Radio Shack having a tough go of it

[W1VD]

How about the 'lifetime' replacement tubes? That was another interesting idea to keep customers coming back. Bet the RS bean counters wondered why they got so many sweep tubes back for replacement 

Would be interesting to walk in with an old Realistic 'lifetime' tube and ask for a replacement today. Imagine the blank stare from a still 'wet behind the ears' salesperson.

Hope RS doesn't go the way of the drug store tube tester ...   

[The Slab Bacon]

I don't know why one would browse in a local store then order from Amazon.com.  By the time you pay shipping charges, the Amazon price is probably as high or higher than the local price, particularly if you live in a state where they charge sales tax.  Plus getting the merchandise in one  piece via the parcel delivery "service" is a crap shoot at best, and you have to wait at least the better part of a week to get it.  If I see an item on the shelf and decide I want one, I would just go ahead and pay the local price and take it home - instant gratification.

So So true! ! !  By the time you factor in the "shipping and handling" charges the online bargain price is not always such a bargain. Especially on large and/or heavy items. Before buying anything on line I always scratch the head a little to figger out how it ends up with the shipping charges. Not to mention the gamble of receiving it intact............

Since figgering in shipping costs and logistics is part of my job, I kinda just do it as second nature.

And, err, furthermore........................there is definately something to be said for the "instant gratification" vs checking your front porch every day until you get it.

Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff I want/need is not available locally and I'm forced into online shopping. Someone needs to start a store chain that sells man-stuff. Good tools, machine tools, hot-rod car and bike parts, guns, electronic parts, etc. Maybe have a sports bar in one end and a strip club in the other end with a good BBQ joint in the middle. (Mall sized building) Maybe call it the "Man Mall", or "The Man Cave" or something of that nature.

Hmmmmm..........................

[WA3VJB]

Frank I think you've got a business plan, there.

How many times have I been in the mall only to have my olfactory offended by smelly candles, overdone perfumes,  and The Food Court.  

Add to that the screaming kids transiting among game and clothing stores, strollers blocking the narrow aisles crowded with kiosk merchants, modules of insouciant sloth-like, overweight teenagers, and NOTHING along the row for a guy to take a right and go shopping.

And don't even try to peddle Sharper Image or Brookstone to me. They put those there to give women a rationalization on their way to the car with all the other stuff they've bought. They're like the airport gift shops taking advantage of guilty travelers returning home empty-handed.

[K5UJ]

I haven't been in a mall in years. 

[The Slab Bacon]

I haven't been in a mall in years. 

Yes, neither have I. That is my wife's department. If I can take all of the time to go out and make it, the least she can do is go out and spend it for me.   

But................ would you go to the "Man Mall"? ? ?   

[K1JJ]

Yes, it would be a pity to see them fade away.  And yes, that article was certainly biased to doom and gloom. But it is hard to ignore the fact that the stock hit an all-time low the other day. The smart money in the market is anticipating events six months into the future as usual with that vote.

Whenever I have a project to build, I go down there first and load up.  I've bought my share of 1/4" connectors, phono jacks, little chassis boxes, blank circuit boards, jumper clip leads, LEDs, audio cable, zip cord, cheap VOMs, batteries, some common IC's like 555's , etc. It goes on and on.  Rarely do I leave without dropping at least $40 on parts.   How about those 12V and 24V power transformers?  

The parts drawers are deceiving and actually have a lot of stuff in them. But not like the full parts walls of yesterday.

It will be interesting to see how it works out. They will certainly have to stay innovative considering all the competition they have in this electronic product field. They are banging heads with many big guns now - whereas in the past they carved out their little "radio" nitche.

I still have a warm place in my heart for RS... :-)   Even worked there back in the 70's when in school.

T

[K5UJ]

But................ would you go to the "Man Mall"? ? ?   

I'd probably check it out at least once, but I might not eat there.  I'm a health conscious old man now 

Thank God coffee is still considered okay.

[Jim, W5JO]

How about the 'lifetime' replacement tubes? That was another interesting idea to keep customers coming back. Bet the RS bean counters wondered why they got so many sweep tubes back for replacement 

Would be interesting to walk in with an old Realistic 'lifetime' tube and ask for a replacement today. Imagine the blank stare from a still 'wet behind the ears' salesperson.

Hope RS doesn't go the way of the drug store tube tester ...   

Not too many years back I did just that.  I found a receiver with a couple of those tubes in it that were weak.  I took them to the local RS (a franchise) for exchange.  After reading his book, he told me he would order what I needed and would call when they came in.  Sure enough about 2 weeks later he made the exchange for me.  That was about 4 years back.  I asked about the deal and the guy said the home office went to a tube supplier and bought the replacements I needed. 

I would bet they have changed their policy by now.  Their problems was the Lifetime warranty was printed on the tube so there was no escape.  At one time if you wanted parts of any kind, they had a binder of several books that you could explore.  They had pretty much the same parts as Mouser or Digikey.  Once you had the number the clerk would take your money and place the order.  I believe that went away in the 90s as Pete said.

[K5WLF]

I've worked at two different RS stores in my younger years, so I kinda have a soft spot in my heart (head) for them. However, I think they're shooting themselves in the foot with their current business plan. Here in TX, the current slang name for them is  "Cell Phone and Computer Shack". And, it's pretty much right.

Our local store had a great female manager, but she was evidently too good so she got reassigned. The new guy seems to mean well, but the quantity of knowledgeable help is dropping off rapidly. Not too long ago on the local 2m repeater, one of my friends signed mobile and I went back to him and asked what he was up to. He said he was just leaving the local RS and the hand had told him they didn't have PL-259s. I asked if he was still in the parking lot and since he was, told him to go back there, go to the second bank of parts drawers, and look in the right rear corner of the top drawer for PL-259s.

He called me back a few minutes later, laughing, and said that the hand in the store was totally amazed when he went straight to the drawer and got what he wanted. The kid said that he didn't even know that they carried those parts. Bill told him he'd got the word from a friend who'd been in there the night before and had been forced to find his own parts and had then told him about it on the radio. That was me.

I wish RS all the luck in the world, especially since I'd rather buy from a local brick and mortar store than have to order online for stuff I want today. But, if they're going to survive, they need to find out what the local folks want and then get that stuff in stock. Otherwise, they'll be paws up.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

At one time if you wanted parts of any kind, they had a binder of several books that you could explore.  They had pretty much the same parts as Mouser or Digikey.  Once you had the number the clerk would take your money and place the order.  I believe that went away in the 90s as Pete said.

It really didn't go away.
"In 1970, Tandy Corporation bought Allied Radio (both retail and industrial divisions), and began to merge the brands into Allied Radio Shack. However, after a federal government review, the company sold off the remaining Allied retail stores and resumed using the Radio Shack name. The industrial division (Allied Electronics) continued as a Tandy division until the 1990s, when it was sold."

Allied Electronics still exists today: http://www.alliedelec.com/

[K5UJ]

Pete, thanks for the Allied link.  I had no idea they were still around. 

Jim: They probably changed their warranty after you put in for new tubes   

[Bill, KD0HG]

One of my first jobs was working at a local Allied Radio Shack in the early 70s.

I talked the store manager into letting me build up a back corner of the store into a mini radio supply department. Since we were part of Allied Radio, I had no problem getting stocks of tubes like 6146s, sweep tubes; I brought in good Belden coax cable, CB base antennas, SWR meters, a few Vibroplex bugs, CQ, S9 and QST magazines, ARRL handbooks and a couple of early Kenwood rigs like the TS-510. My efforts were a success, word got out and there were constantly hams and CB ops hanging in the store..Coffee and clouds of cigarette smoke were the order of the day.The manager loved it.

The main Allied store on Western Ave. in Chicago had a magnificent ham department, the parts department was like a Home Depot of radio and TV parts...Everything Eimac, Thordarson, Stancor and RCA...Need a 60-watt modulation transformer for a homebrew rig? No prob, there's one right on the shelf for $25. Ouch!

Bill

[WB2CAU]

What year did Lafayette go out of business?

Lafayette file for Chapter 11 protection in 1979. 60+ stores were closed. About a year later 60+ more stores were closed. Remaining 5 stores then went under the Wards umbrella for several more years while still retaining the Lafayette name. Around 85/86, those stores were closed, and soon thereafter, Circuit City stores appeared in the same area.

Personally, I look at the closing of the Syosset, Long Island, headquarters when Wards of Richmond (Circuit City's parent) purchased Lafayette in 1981 as the real end of Lafayette.  Although Ward's did open small retail outlets with the Lafayette name and operate them into the mid 1980s, they bore very little resemblance to the Lafayette we knew and loved.  There was no mail-order, no catalog, no communication products (that I recall), no Lafayette private-label products, and no electronic components.  It became a strip mall retailer of brand-name home audio and TVs, utilizing the good reputation of the Lafayette name earned for the previous 60 years.  

The golden years of Lafayette were when Abe Pletman (Lafayette's founder) was in charge of the empire.  When he gave up control in the mid-to-late 70s, the company started to face difficulties.  That was the beginning of the end.  

I miss the Lafayette of 1921-1981.  

[Pete, WA2CWA]

After Wards took over, I continued to do the Lafayette service work for several more years. The only place you could drop off Lafayette products for repair during that time was at the Paramus, NJ store. I would make a run once a week up there to pickup repairs and drop off completed repairs for customers. In time the repair volume dropped off. Using the five remaining stores was probably Ward's way of testing the retail waters North of the Mason-Dixon line.

[W1RKW]

Pete, thanks for the Allied link.  I had no idea they were still around. 

Many of the unusual parts I used for the 813 rig came from Allied vice Newark or Mouser.  I still get their catalog. Their business model is similar but they have a slightly different selection of parts.

my fear is and I see it happening now is a lot manufacturers and distributors are moving into the SMD world. Through-hole stuff is shrinking and like tubes through-hole resistors, caps, transistors, ICs, etc. will become hard to obtain. Imagine shopping for chip resistors at RS. The only way to by a 'chip' component will be to buy a reels worth.

[WA1GFZ]

I've built a number of SMT kits. I think they are easier than through hole.
You only need a good microscope.

[Jim, W5JO]

In today's world companies view the boss through a theory called Universal Management.  RS took advantage of that some time back and the new guy came over from something far different than what RS was doing.  At the time they were having trouble competiting with other cell phone retailers so they hired the new guy from something like Home Depot.

First thing he did is dump the small parts and other accessory parts that were below a certain price point and diverted everything that category and computer sales into really going after the cell business.  After two quarters some business journal interviewed him because sales had fallen about 30% or so.

His comment was, (paraphrasing) I didn't know this company sold so many small parts that made up this amount of income.  He immediately had all stores put the parts drawers back in and restock the premade cables, connectors and such.  I believe he was the one who wanted to call the place "The Shack" which they sort of do on TV but the newspaper stuffers still say Radio Shack.  

Lesson learned I guess and now they sell parts they dropped some time back.  It was kind of fun to read that article and realize there are more of us electronic nuts that I thought.  Seems as how the local franchises have some people who are relative knowlegable and sell satellite systems.  So the local guy who has not place else to shop goes to RS and buys the premade cables and such.

[Opcom]

RS fills a need locally and is the place to go when you don't want to order common parts from MCM or Digikey and wait a week.

[KM1H]

There is a RS in this little town and the only thing I buy are Weller gun tips and an occassional watch size battery.

Carl

[W1TAV]

Lets see..  When RS started charging me for their catalog is when I lost my loyalty  to the the RS Brand.      In the years since, I have gone out of my way not to use them, While I do occasionally have to, it's never the 1st choice.  At the time of my displeasure,  e-mail had yet to become common, I actually wrote to RS. For my effort I received a coupon (if I recall) for the value of a catalog.   My letter was along the lines of, why do you want to alienate customers? While the recipe used by RS  to bring it to this point  has other ingredients, my disagreeable spice was added in the late 80's.  Well we still have the old catalogs on line..   

[WA3VJB]

I suppose charging for a catalog makes less sense today with online ordering and product index, but back then, yeah, that's one of the last things to shortchange a customer by doing.

What gets me is the unsolicited, bi-annual and HUGE catalogs I get in the mail from having placed small orders with Mouser, MCM Electronics, and a few other vendors.  They really have to be losing money with that practice, especially since my entire transaction was online in the first place.

[KX5JT]

I suppose charging for a catalog makes less sense today with online ordering and product index, but back then, yeah, that's one of the last things to shortchange a customer by doing.

What gets me is the unsolicited, bi-annual and HUGE catalogs I get in the mail from having placed small orders with Mouser, MCM Electronics, and a few other vendors.  They really have to be losing money with that practice, especially since my entire transaction was online in the first place.

53 million trees cut down each year to make paper of which a LARGE part is mail order catalogs.  I would hope that number is dropping now with the internet.  I used to sit on the throne and read magazines or catalogs... now I just bring my notebook computer.

[W2VW]

How soon some of forget being bailed out of a jam by Radio Shack items.

[KX5JT]

How soon some of forget being bailed out of a jam by Radio Shack items.

Hard to find rescue parts now at a Radio Shack.  Capacitors?  hah!  Resitors? Maybe a few 1/2 watt carbon types.  Tubes?  Forget it.  Transformers?  Mostly just wallwarts.

[W2VW]

How soon some of forget being bailed out of a jam by Radio Shack items.

Hard to find rescue parts now at a Radio Shack.  Capacitors?  hah!  Resitors? Maybe a few 1/2 watt carbon types.  Tubes?  Forget it.  Transformers?  Mostly just wallwarts.

The beneficiarys are here. They may choose to speak up or not.

It's a long walk without that solder.........