Radio Shack To Close 1,100 Stores

[Kingfisher]

Not that this surprises me, I never really liked or frequented the store as it changed too much after the 80s. It really wasn't bad back in the 80s, but they evolved into something different than what they started out as. I can't believe they are still in business. And you old timers might remember Lafayette.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2014/03/04/radio-shack-to-close-stores/6007317/

 

[Bill0033]

Yep the ones here in Colorado Springs are usually lifeless
Been several years since I can remember going in one, figured it was
just a matter of time.

Take Care
Bill

 

[BillM]

Interesting,

For the things I needed such as iPhone chargers, batteries, earphones, keyboards, routers, etc. they have been a good place to shop for the last few years when I have needed to get those things from a local store.

The staff at those stores has been well informed and helpful.

 

[bpdougd]

When Radio Shack tried to move beyond its hobbyist roots it began its long, slow death. This is true even though the move to be a sort of geekier Best Buy involved a fairly rapid expansion and bouts of profitability. The sad truth is that the hobbyist is long gone, the business that Radio Shack covets (the B&M tech store) is moribund and there is no place for them to go but out-of-business. Very sad. I was one of those hobbyists. I bought lots of electronics parts, built several sets of homemade speakers (good sound, lousy cabinet-making), bought my first tv there.

 

[bpdougd]

Yep the ones here in Colorado Springs are usually lifeless
Been several years since I can remember going in one, figured it was
just a matter of time.

Take Care
Bill

We moved to the Austin, Texas area from Colorado Springs about a year and a half ago. Lived there from 1979 until October of 2012. I really miss it. And I agree about the CS Radio Shack stores. The few times I stopped in the small standalone store at Austin Bluffs and Academy I was the only customer.

 

[Rob Bye]

I'm still pained by the loss of Heathkit.

We haven't had Radio Shack stores in Canada for many years.

 

[hockeyron]

Have one just a mile and 1/2 away and I've only been it twice in the last year ..... went looking for printer ink and they had zero -- zero printers/ zero ink ..... used to be a solid store but it's now so hard to compete against the online stores ....

ron

 

[Dennis R]

Yesterday I noticed the closest Radio Shack has just closed. I went in about 3 weeks ago looking for some led's and the store stock seemed low. Now I know why. Staples just announced they will be closing 200 stores in the next year or so. And so it goes.

 

[Kingfisher]

When Radio Shack tried to move beyond its hobbyist roots it began its long, slow death. This is true even though the move to be a sort of geekier Best Buy involved a fairly rapid expansion and bouts of profitability. The sad truth is that the hobbyist is long gone, the business that Radio Shack covets (the B&M tech store) is moribund and there is no place for them to go but out-of-business. Very sad. I was one of those hobbyists. I bought lots of electronics parts, built several sets of homemade speakers (good sound, lousy cabinet-making), bought my first tv there.

Yep. I remember playing with the TRS-80 computer in one of them. I was friends with the store manager. I couldn't afford one, but spent many hours in front of one for free. They had all kinds of electronics parts back in the 70s and 80s that brought in lots of people. Too bad they moved away from that. Like you said, they had to. Oh well. I think this is happening to all stores now no matter what they sell.

 

[frdjohns]

The one in our town is pretty good. I was able to get a better deal on my son's and wife's smart phones there than I could from Verizon (our carrier), best buy or anyone else. The staff is enthusiastic and helpful, and are generally knowledgeable about their products. For odd type batteries and certain other electronics, they are the place to go. I hope that ours stays open.

 

[Naptown]

Stock up on Deoxit while you can.

 

[Rich Gibson]

The one in our town is pretty good. I was able to get a better deal on my son's and wife's smart phones there than I could from Verizon (our carrier), best buy or anyone else. The staff is enthusiastic and helpful, and are generally knowledgeable about their products. For odd type batteries and certain other electronics, they are the place to go. I hope that ours stays open.

Problem is that is all they do....sell phone contracts. You have to wait until the sales person is between phone customers. I have used them for years for my hobbies. They used to sell a knockout surround speaker, the Minimus 7. They didn't know how good it was. Speaker Builder magazine rated it as one of the best. Sadly that hobby (speaker building) is also going the way of the dodo bird. Sigh!

 

[little big man]

We used to go Tandy and RadioShack - my late father would get his leather working goods and my brother and I would dink with video games and other electronics. Our local RadioShack is well stocked but high-priced.

Sean

 

[donski]

They closed down RadioShacks up here years ago. They replaced them with The Source, which is the same thing.

 

[rpracing]

When Radio Shack tried to move beyond its hobbyist roots it began its long, slow death. This is true even though the move to be a sort of geekier Best Buy involved a fairly rapid expansion and bouts of profitability. The sad truth is that the hobbyist is long gone, the business that Radio Shack covets (the B&M tech store) is moribund and there is no place for them to go but out-of-business. Very sad. I was one of those hobbyists. I bought lots of electronics parts, built several sets of homemade speakers (good sound, lousy cabinet-making), bought my first tv there.

Our local one I've been in twice in nearly 10 yrs. Went in 2 yrs ago to get a couple led lights for my racebike (oil light, neutral light) and a couple resistors. Guy there had no idea what a resistor was. I just shook my head. One of the reasons I quit going there alot years ago was them requiring my phone number for any purchase. Uh nope, you aint getting it. May have just been the store owners thing, but dunno.

As for Staples, the one here halved the size of their store. Never been too impressed with them.

 

[Bill0033]

We moved to the Austin, Texas area from Colorado Springs about a year and a half ago. Lived there from 1979 until October of 2012. I really miss it. And I agree about the CS Radio Shack stores. The few times I stopped in the small standalone store at Austin Bluffs and Academy I was the only customer.

That's funny because that's the closest one too me, about 3 minutes away
Take care Doug

Bill

 

[Anthony747]

Stock up on Deoxit while you can.

Why? Just go to Amazon like everyone else!

 

[mnscott]

Problem is that is all they do....sell phone contracts. You have to wait until the sales person is between phone customers. I have used them for years for my hobbies. They used to sell a knockout surround speaker, the Minimus 7. They didn't know how good it was. Speaker Builder magazine rated it as one of the best. Sadly that hobby (speaker building) is also going the way of the dodo bird. Sigh!

Don't tell my brother that speaker building is going away - he's still doing it, and very well I might add.

I stopped in a local Radio Shack store a couple of months ago, looking for an AC adapter. They had one with the right specs: $42. The same thing on eBay was under $8. I wasn't in that much of a rush to pay $42...

 

[Superbaldguy]

I am a Staples employee and it pains me to hear about retail business, in general, being on the down side. Between the rough economy and large companies pushing for more on-line sales, it's no surprise to hear such announcements. It's not hard to see the writing on the wall when we print off tons of clearance sign items every day (I have a feeling Staples will not be selling cameras in the not-too-distant-future), we no longer are permitted to do transfers from other stores. The whole retail model is seriously flawed as everyone expects top service and expertise but the reality is many of the staff are part-time, often school-aged kids; stores generally tend to under-staff and customers don't get waited on as fast as they'd like (many are just impatient!) and nobody wins.

Fortunately for me, I have other income streams but many of the younger generation will not be able to depend on retail as any sort of career.

 

[NewBert]

Yesterday I noticed the closest Radio Shack has just closed. I went in about 3 weeks ago looking for some led's and the store stock seemed low. Now I know why. Staples just announced they will be closing 200 stores in the next year or so. And so it goes.

I live in a medium-sized town where the economy is not very strong. Nevertheless, we have two Radio Shacks less than 1/4 mile apart (one is in the local shopping mall), and a Staples store. I always wondered how two Radio Shack stores survive in this area. I hope that at least one will remain as I do go there when I need a cable or adaptor for something. I find that, most of the time, employees there are very knowledgable and generally do a good job. The same for Staples. However, all of these stores are generally pretty empty every time I go.

I really hope that the local Staples and at least one of the Radio Shack stores survives these cuts. If they go, the nearest "tech" store is Best Buy (and they aren't exactly doing well either) - about 15 miles away. If Best Buy ever closes, that would mean a 90 mile roundtrip to Albany anytime I needed something quick with regard to electronics or tech.