Rat Shack dying

[Schmidlapper]

Last time I was there I went for a soldering iron and an XLR mic cable. Salesboy said they stock neither. I found the items on the shelf myself and then waited 30 minutes to check out while he was selling a phone. My last time really is the LAST time

Exact same experience, ask for something, sales person looks a little then tells me they don't have it, ask for something else and while he can't find that one, I find the first thing for myself, and repeat X times. Or when he actually found one thing I asked for he returns with "all we have is this", just splendid. As an electronics DIY type, I really want them to stick around, but don't see it in the cards.

 

[big2bird]

RS business model is not sustainable. I would rather like to see Fry stores on East Coast - more useful and looks like profitable enough.

There ya go. RS has been cell phones and trash for years.:yes:

 

[Ed in Tx]

RS business model is not sustainable. I would rather like to see Fry stores on East Coast - more useful and looks like profitable enough.

Fry's came to DFW and moved in to the old Radio Shack "Incredible Universe" stores that RS couldn't make go. Fry's picked up and took off with great success where RS failed.


I warned them in the late '90s not to dump their amateur radio equipment!

 

[fredgarvin]

Unfortunately I doubt that will ever happen. Most of the small town Rat Shacks I've seen are in the back of an Ace Hardware. But I'd be happy to manage one of their (Parts Express) stores in Northern Mi for them.



I've found the opposite to be true. I absolutely LOVE the Parts Express shipping charges. On most orders over $98 the shipping is....wait for it......FREE! I've bought from them for years and have yet to pay anything for shipping. :thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp:

Well, that's the rub. You have to spend $100 to get free. $18 shipping on $20 tweeters is ridiculous. Especially when others ship them for $6. :thumbsdn:

 

[fredgarvin]

I worked in a Lafeyette store in the 80's when CB was big. CB and DIY speakers were the main thrust, retail audio was an afterthought. As CB died on the vine so did the store.

 

[Brian]

I worked in a Lafeyette store in the 80's when CB was big. CB and DIY speakers were the main thrust, retail audio was an afterthought. As CB died on the vine so did the store.

We did a review of Lafeyette and the underlying reason for its demise was it was an early adoptor of a computerized accounting and inventory system without having the experience or hiring it to develop the controls and internal audit systems necessary to make it all work correctly and within a couple of years found on paper it had more than 3x the inventory it physically had meaning though it looked profitable on paper for years it was losing money. Poor management continued, IT department continued to drain the company while never coming close to providing any benefit and at that time angels and white knights were not around in any decent numbers willing to fund a salvation.

 

[for_p1]

Multitude of small stores won't make it. Large store near warehouse for on-line shipments is more reasonable. If it is within one hour drive from customer, this is still better than wait 2-3 business days for shipping. Computer parts is a must for that type of store.

 

[john5220]

I went in there to buy a dipole antenna for my receiver and the girl had NO idea what an FM antenna was. She showed me those set top tv antennas! Yikes.

Very same thing happened to me the other day! Went into a RS to get an antenna for my Marantz( I already had one so I knew they sold them there!) and the clerk tried to sell me a TV antenna. When I finally found what I wanted he actually said "Well, you taught ME something!". Well, yeah!

 

[ken kantor]

Boy, what a bunch of retail experts we have here! Who knew?

Their parts sales are entirely a loss leader, to drive store traffic. There is NO conceivable business model, no amount of sales training, catalog, no nothing, that would enable them to survive selling cables and parts. And going back to the 70's is the last thing they would want to do.

One thing killed Rat Shack... the Internets. And that evil genie is not going back into the bottle.

-k

Edit... yes, I know about Tandy's troubled history, from Incredible Universe to Please, Just 1500 More Fixes. But, such soap operas are not uncommon in US retail. I'm talking about the bullet to the head.

 

[mulester7]

No big surprise. It's been circling the drain for years now. It became useless when it stopped selling stereo gear

.....I couldn't agree more....when we were growing up, I had many friends who bought component pieces at Radio Shack....mainly receivers and speakers, which sounded very good to me....

 

[ponderwilu]

I'm sixty now and grew up in the heyday of the "electronics" boom (like a lot of you here). My Dad had a T.V. repair shop in the early 60's thru the late 70's where I cut my teeth on all things electronic. I remember entering my first "Tandy" Radio Shack. It had a lot of electronic gear but half of the store also sold leather goods ... mostly for horses. Thru the years if you needed an odd ball part or something cool that was current you headed over to Radio Shack. Many a pleasant memory spent browsing their way too cool inventory.
Too bad all good things must come to an end.:sigh:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RadioShack

 

[mulester7]

.....I bought a lot of pocket weather-radios at RS to give as gifts....that was back when the internet barely was....

 

[Bob_in_OKC]

When I go in, I don't ask for help. When they offer, they aren't actually able to help. I went in looking for a wire wrapping tool. They actually had one, but no one knew what it was. The manager was there. She asked me how it works.

 

[icenine]

When I go in, I don't ask for help. When they offer, they aren't actually able to help. I went in looking for a wire wrapping tool. They actually had one, but no one knew what it was. The manager was there. She asked me how it works.

Why would you expect them to know what it is ? Who else is going in there to buy wire wrapping tools? Their cash cow (for what it is) is the mobile phone.

Their prices are high....that is why they are dying most likely.

I can go into Best Buy's Magnolia and start being obtuse.
People do not know everything. I would rather have someone willing to help me that does not know everything than to be ignored when I need help.

 

[big2bird]

One thing killed Rat Shack... the Internets. And that evil genie is not going back into the bottle.

-k

Ken, I rarely argue with you, but I believe they started circling the drain long before the net.

 

[fred soop]

Ken, I rarely argue with you, but I believe they started circling the drain long before the net.

Rat Shack had terminal illness before the internet but the internet simply is finishing them off as it is many other businesses. Digi-Key published their last paper catalog in 2010. Everything is on line only. I'm into model railroading and there is little use for the ill stocked, poor service, limited hours, brick and mortar shop these days.

It's easier to sit at the computer and do the research on line even if I wanted to buy products at a store. Ultimately, after doing the research, it's simply easier to click "add to cart" and it will be at the front door in a couple of days. Sometimes, even after finding something at a big box retailer on line, the fine print will say "not in store, on line only".

Back in the day, on a limited budget, I would often buy grab bags of parts, then design electronic circuits around the value of the parts in the bag. One purchase was an assortment of knobs from Rat Shack. In that bag were 5 white knobs with a "different" shaft design. 4 were plain white, the 5th was the same only calibrated with "250 300 350 400 450 BROIL".

 

[BillyBatts]

As an Amateur Radio Op whom used to build his own Rigs, I frequented RS for years. Great back in the day. Walls of parts. What a great place to just run down to and pick up from. Now, it's a niche market for most of the Amateur Radio kits. Small companies or guys that throw together QRP (low power) kits that you find on Forums like this, only for Amateur Radio.

Oh well, everything changes. I'm glad I have a few Realistic products in my Stereo collection. Something to remember them by. Too bad the stock is so low. It would be a good stock to "Sell Short" otherwise.

 

[ken kantor]

Ken, I rarely argue with you, but I believe they started circling the drain long before the net.

Agreed. See my edit above.

-k

 

[ken kantor]

As an Amateur Radio Op whom used to build his own Rigs, I frequented RS for years. Great back in the day. Walls of parts. What a great place to just run down to and pick up from. Now, it's a niche market for most of the Amateur Radio kits. Small companies or guys that throw together QRP (low power) kits that you find on Forums like this, only for Amateur Radio.

Oh well, everything changes. I'm glad I have a few Realistic products in my Stereo collection. Something to remember them by. Too bad the stock is so low. It would be a good stock to "Sell Short" otherwise.

Got some kickass handheld frequency counters with whip antennas at The Shack. I still use them!

-k

 

[chicks]

Got some kickass handheld frequency counters with whip antennas at The Shack. I still use them!

-k

Ah, breaker, Pig Pen, this here's the Duck. And, you wanna back off them hogs?
Yeah, 10-4, 'bout five mile or so. Ten, roger. Them hogs is gettin' in-tense up here.