Game over for Toys R Us! All stores now closed, but is this really the end?

Kelly Tyko | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption 5 ways Toys R Us impacted our childhood Take a trip back to your younger days with one of the nation's best-known retail chains.

UPDATE: Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores nationwide are now closed. But is it really the end? The iconic toy retailer posted two updates on its Facebook page Friday, which indicated there would be "a next chapter for Geoffrey and the iconic Toys R Us brands."

In a widely circulated photo of Geoffrey with a suitcase, Toys R Us wrote in a Facebook post, "Just going on a little vacation is all... #TRUBeContinued."

“Stay tuned here for news and information on the next chapter for Geoffrey and the iconic Toys R Us brands," said the post at Facebook.com/toysrus.

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Toys R Us shoppers have been taking their last selfies with Geoffrey the giraffe and making their final purchases.

All Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores will close on or before Friday, the iconic toy retailer announced.

Many stores nationwide won't make it until Friday with some closing Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

Just like the closing day, discounts vary by location. Some stores have markdowns of 60 to 80 percent and others are at 70 to 90 percent.

Inventory also is limited and as stock sells out, portions of stores and empty aisles are being closed off with yellow caution tape.

But is this really the end for Toys R Us?

Even as stores enter their final days of the liquidation sale, toy expert Jim Silver, the founder and editor in chief of popular toy review website TTPM.com, isn't convinced that the Toys R Us story is over.

Final Saturday at Toys R Us in Paramus, NJ Final Saturday at Toys R Us in Paramus, NJ

There are many bidders interested in the Toys R Us brand names, including buyers who understand the potential for a reborn Toys R Us chain.

"I firmly believe there will be Toys R Us stores, bricks-and-mortar, in 2019," Silver said. "This is the end of the chapter, not the story."

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So many memories ...

Longtime Toys R Us kids of all ages have expressed their sadness on social media.

“One last time. One last purchase. It started raining the moment I left the store. Legitimately depressed right now,” @HauntedDriveIn tweeted. “But whether I’m 3 years old, 30 years old, or 90 years old, I’ll be a ‪@ToysRUs kid.”

One last time. One last purchase. It started raining the moment I left the store. Legitimately depressed right now. But whether I’m 3 years old, 30 years old, or 90 years old, I’ll be a @ToysRUs kid. #ToysRUs #ImAToysRUsKid pic.twitter.com/ARk3HDIs52 — The Haunted Drive-in (@HauntedDriveIn) June 22, 2018

“Sad day for my son as he visits his favorite collectibles aisle for the last time,” @ElevenSimms tweeted.

@ToysRUs #toysrusclosingsale #ToysRUs #babiesrus Sad day for my son as he visits his favorite collectibles aisle for the last time. pic.twitter.com/8HncmByoo3 — See Marino (@ElevenSimms) June 24, 2018

"If you feel my pain please retweet this! #riptoysrus," tweeted Donnell Rawlings (@donnellrawlings) of the Chappelle Show.

If you feel my pain please retweet this! #riptoysrus 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/ykGFikxABy — Donnell Rawlings (@donnellrawlings) March 18, 2018

"Toys R Us is now going to be an ancient relic like Blockbuster," @LewdPrax mused.

There were many aisles with caution tape. Most of the shelves were empty. Toys R Us is now going to become an ancient relic like Blockbuster. pic.twitter.com/1oq1a1dcNk — Prax (@LewdPrax) June 23, 2018

"Last visit ever to a @toysrus store! What a great place to be around the holidays as a kid," @mjpowers13 tweeted.

Last visit ever to a @toysrus store! What a great place to be around the holidays as a kid. Wish they adapted earlier. #alwaysatrukid #eCommerce pic.twitter.com/9qbJC77a4z — Michael Powers (@mjpowers13) June 23, 2018

"The saddest picture of Toys R Us," @noellemouse wrote.

“Once a Toys R Us kid, always a Toys R Us kid,” @reviewngnetwork tweeted.

It's been a part of my life since I was born in 1989, today was my last day at Toys R Us as the store closes for good on Tuesday. Once a Toys R Us kid, always a Toys R Us kid.



Thanks for the memories #alwaysatrukid pic.twitter.com/dvnN1mgGed — Aaron Falvo (@reviewngnetwork) June 23, 2018

"Goodbye, old friend," tweeted @trekermeker.

"This may be the saddest picture I ever take of my kid," Instagram user Ty Lee (@radioguyty) wrote. "It's one of those moments you never thought would come."

“We have tried to get in a lifetime of memories in the past 3 months, but today is the day we have to say goodbye,” Instagram user Shelly McBurnett (@slackerspins) wrote. “I wish we had more time... not like this, but like it was.”

Geoffrey musings

“Sorry Geoffrey. Even you couldn’t be saved this time,” tweeted @Bryan_Young.

Sorry Geoffrey. Even you couldn’t be saved this time. #ToysRUs pic.twitter.com/FELKgoQNNU — Bryan Young (@Bryan_Young) June 24, 2018

"I have told myself not to cry but now Geoffrey is tear soaked," @invaderaddie tweeted.

#alwaysatrukid

I have so many fond memories of Toys R Us. I am honestly very devastated about it closing. I have told myself not to cry but now Geoffrey is tear soaked. I wish I could go back in time. Come back the early 2000s. I didn't get enough time😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Kpp3Ud1CNh — Alissa (@invaderaddie) June 19, 2018

"Goodbye Geoffrey! Thanks for the memories!" Twitter user Nirule wrote.

Some still had a sense of humor ...

"Wow they went all out on this invisible jet," @greatestedson tweeted.

Wow they went all out on this invisible jet #toysrusclosingsale #ToysRUsKid pic.twitter.com/ikLC0Znk6i — Grace Edson (@greatestedson) June 25, 2018

"They weren’t kidding about everything going," @matthew_akers tweeted. "I bought the “R” for a really good price!"

"It was mega emotional to go in #ToysRUs and see everything being sold," @Tiffaaaylynn wrote. "But the saddest thing was there wasn't a single ouija board anywhere to buy."

It wAs mega emotional to go in #ToysRUs and see everything being sold like even the dang walls when I remember running thru there playin wit toys. But the saddest thing was that there wasn't a single ouija board anywhere to buy😂 #toysrusclosingsale #Ouija — Tiff♐️ (@Tiffaaaylynn) June 22, 2018

And this sign has all the feels...

"I guess everyone has grown up. There's no more Toys R Us kids," read the sign tweeted by @MuUnchies.

Behind the scenes

Here's a behind the scenes look at a New Jersey Toys R Us in Paramus, the city where the chain's headquarters was situated for years before being moved to nearby Wayne.

Toys 'R' Us Paramus behind the scenes: See what it looks like now Go behind the scenes of a dwindling Toys R Us stockroom. An exclusive tour of the "backstage" area, given by a store manager at a Paramus NJ location.

USA TODAY Network reporter Joan Verdon, The (Bergen County, N.J.) Record, contributed to this report.

Kelly Tyko is a consumer columnist and retail reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers and TCPalm.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Follow her on Twitter @KellyTyko and email her at kelly.tyko@tcpalm.com.