[NJARC] Radio Shack is Burning

Tue Jun 24 13:50:08 EDT 2014

A few months back I needed some coax, and had a little bit of RG-8 mini, 
RS called it RG-8X.  I only had about 10 feet that I purchased probably 
longer ago than I realize (probably grammatically incorrect, but you 
understand).  The two "twenty somethings" in the store had n idea what I 
was talking about.  They are good for emergency purchases like plugs, 
jacks and bulbs, but pricier than MCM or others.  But if I need it in a 
hurry, it's only 1 mile away and worth the price.  The selections re 
getting smaller and smaller unfortunately.  Greenbrook is too far, and 
he's no bargain either.  There is IEI in Hazlet, which is a combination 
of the old Radio Shack and Circuit City combined.

Now if I need a cap., bulb, connecter I just order a few by mail order 
and it's here usually within 3 days.

Remember the "Fireside Chats" section in the RS catalogs?  I think it 
was written by their CEO or president.

When they were part of Allied Radio, they along with Lafayette had 
everything except the loopstick that I needed for a project and it  was 
back ordered for months.)  Couldn't afford the Miller one, so had to 
wait for the cheaper Lafayette one to come in.

Then there was Radio Row.

Ah, the good old days....................

On 6/24/2014 10:53, Walt Heskes wrote:
> Just remember
> Reply = Poster
> Reply All = Everyone
>
> _________________________________________________________
> Every one of us has at least a story or two about an unhappy experience at Radio Shack. Maybe it was an item that caught your eye and your imagination and you had to have it. And, maybe you got it home only to find that someone else had once bought that same piece of merchandise only to discover that the darned thing didn't work and that it had to be returned to the store where a careless clerk simply returned it to the shelf for someone else to buy and return. That strategy may have helped Radio Shack improve its same store sales but it alienated many loyal customers.
> I would submit that one of the early indicators of Radio Shack's demise was its decision to stop printing its product catalogs. The last issue in my collection is from 2002. The cover shows a pretty girl in a fashionable pose. It could be the cover of a woman's fashion magazine. It's impossible to provide the analytics to support my theory but I suspect that the culture at Radio Shack was somewhat embarrassed and ashamed to admit that their loyal customer base comprised the geeks and nerds whose technical interests sustained an entire industry of electronics parts suppliers. Instead, the gurus at Radio Shack preferred a path that morphed the stores into Toys-R-Us meets Circuit City. Dweebs and solder smokers seeking discrete electronics components were directed to a small area in a corner at the rear of the store.
> The bulk of the floor space was dedicated to the same sort of junk you could find in any Walmart or Target department store.
>   I've stopped buying batteries at Radio Shack. Wegmans supermarket sells their own brand of equally capable batteries for less money.
> These days, in the remaining Radio Shack stores in my area, the sales staff usually outnumber the customers.
> The latest item I have purchased was an amplified speaker and I had to return two defective units to the same store until I finally found one working sample at a different store. The item was out of stock in the online store.
> Maybe Radio Shack needs to change its name to something more appealing and appropriate such as Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe.
> Walt
>
>
>
> iMail from Walt's iPhone
>
> On Jun 23, 2014, at 12:00 PM, njarc-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:
>
>> Send NJARC mailing list submissions to
>>    njarc at mailman.qth.net
>>
>> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>>    http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/njarc
>> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>>    njarc-request at mailman.qth.net
>>
>> You can reach the person managing the list at
>>    njarc-owner at mailman.qth.net
>>
>> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
>> than "Re: Contents of NJARC digest..."
>> Visit our web site - See http://www.njarc.org
>> _______________________________________________
>> Today's Topics:
>>
>>   1. Radio Collection for Sale (Ray Chase)
>>   2. Fortune article - Radio Shack's further decline
>>      (Joe Devonshire via NJARC)
>>   3. Re: Fortune article - Radio Shack's further decline
>>      (extrablues at nyc.rr.com)
>>   4. Re: Fortune article - Radio Shack's further decline
>>      (oldradio at comcast.net)
>> <mime-attachment>
>> <mime-attachment>
>> <mime-attachment>
>> <mime-attachment>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NJARC mailing list
>> NJARC at mailman.qth.net
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/njarc
> ______________________________________________________________
> NJARC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/njarc
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:NJARC at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2014.0.4592 / Virus Database: 3972/7731 - Release Date: 06/23/14
>
>