[imardmd1]

It's a change in society. In this affluence all classes just buy cell-phones, TVs, Nintendos. When it is passe or lacks the features of the newest version, they are just discarded. You and I are not going to "fix" a broken smartphone or GPS. RS can no longer sewll replacement parts or components for a LCD TV, or VOIP phone.

What you buy at RS is batteries, headphones, bluetooth headsets. Even stand-alone computers no longer interest the young ones. Young folks mostly no longer know how (or even want) to use a soldering iron, a hammer, a volt-ohm-meter, a logic probe. For what? Just the thrill of creating a little circuit that makes a bulb light up, a bell "ding," or a spaker warble. Not much fun whenyou can play a tricky game on your iTablet.

Nope. zzzthat day is over, and selling cellphones against Verizon and T-mobile is a loser. RS prices for most stuff is just too high compared toeBay or Amazon.

Saw this coming long ago, when the creative urge was snuffed out, and no one bougt cassette players, VCRs, or portable telephones any more.

Us old people are just antiques, no longer on board with the latest generation of electronic toys -- When Radio Shack fades, so do we. BTW, what is a radio?

[Nowhere Man]

What you buy at RS is batteries, headphones, bluetooth headsets. Even stand-alone computers no longer interest the young ones. Young folks mostly no longer know how (or even want) to use a soldering iron, a hammer, a volt-ohm-meter, a logic probe. For what? Just the thrill of creating a little circuit that makes a bulb light up, a bell "ding," or a spaker warble. Not much fun whenyou can play a tricky game on your iTablet.

Yeah, the big part is where you built it yourself. Something you made where you put in the time, effort and parts into something you made and it works. Shame it isn't as popular as it was. BTW, we graduate too many lawyers, MBA's and womyn's studies grads and not enough engineers. We will be "pwned" (owned) be countries like India, where their idea of electricity is a bare 75 watt bulb hanging from a ceiling and a transistor radio, but they graduate more engineers than we do.