Embattled Toys R Us selling off its racy URLs to pay off creditors

Toys R Us are selling off its intellectual property in the US, including a series of racy URLs. Photo / AP

If you ever wanted to own kinkytoysrus.com or sex-toys-r-us.com you'll get your chance at an auction next month.

Embattled retailer Toys R Us is selling off its intellectual property in the US to pay off creditors in the wake of its bankruptcy, according to news.com.au.

In March, the toy store announced they were planning to sell or close all 800 of its US stores, affecting as many as 33,000 jobs.

The company has struggled to pay down nearly US$8 billion ($10.9b) in debt - much of it dating back to a 2005 leveraged buyout - and has had trouble finding a buyer.

As well as selling trademarks like the Geoffrey the Giraffe logo and Babies R Us, the firm is also putting up a series of racy URLs.

While the company never used the web addresses, they had been purchased to prevent their use by anyone else.

However, with the company shutting its US and UK stores, it no longer cares if someone starts selling adult toys under its trademark.

Bob Phibbs, a brand specialist and chief executive of the Retail Doctor consulting firm, said he was surprised at the extent to which the company went to protect its brand property.

"They just went crazy," Phibbs said. "I'm sure they were laughing and drinking Red Bull and then just came up with every iteration they could."

Phibbs said the long list of domain names owned by the company revealed the allure of the Toys R Us brand. The company registered dozens of domain names: lodges-r-us.com, bistros-r-us.com, recipes-r-us.com, burgers-r-us.com and even cigars-r-us.com.

"It shows the power of the brand," Phibbs said. "The 'R' Us is the key to the brand, not the Toys."

Ihatetoysrus.com and toysrussucks.com are also available to the highest bidder, according to Reuters.