Radio Shack: good news, bad news

We actually used the Shack in a one-horse town last month to get an eMux repaired. I had somebody go to the store and get an RS-232 cord and I whacked the end off of it to graft it into our COWAN.

I could have done the same thing at Wally World but the Shack was 25 minutes closer.....and $5 more expensive.
Interesting enough.....I got to use a real soldering iron (poorly) and the resistor color code in the same day.
The pin-out on the RS-232 was wired. 1-Bl 2.Br 3.Re etc...

Other than that?
I'm surprised that RS has held on as long as it has.
Heathkit went the way of the Tyrannosaurus back in the 80's.

Vaya Con DIOS.

 

i'm also surprised rs is still around. on the rare occasion i go in, there is usually someone with bad or no credit trying to get a cell phone in broken english. must be the next attempt after bestbuy. we are fortunate to have a u-do-it electronics store which is quite large and seems to have a good inventory to these untrained eyes. it is always busy and the staff are all geeks. they have been around since the 50's, and from outward appearance, they seem to be doing well.

 

I'm thinking back to the very recent Radio Shack Superbowl commercial.

If you saw it, the whole theme was a typical Radio Shack, and the employee get's a phone call. When he hangs up, he looks at his co-worker and says, "That was the 80's calling...they want their store back". Then there are a flood of scenes where 80's Icons flood the store grabbing store fixtures. The ultimate idea being an admission of Radio Shack that their stores were behind the times, and that they were updating.

But it seems a little too little, a little too late. Too much competition in todays market, to admit in 2014 that your stores have been locked in the 80's. With the internet as well as ton's of consumer outlets for electronics, you've got to give people a reason to shop your store. I don't think Radio Shack was able to do that.

I relatively recently went to a local Radio Shack looking for a USB extension. The employee had no idea, and after a long search they did not have what I wanted. (admittedly this might just be a unique one store case).

When I was a kid, ...well younger, I liked going to Radio Shack, there used to be the idea that you never knew what you might find on their shelves. BUT...today electronics and other gear are not so rare.

 

I go to Shack in the back of the store all the time these days for LED's and arduinos and stuff like that.
I'd hate to lose them. Keep in mind they have ton of stores 5000+ so losing 1000 we still have 4000 Shacks.

No more Heathkits but we have Sparkfun and Adafruit. Dad used to love the Heathkits. Of course if you want to pay less for LEDs you go to EBay/China they send you 100 LED's for $1. They come in the mail a week later with like $2 worth of Chinese stamps on the envelop.

 

usa 2day quoted one analyst; rs won't be around in a year. who knows, they have some beta stores with shiny baubles and interactive displays. they also are having a hard time finding new financing.

 

I worked at The Shack from 1986-94 as a 20 something year old.
I've been a electronics nerd since I was 7 years old, so I owned the tech back then since I had been a avid hobbyist before working for The Shack. It was an easy job for me.

In 1987 RS came out with their first widely popular consumer friendly PC's The Tandy 1000EX ($799 w/o monitor) and Tandy 1000TX ($1199 w/o monitor). We sold a ton of the EX's at the Bay Shore (Long Island) mall location- the displays were right out in the front of the store almost into the mall common area. People didn't have computer desks then either- so many times we sold the computer, plus monitor ($299 or $399) and the desk and printer with it! Good times at 6% commission, I remember Christmas paychecks of $1200-$1500 (before taxes) working at the mall store. It was easy money if you were knowledgeable, motivated and embraced new tech.

The mid 80's (when I started at The Shack) were exciting times- we saw the beginnings of the PC revolution, the introduction of mobile cellular phones, the home VCR, big backyard satellite dishes (got paid to help one of my customers install his BUD), cordless phones, and so many other "new" products that we take for granted today. The Shack was in on all of it and in many areas of the country- they were the only source for new tech- so they made lots of $$ at that time.

IMO- their problems started once it was easier to get the new tech from Walmart, Sears, The Whiz, Best Buy, etc. Once the internet came about- and ordering was as easy as clicking a mouse- it kind of made Radio Shack obsolete- and the decent, knowledgeable sales help and managers moved on.

The current iteration of Radio Shack is a mere shell of the vital growing "can do" company it was in the 70's and 80's. Now it's where ppl refill their cell minutes, buy/upgrade phones and purchase batteries if they have no other options. The sales help nowadays are exactly what Fort Worth had told us not to be... "mindless order takers". Back in the day- the people who worked at The Shack could actually help you with electronics projects, they knew alarm systems, roof antenna systems, satellite systems etc. Could you imagine asking the kids at Radio Shack nowadays how to set up a home alarm system or design a roof mounted OTA antenna system that will work as intended?