Cool news for those of you in the East end of Toronto; this weekend, at our Beach store location, we have some folks from over at GoGo's Crazy Bones coming by for a cool demo!

They'll be at the store on:

Friday July 24 from 4PM-8PM

Saturday July 25 from 12PM-6PM

Sunday July 26 from 12PM-5PM

Come on out for a cool demo, FREE GoGo's Crazy Bones... and of course LOTS of regular GoGo's Crazy Bones stock available as well (it's pretty hard to find these days since Crazy Bones have been so popular!)

If you AREN'T familiar with the GoGo's Crazy Bones Craze yet, you can start with our previous post about it, as well as our video on the subject here:



-- Ryan the Toy Buyer

610 CKTB heard throughout Toronto and the Niagara Region here in Southern Ontario! I’ll be speaking with host Tim Denis at around 7:50AM to describe our hot toys of the summer! Radio interviews are great and also kind of funny; we’re used to be on TV and showing the toys in action. On the radio we have to paint the picture in the listener’s mind’s eye, and we tend towards hilarious descriptions. Picture this: the toy buyer is sitting at his desk early on Monday morning surrounded by great summer toys, speaking animatedly and frantically into his phone about what makes the toys the coolest on the PLANET, resorting to silly metaphors and descriptions. Awesome. We took a picture below to show you what we mean…



If you’re outside of the listening area for this show you can also hear it online: http://www.610cktb.com/

And stay tuned to our blog next week… we have some other BIG PR announcements for you!!

Well, the much anticipated Mastermind Toys Warehouse Sale of 2009 is finally here, and we couldn’t be happier! So far, the sale has been a huge success, especially when it comes to the feedback from our customers.

The challenge with any warehouse sale is to find the right space to hold the sale; our actual toy warehouse is always jammed with great toys, so we need a temporary space to hold the sale. Finding a suitable space is always a challenge, but this year we got VERY lucky… the 90,000 sq ft. warehouse that we’ve mentioned here a couple times has made the overall sale the best we’ve ever held.

First of all, we were able to pack every last toy that we had for the sale into the space, and even with a massively popular first day of the sale, we still have LOTS of great toys left (weekend shoppers will definitely notice this!). We have some amazing deals left too… we just sent out an eUpdate that highlighted a few of them. Check it out here! If you’re looking for a few backup birthday gifts to have stashed in the closet for emergencies, let’s just so you definitely won’t be disappointed :)

On top of that, the space makes for a better shopping experience then you would ever expect from such a hugely popular sale. Customers are bringing strollers, their kids, their whole family even, and still the space isn’t crowded. It’s very easy to get around and peruse the merchandise (because the aisles are so wide), and we have 16 different cash registers to accommodate checkout, making this process much quicker too. There’s even a big space that customers are using to look through their shopping cart at everything that they’ve picked up to make final decisions before checkout.

The convenience factor for the sale is great too; over the past few years we’ve had to bounce all over the city with the location for our sale (since we generally have to go to where the temporary space is available!). This year we lucked out: the location is right off of Highway 401 at Markham Rd (415 Milner Ave., click here for a map!). This spot is convenient for all points GTA; 20 minutes from North Toronto, easy to get to via highways from as far East as Whitby, as far North as Newmarket, and as far West as Oakville. And now that we’re pretty much through any rush hour traffic situations before the weekend (if you live in Toronto, this is just part of your daily reality…), the drive is even more convenient.

So for all of you savvy weekend shoppers we hope to see you at the sale this weekend! Swing by after work on Friday (we’re open until 8PM) or plan a family stop on the weekend (9AM to 6PM Saturday, and 12PM to 5PM Sunday; Our full hours are listed below:

Wednesday May 20th 9am - 8pm
Thursday May 21st 9am - 8pm
Friday May 22nd 9am - 8pm
Saturday May 23rd 9am - 6pm
Sunday May 24th 12pm - 5pm
Monday May 25th 10am - 5pm
Tuesday May 26th 10am - 5pm
Wednesday May 27th* 10am - 5pm
*Wednesday May 27th is Deal Day! - Additional discounts on remaining merchandise


It’s definitely worth the trip! Take a look at some images of our Warehouse Sale on opening day:







--Ryan the Toy Buyer

Our giant Mastermind Toys warehouse sale is almost here! The sale begins on Wednesday May 20th here in Toronto, Ontario, and it’s been one of the city’s most popular sales for years!

We have collected everything that you need to know, including some excellent sneak-peek videos which give you a behind-the-scenes look at this year’s sale, right here in this post!

As a reminder, here are the key things that you can expect from this year’s sale:

First and foremost:
really great toys! Our warehouse sale is as different from other sales as our stores are different from any other toy store. The sale is filled with items that have come from our stores, and so you can count on finding excellent quality toys!

Fantastic prices!
These great toys have been discounted up to 70% at our sale. We keep the inventory nice and fresh in our stores, and so our sale allows us to move some of last year’s favourites, and gives our customers fantastic opportunities at the same time.

A huge, open space for this year’s sale!
This year we were able to secure a huge, 90,000 square ft. warehouse that gives us more room than we have ever had for the sale; huge aisles, lots of parking, and lots of room to move!

Watch our videos to see what we mean!
Our 2 preview videos (below) were filmed during the setup and just as it completed; they show you the kinds of toys and deals that you can expect, and give you a first-hand look at the sale and the space!

Here are your links to all the warehouse sale resources that you will need:

Watch our first sneak-peek video preview, filmed during the setup of the sale

Watch our second sneak-peek video preview, filmed just as the setup was completed!

This morning I took a trunk-load of toys over to Oakville, a neighbourhood in Toronto where we have one of our Mastermind stores, and I visited a moms group that meets there every week. We do quite a lot of this at Mastermind; various groups that meet in and around the city (and more often than not these are moms groups) have us come out to show them some cool toys and just to give a rundown on what is new and exciting in the world of toys! Frequently the groups are also looking for great toy tips: what makes a great toy, how some toys work, what to look for when you’re toy shopping, and this sort of thing.

Today I brought along a lot of our hot toys for the summer, kind of like what we did for Breakfast Television earlier this week. What’s really neat about these groups though is that we have lots of time to show the toys, explain why we think they’re so great and really just chat about this fun topic! The group this morning was really great and enthusiastic, and we had a lot of fun firing some flying toys around… and especially playing with our toy lacrosse sticks, believe it or not! The group also really loved our neat kite-like toy glider and the trapp ball game. Trapp ball is actually especially cool…

If anyone out there in and around Toronto is interested in having some crazy toy people come out with a mountain of cool toys to speak to their group, let us know at feedback@mastermindtoys.com!

We are p-u-m-p-e-d PUMPED for our Webkinz Extravaganza Weekend! We have had lots of calls and lots of people have responded to our eUpdates as well. Mastermind has always been the place to be to get Webkinz, and we’re the place to be for the Webkinz Extravaganza as well!

So… in case you missed it… here’s the scoop: you come to our Mastermind stores on Saturday or Sunday, and you spend $15 on ANYTHING in the store, and you then have the option to purchase a special Webkinz Extravaganza Pet for only $1 more! Webkinz are normally $15, so this is a pretty fantastic deal. We’re also giving away random prizes throughout the day, so you might even get a Webkinz prize free, just for showing up and taking part in the fun! There is also face-painting for the little ones

Now, here is an insider’s tip for you Webkinz scoopsters out there: it’s best to come first thing in the morning on either day for the best selection. We have LOTS of interest and we could only get so many giveaways, so there is a good chance that we’ll run out during the day. There will likely be a small shipment going to each store overnight for Sunday morning as well, so if you miss out Saturday, first thing Sunday morning is your best bet!

Thanks everyone and have fun at our Webkinz Extravaganza!!

---- Ryan the Toy Buyer