Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Reveal Which Businesses That Were Killed By The Internet They Miss The Most

People Reveal Which Businesses That Were Killed By The Internet They Miss The Most
rawpixels.com

Have you ever stopped to think about all of the deaths the internet is responsible for?


We don't mean people (that would be a whole other, entirely more more morbid) - we mean businesses. Gone are the days when people used to hang out at malls bouncing from store to store.

In the age of internet, lots of young people literally don't know what a mallrat is! They'll never know what it is to go to specialized stores - why would they when we can get everything on Amazon?

Reddit user @stalingradsniper asked:

What business or store that was killed by the internet do you miss the most?

Come on folks, we're going for a walk down memory lane.

Arcades

Arcades for sure. My dad used to drop me off at a nickel arcade with 5 bucks. I felt like a KING.

- Hijack32

Toys R Us Kids

Giphy

12 year old me misses Toys R Us. My son will more than likely never experience the joy of being let loose in a giant toy store.

- Windyscarecrow

Blockbuster

The old Blockbuster in my town had a game console that somehow always had new and interesting games to show.

- PM_Me_Your_Worries

My favorite Blockbuster story...

I was in 4th grade. My friend's dad took us to Blockbuster. As a joke, my friend grabbed Grease (which he had seen before and wanted to watch again) and Basic Instinct. He handed his dad both movies and said "I'm thinking about one of these, but I can't decide."

His dad just shook his head and said "haven't you seen Grease enough?" and took Basic Instinct to the checkout.

So yeah, that's how I got to watch Basic Instinct in 4th grade.

- NC_Goonie

I honestly miss video stores. It was fun to wander around them and you might end up renting something you never heard of on a whim.

- RyusDirtyGi

NOT Hobby Lobby

I miss really good hobby shops. I build plastic models usually World War II aircraft. Those high-end hobby shops have all the closed down, now all you can generally find are RC shops that have a shelf of a couple plastic models here and there, the only Exception in the greater Portland area is Tammie's hobbies but I'm pretty sure their days are numbered for plastic models as well.

- dlama

Radio Shack

I really miss radio shack. I used to always go in there with friends and look at all the remote control helicopters and the crazy tivo devices and everything that I thought was so awesome.

Its so weird how those things were so revolutionary and now its just like "Oh yeah you can get that at walmart for $5."

- nessabessa34

Radio Shack for me as well. Mostly for the small little electronics that i would need or tiny screws that are hard to find anywhere else.

For example, I really need to buy 2 replacement screws for my sennheiser headphones currently and i have no idea where to start looking as googling doesn't give me many options. If there was a radio shack i may actually be able to take the screw in and find another similar enough in size.

- insert_password

Books

Giphy

Used book stores. There's now only one in a 5 city radius that is only open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm to 4pm.

I use thriftbooks now, it's cheap and they have a lot of different books, but it's not the same as browsing through stacks looking for treasures.

- ViolentGrace

Nature

Did any of you guys have that Discovery nature store at your malls? It would have those native american rain tubes, that when placed on its top or bottom had the beads inside sound like it was raining. That and had a bunch of cool "seen on tv" toys and books. It was great, then one day it was just gone. Wish it was still around today, so that it would still be cool to learn.

- FightingBlaze77

Small Town Woes

Most of the shops in my small country town close because everyone orders everything off of Amazon. Now there's so many abandoned buildings.

- annatheanna119

Like Blockbuster, But Better

Hastings.

Hastings was probably similar to a blockbuster, but Hastings had movies and tv shows to rent, books, music, other stuff that I can't remember that you could buy. It was just so good but now their is a TJ MAXX in its place. It will truly be missed in my heart.

- bluuuuu5183

Sears Could Have Been...

Giphy

The Sears catalog.

I used to love going through that as a kid around Christmas and seeing what I wanted to ask Santa for. What's stupid is Sears could have been bigger than Amazon since they already had a head start on the "order from home" business, but they just didn't embrace the internet and now Sears is dying.

- -eDgAR-

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Pam Bondi
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Photo Of Epstein Victims Standing Behind Pam Bondi As She Ignores Them Goes Viral—And It's One For The History Books

Attorney General Pam Bondi's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee will now forever be associated with a viral photo captured by Getty Images photographer Roberto Schmidt showing several victims of the late financier, sex trafficker, and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein raising their hands to signal that Bondi and the Justice Department had ignored their accounts.

Democrats repeatedly pressed Bondi over what they described as her dismissive posture toward the crimes of Epstein and the influential figures named in recently released files.

Keep ReadingShow less
Margot Robbie attends the "Wuthering Heights" Australian Premiere at State Theatre in Sydney, Australia.
Don Arnold/WireImage via Getty Images

Fans Horrified After Margot Robbie Reveals Weight-Shaming 'Gift' She Once Got From Male Costar

Margot Robbie is reflecting on a moment from early in her career that still stings.

The Australian actor and producer appeared on Complex’s GOAT Talk series on February 9, where she sat down with Charli XCX to discuss her career, romance films, and the worst gift she has ever received. What followed was a candid story about a male costar who handed her something that felt less like a present and more like a pointed message.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from Redditor Bulgingpants' Reddit post
u/Bulgingpants/Reddit

Restaurant Sparks Heated Debate After Adding Mandatory 20% No-Tipping Fee To Diners' Checks

Tipping culture is an incredibly divisive topic, leading people to question if customers and restaurant guests should be made responsible for the livelihood of those who serve them their meals at these establishments.

Redditor Bulgingpants added fuel to the fire when they shared a receipt in the "End Tipping" subReddit from a restaurant called Burdell in Oakland, California, remarking:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @hackedliving's TikTok video
@hackedliving/TikTok

Viral Video Of Delivery Robot Maneuvering Around Unhoused Man In Miami Is Honestly So Dystopian

Technology is here to make our lives more convenient and successful, but it has a chilling way of calling out problems that we're experiencing.

In a TikTok video recorded by TikToker @hackedliving, an delivery robot named "Akira" was seen rolling down a sidewalk in Miami, eyes blinking as it approached its destination.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Dawson's Creek' cast
Warner Bros./Getty Images

'Dawson's Creek' Stars Lead Poignant Tributes To James Van Der Beek After His Tragic Death At 48

After revealing to the public in November 2025 that he was battling colorectal cancer, James Van Der Beek passed away on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at the age of 48.

Fans became concerned last December about the severity of his condition when Van Der Beek was unable to appear at the Dawson's Creek reunion at New York's Richard Rodgers Theatre, due to having multiple illnesses at once because of his weakened immune system.

Keep ReadingShow less