Radio Shack to go under

[armdnrdy]

If there are any specialty parts that you are used to purchasing at Radio Shack.....you might want to stock up on them.

I just saw on the Fox business channel that Radio Shack is in a lot of financial trouble and is destined to go under next year.

I looked around on the web and found this among other things:

http://investorplace.com/2013/02/why-radioshack-will-be-dead-by-2015/#.UrDGKWOA3Qw

Do you remember Circuit City? Who would have thought that they would go under.

[azrael]

I've always thought to myself, "Who actually shops at Radioshack, but me?"

[moosapotamus]

Not surprising. I have always hated the hard-sell you get from the sales people. Makes it the very last place I will go to look for something (I have to be really desperate). But I'll give them a little bit of credit for surviving as long as they have.

Oh, and I do like my RS multi-meter.

~ Charlie

[tonyharker]

I can see that Maplin in UK is heading that way.

[armdnrdy]

I just check my email and found an email from Jameco with the headline "Radio Shack's losses double"
and this link:

http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/email/corner/gregs-corner-radio-shack.html?sp_rid=MzQxNTY5NzM0MzkS1&sp_mid=7497553&spMailingID=7497553&spUserID=MzQxNTY5NzM0MzkS1&spJobID=187328711&spReportId=MTg3MzI4NzExS0

Radio Shack is good in a pinch, (there is one within walking distance) but there are a few things that they sell that are kind of hard to find elsewhere.

You can order 100K center tapped pots from the online store. The pack of 5 LDRs are used in some projects (seem to have different specs than most)

and I think they sell a transformer for one of R.G.s projects?

But in a pinch....their store hours are great! Open Sunday? Mon-Sat till 10 pm?

[bcalla]

You probably noticed that over the last several years RS has been converting from an electronics hobby center to a consumer electronics store.  More floor space dedicated to cell phones, Bluetooth devices, RC cars, music players, etc.  Less and less floor space dedicated to hobbyists.  It's probably what kept them solvent until now.

[PRR]

Radio Shack has been about-to-die for 20 or 30 years.

I remember in the 1980s, talking to a manager who thought RS would implode in a year.

Nobody, least of all Radio Shack, knows why they are still around.

Looking over their financials, sensible people with part-Billions to invest think RS has 5 or 7 years of future in it. They sure could be wrong. Like the people who supported Enron, or mortgage-derivatives. Except I don't think RS's management is smart enough to cook their books.

I'll bet one TL072 that Radio Shack will be around in 5 years, AND that you won't be able to buy a TL072 at Radio Shack.

[armdnrdy]

Radio Shack has been about-to-die for 20 or 30 years.

People and things that have one foot in the grave eventually find their other foot planted right next to it.

From a business standpoint, if they close stores and sell equity, they are still losing a massive amount of money.

As the article outlines, Radio Shack doesn't specialize in anything! They've recently held off the reaper by making a move into a market in which they can't compete.

If someone with big bags of cash, a better business plan, and a heart filled with sentiment came along, they might stand a chance.......but in this stagnant economy, this Santa Claus type of character would be few and far between.
Investors are holding on to their money, save for the sure thing. The probability of a Radio Shack comeback as a trend setting global competitor is far from a sure thing.

I'll see your TL072 and raise you a SAD1024!  

[GibsonGM]

My take is that they'll somehow be bought up by a cellphone franchise, and just convert over.   Or go completely away, who knows?  Name change and all.

They don't have much in there I can use, other than hookup wire/solder if I run out.   The rest of it comes from Newark, Allied, Mouser, in big quantities!    But I do remember when at Radio Shack...you could find enough things to make a radio     1N34A's, magnet wire, high Z earpiece....not anymore.

[italianguy63]

I still remember Lafayette electronics, Heathkit, and Radio Shack was related the "HAM Radio Shack's"-- they were a sister Co. to Tandy Leather...  RS needs to go unfortunately.  I needed some jacks and wire the other day.. It was nice I could get the parts in town, but the quality and pricing is aweful.  Thank goodness for Mouser, and Tayda.  What can Brown do for me today?!

MC

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Just think....

If RS still sold the SAD1024A in the Archer packaging at $10.95 (I think) they would probably be flush with cash........ if only from the people on the DIY forums at least!   

[haveyouseenhim]

Funny. The local radioshack manager is begging me to come work for him. I wonder how long I would have a job 

Maybe I could raid the parts drawers when they close.....

[Mark Hammer]

Our local Active Electronics has been fading out components over the past year, and replacing them with more tools and niche products.  In particular, they have started carrying Arduinos, Beagle boards, Raspberry Pi, and a wall of Sparkfun and similar modules for the MAKE crowd.  They also seem to have upped their selection of tools and instruments.   I guess they figured that, for the store footprint that this inventory takes up, the profit margin is much bigger than on resistors, caps and chips.  They still have a decent selection of heat shrink tubing....but then who orders that sort of stuff on-line, right?  Same thing with chemicals that often cannot be shipped.

The investorplace article suggests that one of RS's less wise moves was to emphasize the same sorts of consumer electronics that the larger box store chains also carry and can easily underprice RS on.  I'm not saying Active will grow like gangbusters, but I think their move towards higher-end digital hobbyists may be a wiser move than what RS did, in terms of keeping them viable. 

[bwanasonic]

It's been some time since I've gone into a RS for DIY parts, but I was a bit surprised to see the parts bin still there when I purchased my phone a while back. Last time I was there was for a 4 into 1 AV switch box, and the staff had no idea what I was talking about. After I found one myself, I had to explain to the staff why anyone would need such a thing. They glazed over somewhere between Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64. I think they actually got a little frightened when said CRT.

[tubegeek]

Breaking news from The Onion, in 2007:

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business
http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/

My favorite quote:

"One of Day's theories about RadioShack's continued solvency involves wedding DJs, emergency cord replacement, and off-brand wireless telephones. Another theory entails countless RadioShack gift cards that sit unredeemed in their recipients' wallets. Day has even conjectured that the store is "still coasting on" an enormous fortune made from remote-control toy cars in the mid-1970s."

[haveyouseenhim]

the staff had no idea what I was talking about.

That's why the manager want's to hire me.  Sad though. Even a dumba­ss like me is able to look like an electronics guru among the knuckle dragging employees.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/

I just emailed that to the manager 


I think they are still in business because the mark-up on nearly all of the merchandise. Do you know what the employee discount is?......50% off.   They like to push batteries on people because they pay 17 cents for a certain battery and sell it for $20+.   There are major incentives for employees to sell batteries. I know this first hand.

[candidate]

You can order 100K center tapped pots from the online store.

are these suitable for the EH talking pedal?

[armdnrdy]

The aforementioned pots are dual 100KA with a 40% tap.

I'm not sure without looking at the schematic which pot the talking pedal uses.

If I remember correctly, Dino (digi2t) made a clone of the talking pedal by using a LED/LDR combo in place of the pot.

[deadastronaut]

I can see that Maplin in UK is heading that way.

maplin: hmmmm i'm really tempted to say 'no loss' but they are handy if you just happen to be popping by, or need something quick,

IF they have it, or IF they have it in the right drawer, and IF they don't talk absolute b......s   

[GibsonGM]

Funny. The local radioshack manager is begging me to come work for him. I wonder how long I would have a job 

Maybe I could raid the parts drawers when they close.....

Same here, ha ha.  When I walk in they start to say "Can I help.." then "Oh, it's you - you're all set, right?".   

Every time I ask "do you have any electrolytic caps rated higher than 16V here? How about a 10uF NON polarized?" they do the eye glaze.    Found my own BNC connectors on their wall last trip, after the kid told me they just don't have that kind of thing...they look at me like I'm coming in to speak Chinese at them.

There IS one kid in there who is trying to pick up some electronics from the owner (a HAM guy) - so there IS a small spark of light in the RS world after all...