They're history!
What gets me is that I never saw RS ads in places that could grow the business. ORG, MODEL RAILROADER for parts. TRAINS for scanners. And very few ads in QST, the ham radio magazine. These are/were areas RS could grow the business selling what they had/have now. Plus having a store almost every two miles did not help.
it is called change, and the world is seeing a physical world, going to a wireless, and immediate, acquiring world, thru what
the world wants , internet access, and simplicity when we have our bedroom nighties and socks, sitting in the kitchen.
Everybody embraced the
mallsism, back in the 80's, oh this is nice: shop , shop, shop till you drop, and even many went thru renovations just to meet
the colorations of our age. NOW, all that is history, and the big problem is what are we gonna do with the buildings, ( we
are not) but the kids, will. Same exact thing happened in Transportation: you saw a freight terminal in every little town in
America, --whoops, that got expensive, reduce to mega centers, and bring the employees to one centralized location.
Walked into, Best Buy, 1 of the continued many , big box stores headed south, looked drones over, and thought what a hassle
to go thru the check out line. Got home and in about 5 minutes hit on Amazon, and viola, it will be here Monday. No lines
no questions, and Had my socks on. Would not touch physical retailing at all, and continue to be admiring how a few of
the sponsors here , carry on with success. Radio shack tried in the last days to enhance a BORING, store, with an array of
cell phone lines. Did not understand that one as the news has been about 2 years old, of their demise. Just another store
that is being replace various ways. Whose next , ?? TARGET !!!!
The electronics stores around here have become like hobby shops, very rare. We used to have a few pretty large electronics stores here, McGee Radio, Burnstein Appelbee and a few others that I have forgotten. They had almost everything you could imagine electronic wise. We even had a nice Heathkit store. I think we are down to one now and it's mostly geared for computer networking, commercial electronic supplies, etc. and more like a commercial electrical supplier. Not much general consumer/hobbyist wise.
To PLCProf's post about Allied, there was another one, Laffayette (sp?) that I used to get catalogs from when I was in Jr high or so. They had all kinds of neat stuff. One year, I conned my parents into buying me a portable fold up stereo from them. It was a pretty cool unit as I remember, with turntable. Not sure what ever happened to it? Not long after I got this unit, I got a nice new Redd Foxx album. (He was pretty foul for the time, back in those days, but very funny to a 12-13 year old!) I had only listened to it once or twice, had my stereo set up down in the basement. Anyway, while listening one day, my mother heard it. She came down, took the album off the turntable and broke it right in half over her knee. Then proceeded to yell at me about the album and I got in big trouble!! I went with strictly rock music of the day after that, top 40 that was played on the radio. Only the good clean stuff.
Anyway, we still had 3 Radio Shacks left (that I know of) a couple weeks ago. I used to visit them every couple of months and would try to buy something. They still had the drawers of electronic parts and it usually wasn't hard to find something of interest. Even if it was way more expensive than you could get it elsewhere. It's still kind of sad to see them go though, as it has been with all our local hobby shops.
There was is an old electronics store in San Rafael, California that is still open. I could spend hours looking for old parts in that store. There were things in the back that had been there when I was a teen. It was almost as fun and a train store. The brothers that ran it could answer any questions you had, and I had a lot. Nothing like that here but we still do have a small Radio Shack in Lahaina. Don
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Radio Shack thrived, along with Tandy Leather, and Heathkit among others, is because kids (we the older generation,) enjoyed building "stuff" from kits and components. We used to like to listen on shortwave for people in other countries and cultures.
Most kids today shun such activities, preferring to be married to their iPod, tablet, etc. I see it in my own kin. Not interested in building erector sets, just chasing samurai on a tiny screen.
Sad days ahead for our culture.
Aaaaaaaand there it is........
Tandy Leather is another one. I had a leather working class in Jr high school. I think it was a part of the Industrial Arts class or Woodworking class if memory hasn't failed completely there. We made several projects in class. I even made a few more projects over the next couple of years after the class. Supplies came from Tandy Leather.
I walked into a Radio Shack about a year ago just get a special battery. One they did not have it and on line it sated they did. I looked around and found them using the same business and same everything. I said to myself they will not last with this program and low and behold here we are two years later and they are back in bankruptcy.
I see the last post on this thread is now over a month old. RS announced they are closing 36% of their stores, according to Business Insider http://www.businessinsider.com...tores-closing-2017-3
So yesterday, I dragged my grandson into one of the two remaining stores in the Akron/Canton area and bought $119.89 worth of wire, fastener hardware, caps, diodes, and the like, and paid $18.79 for the lot. Their small parts are 90% off as the closing deadline looms closer (end of March.) The closest store to remain open will, according to the employee I spoke with, now be one hour east of here. It's a shame their leadership didn't take them in the right direction, but that's the way it works.
They simply cannot compete with big box stores and the interwebs.
The Radio Shack that many of us are lamenting the loss of is a relic from a time when electronic products were made to last, and be repaired when needed. Now, replacement products can often be imported from Asia more cheaply than they can be repaired, and fewer tinkerers are left who can or want to repair these products even when parts are available. Model railroaders are somewhat of an exception, but we too-often overestimate our importance in the grand scheme of things. So Radio Shack never really found a replacement niche and had nowhere to go, as a brick-and-mortar presence at least. I think they could survive as an online supplier of electronic parts but they’ve moved so far away from that area of their business that they may not even have the desire or knowledge within the organization to do so. One could go back in time and start second-guessing what the blacksmiths and livery stables should have done to stay in business with the advent of the automobile, but some things simply end, with it being nobody’s fault.
German posted:I think they could survive as an online supplier of electronic parts but they’ve moved so far away from that area of their business that they may not even have the desire or knowledge within the organization to do so. One could go back in time and start second-guessing what the blacksmiths and livery stables should have done to stay in business with the advent of the automobile, but some things simply end, with it being nobody’s fault.
True, true. But do you really want to scoop the P***???
Yes we can order online but when you need that left handed widget to connect A to B on Sunday afternoon, who you gonna call??
German posted:One could go back in time and start second-guessing what the blacksmiths and livery stables should have done to stay in business with the advent of the automobile, but some things simply end, with it being nobody’s fault.
That's pretty well said, that's exactly what is happening here. Think of Sears, Macy's, etc., it's a similar situation. They haven't adapted with the changing of the tides and they're about to be swallowed up by the sea.
rrman posted:German posted:I think they could survive as an online supplier of electronic parts but they’ve moved so far away from that area of their business that they may not even have the desire or knowledge within the organization to do so. One could go back in time and start second-guessing what the blacksmiths and livery stables should have done to stay in business with the advent of the automobile, but some things simply end, with it being nobody’s fault.
True, true. But do you really want to scoop the P***???
Yes we can order online but when you need that left handed widget to connect A to B on Sunday afternoon, who you gonna call??
I'll scoop the p**p! I have a big garden! 
.
As far as "who you gonna call?", it's more like "who you gonna blame?". While this is beating a horse that's been beat endlessly here, people chasing the lowest price online rather than supporting local brick and mortar shops are a big part of the , but certainly not the only, reason those shops are no longer there when we need that left handed widget. And one would be mistaken if they think a shop can stay in business selling you those little "emergency" items while you shop the bigger ticket items all over the web. Ive been in hobby shops with poor service and grumpy owners with no people skills, which perhaps deserved to close. But in other cases they close because we are patronizing anyone, anywhere, who will undercut them in price.
Blame seems to be a rather strong indictment. If I can go to the Internet and order a bunch of parts from Digikey or Mouser for 30% of what I'd pay at Radio Shack, including shipping, I'd clearly only buy truly immediately needed stuff from RS. I typically have my parts from major on-line vendors in two-three days from the order. There's very little I do with model trains that needs faster response time.
There's not anyone to "blame" here, it's just the world evolving to a new reality. You either evolve with it or close your doors. We may lament the passing of such stores, and in some cases we'll realize that we really lost something valuable, but it's gonna' happen in any case, human nature.
Poor management, shallow depth of stocked widgets, quite a few failed or ready to break products, retail pricing, lack of knowledgeable staff, for an opener.
I'm here in Ft Worth, home of RS. Paper this AM said that they've filed with the employment commission to kick off the WARN act (notification of large layoffs). They say by May they'll be gone.
I missed the original post to this thread. Like others, I went thru the RS CB's, audio, etc. Then in 1979 I bought a TRS-80 and learned how to program it. Quit my job and went to college to get my BSCS, and the rest, as they say, is history. So, Thank You, Radio Shack, for jump-starting a very rewarding career.
I've discovered very few things I cannot find on Amazon in quantities I want. Frustrating to look at Mauser et al for small quantities of (anything); no, I really don't need 1000 of a SPDT switch, and I really don't want to pay $15 shipping for a $5 part. Thank You Amazon Prime for taking care of that matter....
Carl Orton posted:I've discovered very few things I cannot find on Amazon in quantities I want. Frustrating to look at Mauser et al for small quantities of (anything); no, I really don't need 1000 of a SPDT switch, and I really don't want to pay $15 shipping for a $5 part. Thank You Amazon Prime for taking care of that matter....
That's a bogus argument. I routinely order small quantities of parts from Digikey and pay $3-4 shipping for the whole order. Quantity one of common electronic items at Digikey or Mouser are far cheaper than quantity one of the same item at Radio Shack. Add to that that Digikey and Mouser have tens of thousands of individual items in stock, a typical Radio Shack would be lucky to have hundreds.
Another point, I didn't have to pay Digikey $100 for the privilege of getting items shipped promptly. BTW many, if not most, small items on Amazon are NOT available for Prime free shipping unless you order with other items, they call them "companion" items.
There is no free lunch.
The Radio Shack Support Website is still up, With the MA/CT stores closing for good tomorrow, I'm not sure how long it will continue to be available.
You can download operator, service manuals, schematics, parts lists, board diagrams for most Radio Shack products from it (even ones 25+ years old like my Pro-2004 scanner).
Google the Radio Shack Part number and Manual it it will should take you to the Radio Shack support page for that product.
Lad
- I just talked to the manager at the Radioshack here in Watertown, NY. Alll the stores will be gone by the end of April. He said the only hope is that some company may buy the franchise but he doubs that very much. I cut my teeth on RS and even worked for them awhile. Such are the times as you just tun on your puter and order away!
Right now All items are 80 % off.
In all Radio Shacks
Because I purchase some fuse yesterday.
I payed for five packages $4 .80
Thanks, John
Our remaining local RS isn't dropping the prices on anything. Maybe they are not closing here in Oregon? The counter guy didn't know anything about them closing. Strange.
Kerrigan posted:Our remaining local RS isn't dropping the prices on anything. Maybe they are not closing here in Oregon? The counter guy didn't know anything about them closing. Strange.
Or maybe a private franchise where owner buys stuff with no returns to RS warehouse. Of course if warehouse closes then owner is SOL.
A few years ago I needed a wire to link my Canon digital video camera with my TV. Radio Shack did not have one, and seemed put out they had to look for one. Best Buy looked, but did not have one. Went home, ordered one on Amazon in 5 minutes, and had it in 3 days.
Just spent $20 on $100 worth of stuff out the electronics drawers. 80% off here. Manager I spoke to, the last "employee", said there was only one other store left like 20 miles away. Two more closed yesterday and that inventory is being moved to the remaining two stores.
I will probably check back in another day or so to see if more "parts" came in.
Fred
I know a guy that worked for them.He lost his 401k he is now looking for another job.He knew his stuff in fact he would keep up the latest tech.They are another example of mismanagement.
A few evenings ago I happened past the King of Prussia Mall store (for those not local to southeast PA, it's the biggest mall in the state, I think), and most stuff was only 20% off, parts drawers were 50% (drawers only, not anything hanging), with maybe a scarce exception here or there throughout the store marked 30% or so.
