Radio Shack is back? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: funkyant
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 09:26:11 pm
content: QuoteSource:http://m.electronicdesign.com/blog/shack-back

author: iampoor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 09:47:16 pm
content: QuoteIt isn't 1982 anymore....

author: jsi
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2016, 10:17:38 pm
content: Well it happens that I was at Radio Shack just yesterday looking for some MOV's and capacitors, none of which they had in the values I needed. I did pay $2 for two zener diodes, but seriouslyWhile I was there a high school aged kid and his dad were looking for arduino parts and they had none. They did have a couple of shield kits, but the clerk didn't have the first clue about anything electronic.I'd pay extra ($2 for .20 cents worth of zeners) to have the parts available on weekends and after work hours, but they have to have a well stocked selection. I keep hoping Radio Shack will get their act together, but I'm not holding my breath.

author: starphot
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:18:44 am
content: The Shack was my old employer. I worked in one of their regional repair centers for nearly 20 years. I checked last month on their website and just now and that site still cannot locate a common part at the nearest stores. Sad to see RS in this way. I had some good years invested in the company. The complaint of the sales staff not having a clue to the product line? The experienced ones left long ago in the 1990's when the sales strategy changed. "Just sell them as much as you can" strategy replaced the one that says "What are you looking for?" It is hard to find knowledgeable staff anywhere in today's retail environment. The info is on some server somewhere that takes the store part # or SKU #. They'll sell you a phone and those accessories, but no clue of what's in those parts drawers. And they are going to participate in STEM and all of those school projects that STEM produces?Joe

author: RickBrant
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 09:44:58 am
content: Subtitle (from a FB post): "Radio Shack re-emerges as a major DIY/Maker player, while Heathkit continues to meander."I'll believe it when I see it. I'll bet they will continue to be poorly stocked, their web site will continue to claim parts in stock that are not (and vice versa), their staff will continue to claim that they don't have stuff that they do have (and vice versa), and what stock they do have will continue to be mostly hung on the wrong pegs.And they will continue to try to sell bog-standard LEDs for two bucks apiece.In a way this is not their fault. Given the vast number of parts a DIY electronics store needs to supply, the vast majority of them being "long tail", low-margin items that demand the lowest-overhead-possible business model (i.e. not shelf space in a walk-in store), I don't think they can compete with the likes of Adafruit, Sparkfun, and "new line" distributors like Mouser and Digikey, and the reinvented Newark.And eBay if you don't mind waiting a bit for dirt cheap parts and subassemblies from China.Heck... in the U.S. at least, even Amazon is a viable source of lots of DIY electronics parts these days, especially if you have Prime.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 11:59:13 am
content: Well the first CEO split after downsizing; left after less than a year, but when you hire acomedianas the chief creative officer you still don't get it ...Quote

author: jsi
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 07:26:24 pm
content: IMHO if Radio Shack is going for a web based model they will fail. There are way too many players in the online space already. Now if they have a GOOD stock of parts in their stores and they are open when hobbyists like me (who have day jobs) can visit they could be succeed. I really don't like waiting a week+ and paying a fortune in shipping for little pieces and parts for the online stuff.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 08:05:45 pm
content: I think if a web sales model can ship small items in a padded envelope by regular mail at negligible shipping cost it can succeed. It's inconvenient using the likes of Digikey if you have to make a large order to justify the cost of shipping.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 08:15:05 pm
content: QuoteIt's a catch 22, if RS can do this, so can DigiKey and Mouser but they'll have to retrain their packers.Which begs the question, why are they not doing this already?