Posted on 02/03/2015 8:41:08 AM PST by bigbob
Sprint may not be the only company intersted in Radio Shack's soon to be vacant retail stores.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Amazon has expressed intersted in the brick-and-mortar locations.
Amazon is reportedly intersted in using the stores as a showroom for its hardware, as well as place for customers pick up and drop off merchandise. Amazon currently sells a line of tablets, its Fire smartphone, as well as its new Echo bluetooh speaker and personal assistant.
Radio Shack has about 4,000 retail locations in the United States. Reports have surfaced that the company is looking to sell some of the stores and shutter the rest. Bloomberg notes that Sprint may be interested in purchasing between 1,300 and 2,000 of the locations.
(Excerpt) Read more at wirelessweek.com ...
Don’t do it, Amazon!
Brick and mortar Amazon in your state = sales tax on anything you buy through Amazon
They already do that, don't they? They charge me sales tax in PA.
Even with RS as a subsidiary of Amazon (not rebranded as Amazon)?
LOL Amazon wants that massive database Radio shack has built asking for your address for every purchase.
Amazon ALREADY does tax in all states. . .
This might work. I’d love to go to “Amazon-Shack” stores and find some of the neat electronic stuff I used to love looking at and buying.
Right now, RS is full O’junk.
Remember, all thought computer stores were done until Apple came along and changed things.
Amazon, the entity that has done much to destroy the brick-and-mortar sales point, opens brick-and-mortar sales points.
Oh, the irony...
This is true.
I think that one of the big problems is that they lost the vision
of what it is that they do — they could return to cables/connectors/components with a bit of a twist: instead of keeping on-hand inventory, invest in 3D printers and manufacture the components as needed (for those products that could be 3D-printed).
Though Amazon would have to consider the hit its sales would take if the arrangement did subject them to new taxes. On the other hand you can bet any state getting this windfall would be rolling out a golden carpet for Amazon, let alone a red one.
I would still shop through Amazon. Beats going into a store for most things.
And, window shopping at a brick and mortar store would be genius for them. They are going to get the sale anyway... might as well get it from you there. Happier customers, reduce returns.
I think they are paying state taxes in about 1/2 of the states now.
Amazon would be so slick at being able to source this sort of stuff. They could solve the product selection issue overnight. Hey, even tubes... you want tubes for that 75 year old radio, we’ll get them overnighted to you....
You don’t think Amazon’s database doesn’t dwarf RSs? Please.
Not quite.
Every little bit helps. And in many instances, RS may have large blocks of addresses in their database that Amazon does NOT yet have.
States where Amazon collects Sales Tax:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/states-that-make-amazon-pay-sales-taxes-1412185657
spoiler: about half of the states.
Due to Amazons treatment of authors, I have shifted my new book purchases to Books A Million, joined their club (which includes free shipping) and pay the Michigan sales tax rather than further support Amazon.
Once Amazon gets that database, it will be sending ads to every house you lived at as a kid, visiting Radio Shack for those free batteries :-)
Actually, what you say I don’t think is true. It’s a myth in my opinion. I buy an enormous amount of goods from Amazon and there is a hefty component of that from what I call “brick and mortar” mom and pop stores. They are sales associates of Amazon and took the time to become sellers on Amazon. I have no problem in buying from forward-thinking stores like this as long as they meet their promises.
I’ve had good experience with most, if not all of them.
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