When did you last go into a Radio Shack? And why?

[Orrex]

I went into one tonight while waiting for my take-out order to be filled at a neighboring restaurant. For the life of me I can't think of a single product about which I'd say "Radio Shack would be the best place to buy that."

The store was probably smaller than average, but better than 2/3 of the floor- and wall-space was devoted to cell phones, with perhaps another 1/6 set aside for remarkably high-priced batteries. There were a few remote control devices, a shelf full of AV wiring, some assorted stereo components, and a series of drawers containing simple electronics components.

I'll admit that the store was very clean, and the employee was friendlier than I expected, without being at all pushy.


What goes on in these stores? Who patronizes them?

[bluedigger]

1. About a month ago.

About a month ago, looking for a satellite radio antenna for my Jeep. They were out...

[femmocrat]

2. I went in a few weeks before Christmas to buy a calculator.

Try finding a simple, basic calculator anymore! Radio Shack had them for around $6.

My only complaint was the salesclerk asking me for my phone number... WHY?.... and asking me to fill out some survey.... NO, not interested! Sheesh... I just wanted a calculator!

[GoCubsGo]

16. I have had other places ask for my phone number, too.

Not sure why. They have never called me about anything.

[Lucian]

33. When places ask me for my phone number and/or address...

I always make one up.

[femmocrat]

42. It's none of their business.

I just tell them "no".

[baldguy]

3. I was getting a hum throuogh my amp after I hooked my computer into it.

After I played around with it a while, I figured I needed a ground loop to get rid of it. The moron at Best Buy had no clue what I was talking about. At the Shack, the guy not only knew what I was talking about, he guessed what I was doing & why I needed it.

[likesmountains 52]

4. I like my local Radio Shack, they are very helpful even with products I didn't

even buy there. They have good, inexpensive universal remotes also.

[Frank Cannon]

5. I go there for replacement capacitors and other simple electrical knickknacks.

They sell a lot of relatively inexpensive electronic stuff (switches, splitters, antennas, etc.) that you just can't conveniently purchase anywhere else. I still stop in from time to time, although I miss the days when they sold a plethora of electronics and other science kits. Poring over the RadioShack catalogue was a regular holiday season event for me.

But their batteries suck, IMHO, and they always have.

[gvstn]

19. I used to peruse

every item in the store when I was a kid and try to figure out different things I could do with them. I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of components on display these days.

They don't compete well on price for name brand items and their actual electronics are pretty poor quality. Surprisingly, I still stop in every month or two and check things out sometimes they have some very basic item you need and can't find elsewhere.

[annabanana]

6. just last week. .

For those plastic clips that plug telephones in, and a "crimper" to attach it to the wire.

It is the FIRST place I go when I'm missing some kind of connecting thingie.

[Orrex]

7. I just remembered that I went into one about four years ago

I'd lost the cord for a radio and hoped to buy a replacement. The radio cost $14.99 at most, and the socket for the cord was sort of shaped like a keyhole. The clerk tried to sell me some kind of "cord system" for $27.99. It was, he asserted, the best product for the job.

And then he asked me for my phone number.

[Forkboy]

8. Three years ago: Headphone jack adapter.

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. Got some #50 bulbs today.

I go there to get simple parts like fuses and bulbs when I don't want to wait for a shipment from Mouser.com. No other real electronic stores nearby.

[dimbear]

10. Last thing I bought there was a floor model freezer.

Store went bye bye shortly afterward.

[we can do it]

55. They Don't Sell Freezers - Try Again

[UTUSN]

11. Been in those about 10 times in my life, have NEVER bought anything there. nt

[madinmaryland]

12. Probably 20 years. They used to have good coax cables, and phono cables,

but they there are better places to get that stuff these days, if you need them at all.

I just hate them for asking my address and putting it in their database. Fuck that. All I want is a simple antenna and they want my goddamn address. :wtf:

[Brickbat]

13. 18 months ago I bought a digital camera there; I was on vacation and my original camera got damaged

(we won't get into that here) and I needed one on short notice. We also drop in occasionally to check on headphones and stereo components.

[grasswire]

14. couple of years ago

I needed some kind of a gizmo. The weird thing was he tried to sell me two of them in case the first one broke. I thought that was REALLY STRANGE marketing. Hahahahaha.

[GoCubsGo]

15. A few months ago.

It is one of a few places where I can find the right batteries for my old cordless telephones.

[surrealAmerican]

17. That's exactly what I was in there for ...

... about three weeks ago. Those odd sized batteries are hard to find elsewhere, and if you order them online, the shipping just about doubles what you need to pay for them.

[Brother Buzz]

18. Back when CB radios were the rage, "Good Buddy"

Our crappy Radio shack had to compete with an sterling independently owned electronics parts store that employed people that knew their craft and had everything, including a tons of cool military surplus electronic gadgets, hardware and fittings. Radio Shack folded by the nineties; Tandy should never have strayed from leather.

[Richard Steele]

20. Back in the day, they used to sell actual electronic components. Resistors, capacitors, etc....

I went there frequently when I was building electric guitars,
back in the early '80s.

I went into one two months ago, and didn't see a
goddamn thing that I would ever NEED, let alone WANT.



I've been told by someone who is in a position to KNOW
that Radio Shack is currently being operated as a "write off";
it's owned by some huge multinational conglomerate that
owns MANY businesses and needs some of them to LOSE money
on a regular basis for tax purposes.

[krispos42]

21. About two weeks ago

I needed some shrink wrap tubing to repair the wire for the pump in the driveway.

I, um, had an operator error with a snowblower.

My father was less than amused.

[kentauros]

22. A little over a year ago

to get a mini-jack cable so I could plug my S9 into my car-stereo. I needed not an extension cord but male-plugs on both ends. I couldn't find them at the computer stores. Radio Shack had what I needed :)

I've considered going back to them to replace my old Kyocera phone with some other "dumb" phone as they host/carry VirginMobile, too.

[tigereye]

23. to get batteries- but those places are so bizarre, and now

all they seem to be about is slick guys selling phones. I kind of liked em better when they were more full of geeky hardware, frankly, and staff who kind of gave you the creeps! :rofl:

[laconicsax]

24. Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/

FORT WORTH, TX—Despite having been on the job for nine months, RadioShack CEO Julian Day said Monday that he still has "no idea" how the home electronics store manages to stay open.

"There must be some sort of business model that enables this company to make money, but I'll be damned if I know what it is," Day said. "You wouldn't think that people still buy enough strobe lights and extension cords to support an entire nationwide chain, but I guess they must, or I wouldn't have this desk to sit behind all day."

[Orrex]

26. I admit that this article was on my mind when I posted

But I really did stop in a local RS store this evening.

[laconicsax]

25. Dupe. n/t

[progressoid]

27. last week - phone battery.

[Silver Swan]

28. I go there

whenever I need a watch battery.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

29. I bought a tiny battery-operated TV for use during power outages

It replaces my old one analog one, which is now useful mainly as a paperweight.

[csziggy]

30. It's been a couple of years

I needed some banana plugs for my speaker wires and RG6 coax ends for my satellite TV distribution cables.

Unfortunately, they were out of the banana plugs - they've downsized the real electronic gear in favor of selling cell phone plans. I used to go there all the time for the stuff I needed to wire my various homes for sound and television in every room. Once I settled down and stopped moving every year or two, I didn't go there as often.

[Dappleganger]

31. Just before christmas...

I lost a certain size torx screwdriver and needed to replace it. We go in there a couple of times a year, usually to take advantage of battery sales or pick up something small. It's next door to our son's job so it's very convenient.

[DarkTirade]

32. A couple months ago, for little electronic bits. Switches, motors, etc.

Of course, their little electronic bits selection has been getting smaller and smaller every year. And the rest of the stuff there is insanely overpriced. When I was there, I asked how much it would be for a USB cable to replace the one for my mp3 player that I'd lost.

25 bucks. For a USB cable.

Needless to say, I found one elsewhere.

[Duer 157099]

34. I like their store brand DVD-Rs (when they are on sale)

I have a picky DVD burner that just loves their Gigabyte brand, so I oblige when they are on sale.

[struggle4progress]

35. I went to look for cable sleeving. They didn't have any

[quakerboy]

36. I happened to be helping someone get some exercise

But it was rainy, so we went to a mall instead of a park. And there was a Radio Shack. So we walked in.

As to he rest... there is only two times when I think "radio shack would be the best place to buy that." And maybe a third in the wings.

Situation one.. you have just set up some new item in your av set up. and you think to yourself "aw crap. I cant connect my wifes computer and my computer and the play station to the receiver without a splitter. crap. where am i going to find a splitter?" Radio shack. they probably even have a three way deal that will do it all. Bam.


Situation 2.. You happen to have a Sunday paper. and it happens to have a radio shack ad. Which has some item listed at a lower than standard price, and happens to be exactly what you were looking for. Bam. that's the best place to buy.



Situation 3.. you want to dredge up your old high school electronics class memories and combine them with the power of the internet to a) build some sort of automaton with which to control and or destroy the planet, or B) fix some sort of electronical thing that is vital to your life, but which has broken, and which you have further convinced yourself is perfectly good and you can fix it, and you don't need to buy a new one even though you will soon enough anyway, but damnit you are handy and you can do this damint. Bam. three, there you go.

[burrfoot]

49. !!

I love your situation 3b :)

I am exactly the kind of idiot who has precisely zero training or knowledge of how anything electronic or mechanical works, but still occasionally finds himself saying something along the lines of "This can't be that hard. Let me just take it apart and see......"

Generally followed, as you mentioned, by a trip to wherever-they-sell-the-newer-version-of-it-that-I-was-going-to-buy-in-a-couple-months-anyway.

:toast:

[elifino]

37. Urgent need for an alternate to a line line

I work from home, my land line went out, still had Internet access. I purchased a MagicJack,this allowed me to continue to make phone calls and send and receive fax. I used this for two weeks until AT&T got my land line back up. Also purchased head phones. As I work in my companies desktop support for plants nation wide and in Mexico and Canada this really helped.

[Chan790]

38. From time-to-time, I do.

It's not the same store it was 15 years ago, they've made a move towards being more of a retailer of electronics end-products rather than a retailer of components as they used to be.

What I usually go there for and what they are best at stocking (or ordering) is electronics components (specialty wire or cable, replacement parts for simple repairs (a/v jacks, toggles, battery connectors, etc.), solder of not-questionable origin or quality (I own more than 1 piece of electronic equipment that is semi-permafucked b/c "electronics solder" I bought at the hardware store turned out not to be.) and non-standard general accessories. (My most recent purchase was a 6V AC adapter for the broadcast unit of my wireless headphones.)

[sammytko]

39. Last month. They had iPhone4 for 36 dollars!

Of course had to trade in my old one - 125 credit for that plus a 50 dollar discount.

[MicaelS]

40. People buying cell phones, and the accesories for them n/t

[bikebloke]

41. A couple weeks ago.

I had to replace an old cable that went bad.

They used to carry lots of stuff. Not now.

[datasuspect]

43. two weeks ago to get a blowjob

[Orrex]

47. The dumpster behind the store doesn't count.

[gmoney]

44. Picked up a pre-paid cell phone for my Dad

He'd been paying for a full-contract plan with AT&T even though he MIGHT use 10 minutes a month. So, I switched him to a pre-paid where a $100 card will last a full year, and if we put in another $10 before it expires, it will extend any remaining minutes for another year. I'm guessing we'll be able to get two years service for about $110, plus the $15 phone. And the phone is easier for him to use, too.

The Shack is about 100 yards from my office, so it's easy to pick up odds and ends, like a memory card reader, or a cable or something. They do an OK business it seems.

I suspect a lot of places like Radio Shack and West Coast Video and FYE are patronized by the people who still don't like buying online for whatever reason, such as non-tech older folks.

I used to work at Camelot at the mall, and it amazed me that people would come in and pay full list price for an album, when 1/4 mile down the road was a proper record store that would discount about 25% or more. FYE is still the same way... amazes me that enough people shop there that they can even cover expenses.

[hunter]

45. I bought a weird battery.

It cost too much, but I needed it quick.

Sometimes I'll buy other odds and ends there too, bridge rectifiers, relays, that kind of thing.

[Iggo]

46. Patch cords, soldering stuff, batteries of course...

...and more recently, these are the only guys I can talk to about smart phones who don't seem to be going out of their way to try to pick my pocket. They had the same "customer service" push in the last year or so that everyone else has had, where they jump right into your backpack as soon as you enter the store and never leave you the fuck alone after that. But people must have complained (I know I did) and they seem to have backed off of that recently. Which makes me happy.

[Tikki]

48. I shop the Shack....they have crossover like...

products I might need for my bass amp and then other electronics.


Tikki

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Initech]

51. I had to get an HDMI cable and they were cheaper than anywhere else.

[pokerfan]

52. A couple of months ago

for a Headset To PC Converter:



I would rather go to a Fry's but this town doesn't have one.



Fry's actually has components (ICs, diodes, transistors and passives),

[NoPasaran]

53. I went to one about a year and a half ago to buy some solder

But both of the employees were engaged in some passionate discussion with some hillbilly about cell phone providers and couldn't be bothered to ring up my sale. So after waiting about five minutes I walked out.

[NMDemDist2]

54. it's one of the stores we frequent regularly in our small town

we get our iTouch accessories there and our (I call em thumb drives) USB removable storage and when we blew a weird fuse they had em. I check out new cell phones there

we actually do a lot of business there, we've bought and replaced 3 cordless telephones (not the phone's fault, bad power surges around here) and their insurance/replacement policies have been great all three times. they also sold us an awesome surge protector for our home theater system that cleaned up the signals amazingly

it beats Walmart :shrug:

[Orrex]

56. Which of you filthy brutes got your reply deleted?

[mix]

57. It was around '78. I found it intimidating, but suspect.

There were cords and gadgets in abundance, but it all looked really cheap.

It was also near a donut shop.

[applegrove]

58. I went to buy a keyboard. Couldn't find the kind I liked there (non usb).

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

59. I do, about once a year

I bought my digital converter/antenna there. I also have police scanners and they are a good place to get different things for that.

[old mark]

60. A few weeks ago- I bought a relatively old recording device that needed

an adaptor to increase a jack plug size to 1/4" for a small pair of earphones, and I wanted to get a new one. The clerk-there was one guy in his 20's in the whole place-was nice enough, but didn't really know what I was talking about, but eventually found one. It works.
We were the only customers for the whole time we were there. They seemed to have a lot of devices and fewer parts than in the past.



mark

[old mark]

61. delete-dupe

[WildEyedLiberal]

62. I actually bought my old iPod from there

And I've been in since then to get random electrical stuff, like international voltage converters and plug adapters, that you can't find easily if at all at bigger places like Best Buy. Also, I bought a cell phone charger and a power strip there recently. I guess I probably get something there about every 3-4 months. It's one of those places that doesn't seem useful at all, until you're looking for some weird electrical thing that you need immediately that no other store in the area has.

[Orrex]

64. Perhaps it's different from one store to the next

The only item I asked about when I was there the other day was a set of plastic gears. I've seen such a thing at hobby stores recently and thought I'd give it a try--I know for a fact that I saw something similar in other Radio Shack stores a decade or so ago.

"Did you check the Radio Shack website?" asked the cashier.

[travelingtypist]

63. Three months ago.

I bought a USB hub there.