Radio Shack is dead.

[displacedinMN]

RS filed for bankrupcy. Years of mismanagement, high prices and online competition killed a great company.

Let's hear those RS stories. I like to use spoilers to keep the OP short

My time working as RS

Spoiler!

I worked for RS part time. Just to pick up a few extra bucks before I found a teaching job.

It was going down hill then. The district manager was not happy when I told him many of our products could be found some where else cheaper. That did not make him happy. This was before the big depression.

Hey, price first. six bucks cheaper at wal-mart than RS. Printer ink at Office depot across the street was CHEAPER than I could get it WITH MY EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT!

We would have Saturdays where no one would be in for over an hour. Hey, Its Minnesota. Most are at their cabins on the weekend and RS is not a first stop store.

Lesser named electronics, low inventory, did not focus on the electronic geek or do it yourself person.
Terrible management the last 10 years.

Every customer was supposed to be asked about phones and Directv.

RS employees were always informed, but price sells.

Have not been back into my old store much since I left. Amazon has more and cheaper.

Old man Tandy is rolling over in his grave.
Modify message

From the Onion

Spoiler!

Electronics retailer RadioShack filed for bankruptcy after 94 years in business, ultimately unable to keep up with consumers’ shift to the wireless and digital technologies of the internet age. Here is a timeline of RadioShack’s decline:

1962: Retailer establishes a 40-year period of peace and prosperity among electronics retailers known as the Pax Radioica
1980: As a joke, RadioShack employee asks customer buying game-TV switchbox for name and address. Practice lasts company-wide for another 22 years.
1995: Poor microcassette harvest devastates first-quarter sales
1996-2005: Company coasts by on purchase of single VGA cord from Fort Myers, FL location
1999: RadioShack CEO assures Americans that products will break down regardless of Y2K
2001: Company introduces cordless Howie Long
2005: Corporation celebrates one-millionth customer walking in, scoffing at cost, and walking out empty-handed
2007: Email leaks reveal RadioShack in serious talks to buy pack of AA batteries from Duracell
2008: Company loses lucrative Defense Department contract
2010: Executives hold press conference to address issue of what exactly is going on with that one aisle of just copper wire and cable splitters
2015: RadioShack management forced to euthanize millions of thumb drives they can no longer support

Old Radioshack Magazines online. Open, don't download anything (so I have been warned)
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Miles

I worked at Best Buy back in college just before Geek Squad. As you said there was no margin on PCs at all and the sales pressure was for warranties and overpriced cables to make up for that. I felt kind of bad upselling that stuff.

Yeah, I just couldn't do it. A lot of times I would guide them over to "look" at something else in another aisle and explain to them that they could get the same charger for their laptop for $20 on Amazon instead of paying $130 here. I just couldn't justify screwing some working stiff out of $100+ dollars given there was no difference in the functionality of either one.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Yeah, I just couldn't do it. A lot of times I would guide them over to "look" at something else in another aisle and explain to them that they could get the same charger for their laptop for $20 on Amazon instead of paying $130 here. I just couldn't justify screwing some working stiff out of $100+ dollars given there was no difference in the functionality of either one.

Same here. It was a summer job in college and pushing the warranty and high margin peripherals and cables was just too much. Helping people pick out a PC or laptop was actually enjoyable but hated when I would catch some flack for not selling the other shit along with it. Also pretty irritating since part of the sales bit was often telling the customer we didn't receive commission so we could be honest.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Miles

Same here. It was a summer job in college and pushing the warranty and high margin peripherals and cables was just too much. Helping people pick out a PC or laptop was actually enjoyable but hated when I would catch some flack for not selling the other shit along with it. Also pretty irritating since part of the sales bit was often telling the customer we didn't receive commission so we could be honest.

The mangers were always too dull/dishonest to realize that if they are paid on commission, the entire store takes on a commission mentality without any of the benefits of such a job. It was the worst of both worlds. I didn't like Radio Shack, but I far preferred it to BB, which was the worst job I've ever had.

[Randallflagg]

Originally Posted by splatbass

My first computer:



It had a whopping 4K of RAM, upgradable to 16K.

My second computer:



My third computer:



Now I manage a team of 8 system administrators, a UNIX server and a bunch of Windows workstations at several military basses in Hawaii and Korea. I learned about computers from those Tandy computers (my education is in electronics technology, not computer science).

I'll be sad when Radio Shack is gone.

Mine? TI 99/4A



Went from there to (of all things - a Commodore) then IBM then Amiga. Go figure. Didn't TI actually own Radio Shack in the beginning?

[Mr. Flopnuts]

And now I'm thrilled I've never bought one upgrade, warranty, or geek squad service with any tablet, or laptop I've bought from BB. Lol

[Mr. Flopnuts]

My first was a Commodore 64.

[Just Passin' By]

I loved Radio Shack back in the day but, even without the internet, they were not adjusting well to modern tastes.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

I thought Sprint was buying them and making them into half Sprint stores/half RadioShacks? I could of swore I read that in the Kansas City business journal.

That's exactly what I read.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

That's exactly what I read.

Hopefully it falls through. Paying for those leases is a lot of money.

Kind of what killed Circuit City.

Leadership decided appliances took up to much space and cost two deliveries a week, compared to one normal delivery. Even though profit margins are insane and CC was number one at the time in overall sales of them to competitors like sears and best buy. Canned them so they could increase CDs and bring in Sharper Image and other small trinkets no one wants. You NEED appliances.(huge hit in profits)

Then they kept opening new stores in areas they had stores, the problem was they were locked into leases for those old buildings. They were paying on over 300 leases for buildings they were never going to use again.(another huge expenditure)

They sold/let Carmax split from them.(huge positive asset for the company)

Gave up on Divx to quick, technically a precursor to netflix/redbox and streaming idea.(While it did not hurt, if they would have kept on the technology, they could have been netflix before netflix. Thankfully they were not I guess.)

Fired what knowledgeable staff they had to bring in above minimum wage drones.(Killed people actually knowing about the product that did not just read it of a paper card.)

It had its problems, but still thought it better than bestbuy. Better deals on OOP new items. Miss that I cannot go buy a new year old gaming computer for 400 dollars anymore.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Valiant

Hopefully it falls through. Paying for those leases is a lot of money.

Kind of what killed Circuit City.

Leadership decided appliances took up to much space and cost two deliveries a week, compared to one normal delivery. Even though profit margins are insane and CC was number one at the time in overall sales of them to competitors like sears and best buy. Canned them so they could increase CDs and bring in Sharper Image and other small trinkets no one wants. You NEED appliances.(huge hit in profits)

Then they kept opening new stores in areas they had stores, the problem was they were locked into leases for those old buildings. They were paying on over 300 leases for buildings they were never going to use again.(another huge expenditure)

They sold/let Carmax split from them.(huge positive asset for the company)

Gave up on Divx to quick, technically a precursor to netflix/redbox and streaming idea.(While it did not hurt, if they would have kept on the technology, they could have been netflix before netflix. Thankfully they were not I guess.)

Fired what knowledgeable staff they had to bring in above minimum wage drones.(Killed people actually knowing about the product that did not just read it of a paper card.)

It had its problems, but still thought it better than bestbuy. Better deals on OOP new items. Miss that I cannot go buy a new year old gaming computer for 400 dollars anymore.

I always thought that CC had far better home audio products than BB, and CC actually made an effort to showroom them, whereas BB always had them tucked in a far away corner of the Home Theater Dept hooked up to nothing.

The shriveling of DVD and CD sales massacred both companies, too.

In another generation every store will either be a Costco/Wal-Mart warehouse or a specialized boutique. The internet has made anything in between too expensive.

[Rain Man]

In the very early days of home computing, Radio Shack was such a major player. It was the TRS-80 versus the Commodore vic-20 and 64 and that little one that I can't recall the name of. Radio Shack sold two of the three brands. They were the big name. it has to hurt to recognize the lead that they squandered.

[Stewie]

Wasn't CC a hybrid? I remember being in their store for electronics and was surprised to see an appliance section. This was at the store by Oak Park Mall, so maybe it was an anomaly.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I always thought that CC had far better home audio products than BB, and CC actually made an effort to showroom them, whereas BB always had them tucked in a far away corner of the Home Theater Dept hooked up to nothing.

Agreed except when Best Buy added the Magnolia thing which sell legit high end shit.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

In the very early days of home computing, Radio Shack was such a major player. It was the TRS-80 versus the Commodore vic-20 and 64 and that little one that I can't recall the name of. Radio Shack sold two of the three brands. They were the big name. it has to hurt to recognize the lead that they squandered.

Tandy 1000?

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Miles

Agreed except when Best Buy added the Magnolia thing which sell legit high end shit.

Yeah, although I've never even been to a BB that actually offered Magnolia in-store.