Radio Shack Bankruptcy 2015

[davesl708]

I am not surprised. I used to be able to get anything electronic. Now nothing but cell phones. What little they offer in electronics is very limited.
To bad.
I guess now I will start going to garage sales and flea markets to find components I need and harvest them from old equipment.

 

[mjarrels]

Sears to follow soon!

mark

 

[SPYDERLK]

Sears to follow soon!

mark

 

[ultrarunner]

As a kid of 8 I would ride my bike to the Radio Shack each month for my Free Battery... it was a big deal when I was mowing lawns at 25 cents a pop...

Also loved their kits... the 50 in 1 kit, then it was 100 in 1 and the project radios and such...

They were also big with CB radios and scanners back in the day...

The last time I went to the local one... ended up at staples to get the connectors I needed.

I think I still have crystals for my CB radio somewhere???

My last purchase was TV digital converter boxes... needed 6 of them...

 

[downsizingnow48]

Like others I shifted to Mouser and MCM long ago. We called it "Radio Shuck". Hope the employees can get new jobs somewhere decent.

 

[stingray1]

It's sad to see them close,you could get stuff there you couldn't find anywhere else.

 

[kco]

Internet shopping is making it difficult for a lot of "bricks and mortar" businesses. I try to support local stores but it is hard for them to carry a large inventory of specialized items. Bookstores must also be having a tough time competing against internet sellers.

 

[sailorman]

Hah! That was 25 years ago around here. I think they managed to offend most everyone with that. I actually remember thinking each time they asked, what a way to alienate customers!

Yep . I just told them I had no phone . If the clerk didn 't like it, I told him to put in his own number . If I still got guff I just walked out .

 

[buckeyefarmer]

As a kid of 8 I would ride my bike to the Radio Shack each month for my Free Battery... it was a big deal when I was mowing lawns at 25 cents a pop...

Also loved their kits... the 50 in 1 kit, then it was 100 in 1 and the project radios and such...

They were also big with CB radios and scanners back in the day...

The last time I went to the local one... ended up at staples to get the connectors I needed.

I think I still have crystals for my CB radio somewhere???

My last purchase was TV digital converter boxes... needed 6 of them...

Yep, what ultrarunner said. At one time they were about the only place to get electronics, especially parts. I remember getting crystals for walkie talkie's, and the monthly free battery. bought my first radio from them when I was in grade school, think it cost around $5 for AM/FM.

read that sprint is buying some of the locations as phone stores, and are still going to sell some radio shack items. Course, how long will sprint be around?

 

[flyerdan]

Last time I was at a RS was to get a chimney mount for an antenna mast, they had an empty pegboard hook where they were supposed to be. Time before was for a tube of heat sink compound as I couldn't locate the one I had.
It seems to me that someone could buy up the stores and take the business model back to where it was in the early 70's with the components, solder, shrink tube, wiring supplies and like products. Perhaps one of the big retailers like Digi-key who probably loose a lot of business due to being mail order only and having high shipping costs cause people not to place orders for small purchases, where they'd be regular customers if they could pop in and get what they needed while in town.
The free battery of the month card in the catalogs was a good idea as well, got a lot of people into the store at least once a month. Where I grew up our RS was an affiliate in the basement of Taft's Variety, what was once refereed to as the dime store. Chances are you couldn't get in and out with just the battery, much like the loss leaders at the supermarket are rarely the only purchases made.