Since reading the news that they are going out of business, I decided to go to my favorite RS location and get some supplies and items that I believe I would need in the far future.
Get this:
Two of the items I picked out did not show up on their computer system. So...........
They gave it to me for FREE.
This odd occurrence happened on top of the fact that everything else in the store was 50% off. Other items had been reduced in price significantly.
They have been struggling these past few years, and I believe that their downfall is directly related to the electronics repair industry going down the tubes.
Many people are replacing items which break due to low cost new merchandise and the discontinuation of parts for new items.
Manufacturers make more money selling new but inferior products rather than repairing and selling parts to repair more robustly built older ones.
As the saying goes, they don't make them like they used to.
It's sad. So sad.
I wonder if the engineering skills needed to design a superior product will be forgotten one day.
So go get your Saft 1/2AA batteries for your Apple iigs ROM03, your solder, soldering pencil tips, supplies, voltage regulators, IC sockets, transistors, capacitors, resistors, diodes, and helping hands for repairing your Apple ii items.
After RS is gone, it's time for Digikey, Mouser, Newark (Element 14), BG Micro, Arrow, and the rest.
Oh man don't say that, Digikey is my go-to place for parts. If they went under, I don't know what I would do.
Oh and welcome to the new age of throwaway technology... when will it end. (I don't know if it ever will)
I am sorry, I did not mean to imply that the other guys are going under also.
Yea, but several years ago I would have laughed at the idea of Radio Shack going under... It makes you wonder whats to come?
Was Radio Shack even competing with digikey and others? I haven't bought parts there in years. (Digikey, Mouser, and All-Spec have been where I've made most of the purchases that would have been at Radioshack of the 90s). Last time I went in one about 5 years ago around here are mostly cell phone stores with an about 6ft shelf for wire, solder, etc, and only a few components. I went in looking for a fuse... didn't have it. The guy there didn't even know what it was. I went to one of the smaller ones in a mall once around the same time when I needed something and they had nothing, it wall all cellphones, a few toys, batteries, and video game accessories and tv cables.
The one near me stores quite a bit more than cell phone parts... But admittedly it's limited compared to most online stores.
I thought something was up last week when I went in specifically for a 1/2AA battery. The shelf was empty and the placeholder tag was gone. I asked if they'd stopped carrying them, and the clerk 1) wasn't sure what I was referring to because he offered a standard AA pack as an alternative and 2) vaguely stated they'd probably get some in soon.
I can't say I'm surprised this is happening. I wish I was around for RS' heyday.
Thankfully, there is BatteriesPlus nearby for the Safts. I'll just keep using the internet for everything else.
The store I went into had everything for 50% off.
The Safts were $5.00 and the purple Tadirans were for $10.00.
I got one of each.
Guys, you have to see this video about RS!
Scroll to the 1:47 minute mark. I almost died!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FCioWz7aps
I've hated going into Radio Shack for the past ten or so years. For the past five, it has been downright painful. You look for electronic components, they give you blank looks. I was fortunate in that the one in Cheshire, Connecticut had a couple of knowledgeable employees. Beyond that, not much luck.
Most of all, I wonder how I am going to break this to my Tandy Model 102 and 200.
"Hey, kids, we need to talk. You remember Uncle Tandy, right? Well..."
Digi-Key isn't going anywhere...in fact, it's growing.
Where I work, we only use Radio-Shack, if they HAVE IT and we NEED IT TODAY.. Because ALL of the Above places will have it to us TOMORROW.. And I am fairly Sure that we have used all of them for Parts, at one point or another..
While the parts that the above mentioned Electronics Distributors can be used for Repairs, they are mainly used for building New Products... They will pretty much all survive this, and we the End Consumers will be worse off...
MarkO
Well the news yesterday was that RadioShack is in bankruptcy, but they aren't going away. There will be a major downsizing. But the two local stores to me aren't going anywhere, according the store closing listing released.
Yea, unfortunately when you have to depend on DigiKey and Mouser for your repair parts you have to buy in bulk and keep a fully stocked supply room of your own in your shop. That's not so bad when all you need is wire and low-accuracey resistors, which is all RadioShack tended to carry in these last few years anyhow.
Radio Shack (RS) left Canada about 10 years ago and their locations were taken over by The Source. The Source still had ties with RS in the US, with many of the stores stocking a small contingent of RS branded parts, cables, wire, connectors, etc.. but mostly just cell phones, laptops and big name consumer electronics. A few years later RS in the states seemed to try to follow that same model.
To me RS was always the corner electronics store. I went there for convenience and paid the extra to be able to pick something up on the way home. That happened frequently enough that I must have spent $200 - $300 a year there. However, once The Source took over I have not been back much. They lost sight of who they were. They've tried to compete against places like Future Shop and Best Buy, but can't meet the prices those 'big-box' stores have. The only thing they have going for them is that old convenience thing. Not much of an advantage when your in the market for a 55" TV. It's a no brainier to drive 50Km to save $150. In order to compete, they got rid of their knowledgeable people in favor of cheaper labor and in the process all their old customers.
Not good.
Now I guess we'll lose the little bit of RS branded parts up here too. Oh well, it's been years since I've bothered with them anyway.
BTW, 1/2 AA, isn't that 'N' size?
Nope, just looked it up. They are different.
For the past few years, all that they have been doing is downsizing. Read Wikipedia and you will read all about their constant downsizing.
If you do this for long enough, you end up with zero.