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I'll really miss Media Play - Well-yet another chain beloved by yours truly is soon to be no more. My sister informed me that Media Play is calling it quits and closing all their stores nationwide. Damn. I Loved the place because I could go there and make one stop for all my wants-books, dvd's, games, etc. Now-after January, I'll have to go to more than one store again-one for books, another for videos....I'll miss this place as much as I miss Frank's Nursery...I'd been a regular customer at Frank's for 25 years. Bought all my spring bulbs there, most of my flowers, both perennials and annuals..Also arts/crafts stuff, pots, hangers, cactuses, you name it, they had it. After they closed, it took me about a week just to find replacement chains for my hanging baskets.

I honestly can't believe the claim that either one of these companies made-that they had no business. EVERY time I ever went to Frank's, or have been to Media Play-they were loaded with customers. I'm cynical enough to believe it's done for hidden reasons, and that some big-money people make out somewhere.

Meanwhile-hundreds of people are out of jobs in Toledo, and thousands nationwide. The rag said in the online article the Media stores in Toledo had about 300 people. I don't remember what Frank's had, but I'm sure it was at least that amount.

How do you folks feel about it? Will you miss it, do you care, etc? Personally, I'm extremely sorry to see it go, as I said, mainly for the convenience of having all those items I was interested in under one roof.
posted by Foolkiller to business at 9:18 A.M. EST     (16 Comments)

Comments ...

"... make one stop for all my wants-books, dvd's, games, ..."

You can still shop from one place for those items: at home, on-line.

With Thackeray's closing earlier this year, a truly local business BTW, I rarely go to a bookstore anymore. I think Fireside Books out near Spring Meadows is an independent store. I haven't been there yet.

Buying online may hurt local biz, but it's damn convenient, especially on a day like today with a sloppy mess of heavy snow falling. But I truly miss going to Thackeray's two or three times a month and browsing through books held in my hand, which is still an experience not yet duplicated online.

I rarely visited Media Play. Three years ago, my wife and I stopped in at Media Play on the day after Christmas, for some strange reason. Anyway, we decided to buy a CD of Christmas music. We looked and looked and couldn't find any. We asked a Media Play employee, and he said they had put all of their Christmas music in storage. On December 26, you couldn't buy Christmas music at Media Play. Real accomodating. That put off me Media Play for good. My first thought was, I wouldn't have that problem online.

Maybe some will miss Media Play, but I won't. Don't worry, another big box store is probably around the corner. To me, Thackeray's was special and probably the only store I have ever felt sad about closing.
posted by jr at 11:15 A.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

I've never really liked that store. The electronics and DVDs always seemed cheaper at either Best Buy or Circuit City, while their book selection paled in comparison to Books A Million or Barnes and Nobles. Yes, it sucks for the workers, but I never thought the store was that great to begin with.

I'll be honest, though. I went over there on Monday to pick over the remains of the carcass. Got a great deal on some DVD sets.
posted by thenick at 11:44 A.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

I recommend Fireside Books, not only are the prices good but they also sell books by local authors that you are not going to find other places.

I used to buy alot more from Media Play before I realized Sam's Club almost always has the same dvd's and cd's at a much lower price. They did have a good selection of computer games though, better than Circuit City or Best Buy.
posted by psyche777 at 03:36 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

Never set foot in Thackery's in my life, sorry. There was another little(think it was local )book store in Spring Meadows I used to go to (much closer), but they unexpectedly closed a few years ago. I just went there one day, and they were gone. Actually, that's when I discovered Media Play. Don't worry, a lot of other small local businesses will be gone (bars, diners, and restaurants) once the statewide smoker ban goes into effect. What about Frank's? Anybody miss that? The only place in town that has as much variety in plants and flowers is Whiteford Greenhouse. But, they're seasonal, and don't carry anything else (no potting soil, pots/planters, etc.). Shopping online is fine for some shopping-I did all the adults Christmas presents there-and most of the stuff I collect, I have to find online-but that's because nobody here sells it, for the most part, though I do find some stuff at flea markets (oops, they prefer to be called 'antique malls' now) It's just not the same doing everything online, though. By the way, jr-virtually every store does what Media Play did to you now. All cleared out/gone right after the holiday. The days of gettin' after-any-holiday bargains are soon going to be another thing of the past.
posted by Foolkiller at 06:52 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

Have you checked out Black Diamond Nursery on Tremainsville Rd near Start High School? That's where we shop for lawn stuffola. I get rock salt from there. I buy bird seed from BD too because you can scoop your own amount out of the bins. I buy grass seed and Espoma organic lawn food from Black Diamond. Of course, they sell all of the chemical-laden fertilizers too.

I don't think Black Diamond sells Oak Opening native plants. That's about their only drawback to me. We have a small Oak Opening natives area setup in our backyard, which are the plants I like best. Kitty Todd nature preserve sells native plants at certain times of the year. But we also bought them from a nursery that I think was along Central near Douglas. If you have that soft, sandy soil like most of West Toledo does, you're part of the Oak Openings region. Give the native plants a try. One problem, most OO natives require a good bit of sun, which is tough to come by in our yard because of so many nice, towering oak trees. Our plants lean way out to grab some extra sun, but they do well. OO native plants have a simple elegance about them.
posted by jr at 07:22 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

Foolkiller - Little Professor was the book store in Spring Meadows...They are now Fireside Books, down the road farther a bit on Airport HWY where Farmer Jacks used to be.

Same family - just a different name

:-)
posted by psyche777 at 07:51 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

Oh, great. I'll once again become a customer, then. Thanks, Psyche! :-D
posted by Foolkiller at 09:39 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

I'll bet the landlord & the rent they paid was why they closed the old one. That happened with the Pharm close to me. The idiot who owns the strip mall got greedy & raised the rent-again-and they told him to go to hell and closed it. It had nothing to do with how good their business was .
posted by Foolkiller at 09:42 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

FoolKiller,

How 'bout that Pharm fiasco?!? My wife loved that location, and I found it pretty good, too. It was mighty convenient for a number of reasons.
posted by AirTrainer at 11:02 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

Yep, that was a great location. They did a hell of a lot of business, too-I'd bet more than many of their other units. At my age, you think about one main thing-convenience. And, due to the price of gasoline, a lot of younger folks are feeling the same way these days. I live close to Airport Hwy, and basically, everything I need (or close to it) is along either Airport, or Reynolds Rd. The reason I don't like Wal-Mart is-they're too damned big, and it takes forever to get checked out. Meijer's is close to that, but they're open 24 hours, so if I go there, I go in the middle of the night. Almost have the whole place to myself then.
posted by Foolkiller at 11:55 P.M. EST on Thu Dec 15, 2005     #

I might check out those native plants next year, too, jr. I've always enjoyed going to Oak Openings.
posted by Foolkiller at 04:52 A.M. EST on Fri Dec 16, 2005     #

Little Professor was also a chain or a franchise name. When I lived near Columbus many years ago, I used to go to a large Little Professor bookstore on Sawmill Rd. Maybe that company went out of business.
posted by jr at 07:37 P.M. EST on Fri Dec 16, 2005     #

Little Professor is a franchise deal.

http://www.littleprofessor.com/stores.html
posted by anonymouscoward at 08:20 P.M. EST on Fri Dec 16, 2005     #

Hey, TheNick, do/did they have much stuff left? I was thinking of checking it out to see what video games they had for Christmas presents for my Grandchildren.
posted by Foolkiller at 02:05 A.M. EST on Sat Dec 17, 2005     #

'picked the carcass' LOL I liked that.
posted by Foolkiller at 02:06 A.M. EST on Sat Dec 17, 2005     #

I have NEVER BEEN to Media Play...so...I won't be missing it!
posted by MARIELORA at 05:48 P.M. EST on Sun Dec 18, 2005     #

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