Cebra! - The Argentinian Toys R Us!

On a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, I stumbled onto a local toy store chain that appeared eerily similar to a mega toy store we used to have in the United States...

Scroll below to see what lies in the aisles of Cebra, the Argentinian equivalent of Toys R Us!

I saw a few of these in the streets of downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina, so I absolutely had to find a way to get into one! On my final day of my trip, I finally had an opportunity to visit, not one, but two of these interesting toy stores!

The interior of this particular one was only moderate in width, but had high shelves. Just like a Toys R Us, they sold a little bit of everything for all adolescent audiences.

Because these stores were built into the cramped city infrastructure, Cebra expanded vertically with multiple stories. The basement floor was majority boys toys and action figures!

For superheroes, they mostly carried second rate stock of Hasbro stuff the U.S. released over 10 years ago. Notice the Andrew Garfield Spiderman and Iron Man 3 figures.

These Rise of Cobra figures came out in 2009, and this store was selling them as if they were current. These are not cheap either; the price you see for each of these is roughly $25 USD.

Although they did not appear high quality, Cebra carried many of these Chap Mei knock-off figure sets. I would have bought these if they were actually Chap Mei though.

These were some recent figures from Mego for about $30 each. I do not know if Cebra overcharged, because the company was overpriced or if these were just hard to ship to Argentina.

I do not know if these are current Playmobil sets or not, but I am betting they are just a few years old.

I am not a Transformers guy either, but I am guessing this would be second rate stock in the U.S. market.

Here are some more of those Chap Mei esque figures. Their quality does not match the price Cebra was charging.

Some Transformers knock-offs.

Some more second rate superhero stock. I imagine collecting Marvel Legends would be quite arduous in Argentina.

Again, these are not Chap Mei sets, but I am thinking at one time this store probably stocked big on Chap Mei and international Power Team Elite figures.

I also stumbled across a second Cebra store walking back to my hotel! In this store, I discovered the way to the second floor which was majority girls toys and dolls!

I finally found an American company toy made specifically for the Latin American market! These are the Mattel anniversary Rebelde Barbie dolls that the U.S. market could only purchase through Amazon. They are very nice and exploitative looking (like their TV counterparts), but their price tag was too high for me to souvenir one up. These dolls are not worth $65.

I do not know if this Wednesday Addams doll was licensed, but I do know it is very current.

Cebra also carried much of the current Mattel Barbie line. American Wal-Marts have a better and cheaper selection honestly.

This knock-off Barbie line actually caught my eye more than the American Barbies did!

For a knock-off, these did not look bad at all and could easily assimilate into a personal barbie collection.

Their version of Ken also looked very decent!

This was a family playset; the head choice for the male was an interesting choice.

This particular Cebra actually had a 1st edition G.I. Joe Classified Roadblock; he was not worth $43 though!

This was a hilarious find! I guess Cebra buys whatever is leftover in toy warehouses. They were selling this Shrek action figure as if he was newly released. The original Shrek movie came out in 2001; this figure was 24 years old!

This Cebra also carried these knock-off Playmobil Viking sets!

Just another shot of the boys toys at the second Cebra.

I did actually pick up one souvenir from Cebra! This is a completely plastic 1/6 S.W.A.T. figure with moderate articulation. He reminded me of the 1/6 True Heroes line that was available at Toys R Us for a while.

This was the last one left at the store, because its packaging was damaged. He was roughly $25 and was just fine when I took him out of the package. The style on these reminded me a lot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare characters!

Although Cebra was full of overpriced American deadstock and knock off toys, it was still an exciting venture to view the toys other parts of the world are getting. We cannot criticize too much; the selection of cool toys currently available at American brick and mortar stores is pretty pitiful as well. Like I said before, I bet 10+ years ago, Cebra was full of interesting foreign market Power Team and Chap Mei merchandise. Regardless, if you are ever in Buenos Aires, Argentina, stop by a Cebra for a taste of the South American toy market!

-Chuck