KayBee Overstock Reference and Guide - Under Construction

lejackal

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KayBee and the Overstock Information Links - http://trilogo.info/intro-history/kay-bee-overstock/ - http://forum.trilogo.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=591 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KB_Toys

Interesting find on Ebay was this Lando General Cardback which has a Circus World sticker on. Circus World being another chain that was bought out and converted to KayBee!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus_World_(store)

KBCW_zps6ddhkalx.jpg


8bc9ae8b-e968-4448-8d81-a79d83f9d912_zpsvdpujyhl.jpg


If you are happy to share photos of your KayBee items to go in the KayBee Trilogo Visual Reference Library please email them to [email protected]

This next bit comes courtesy of Joe and his Trilogo Trade Forum

So..this is kind of fun :)

I always look out for American price stickers on Trilogos because although the Kay Bee story is well known, there is always a possibility that they may have been sold in other, similar stores in the US.

Over the years I've only seen a handful and I don't think they were legit. There have been a couple of Sears stickers and I've also seen those big orange TRU stickers turn up on Trilogo cards too but I very much doubt they were ever sold in those particular stores, especially at reasonably high prices. It's far more likely that those stickers were transplanted over from other figures in order to cover damage (a rather common "trick" used by dealers/sellers).

Anyway, a little while back I spotted this figure on eBay:

ToyWorks8D8_zpsohorf1dl.jpg


At first glance it looks identical to the common Kay Bee stickers as the size of the sticker and the font type are the same but the company name at the top is actually "The Toy Works":

toy_works_sticker_zpsv4qkklgl.jpg


I came across the picture on my pc today and thought I would google it to see what I could find out. Nothing much came up for "The Toy Works" but when I googled it alongside Kay Bee I found out that it was actually another toy store which had merged with K B Toys:

wiki wrote:
At the time of its liquidation, K·B Toys operated three distinct store formats: K·B Toys, K·B Toy Works (the result of a merger between KB Toys and The Toy Works), and K·B Toys Outlet (aka Toy Liquidators). K·B Toys stores were mostly found in the company's traditional base of shopping malls, where many of its stores were located for years. K·B Toy Works stores were typically found in outdoor strip malls. K·B Toys Outlet and Toy Liquidators stores, as the name implies, were usually found in outlet centers/malls.


..and from another article I also found out exactly when K B acquired The Toy Works:

encyclopedia.com wrote:
Kay-Bee acquired Toy World, with 52 stores, in 1982; Circus World, with 330 stores, in 1990; and K&K Toys, with 133 stores, in 1991. These three acquisitions moved Kay-Bee into the upper echelon of U.S. toy retailers.


So while the Toy Works name continued to be used on stickers and store signs it was very much part of the Kay Bee group when Trilogos were brought over to be sold in bargain bins.

I must admit for a moment I thought I might have found a legitimate non Kay Bee sticker on a Trilogo sold in the US but in the end it turned out that The Toy Works had a direct link to Kay Bee.

Pretty cool nonetheless! If anyone knows where that particular 8D8 shown above is, please let me know!

_________________
Owner & Admin of Trilogo.info and the Trilogo Trade Forum. Contact me at: [email protected]


To tie in with Joes sticker discovery here is a shot of a KayBee Toy Works store still open in 2007 which I found on this blog about the end of KayBee


Kaybee_toyworks_zpsxhcm6s7x.jpg


And this is the final resting place of the KayBee brand :cry:
 

Dublinjeff

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Looking forward to seeing this develop mate. Fair play, good to see more guides popping up on here. Always a useful resource in my humble opinion :D

Best of luck!
 

mumbo

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Very interesting, I've never had a problem with stickers myself except for the large £1.59 sticker that covers part of the Tri Logo symbol and IMO ruins the card.

Off to look at my Tri Logo LJ card.
 

mumbo

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I have a KayBee too, I recalled that my Tri Logo had a sticker but didn't pay too much attention, now I've got an understanding of it's origins 8)

5c1a968f-3e40-4546-87a4-be84d466b1db_zps5597c799.jpg
 

SAVORY100

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Just checked mine and I have:
- Prune Face 77B
- Lando Calrissian / Madine twin pack
- Han Trench / Madine twin pack
I'll get some pics over to you ASAP
 

itfciain

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I am pretty sure I should be able to add quite a few to this thread - as will most people who have bought a carded figure or two from me in the last year !!
 

Joe

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Carl, if you want to quote the contents of my post about Toy Works & Toy Box and incorporate it into your first post then feel free! The only reason my forum is for registered members only is because I was constantly dealing with spam accounts and had to do something to stop them from registering/posting but the downside is that people can't be bothered to register to read things on there :lol:

Love the enthusiasm you have for the Kay Bee story and the stickers! Keep it going! :)
 

lejackal

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Joe said:
Carl, if you want to quote the contents of my post about Toy Works & Toy Box and incorporate it into your first post then feel free! The only reason my forum is for registered members only is because I was constantly dealing with spam accounts and had to do something to stop them from registering/posting but the downside is that people can't be bothered to register to read things on there :lol:

Love the enthusiasm you have for the Kay Bee story and the stickers! Keep it going! :)
Thank you Joe, I'll take full advantage of your offer.

These next photos were kindly provided by Simon aka ScruffylookingNH

image1_zpstswvtgka.jpg


45a3b394-009e-47d4-a5a1-cbce0d50dfdb_zps5ag5g9wd.jpg
 

lejackal

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This next one is kindly provided by Jimi Woolley, an absolutely amazing Canadian Max Rebo Band

C684EBFE-4A87-4A6F-939D-C9509C2E49E5_1_zpsdkz2ahom.jpg


And this is my new toy;

1672753216338337_5664680788298240142_n_zpsmtbtbhzr.jpg


1672776449669347_8279812283835640346_n_zpsj6nuqyiy.jpg
 

lejackal

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And these came in last night from Jeff - Thanks buddy

20160214_233609-1_zpsu9j0nqff.jpg


20160214_233656-1_zps7zelfql8.jpg


He also pointed out that this one has the same number on the sticker as Simons AT-AT Driver so I'm thinking these are store numbers and hope to confirm as soon as possible, maybe also with an idea of which numbers relate to which stores if a possible lead works out.

image2_zpswzkk2d86.jpg
 

ScruffyLookingNH

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I was wondering about those numbers. I thought it was more likely a stock number. Not sure what the purpose of having the store number on the stock would be. It will be interesting to see as your archive grows, Carl. Again, great idea :)
 

Joe

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I'm pretty sure the number 402073 was Kay-Bee's stock number for ROTJ Star Wars Action Figures? Might be a different number on POTF/Droids/Ewoks?
 

lejackal

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Joe said:
I'm pretty sure the number 402073 was Kay-Bee's stock number for ROTJ Star Wars Action Figures? Might be a different number on POTF/Droids/Ewoks?
I'll be able to check and confirm this week as I'll have all of them in hand :D :D :D
 
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