A tough crowd awaits.

Mark Carson, a founder of the manufacturer and retailer Fat Brain Toys, is among those wary of Toys “R” Us rising from the dead. He said he still had a “bitter taste” in his mouth after the company shut down without fully repaying him. But the amount he was owed — less than $100,000 — was dwarfed by the outstanding balances of many other vendors, he said.

“I’m not going to roll the dice on their new business,” he said. “I’m open to working with them, but it’s not like I’m desperately waiting for them to come back.”

The collapse of Toys “R” Us had far-reaching effects. Tens of thousands of workers lost jobs. Competitors were undercut when liquidation sales flooded the market with deeply discounted goods. Vendors locked into exclusive contracts with the chain scrambled to find new outlets. Last week, Hasbro, the world’s largest toymaker, blamed the “unprecedented” store closings for holiday earnings that fell well short of expectations.

“It was traumatic for the industry,” said Richard Gottlieb, the founder of Global Toy Experts, a consulting firm. How traumatic? Mr. Gottlieb said that the last time he saw Geoffrey at an industry event, he “didn’t know whether to hug him or punch him in the face.”

The toy business is under plenty of pressure beyond the demise of Toys “R” Us. Shoppers are defecting to mobile apps and video games. Birthrates are slumping, shrinking the market. Sears, another big seller of toys, narrowly escaped liquidation.

President Trump’s trade war with China, where 85 percent of the toys sold in American stores are made, is also a threat. Retailers are asking toy makers to deliver spring orders early, in case the White House adds more tariffs on Chinese imports. Representatives of Hasbro, Lego, Mattel and other toy companies were in Washington last week lobbying against escalating the trade war.

“If you are a manufacturer of toys, you are in a pretty tough position, and so are the retailers, because at this point in time, no one knows what’s going to happen,” said Lutz Muller, the president of the consulting firm Klosters Trading.