We hate to interrupt your mourning of the demise of Toys R Us and deep concern over whether Geoffrey will ever get back on his feet, but there is something you need to do.
Spend your gift cards. Now.
The toy store chain announced that it will honor gift cards for the next 30 days—and that includes Babies R Us gift cards. Still holding onto a $50 gift card that Aunt Poppy gave your kid for Christmas in ‘09? Go find it, and buy something at one of the hundreds of store closing sales happening right now across the country. (Store fixtures are for sale, too.)
What happens if you don’t use the gift cards? They’ll become virtually worthless, says Tom Olk, vice president of online gift card marketplace Raise. “If there is value left after the company physically closes, you become an unsecured creditor,” he explains. “In the repayment waterfall, you will be placed behind any secured credit holders, such as debt holders or loan providers. As a result, you would receive only pennies on the dollar—if you even receive that much.”
Also, if you have a registry at Babies R Us, you’ll want to transfer it to a different store (Costco, perhaps?), as the registries will be shutting down in the next couple of weeks.