RadioShack to close about 500 stores: WSJ

WSJ ^ | 2/4/14 | Wall Street Journal

[Popman]

Wow...great news...more people on unemployment to grow the economy.../S

[dfwgator]

I remember as a kid helping my Dad assemble our Heathkit TV. It took probably about a year and a half, but we got it done.

[Sans-Culotte]

Weird timing after a very good Super Bowl ad. I thought they’d follow with some news about changes in their stores...not this.

The one in my neighborhood has been one of those "new look" stores for over a year. Don't know why they waited until they could spend a couple of million to announce the year-old changes.

[b4its2late]

Yeah that one was good.

[Paladin2]

I have 3 RS stores about equidistant. One would suffice if the inventory is kept up.

[rusty schucklefurd]

I thought that was an effective ad. I wish them well. I hope they are able to make a comeback.

[Paladin2]

RS seems to be a phone kiosk with misc electronic stuff for me.

[Red_Devil 232]

They don’t have that stuff anymore because the peeps they hire don’t have a clue what those things are! All they half-way know about is a cell phone and selling ear buds and cases for them. The don’t know what an ohm is.

[Leaning Right]

I haven’t found much use for RS in many years. I’m surprised it has lasted as long it has.

RS was a great place to pick up power resistors. But I'm guessing that not to many young folks these days have power resistors on their must-have list.

[dragnet2]

They used to have lots of IC’s and components, but not anymore.

But you can buy a cell phone contract and ear bud there.

_________________________________________________________

It’s why we stopped going there years ago...And the 20 and 30 somethings staff wouldn’t know a resistor from a transistor.

Hey, but their low wage labor!!

[InterceptPoint]

I’m surprised it took this long.
They should have died 10 years ago.

---

I have to agree. Their stores are two small to compete with the likes of Best Buy or even our local electronic store that caries every connector widget ever invented generally at bargain basement prices.

If I owned RS I would go for broke leveraging my brand name recognition as an Internet only store.

[Obadiah]

Thanks. I was in the market for a few Crocker-Wheeler Dc Motor Generators.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

The used to have “resistor riots” and battery of the month club. Those days are gone. They can still be a niche player, but they have to choose their shots carefully. They have a decent website, but don’t offer in-store pick up, where they might be very competitive.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

It's too late. RS is dead.
They've missed one opportunity after another since the 70s.

They coulda been a contender.
They coulda been somebody.

[truth_seeker]

If I was at the top of RS, I would specialize in big trends.

Right now I would specialize in dumping cable TV, in favor of OTA antennas and streaming internet systems.

I don’t know where to go to find people with the knowledge about this. Have been going stepwise on my own.

Watched the Super Bowl on Fox San Diego with a cheapo antenna. But I need a better antenna.

For streaming Roku is tops.

[prisoner6]

Heathkit was the tech school of the time. The kits were sometimes complicated but if you took the time, thought it out ...and built something you learned a lot.

Because of that I learned a lot of skills. Decades ago when money was tight and our tv was on the blink I taught oldest son to test, diagnose and replace parts. Soldering was important too.

We kept a Sharp 19” running way longer than normal.

Last year under warranty I had a tech fix our Sharp 55” Aquos. I had already accessed the hidden tech menus and figured out it was a power supply problem. Tech was very happy replacing the board in less than ten minutes and charging Sharp.

Could have done it myself.

[VanDeKoik]

I used to go with my dad long ago as a 13 year old and drool over the components section. They eventually saw the value of getting me some so that I would stop taking apart various devices to harvest them.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I am 2 1/2 miles from Radio Shack and 14 miles from Best Buy. It I want a computer or major item, I drive 30 miles to tax free New Hampshire. If I want a 3:1 75 ohm RF splitter, I order on line. RS has them on-line, but not in their stores and does not offer in-store pick up, like Best Buy, so screw them.

[Radix]

Try to buy a decent portable AM-FM radio in a Radio Shack.

Not that you can purchase one anywhere, but one would think that an outlet with the name Radio in it would offer something better than a once $5.00 Dollar radio for less than $40.

Not.

The selection of radios there was very small when I was shopping so I continue to use a 30 year old boom box when I sit outside in warm weather.

[clamper1797]

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