Thanks Radio Shack!
- Thread starter janikphoto
- Start date
janikphoto
Lunatic Member
Well, I got rca ends to solder on turntables, headphone plug ends to solder on broken headphones, clips, clamps, fuse holders, and all sorts of goodies at $0.25 to $0.45 per package!
tnsilver
Stereo Puppy
That's terrible and sad. It's been a landmark for DIY'ers for decades. It used to be a conglomerate for which audio mfgrs designated gear for. I still have a 1978 analog radio shack volt meter. It's not a Fluke and was made in Korea, but still runs and is pretty accurate. This is not a good sign or good karma.
kaplang
Works for me !
EBay once again will be saturated with very cheap Radio Shack parts. The same thing happened a couple of years ago after the first RS downsizing. The flippers are on the move.
i bought a corded phone there about ten years ago and some sort of adapter once, maybe been in one 4 times in 60 years just wasnt my kind of store and there were a bunch of them in my area, i bought a ton of the same kind of stuff they sold just not there
Beatnik
What's this ?
The one here was a couple of miles from where I work. It was turned into Frys, still has the steer on the roof and ranch theme inside.
beatcomber
AK Member
I am SO FORTUNATE to have this store in my area... it's seems pretty busy every time I'm there too!
Colloquially referred to as "You-Blew-It":
Colloquially referred to as "You-Blew-It":
NoTransistors
Dual Turntables Super-Restorer
Amazing how a wonderful chain like Lafayette went bankrupt 40 years ago, and RatShack continued.
GPJeff
Super Member
The Radio Shack near my house still had quite a bit of audio cables and adapters but they were only 20-30% off. The guy told me that the store may not even close, they were moving merchandise.
Radio Shack lost its DIY image along time ago, they have been concentrating on phones and trendy electronics for the last 10 years at least.
Radio Shack lost its DIY image along time ago, they have been concentrating on phones and trendy electronics for the last 10 years at least.
HTHMAN
Super Member
There are lots of companies that have gone out of business because they forgot what made them successful. Had RS moved to home theater rather than cell phones and digital cameras, would they still be viable? It is sad that Best Buy is about the only place you can see, hear and feel consumer level electronics. Although we want to, not everyone can afford to shop the boutique A/V stores and even those are sparse and limited.
Cell phones and cameras were available in every department store, grocery store, office store etc and kiosks as well as company stores all over. Where do you go for your A/V stuff? Should still be a viable business.
Cell phones and cameras were available in every department store, grocery store, office store etc and kiosks as well as company stores all over. Where do you go for your A/V stuff? Should still be a viable business.
NoTransistors
Dual Turntables Super-Restorer
DIY just ain't what it used to be. People have lost their interest and perhaps also their creativity.
janikphoto
Lunatic Member
Yeah, there was a couple from east Texas that hit up all the stores in north Texas. All the salespeople knew who I was going asking about when I went to another store closing. The couple would spend a thousand bucks at each store. They said they resell on amazon.
Regarding other comments about RS losing their identity, they should've doubled down on DIY. Stuff like the raspberry PI, and all the other at-home projects are flourishing. They could've been a hub for that stuff, instead of just devoting one aisle to it.
Bugler
Super Member
I worked for Lafayette during high school (late 60's to early 70's) and Radio Shack during college. Even spent a few years as a store manager and was a product trainer (they used to do that back in the day). Back then as a manager in a decent store you could make decent money. I did very well on their stocks too.
nedseg
Well-Known Member
RS was a godsend to me as a student/student hourly in the physics dept. When I had to quickly build a prototype board for an ECL circuit, the campus RS was the only way to get the right value resistors -- in an hour.
Also so poor that for most of my pet projects I bought parts one bag/box at a time. Granted, the DIP package was new then (as was 74LS, then cmos....). As time went on I could afford to buy in bagfuls...and still have some of their LEDs ('NIB'!).
Even bought the olivetti (!) version of their Model 100 tablet computer solely because I could 'try one on' at the local store (the olivetti had a folding/tiltingscreen, same price.)
Wonder what kids in similar straits today do...ordering bagfuls of stuff to minimize shipping costs wasn't part of the equation back then. Building drones to go get the stuff for them?
Interesting trip down memory lane, but times did certainly change, and they didn't - and they could have been the amazon of electronics, if they'd played their cards right.
Thanks for memories!
Also so poor that for most of my pet projects I bought parts one bag/box at a time. Granted, the DIP package was new then (as was 74LS, then cmos....). As time went on I could afford to buy in bagfuls...and still have some of their LEDs ('NIB'!).
Even bought the olivetti (!) version of their Model 100 tablet computer solely because I could 'try one on' at the local store (the olivetti had a folding/tiltingscreen, same price.)
Wonder what kids in similar straits today do...ordering bagfuls of stuff to minimize shipping costs wasn't part of the equation back then. Building drones to go get the stuff for them?
Interesting trip down memory lane, but times did certainly change, and they didn't - and they could have been the amazon of electronics, if they'd played their cards right.
Thanks for memories!
