*%&^#)%& Radio Shack

[G_P]

I despise Radio Shack. or at least i despise their franchises. when i was about 14 or so i rode my bike down to radio shack in search of a standard audio cable to hook up my stereo tuner to the amp. I was shocked when i had to have the manager get me one from behind the counter and the made in china piece of crap 6 foot cable rang up for 15.00!! it was not gold plated or anything special. it looked like cheap lampcord with RCA plugs on each end. when i asked why they charge 15 bucks for a cable i can get at the radio shack in another town  for 5 dollars i was told not so politely to leave the store or  the manager was going to call the police. she claimed that i was "harassing" her!

I left and never went back and was overcome with joy as i watched them go out of business 6 months or so later.

About a week or so after they closed i was at another RS location that was a company store Picking up a replacement battery for my cordless phone and i asked if they knew why the location in my town closed down. Turns out they were charging at least double for some of their products and had gotten so many complaints to corproate HQ about the price gouging and horrid customer service that Radio Shack decided to stop sending them merchandise they ordered  as they were giving the company a bad name.

Now i dont even go to RS anymore. they used to be good for picking up small components that you needed right away and couldnt wait a week or so to be delivered from a mail order catalog. Now all they are is a store selling low end merchandise at high end prices.

[Regolith]

Radio Shack is frustrating to buy stuff from.  Not one store has the same stock on hand.

If it's a company store it will have the same inventory.  If it's a dealer store (franchise) then they pick and choose their own inventory.

The giveaway is the sign.  The franchises will have "Dealer" in small letters below the Radio Shack.

Back when I worked for them (late 80's & early 90's) they were still mostly a component store.  Components weren't moving very fast even then.  With the advent and success of the Mega-Tainment stores (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc) Radio Shack switched to a similar model, albeit on a greatly reduced scale.

Brad

Yes, but why in the world would you sell one thing but not the other things that are required for it to work?  Selling the motors without gears seemed like about as smart a decision as selling a remote-control car but not the batteries to make it run.  Not only are they missing out on an extra sale, but they're also frustrating the customer.  I should note I had to travel 71 miles to get the gears that were needed to make the vehicle work, and the only reason I was able to get the gears at that particular location was because the Radio Shack dealer there happened to be an RC plane enthusiast. 

Not surprisingly, the Radio Shack where I bought the motor went out of business a year or two later.  It's now a convenience store.

[Phyphor]

If you do the electronic stuff "right" you can make it catch fire or explode.  Boys will love it.

 

Ah yes, the Exploding Capacitor trick.... er...uh..not that I've ever done anything like that, oh no....

[Brad Johnson]

Radio Shack is frustrating to buy stuff from.  Not one store has the same stock on hand.

If it's a company store it will have the same inventory.  If it's a dealer store (franchise) then they pick and choose their own inventory.

The giveaway is the sign.  The franchises will have "Dealer" in small letters below the Radio Shack.

Back when I worked for them (late 80's & early 90's) they were still mostly a component store.  Components weren't moving very fast even then.  With the advent and success of the Mega-Tainment stores (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc) Radio Shack switched to a similar model, albeit on a greatly reduced scale.

Brad

Yes, but why in the world would you sell one thing but not the other things that are required for it to work?  Selling the motors without gears seemed like about as smart a decision as selling a remote-control car but not the batteries to make it run.  Not only are they missing out on an extra sale, but they're also frustrating the customer.  I should note I had to travel 71 miles to get the gears that were needed to make the vehicle work, and the only reason I was able to get the gears at that particular location was because the Radio Shack dealer there happened to be an RC plane enthusiast. 

Not surprisingly, the Radio Shack where I bought the motor went out of business a year or two later.  It's now a convenience store.

Just because someone has the money to pay the franchise fee doesn't automatically make them good at co-merchandising or inventory management.

Brad

[Thor]

Gewehr, I'm jealous!!

Since my relocation to Texas, I've discovered that the ancient electronics parts supplier is still in business here locally. They beat the heck out of Radio Shack. I reflect sadly on the days when I could go to RS and get all sorts of electronics components. My start into electronics was due to RS and their little projects. I built a light activated binary up-counter when I was 12. Simple, but fun.

[Gewehr98]

Thor, don't be jealous.

None of that stuff in the pictures is mine.

I have an ancient CIA-purchased Hammarlund receiver sitting in my office, and that's about it.  Although, I'd love to have the setup the guy in the first pictures has...

[Scout26]

Nick,

The diodes came in the mail today.  We'll finish the radio later this week and report in.

Here's what we're playing with currently.  ($10 at Radio Shack, on clearance.... )

http://www.estesrockets.com/rockets.php?pid=001876