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 splatbass

Here in Hawaii the shipping charges are so high buying online that big box stores are very profitable. Shame you mainland guys have to ruin it for us. The Hawaii CompUSA stores were the only profitable ones and same for Circuit City. But they closed because of you.

I know that when I worked for RS the most profitable store by far was in Puerto Rico.

[mikey23545]

Ahh, back in the 70's I used to love shortwave radios and electronic kits...

I wonder if they will be be blowing out any merchandise at insanely low prices?...

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

The only thing radio shack was good for, was splicing all sorts cables together with their selection of Eleventy Billion adapters.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

I know that when I worked for RS the most profitable store by far was in Puerto Rico.

You know, where radios were swanky, cutting edge technology like VHS tapes!

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by splatbass

Here in Hawaii the shipping charges are so high buying online that big box stores are very profitable. Shame you mainland guys have to ruin it for us. The Hawaii CompUSA stores were the only profitable ones and same for Circuit City. But they closed because of you.

My heart is bleeding for people living in Hawaii.

[Coochie liquor]

Wow, haven't even been in one of those in at least 5 years. Not even accidentally.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

My heart is bleeding for people living in Hawaii.

[Frosty]

There is a little RS store in Spokane that is kind of a throwback. They have the cellphone stuff but still have the section of tools, electronics parts and kits. It is right next to Joann's so when I go with the wife, I go into RS while she goes into Joann's. I like to dig through the clearance stuff and have gotten some really nice stuff on clearance, like a genuine Leatherman tool that has built in wire strippers for like $7, which I use all the time at work. I don't see this store on the closure list but I'll be sad if they turn it into just a phone store.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Coochie liquor

Wow, haven't even been in one of those in at least 5 years. Not even accidentally.

I've always liked Radio Shack because they always had all those oddball adapters and the like. If i needed to connect two lines of whatever....they had an adapter for it.

But when it came to selling gadgets etc....their prices always seemed a bit high and they never had any of the cool stuff.

All they ever really carried in abundance in their retail stores was RCA products....

[Al Bundy]

They put out the list of stores that are closing. Only one close to me is the one at 104th and Metcalf.

[Pablo]

I'm trying to remember the last time I was in a Radioshack.

I'm going with the over on ten years. **** that place.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

I've always liked Radio Shack because they always had all those oddball adapters and the like. If i needed to connect two lines of whatever....they had an adapter for it.

But when it came to selling gadgets etc....their prices always seemed a bit high and they never had any of the cool stuff.

All they ever really carried in abundance in their retail stores was RCA products....

They used to carry RCA receivers that were actually re-badged Pioneer units.

At one point they carried speakers that had developed a cult following because of the material in the tweeter, dual linaeum.

[MikeMaslowski]

When they did that forced digital television thing in the states I went in. I was the only person in there on a Saturday. They guy was so busy watching the tv on the desk that I went to Home Depot and got a deal on DirecTV.

Never went back. It was my dads favorite store though as he loved "ham"(?) radios.

As someone else said, I am surprised they outlasted Blockbuster.

[displacedinMN]

I was a bit surprised that they are closing the store in the Mall of America.

When MOA opened, there were two Radio Shack stores.

I would also like to know if they are pulling any that are franchises. A local retailer that sells RS products.
I don't think so, but some small towns need that kind of support.

[007]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

They've put all their eggs in the mobile basket. Basically, if it's not a cell phone or a tablet they really don't give a shit.

The computers were always very low margin for them; I think they carry them because they have too, but no one buys a PC unless it's on sale, which means they are often losing money on the computer unless they sell you services from the Geek Squad, who are usually just a bunch of potheads who couldn't hack it at even ITT or DeVry.

In fact, for the time I was there, almost all of the Geek Squad work involved them putting a CD in the computer that removed all of the bloatware and installed the necessary A/V software for them. They would type in the activation keys, and that was about it. They couldn't repair much of anything on a computer.

One dude got shitcanned because he used one of their VW Beetles to go out and **** on the company dime, which worked fine for him until he got wasted and wrapped it around a tree in the middle of the night.

I had a short stint on the Geek Squad and was embarrassed when I found out what they DON'T do to repair computers. Quit after 25 days. What a joke that place was. Pretty much everything they used to "fix" a computer was available for free online to anyone.