Anybody remember Toys R Us (TRU) Boxes?

Tabe

Around 2003 or so, I got back into collecting cards. And around that time, I recall going to Toys R Us quite frequently to buy boxes of cards. They were repacks of a variety of brands. 20 packs for $19.99 - or maybe 16 packs. Something like that. And they came with a "bonus" inside the box that could be anything - a plastic helmet, stickers, another pack, etc. I remember one time I got a Bowman's Best hobby pack with a guaranteed auto in it as my bonus item. The packs in the boxes did not seem to be searched at all as we (myself and the friend that I always went with) almost always got a jersey or autograph in the boxes, if not multiples. The best card I ever got in one was a Walter Payton jersey card at a time when he didn't have many. It was worth $100-$200 at the time.

Anyway, anybody else remember the boxes I'm talking about? Anybody know their actual name and who made them? I remember they had baseball and football. I assume they did basketball ones as well.

miwlvrn

Yes, I remember these; they had them at Meijer too.

DBesse27

I remember something similar at Kaybee Toys in the 90s. Repacks of prospect cards (classic, scoreboard, etc) but then always a random “prize.” Got a 78 Topps Winfield, an 81 Fleer Ozzie, and at one point a Randall Godfrey auto (Cowboys LB)

craig44

I think they sold repack boxes at KMart back in the 90s as well.

Gansetttime

@craig44 said:
I think they sold repack boxes at KMart back in the 90s as well.

You are correct. Company name was Venture. They bought bulk junk wax and commons from big dealers for resale.

nam812

I knew I had this picture somewhere and finally found it. These are the kind I remember.

Tabe

That's them! Thank you!

Tibor

Saw similar packaging at Kay Bees in the early 2000s. I bought 4 or 5 boxes over time but never got anything of value. Did buy a bunch of soccer SLUs.

FirstBeard

Great nostalgia. I always had great luck with these too. Last time I saw them (or similar re-packs) they had 2011 Topps Update packs in them. I did not buy. Amazing how different the hobby was back then.

DeutscherGeist

I remember them, but I always figured they were the picked through left over junk from major dealers who sold them off cheap and a company bought them, repackaged and presented as if some new product.

I guess Tabe had a different experience. Perhaps there were some products out there that were simply retail surplus that went unsold during a window of time. They were not picked through by the major retailers such as Toys R Us, Target, Kmart, but returned to the manufacturer who then liquidated them to other companies who then repackaged them. That could very well have been another scenario. Just my educated guess.