Now that Toys R Us is gone, the only retail store (that I have found) that carry decent yoyos is Hobbytown USA stores, but with one exception - which has some higher end YYFs - the selection is static, with cheap Yomegas, YYF Whips and a couple of others.
I’ve been to my local Target and Walmart, and struck out.
I’m hoping to find some Freehands, which Toys R Us always had a selection of. Anyone know of another retail store that stocks decent yoyos these days?
I’ve only seen them at Target (butterfly XTs last time I went! picked up two of em!) and a local boutique toy store that carries mid-range YYF yoyos. It’s often easier to spot the kendamas at a distance, and normally yo-yos are nearby.
The place that jumps to mind is A2Z Science and Learning Center (also owned by Andre), in Northampton, MA. You might want to check with your local toy and hobby shops as well. Finally, I thought there was a thread in the BST forum that listed out the brick and mortar shops. I’m not trying to throw a wet blanket on the party, but, please remember this forum is paid for by YoYoExpert, a yoyo store. Just like I wouldn’t go to Sears and tell people that the JC Penney at the other end of the mall also has pants, we shouldn’t mention other online sources of yoyos here (not that anyone has done that yet).
whuuuuuuttttt @AndreBoulay?
I don’t think there’s any conflict between brick and mortar stores and online though @French
Appreciate the replies, thanks.
Wow, this is very interesting to me! I always thought that getting your hands on a brand yoyo from a larger retailer in the US would have been easy.
It sounds like there aren’t a while lot more avaliable in the US as there are in Australia!
No, probably not, with maybe a few exceptions. There are a few large, independent hobby shops in the Houston area. None carry yo-yos afaik. Most are geared toward RC planes and cars and helis etc. The last one that did was back when team losi yo-yos were big…
Yeah - we own an awesome toy store (A2Z Science & Learning Store in Northampton, MA) - three days of yo-yo classes a week too (Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays)! 
And yeah - we did have a directory post to find other stores selling yo-yos. We have always felt its important to support brick and mortar here!
Here’s the topic…
https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/where-to-buy-yoyos-locally-usa-retail-outlets-real-store-only
Seems someone locked and unstickied it…
It hasn’t been updated in some time, but feel free to make new entries. And as noted, call before you go to make sure they still exist.
It was auto-closed by system due to the category rule for buy-sell-trade, where all buy-sell-trade topics are auto closed 30 days after the last reply. I suggest recategorizing it.
It’s now in the general forum.