[Boatanchors] Re:Radioshack "catering" to hams...?

[RKofler at aol.com]

So many posts to this topic, I have to get my two cents in. I have fond 
memories of two Ham Radio stores in Portland, Oregon. They were United Radio and 
Portland Radio Supply, long gone now. Back in the mid 50's I used to ride the 
bus into town and hit both of these stores at once, they were two blocks apart. 
They had a full line of new and used equipment, and a parts counter with a 
line of people standing with the parts list for their current project.

Businesses stock what their clientele wishes to pay for. Most Hams seem to 
have decided they want convenience and don't mind being button pushers. So, no 
more line at the parts counter. Soon after that, no more parts counter. If 
Ratshack stocked a full line of electronic components and had people on staff who 
knew about those components, how then could they compete with Walmart?

What I'm trying to say here is, the buying public names their own poison. One 
of the people who started me out in the radio hobby in the 1950's was the 
local radio repairman with his one person shop. Old Harry knew his customers by 
name and you could  wait till payday to settle your account. His shop could not 
exist in today's world. Along with the influx of throwaway TV's and radios 
and price competition from cheap imported items, the small specialty shop, where 
the proprietor knew his business inside and out, was unable to stay in 
business because we, the buying public would rather pay someone in a foreign country 
a pittance to do his job.

If the American public insisted on buying American, some of those people 
would still be in business, and we wouldn't be strugglinng with the largest trade 
defecit in history.

Now I'm getting off topic, so end of sermon.

Roger K7DDG