they'll email you every so often with a good deal, like vouchers e.g. if you spend over €50 you save €10 this weekend. They're brilliant. :)

Posted by obiron17 in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 12:56

I always go to Symths now instead of TRU (it's just not a nice store and they rip you off) and Huw's right, they always seem to have reductions on sets (Helms Deep was £69 last weekend). If it's bricks and mortar shopping for me it's Symths all the way.

Posted by arl100 in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 13:01

@CapnRex101 you should try living in Devon. Everything seems to reach as far south as Bristol and then stops. Decent stores are few and far between, aside from Exeter and Plymouth (both a good 3/4 hour drive away). South Devon isn't too bad (Argos about 10 miles away). Aside from Exeter, Devon is a 'dead-alive' county (the price you pay for being in a sparsely populated area of the country).

They are now trying to get more stores into Exeter as that seems to be the only place in Devon that is growing. Hopefully some good stores might turn up there eventually.

Posted by Noahs-Dad in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 13:48

I only find TRU is any good when it comes to larger 100 GBP price range sets, when there is a 3 for 2 offer, or when they have a 20% off offer and your looking to buy one of their exclusives.

I also am a fan of Smyths, but even then only buy when they have items on offer. As efficient as the instore experience is, the online shopping experience is at the other end of the spectrum, a total contrast really. In fact I have never bought or reserved a single item from Smyths online as they never have anything available or they are not shipping to Scotland.

Posted by TH3_L3G0_G3N1U5 in Canada, 10 Nov 2012 15:20

I wish I could get something OTHER than Wal-Mart. Nearest TRU is at least 1 hour away :/

Posted by Modok in United States, 10 Nov 2012 16:06

I hadn't heard of this retailer before, but shouldn't it be Smyth's? That's going to bother me.

Posted by jake9 in United States, 10 Nov 2012 16:23

We don't have Smyths in the USA. It would be nice if we did. TRU marks up their sets too much and Target and Walmart don't have a good enough selection.

Posted by Kez in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 16:32

I've never seen a smiths in my life except on the Internet, maybe there isn't too many in Yorkshire

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 16:37

Only in Barnsley, Hull and Sheffield :-)

Posted by Brickbot in Ireland, 10 Nov 2012 16:54

Being Irish, its the only toy shop I've ever known, but before I read this I thought TRU must be great because of all the promotions I heard about. Obviously not. Is there a quick shopper for ROI stores?

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 17:13

Unfortunately Smyths don't operate an affiliate scheme in Ireland, so don't have a product feed that I can tap into.

Posted by Kez in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 17:58

^^^ thanks, I didn't know that, sadly they aren't very close to me :(

Posted by Kalhiki in United States, 10 Nov 2012 18:05

It's... Beautiful.
I wish there was store like this near me over here in the States...

Posted by RikTheVeggie in Canada, 10 Nov 2012 18:17

Hmm, looks like that's near Argos? Why did I ever leave!

Posted by Firox 5000 in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 18:36

I don't think there's any Smyth stores around my area but soon I'll have a Lego store on my doorstep.

Posted by The Green Brick Giant in United States, 10 Nov 2012 20:07

"Furthermore, you are not persecuted if you enter the shop with bags. It's altogether a much more pleasant experience, and you don't feel 'dirty' once you've been in it.

Are you reading that TRU?!!? I like how I can't have a bag full of clothes at TRU while I was coming back from a friend's, but women can have a "purse" that could fit a body. It's when I stopped going to TRU. Now I just go to get the mini figures.

Posted by Matt mason in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 21:08

We have a smyths about 2 miles up the road in bury. I agree with the comments about TRU. I pop in when I am in bury but must admit my new favourite store is the new shinny Lego store in Manchester which is 2 miles the other way. No contest really ;-)

Posted by MrBlin in United Kingdom, 10 Nov 2012 22:02

Ever notice how everyone is unhappy in TRU? The staff look like they should be wearing badges that say 'kill me now', the parents are stressed out and the kids are all crying.
It's called Toys R Us Toys R Us Toys R Us!

Posted by SI Builder in Canada, 11 Nov 2012 00:53

Wow, TRU in the UK sounds brutal! Here in Canada they're nice, tidy, well organized, kind staff, quality products. The Lego area isn't just an isle, it's a whole section of the store catorgerized by theme and even set size.

Posted by BrianOg in France, 11 Nov 2012 01:47

I'm really not fond of the only TRU I know, at le Défense just outside Paris - it's like an aircraft hangar, only without the charm. That said, they have a pretty good range, its a corner of the store unto itself, and its well organised. For some reason it is right next to the M*¤& Bl@#ks bit, and the prices are quite high, except when there is a special offer.

I'm originally from Ireland and there are three Smyths Toys stores relatively near my home there. I've gotten good deals there in the past, some sets are more expensive tho'. They have a nice online option called the "onshelf promise"- so if you know what you want to buy in advance, and they say its there, you'll get a €10 voucher if its not there - http://www.toys.ie/Instock_Guarantee.aspx.

Star Wars advent calendar is currently at just €24.99

Posted by primetime85 in United Kingdom, 11 Nov 2012 05:10

Smyths can be ok, the castle brom store has some good prices, but its messey, the staff are not very good and it looks very dated, it looks like tru from the 80's, most of the prices are full retail most being alot dearer than tru, there not as great as you all seem to be hypeing them to be

Posted by one wag in United Kingdom, 11 Nov 2012 05:34

Ahhh one problem with the new Smyths.....Mrs One Wag was the first person through the tills....one item bought was a furby for my daughter for christmas. Got home and the furby box was empty!!!! Mrs One Wag is currently at the store now. So lets see how their customer services are!

Posted by one wag in United Kingdom, 11 Nov 2012 07:57

Update - their customer services are excellent! The till staff forgot to advice customers to take the empty boxes to the service desk for furby pick up. A very apologetic manager sorted it out. Which was nice and refreshing

Posted by lego613master in United States, 11 Nov 2012 09:20

WAWAWAWAWAWAWA!!!!!!!! No Smyths here in the good ol' USA! And the nearest LEGO store is 200 miles away!!! Oh well, that's what Walmart is for. ;)

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 11 Nov 2012 11:07

^^ hope they have some left tomorrow, my 18 y.o. daughter has just decided she wants one for Christmas, would you believe...

Posted by one wag in United Kingdom, 12 Nov 2012 03:10

Dont waste a trip Huw, all gone by yesterday lunchtime. Only ones they had left were those they forgot to hand out.

Posted by Andhe in United Kingdom, 12 Nov 2012 03:20

^^ a grown adult wanting a toy. Whatever next...

I've never been in a Smyths, but I'd hazard a guess the tidyness is due to it having just opened. Wait til a few kids pass through...

Posted by The Sly Fox in United Kingdom, 12 Nov 2012 07:22

You know what ....
I thought that is was just the Plymouth TRU store that was a dirty, unkempt, jumble sale standard of a store. A truly nasty experience for customers.

Unfortunately, as Capn Rex has already mentioned, Devon is not really growing in terms of retail. It would be nice to have a Smyths nearby though.

Posted by Lego34s in United Kingdom, 12 Nov 2012 09:59

I think a few people have said it but a New store will always look smart. We have had a Smyths in Shropshire for ages, ive been going since it opened, but only very recently has it caught on to the fact that no-one buys lego from toyshops. Amazon, Argos etc are always cheaper.

It does have good offers on now, my issue is presentation, they often have Lego displays, Glass cabinets often with sounds or lights. This week they have 3.

Batman, which has a jokers helicopter suspended by a an elastic band and tape, tail down. The Batwing is suspended nose down facing the opposite side with a massive elastic band wrapped round it 4 times.
Superheroes. This just has just a spiderman in it... Nice
LOTR - This has a helms deep but its been glued with more glue than ive seen since school.

I reckon they have been built by primary school kids............

Keep the prices down and the displays standards up please.

Posted by arl100 in United Kingdom, 12 Nov 2012 13:06

@ The Sly Fox, just thought I'd correct you by saying that I mentioned Devon not growing, CapnRex was referring to Eastbourne. Not even Torbay, where I am, is a hive of activity (until grockel season in the summer).

Didn't realise there was a TRU in Devon, I was under the impression the nearest was Southampton way (but the last time I visited a TRU was about 10 years ago). Good job I never bothered going there by the sounds of it.

I agree with The Sly Fox, Smyths does sound good and hopefully one will be coming to the Westcountry shortly.

Posted by The Sly Fox in United Kingdom, 13 Nov 2012 17:46

@ arl100 ... sorry, my bad
I completely misread your post. You are not missing anything at TRU in Plymouth. It has not had a lick of paint for about twenty years. And part of the shopfloor was sold off to become a British Heart Foundation charity shop.

Posted by HuwsDaughter in United Kingdom, 15 Nov 2012 06:50

yay Daddy, am i really getting a Furby? :D

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