# Radio Shack...going...going



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

...closing another 1,000 stores...seems that all that will
be left are some franchise stores.

...Interestingly, they discovered a trove of Radio Shack
memorability including TRS80 computers, brick phones,
and other items that will be offered for sale on line.

...Sad

Don


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

It's very sad. I use to enjoy that store but haven't been in one in years. Actually there are none left in my area.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I don't know if there are any left in my area, and I haven't spent any time worrying about it.  It's just a sign of the times, things change. The businesses that don't keep up with current trends are crunched under the wheels of progress. It's been that way for a very long time in business, and I don't see it changing.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Some may call it progress.....others, well......hwell:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It's OK if you want to live in the past where there was limited product selections and high prices.  I prefer to move on to present day life.


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## DavefromMD (Jul 25, 2013)

What I found them useful for was buying one of a particular electronic component or connector. Buying the same online I had to buy a pack of x number then pay a standard shipping cost making the cost of the component ridiculous.


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## slammin (Mar 25, 2016)

Progress was replacing horse drawn carriages with automobile. Progress was replacing ice boxes with the refrigerator.
Progress was replacing septic systems with central sewers. 
While its a sign of the times, I don't consider replacing brick and mortar retail stores with buying online from a seller in another state or country progress. When I spend my hard earned cash, I want to be able to hold the product in my hands before I decide to buy. Call me old fashioned, but when all the stores close, where is everybody going to earn the money to buy online?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

DavefromMD said:


> What I found them useful for was buying one of a particular electronic component or connector. Buying the same online I had to buy a pack of x number then pay a standard shipping cost making the cost of the component ridiculous.


Dave, the problem is that they had so few choices of specific components that you could only get the most common parts.


slammin said:


> Progress was replacing horse drawn carriages with automobile. Progress was replacing ice boxes with the refrigerator.
> Progress was replacing septic systems with central sewers.
> While its a sign of the times, I don't consider replacing brick and mortar retail stores with buying online from a seller in another state or country progress. When I spend my hard earned cash, I want to be able to hold the product in my hands before I decide to buy. Call me old fashioned, but when all the stores close, where is everybody going to earn the money to buy online?


Well, instead of working at minimum wage clerking in a retail store, maybe we can get them higher paying jobs making the stuff. If running retail stores is all that's keeping the economy going, we've got REAL problems. You can't run on consumption alone, you have to produce something. All that stuff in the stores has to come from somewhere.

As far as "getting my hands on it", for generic components like a 1N4003 diode, I don't have to "get my hands on it" to know exactly what I'm getting.

Like it or not, the way the future is more on-line shopping. I for one like the fact that I can just sit down and order up a wide variety of items and then have them arrive in my mailbox in a couple of days. Contrast that with getting in the car and driving all over looking for specific items, I can remember stopping in a bunch of stores and never finding the thing I was looking for, very frustrating!

For the model train hobby, there's nothing that I "need" right now, it's not like it's a life-n-death situation.


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## Dreadnought (Apr 19, 2016)

I can definitely agree with gunrunnerjohn. Even though Amazon is strangely trying to become a grocery store, I highly doubt that the future means no more Harris Teeters of Publixes (Publices?) existing. There'll always be some brick-and-mortar stores, just not ones for products which are nearing obsolescence - such as radios (outside of cars, at least). 

Dreadnought


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## dinwitty (Oct 29, 2015)

slammin said:


> Progress was replacing horse drawn carriages with automobile. Progress was replacing ice boxes with the refrigerator.
> Progress was replacing septic systems with central sewers.
> While its a sign of the times, I don't consider replacing brick and mortar retail stores with buying online from a seller in another state or country progress. When I spend my hard earned cash, I want to be able to hold the product in my hands before I decide to buy. Call me old fashioned, but when all the stores close, where is everybody going to earn the money to buy online?


the creation of local amazon stores

as far as I know the near area Radio Shacks are still open, but places like Lowes you can get some things Radio Shack offers, but Radio Shack has been pushing some of the robotic biz so I wonder how far that will keep it flying.


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## Roger Hensley (Oct 29, 2015)

Well perhaps it is a sign of the times, but I did find it useful to run in and pick up some needed supplies without having to worry about the Internet. Of course they tried to turn themselves into a phone store. That just didn't work out.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I actually used to think of Radio Shack when I needed a common component and decided I wanted it right away. However, in the last few years, the selections were so poor that I didn't bother anymore. I don't know what other folks local Radio Shack stores morphed into, but the ones that were around here before they closed were full of phones, cheap remote controlled cars, other toys, etc. Very few parts, so they suddenly became useless to me. 

I'll say again, in the form they were right before their closing, I don't miss the Radio Shack stores around here at all. Many organizations forget who brought them to the dance and abandon their roots, RS was just another example. :dunno:


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Dreadnought said:


> I can definitely agree with gunrunnerjohn. Even though Amazon is strangely trying to become a grocery store, I highly doubt that the future means no more Harris Teeters of Publixes (Publices?) existing. There'll always be some brick-and-mortar stores, just not ones for products which are nearing obsolescence - such as radios (outside of cars, at least).
> 
> Dreadnought


Not just products nearing obsolescence, but ones with a very low demand, like most model train stuff. It's more cost effective -- and better for the consumer -- to have a few units of a broad range of products at a central location than lots of local locations having a necessarily limited selection, much of which will end up as dead stock anyway.


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

I'm with John's view. It's easier to simply think a couple of days ahead and order from Amazon, especially if you're a Prime member.

I went to a Radio Shack store a couple of years ago and when I walked through the front door, some minimum wage kid yelled loudly from the back room doorway "can I help you". I only lose it and blow my stack severely about once every 5 years, and this was the time. I reamed him out so bad that he was shaking when he checked me out. One of the gentler things I told him was that when Radio Shack went broke and closed for good, he'd be an example of one of the reasons.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Deane Johnson said:


> I went to a Radio Shack store a couple of years ago and when I walked through the front door, some *minimum wage kid* yelled loudly from the back room doorway "can I help you".


There you go, one of the problems identified! It used to be that this kind of store had someone that actually understood the product line that was being sold.


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## slammin (Mar 25, 2016)

Deane,
I can appreciate your frustration, but the manager of the store should been the target of your wrath. Granted the kid could have been an ignorant, lazy stooge. Or he could have been the product of a lazy nit-wit manager that didn't give him proper training. Either way, Radio Shack and its customers were the ultimate loser. At least he acknowledged your presence.


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## Dreadnought (Apr 19, 2016)

Deane Johnson said:


> I'm with John's view. It's easier to simply think a couple of days ahead and order from Amazon, especially if you're a Prime member.
> 
> I went to a Radio Shack store a couple of years ago and when I walked through the front door, some minimum wage kid yelled loudly from the back room doorway "can I help you". I only lose it and blow my stack severely about once every 5 years, and this was the time. I reamed him out so bad that he was shaking when he checked me out. One of the gentler things I told him was that when Radio Shack went broke and closed for good, he'd be an example of one of the reasons.


The last Radioshack I went to was closed for lunch when I got there. There was only a single person on staff, and she had gone next door to get some Fried Chicken. After waiting for 10 or so minutes, she came back, opened up, and started serving people while eating her chicken. My friend and I got our batteries and were out of there pretty quickly. The store looked half-closed already. 

Sign of the times, I guess? It must not be fun working at a job that you know won't be there in a year..

Dreadnought


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

slammin said:


> Deane,
> I can appreciate your frustration, but the manager of the store should been the target of your wrath. Granted the kid could have been an ignorant, lazy stooge. Or he could have been the product of a lazy nit-wit manager that didn't give him proper training. Either way, Radio Shack and its customers were the ultimate loser. At least he acknowledged your presence.


What manager? I don't think they had one anymore. The last manager there I talked with said he couldn't wait to get another job.

But I might be shooting too low. It's the very top level of management that's caused the problem. And as a result, the quality of the people at the worker level had slipped to an unbelievable level. It's that massive structure that exists between the CEO and the worker bee that has ceased to function. The regional guys were fumbling around something fierce. Everybody was being hammered from the next level above, but they were working with a totally faulty business concept, a typical situation when failure is on the horizon. Look at Sears, JC Pennys, iHeartRadio just to name a few that are going through the same scenario.

The business community has finally began to figure out that the world they knew no longer exists. Places like Radio Shack and Sears have been among the sacrificial lambs.

The younger folks have grown up with an entirely different viewpoint on what they react to. The only retailers who will survive are those who figure out what to do to attract them, and that's a tough order. Radio Shack lost site of a target some years ago. We're just seeing the last few gasps of air at this time.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> . . . .phones, cheap remote controlled cars, other toys, etc. Very few parts, so they suddenly became useless to me.


Same here. Last time I went, the cabinets with the drawers of components and connectors were there, but mostly empty. Lousy phones and cheap remote control toys . . . you can't run a business on that.

Radio Shack died, in my opinion, due to poor executive management - no vision, no effort to try to adapt and grow. What worries me is I think maybe the same people - or type of people - are now running Lionel.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

That's what happened here, too. If I wanted a phone, I'd go to a store specializing in them. If I wanted a cheap RC toy, I'd go to Hobby Town.
Basically, RS lost their reason for existing.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Let's hope that Lee is wrong about Lionel, but they need to get their act together. I think MTH has an edge right now as they have a died-in-the-wool train person at the top of the organization. Lionel has bean counters running their ship.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Bean counters are essential to the smooth operation of any business, but they should never, ever be in charge. Their thinking is characterized by aversion to risk and lack of creativity, and this will quickly run an organization into the ground.

That's what almost happened to Ford under Robert McNamara in the 60's, but fortunately Nixon saved the company by making McNamara his Secretary of Defense.


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## emmetd (Aug 1, 2012)

bgmicro.com will be selling a lot of this radio shack stuff.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

emmetd said:


> bgmicro.com will be selling a lot of this radio shack stuff.


Since they had little left of interest, who would really care.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Just because none of it is of interest to you....somebody will buy it all up at pennies on the dollar and make some money on it....


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

Most of what they have left are pretty low demand items. They were practically giving things away to raise a few dollars to keep going a little longer.


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## hoscale37 (Nov 20, 2011)

emmetd said:


> Originally Posted by emmetd View Post
> bgmicro.com will be selling a lot of this radio shack stuff.





gunrunnerjohn said:


> Since they had little left of interest, who would really care.



I guess I must be in the minority...I jumped on the electronics bandwagon too late. I'm only in my 40s and just now getting interested in trying to build electronic related stuff for my train layout... so the fact that Radio Shack still carried Capacitors, etc. Was cool for me- but now- if I am going to be building anything- I guess I will have to try this BG Micro website. 

Sorry- I'm old school DC... No DCC for me. I would rather learn HOW something works, rather then having a computer telling me how it works.


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## Dreadnought (Apr 19, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Let's hope that Lee is wrong about Lionel, but they need to get their act together. I think MTH has an edge right now as they have a died-in-the-wool train person at the top of the organization. Lionel has bean counters running their ship.


I'm not into O gauge myself; what's going on with Lionel? I thought they were putting along just fine. I'd have thought they would have a pretty good hold on a market they almost invented..

Dreadnought


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Dreadnought said:


> I'm not into O gauge myself; what's going on with Lionel? I thought they were putting along just fine. I'd have thought they would have a pretty good hold on a market they almost invented..
> 
> Dreadnought


Well, they are not producing the quality items lately, the QC has really been poor. Add to that the prices are getting a bit absurd, and they're pricing themselves right out of the market.


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Well, they are not producing the quality items lately, the QC has really been poor. Add to that the prices are getting a bit absurd, and they're pricing themselves right out of the market.


I don't know anything about Lionel or it's pricing since I'm in HO, but I suspect that the bean counters are looking at some of the prices that Scale Trains etc. are getting and thinking let's go for the gold.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

hoscale37 said:


> I'm only in my 40s and just now getting interested in trying to build electronic related stuff for my train layout... so the fact that Radio Shack still carried Capacitors, etc. Was cool for me- but now- if I am going to be building anything- I guess I will have to try this BG Micro website.


I've been recently getting back into electronics again because of the low price of microcontrollers such as the arduinos, and decided to really stock up my supplies. If you're patient and don't mind waiting a few weeks for delivery, take a look at ebay for package deals. For instance, I've picked up a pack of 1000 ceramic caps for under $4, a pack of 860 1/4W resistors for under $5, 500pcs of 1/8W resistors for a buck, various packs of transistors, diodes, LEDs, header strips... pretty much anything you want can be ordered for very little money (especially compared to Radio Shack prices). Sure the package deals don't have all the values you'll ever use, but they have a lot of the most common values so I can usually throw together most test circuits without running to the store now.

Radio Shack has been dead to me for a long time. It was great as a kid, looking through their catalog at all the electronics components they carried in their stores, but these days the only reason to go there is when looking for certain types of connectors.


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## hoscale37 (Nov 20, 2011)

*Radio Shack Online Website*

For anyone that is still looking to get small parts- 

The online Radio Shack store is still open- as there will be a total of 570 Corporate stores that will still be open. 

On their official website- they are even auctioning off Corporate related Memorabilia (No Joke). 

https://www.radioshack.com/

https://ubidestates.hibid.com/catalog/103245/radioshack-auction--1/?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Why in the world would you shop on-line at Radio Shack when you can get the parts from major supply houses like Digikey and Mouser for less with cheaper shipping? The only thing Radio Shack had going for it was instant gratification because you could get it now. 

Auctioning off the _Corporate Memorabilia_ is one of the final shakes of the _*death rattle*_, the end is near!


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

You sound over-joyed at their demise, for whatever reason.....hwell:


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## hoscale37 (Nov 20, 2011)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Why in the world would you shop on-line at Radio Shack when you can get the parts from major supply houses like Digikey and Mouser for less with cheaper shipping? The only thing Radio Shack had going for it was instant gratification because you could get it now.
> 
> Auctioning off the _Corporate Memorabilia_ is one of the final shakes of the _*death rattle*_, the end is near!


You did see that they are offering free shipping on any orders over $19.00... correct? 

Honestly- I had never heard of Digi-key or Mouser until you mentioned them in this post.

Thank you- I learned something new today, that there are additional Electronic Parts suppliers. Obviously I knew that there were others out there, but have never researched to find any of them. 

Sorry- but I am old school- I usually prefer to see what I am buying with my own eyes, rather then putting my full trust in website shopping. In some instances- there is always that stroke of luck that the wrong part would be shipped.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Old_Hobo said:


> You sound over-joyed at their demise, for whatever reason.....hwell:


I'm just a realist. They lost their primary reason for existing, and lost their way. Business is a lot like nature, survival of the fittest. I didn't put them out of business, they did that all by themselves.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

hoscale37 said:


> You did see that they are offering free shipping on any orders over $19.00... correct?
> 
> Honestly- I had never heard of Digi-key or Mouser until you mentioned them in this post.
> 
> ...


You want to see the part, but you're talking about mail-order from RS?  

My point is, there are other parts distributors with better prices, faster shipping, and much better selections of parts. As far as seeing the part, that's a good idea with some stuff I guess, but I don't have to see a 1/4W 220 ohm resistor to know what I'm getting. Same with any brand name electronic component for the most part. The bonus of using a place like Digikey or Mouser is they are major electronic distributors and stock brand name stuff, not like the floor sweepings you get at some places. I can download a specification sheet from one of these places and have the manufacturer's description of the parts, and I'm assured I'm getting those exact parts. Radio Shack didn't do that, when you order mail-order from them, you get a generic part that may actually match the description.

As far as the wrong part being shipped, that has happened to me exactly once from Digikey and never from Mouser. That's over the course of several hundred orders and thousands of individual parts!

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, just pointing out what I see as superior alternatives. I get faster shipping, better pricing, and better quality from the above named sources.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Radio Shack's _pricing_ is what drove them out of business. Everything was marked up at least 50% higher than what the store down the street sold the same item for. Electronic components were a joke, paying dollars for parts that should have cost cents. I can buy a bag of 100 LEDs online for the same cost as a single piece from RS.

Digikey and Mouser are excellent sources, and don't forget about Jameco. Between the three, I've always found the parts that I need. I've never gotten an incorrect part shipped except from ebay sellers. Also note that all of these sellers will send you a catalog, or you can download an electronic version.

Radio Shack had its day, and they blew it. No, they won't be missed because I haven't shopped there in years (and their store is literally 1.5 blocks from my house).


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I'm just a realist. They lost their primary reason for existing, and lost their way. Business is a lot like nature, survival of the fittest. I didn't put them out of business, they did that all by themselves.


All true, just sayin' that you are coming across as being overly happy that they are going out of business, as you keep hammering away at them.....that's all.....


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Old_Hobo said:


> All true, just sayin' that you are coming across as being overly happy that they are going out of business, as you keep hammering away at them.....that's all.....


Gee, and you're coming across as being overly concerned that an inept management team ran a company into the ground. Surely, this is not the first time it's happened, nor the last. I'm not happy or sad they're going out of business, since it's been years since I shopped there, I don't have a dog in the fight.

Do you have stock in RS or something?


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

Both my brother-in-law and I worked for Tandy Corp.
Tandy is/was Radio Shack and, before they split off, Color Tile.
This isn't a vengeful lash at the company, but it does feel good to blurt it out.

He worked for Radio Shack in Abilene, Tx, I worked for Color Tile in San Angelo, Tx. We were both store managers. My turn came first. The district supervisor blew in like a tornado, said my paperwork was a mess, I didn't know how to run a store, so I was fired.
(He actually had the [email protected] to ask me if I wanted to go to dinner with him)

Michael had his tornado experience ten months later. I swear, it was almost the same speech. No invite to dinner though.

We both had the foresight to sell off our Tandy/Color Tile stock.

A few years down the road, Color Tile folded. No reason that I remember, just folded. Everyone that put their life savings into their stock was left with zero.

I guess the moral of the story is, don't trust them. They are out to get you. It has been proven again and again.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Gee, and you're coming across as being overly concerned that *an inept management team ran a company into the ground.* Surely, this is not the first time it's happened, nor the last. I'm not happy or sad they're going out of business, since it's been years since I shopped there, I don't have a dog in the fight.
> 
> Do you have stock in RS or something?


No, but even your comment (which I've made bold) is a shot at them....almost as if YOU lost money on stocks with them! And yet, you don't have a dog in the fight....:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Anyway another one bites the dust.....the end....


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

Old_Hobo said:


> No, but even your comment (which I've made bold) is a shot at them....almost as if YOU lost money on stocks with them! And yet, you don't have a dog in the fight....:laugh::laugh::laugh:
> 
> Anyway another one bites the dust.....the end....


Old Hobo, I take the other side of the issue. We all do business with retail establishments, some may own one, some may work for one. A good in depth discussion on the state of the issue as it is today is a healthy and interesting one. I'm watching the evolution of the retail world these days with considerable interest, and I think John's opinions, along with the others who have posted, to provide useful viewpoints.

Just a friendly counter argument to your post. 

RonThePirate, thanks for sharing your story. My reaction was, when I read it, "yup, that's the way it was".


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Deane Johnson said:


> I'm watching the evolution of the retail world these days with considerable interest, and I think John's opinions, along with the others who have posted, to provide useful viewpoints.
> 
> Just a friendly counter argument to your post.


No worries.....yes, all opinions can be useful.....of course you know what they say about opinions! :laugh:

Cheers!


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

I suspect the Radio Shack story from start to finish would be an interesting subject for the Harvard Business School. It's a classic of doing something right, then screwing it up and failing to stay current with marketing shifts and ultimately beyond rescue.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Old_Hobo said:


> No worries.....yes, all opinions can be useful.....of course you know what they say about opinions! :laugh:
> 
> Cheers!


Now you know where I file yours.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Likewise....but I expected nothing less.....:laugh:


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## Bwells (Mar 30, 2014)

I see you are still having problems with that sticky period key. Try some WD-40 and if that doesn't work, get a new one, they are cheap.


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## MikeL (Mar 21, 2015)

If half these stories are true  http://www.sbnation.com/2014/11/26/7281129/radioshack-eulogy-stories 

Next to go - Sears?

Mike


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Bwells said:


> I see you are still having problems with that sticky period key. Try some WD-40 and if that doesn't work, get a new one, they are cheap.


iPads don't have sticky keys......:laugh:


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

Bwells said:


> I see you are still having problems with that sticky period key. Try some WD-40 and if that doesn't work, get a new one, they are cheap.


Just thought I'd mention, if you're buying cheap keyboards then it's no wonder you expect them to have problems. I bought a $40 keyboard back in '97... here it is 20 years later and it's still going strong, although I've thought it might be time to take it apart and clean out all the crud.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Old_Hobo said:


> iPads don't have sticky keys......:laugh:


All appearances to the contrary.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Appearances can be deceiving.....


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Shdwdrgn said:


> Just thought I'd mention, if you're buying cheap keyboards then it's no wonder you expect them to have problems. I bought a $40 keyboard back in '97... here it is 20 years later and it's still going strong, although I've thought it might be time to take it apart and clean out all the crud.


If it ain't broken, don't fix it!


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

MikeL said:


> If half these stories are true  http://www.sbnation.com/2014/11/26/7281129/radioshack-eulogy-stories
> 
> Next to go - Sears?
> 
> Mike


Mike: Thanks for posting my brother-in-law's story. No, that isn't really him, but it was by proxy.

And that was me in Color Tile. We were given dreams of grandeur in our new positions. Do you know it was possible for me to make over $3,000.00 a month? We had incentives called PM's. Everybody just knew that stood for Pocket Money. I just knew it was Poor Me.
The higher the profit margin, the higher the PM. On a bottle of floor sealer, retail cost was $5.00. Color Tile's cost was under 50 cents. The PM was $1.00. We tried to sell a few of those per day.

I won't go on with the list of complete idiocracy that the company wrote the rules for. I'm just so glad I got out of there.
Oh the most I ever made was $1600 in one month. I sold a ton of flooring to a contractor building apartments.
And I was store manager.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

Many retailers are just going under, and its no wonder, between Amazon, which delivers to my door about 40% of what I buy now, I'm like everyone else - why go to a store?

But beyond that retail is hard to do well at its best. My brother opened a high end stereo/sound system store - his dream for years - after having worked at and even managed a Radio Shack in Oklahoma for over ten years. He made a go of his store, but he did not make nearly the money he had dreamed of. He was always a bit private about things but I suspect he would have made as much just putting the money he put into the store into the bank.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Retail is one of the last places I'd want to be. I never saw the attraction of sitting around in the store and waiting for business to walk in, what if it decided to walk by?


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Retail. Been there, done that. Nevermore.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

And yet, SOMEBODY has to do it, so the rest of us can get stuff.....


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Better you than me.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Old_Hobo said:


> And yet, SOMEBODY has to do it, so the rest of us can get stuff.....


That's what high school and college kids are for. That's when I did it.


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## SRV1 (Nov 14, 2010)

We had one in town for many years but it closed a couple years ago. Was very disappointing to lose it. The next one was 20 miles away, now that one closed. Now there is one 50 miles away but who knows for how long. 

No, the selection wasn't huge but if you needed a resistor, solder, an LED, wire, you could go grab one and continue on. Now you have to order online and wait several days till you're back at work and then not available to work on the project once the part you needed, finally arrives. I keep a lot of stuff on hand but they did carry things the local hardware store does not. Granted the things you need once in a while were't worth enough to keep the lights on, I'm sure.


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## Shdwdrgn (Dec 23, 2014)

There is *one* shining light in things like this happening... In this age of instant gratification it is teaching people to once again plan ahead and have a little patience when they have to order things online.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

delete


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

It's the internet itself that's promoting instant gratification....

We have no patience....so much so that Amazon is testing drone delivery, so you can have your item delivered 35 minutes after ordering it....

Can't see how that will help in trying to get people to be more patient....hwell:


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