Too Cool

This my absolute favourite shop in the mall, and Gina is one of my absolute favourite people in the world, bless her heart. I haven’t been by in years because I’ve been away, but I can’t wait to return soon, shop, and see her smiling face! The prices are fair, the merchandise is lovely, and she treats her customers like family!

I love visiting this place! As someone who is always casually on the lookout for sanrio merch, I really didn’t find the prices to be any different from other shops that stock the same items. I happily picked up a few chococat things, who is my favorite character and sometimes hard to find. True, the stock isn’t up-​to-​date with the Sanrio website, but that does mean you can run into some old collection gems you may have missed out on (like plushies, for instance)! I found some adorable sticker sets in this shop that I have never seen elsewhere, even online. And the shopkeeper is such a sweet & polite woman.
Other fun things include Pokemon, Godzilla/​Gojira, and animé merch. They even have Attack on Titian/​Shingeki no Kyojin cloaks, which I thought was neat.

I’m updating my review again, about 4 years after my original reviews. Unfortunately for an adult Hello Kitty/​Sanrio fan like myself, it seems this store made the final decision long ago to stop stocking any popular, new or more mature merchandise from the Sanrio website. There is a handful of Hello Kitty purses and bags. There is nothing from the Sanrio website bag wise, and rarely do they have new merchandise. The same bags, which are mostly Betty Boop and other less popular characters, are hung on the wall for months on end. I stop in on a somewhat regular basis nowadays though I don’t know why I bother. It’s the same exact bags and purses every. single. visit. Still on the wall in the same spots, still not purchased.
If you’re looking for other merchandise from the Sanrio website you’ll be disappointed. They have some kitchen stuff (though really too small and cheap to be practical), stationary, stuffed animals, pens/​pencils, stickers, and so on. None of the fun bags, jewelry, clothing, home stuff, etc. from the Sanrio website. I haven’t purchased anything here in years but like a dummy I keep stopping in, hoping.

Love this place — so many selections of Hello kittys and cute bags! Its worth checking out because there is such a large variety of items.

I’m a regular at Too Cool. I’ve been going there since before they moved out of the tiny, cramped space that was tucked in one of the more hidden corners of the mall. I’ve also gotten my picture taken and can be found somewhere in the mass of photos plastered on the walls. The owner is such a nice and cute lady, she’s partially the reason why I visit so often. She’s practically watched me grow up, lol.
True, the prices are steep, but it’s still nice to walk around and peruse the selection. You can find a lot of random things in there. I mostly pop in to buy cell phone charms, stickers, and stationary (AKA the cheaper items in the store).

This store is a really great find. They have a fantastic selection of Naruto, Bleach, and other animé/​manga toys and collectables. The prices are on par with what you will find in other similar stores. The owner is very kind and helpful. We had a great visit and look forward to returning.

I’ve been going here for the last 10 years or so and I’ve always enjoyed their inventory. I will admit, they’re Sanrio inventory there is over-​priced for what I think is printed on the Sanrio price tag, but it’s a great place to buy gifts anyway on the fly. Over the years, I’ve been buying less and less from that store… I used to buy lots of stationary for school. Now I buy the occasional knock-​off DVD or Music CD… or stationary/​origami for nostalgia.

This is a trap for all the kids playing right outside. Pricing is way to high! There are some items you can’t get everywhere else but you are better off ordering online.

BEWARE
Way over price item are not even real all made in China they are all knockoff’s. If you buy something the owners real nice and if you have to return it she yells at you makes a big scene and make all kinds of excuses not to return her items. Owner should not be in business she very very rude.

BUYERS BEWARE!!!
Every thing in this store are overpriced knock-​offs. Their obviously fakes from china, which I don’t usally have a problem with, but their prices are as much, sometimes more than the authentic products. You can buy the authentic products for the same price, most cheaper, at places like FYE and Best Buy. You’ll be supporting the makers of the animé series by buying the authentic versions.
This store felt like a antique shop. The high prices along with sighns that say «don’t touch» and «ask for assistance» are the main reasons for this.
BOTTOM LINE
don’t be dumb and buy anything from this store. You can buy the same products for cheaper from E-​Bay, Amazon, FYE, Best Buy, and they are the authentic versions which means that your money will be going twords the people that make all these animé and hello kitty products. By doing this you will be helping continue this buisness, otherwise they’d go out of buisness.
Examples of their overpriced items
Cowboy Bebop Series 59.99
I bought the same one from E-​bay for $ 15 (that includes shipping)
Wall Scrolls are 18.99
I have about 15 wall scrolls, and the most I paid for 1 was $ 12 (with shipping)
Final Fantasy Cloud with Hardy Daytona 119.99
The average price for this is 69.99 For 70 bucks, you can get it from white wizard toys located in schaumburg, on e-​bay you can get it for as low as 50, with patience. PLUS IT’S ONLY $ 100 AT ALL THE OTHER TOO COOL stores
Final Fantasy Auron and Yuna were $ 38.99
At the most, you should be paying $ 25-​$ 30 (that includes shipping)
Anything Sailor Moon is always fake, unless it’s a Japanese Manga, those are the only things still being made.
I hope I helped you.
Also—
–All their CDs are made by Miya Records, which is a well known company that produces knock-​offs.

I like Too Cool but buyer beware… they change (raise) the prices on Sanrio merchandise, a practice that is forbidden according to Sanrio’s corporate website.
If you are ever in need of your Chococat or Hello Kitty fix, go to Sanrio directly. The prices are printed and not «smeared» and reticketed by a generic sticker.
A lot of other non-​Sanrio stuff that is very unique here.

I absolutely love Too Cool. It’s an awesome store — and frequently the only reason I’ve got for visiting the malls in the area.
The Yorktown Too Cool is the best of the bunch. The store is the largest — and features the biggest selection, both of animé goods and Sanrio goods. The back half of the store houses all of the animé goodies, while the front half caters to the Sanrio and overwhelmingly cute things. The entire store is awesome, though.
Also, I have to say that the woman who works here is the nicest clerk in any store I’ve ever been in. My best friend and I frequently come in here and just mill around. We’ve been huge fans of the store ever since it was all crammed into a tiny little shop on the upper level. Sadly, we don’t usually spend much money in there — but the woman is still super friendly to us every time we come in, like we’re old friends. To be honest, we often stop in just to say hi to her. She’s awesome :)

Lots and lots of Animé action figures, plushies, keychains, necklaces, collectables, wall hangings, wooden swords and some Animé costumes too.
I saw items for the Final Fantasy Games, Naruto, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Inuyasha, Pokemon, Godzilla, Invader Zim & Deathnote. Above mentioned, are some of the icons I recognize, there are many more that I don’t.
When you first walk in, Hello Kitty fans will be drawn to the large collection of Hello Kitty items on the left.
In the middle of the store near the entrance is a large display of Animé affiliated school supply items. IE. notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, etc.
They have POCKY! Which my kids love.
There is a minimum purchase of $ 6.00 to use a debit/​credit card.

I was very pleasantly surprised by finding another Too Cool store (besides the one in Fox Valley mall that I’m familiar with).
This store is larger and has more items, particularly those for lunch boxes or bentos, and related cups, glasses, bottles and little fork/​knife sets. Not very varied but still good to have.
Memorabilia and trinkets on the other hand, are very good, especially the larger dvd and cd collection.