Radio Shack reportedly preparing to shut down.

[ford33]

May have clearance sales at Radio Shack soon.

From a Bloomberg news article today:

It’s a sad day for tinkerers. America could be about to say goodbye to Radio Shack. All its stores may close in the near future. Bloomberg reports Radio Shack “is preparing to shut down the almost-century-old retail chain in a bankruptcy deal that would sell about half its store leases to Sprint and close the rest,” according to sources. The New York Stock Exchange plans to delist Radio Shack shares. The troubled retailer warned last year that it may have to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its CEO recently warned it might not be able to find a long-term plan to stay afloat. In the latest quarter, Radio Shack said its sales plunged more than 16 percent compared with the year before. The company’s stock price has fallen 90 percent in the past year. Amazon, which plans to increase its brick-and-mortar locations, may be interested in buying some Radio Shack stores.

 

[mmack66]

That's less surprising than what's going on at Sears.

 

[aka Larry]

I remember their old commercial "You've got questions, we've got answers". I laughed every time I saw it thinking it would have been more accurate to say "You've got questions, don't ask us because we don't know".

 

[chrisexv6]

"You've got questions, we've got blank stares"

 

[Squirel]

"You've got questions, we've got cell phones"

 

[Nick Danger]

My dad used to take the vacuum tubes out of the television, bring them to Radio Shack, and plug them into their tube tester. Radio Shack got killed by unrepairable consumer electronics.

 

[Trey T]

Any good stuff for the garage @ Radio Shack?

 

[rlitman]

I've always said: "You've got questions, we've got duhhhhhhhhhoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii."

 

[jlh92]

I was just in both of my local Radio Shacks this past weekend. The one in our local mall was only half stocked, if that. Had to go to the other one as their parts bins were damn near empty.

I'm not at all surprised they're closing. I am surprised it took this long.

 

[CNGsaves]

Company didn't adapt. Doomed to fail.

Should have changed name to Phone Shack . . . and sold accessories and phones outright, instead of ripoff at Verizon, Apple, etc.

Could have been Android retailer with nationwide network to combat Apple, but "Radio" shed kept trying to sell junk. Heck RS could have morphed into "convenience centers" for phones hawked by WalMart . . . too late now.

 

[tarbellb]

"You've got questions, we've got cell phones"

bahahahaha, perfect

 

[Muffduster]

Where's the hot deal?

 

[mooseracing]

Radio Shack got killed by unrepairable consumer electronics.

Not many people repaired their own toys. They were always a niche.

I don't think they kept up with the times. Look at DigiKey and Mouser.

 

[Nessal]

So sad. I remember as a kid, I bought my first soldering iron from there. In fact, I still have it and use its on occasion. I remember going there for varies doides, resistors, capacitors, etc. Sad to see it go. It's something that I link to the nolstalgic past.

 

[CoryZ]

There's a huge resurgence of DIY electronics and projects. Rat shack decided to keep trying to sell cell phones. Do they still insist people give then name, address, and phone number when trying to pay cash?

Trendy electronic things right now that the shack skipped:
* 3d printers
* "maker" stuff
* robotics for kids
* raspberry pi (tiny linux computer)
* arduino (little computer for automation projects)

 

[rlitman]

Not many people repaired their own toys. They were always a niche.

I don't think they kept up with the times. Look at DigiKey and Mouser.

DigiKey, Mouser, Sparkfun, etc, aren't a store I can walk to and pick up a capacitor to fix a failed power supply TODAY. Mail-order is not a substitute for a local brick and mortar store.

(more to the point for this evening's actual project of mine) I can mail order a master cylinder for my Jeep from Rock Auto and save a few bucks, but then I'm borrowing a car to get to work for another few days while waiting for parts.

 

[srmofo]

There's a huge resurgence of DIY electronics and projects. Rat shack decided to keep trying to sell cell phones. Do they still insist people give then name, address, and phone number when trying to pay cash?

Trendy electronic things right now that the shack skipped:
* 3d printers
* "maker" stuff
* robotics for kids
* raspberry pi (tiny linux computer)
* arduino (little computer for automation projects)

Last time I was in there they had starter kids for adruino and rasberry. I actually tried going there this weekend but they didn't open til noon. I ended up walking down the shopping center to ace hardware and ended up buying my solder there. Electronics components were still dlim pickings though

 

[usmc_noma]

The one closest to me has already shut down. There are two or three within 30 minutes of each other still nearby that I'm unsure of.

 

[organ]

"You've got questions, we've got cell phones"

"call someone who knows..."

 

[Davefr]

What about the lifetime warranty on Realistic vacuum tubes

Radio Shack used to be fun:
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/

 

[PFSard]

Where's the hot deal?

Does anyone know if there is a corporate policy on how Radio Shack is going to handle the unloading of the remaining goods and empty bins et al?

 

[nmantas]

This is still bad news for tinkerers.......if you need a resistor, capacitor, etc you either order it online OR go to ratshack. Only went there once a year max but when I did it saved me days of waiting for a package to come.

 

[Davefr]

This is still bad news for tinkerers.......if you need a resistor, capacitor, etc you either order it online OR go to ratshack. Only went there once a year max but when I did it saved me days of waiting for a package to come.

I don't think so.

They had a terrible selection of electronic components. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fry's has 100X the selection.

 

[EdJack]

I might have to run over and see if there are any deals.

I got deals on the Panavises they had last year. Maybe they have soldiering irons and stuff on sale.

I always buy from digikey or mouser. The problem with Radioshack, even if I "want it now", they don't ever seem to have all the parts I need. Yes, they have capacitors and stuff, but the selection is really limited. So if I need a handful of various caps to rebuild a power supply or something, there will always be a few in my handful that Radioshack doesn't have. So I have to order anyway, then might as well order everything online if I have to wait to do the job anyway. Plus caps at Radioshack are probably 400% higher price than digikey or mouser.

 

[EdJack]

I don't think so.

They had a terrible selection of electronic components. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fry's has 100X the selection.

Agree, selection is terrible. Good luck finding what you need "right now", they might have 40% of what you need to do the job, the other 60% needs to be ordered online. So why the heck even waste your time, just order it all online.

 

[reader2580]

Even in the late 1990s the local Radio Shack was almost exclusively selling only cell phone and prepaid cell phone reloads. Good luck trying to buy anything else as the salespeople were all selling cell phones. The salespeople probably got commissions on cell phones so they ignored the other stuff.

 

[tdkkart]

The 2 stores in Cedar Rapids Ia are already having closing out sales, everything 25% off, which makes it about 20% above what it should be.

 

[Scimmia]

I don't think so.

They had a terrible selection of electronic components. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fry's has 100X the selection.

Of course, there are less than 40 Fry's nation wide according to their website. Not really the same thing as RS's 5500+.

I've always used them when I need something now. Recently a barrel connector, a couple of resistors, and some signal diodes. I'll be sorry to see them go, but not surprised.

 

[Kracin]

My dad used to take the vacuum tubes out of the television, bring them to Radio Shack, and plug them into their tube tester. Radio Shack got killed by unrepairable consumer electronics.

radioshack got killed by the people who choose to not repair things and instead want to throw them out. lots of stuff can still be repaired just as easy, but people don't want to anymore, or even care to. even though the cost is lower in the long run, everybodys time is super important now.

 

[Caparris]

"You've got questions, we've got cell phones"

Too damn true.

I mean I could almost understand not every employee knowing every detail about their electronic components (almost), but come on, you should at least know what a resistor is and not look at me like I'm crazy when I ask for a particular one.

I was talking about this very thing this weekend and said I thought they'd go under sooner or later. Guess so.

 

[noggs]

That is where I go to get obscure bulbs/led's for electronics, but other than that, I never go there.

 

[CoryZ]

Last time I was in there they had starter kids for adruino and rasberry. I actually tried going there this weekend but they didn't open til noon. I ended up walking down the shopping center to ace hardware and ended up buying my solder there. Electronics components were still dlim pickings though

Wow. My local store was cell phone shack with a few left over components in a small bin. Didn't see any kits the last time I stopped in. (been awhile though)

 

[Harrison2]

I always find them overly expensive, id gladly pay a little more for instore service over online but these guys didnt adapt to compete with amazon and ebay sellers.

same story as sears, as for anything garage related... they do have some small soldering tools, mini vises and other misc items that you may use for auto electrics.

 

[srmofo]

Wow. My local store was cell phone shack with a few left over components in a small bin. Didn't see any kits the last time I stopped in. (been awhile though)

this was last year when they had that deal on the vises. Wasnt much a selection and it was still mostly cell phones but they did have a few beginner electronics kits as well as a few cool thingsback in one corner covered in dust.

I know a many years ago it was mostly radio controlled stuff before cell phones were what they are today

 

[erty67]

Went in for a key fob battery. At $8 a battery, I'm not surprised they can't sell stuff. Mark downs will need to get down to 50% or more just to get me in the door.

 

[MattPSC]

The parts bin watch begins!

 

[chops101]

You can't compare Fry's to RS.
I like going to Fry's, but not driving 800 miles to do it.

 

[zeekh]

The parts bin watch begins!

A Radioshack went out locally a few years back. Those bins didn't go real cheap but they went. They're a bit too flimsy for my uses but I think they would be handy for most people

 

[sonvolt]

Sad to see them go, good stuff for the electronic DIY.

 

[jdcompman]

When talking about Radioshack... Anyone remember CueCat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat