[Coco] More poor news for Radio Shack

[Louis Ciotti]

The killer for RS in component parts is the price they charge like you
stated.  Honestly I think for RS to survive they will have to downsize,
re-tool/re-brand then work their way back into the black.  The biggest
problem I see is they have to train their employees better.  just know
about cell phones is not training.  If I go in asking for a capacitor I
should not get a blank stare.

On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 9:43 AM, Allen Huffman <alsplace at pobox.com> wrote:
>
> > On Dec 12, 2014, at 6:55 AM, Gustavo Ranaur Schoenaker <
> ranaur at ranaur.net> wrote:
> >
> > In my last vacation to San Francisco I went to a Radio Shack that had no
> > electronics components! Only cellphones and accessories! That's an
> absurd!
>
> Yeah, that didn't last long. In 2005, I think, I was building control
> boxes for some Halloween props for a local haunted house. The computer I
> used was a EFX-TEK Prop-1 controller (Parallax BASIC Stamp 1 computer).
> Everything else I bought from Radio Shack: connectors, enclosure, 12V
> lights, power supply, etc.
>
> I was having to hit four or five Radio Shack stores each week, wiping them
> out of the pieces I needed. They were just then downsizing their parts. I
> was racing to get everything I needed before they didn't carry it.
>
> But today, you go in one, and it has a HUGE selection -- but they are all
> in five or six vertical cabinets instead of spread out on the back part of
> the store. They have so many things they never carried before, but likely
> are missing many things they used to. Still, tons of parts.
>
> They carry things I can't see there being much demand for -- like these
> circuit board things you can put a surface mount part on then solder it "no
> skill required". I had no idea such things existed until I saw it at Radio
> Shack. They also have tons of Arduino things -- ethernet, touch screen,
> Xbee, relay and other add-on shields.
>
> > I think they should go after repair/DIY market. They will need to lower
> the
> > prices of the comodities to be competitive. But they can add services,
> like
> > rent 3D printers. Repair/fix electronics, and other "nerdy" stuff. It
> will
> > be tough, but there is no opponent in this market.
>
> Yeah, going after the "Maker" market would make sense -- though so many
> other larger niche stores (Sharper Image, anyone?) have failed as well. I
> still think many of us use RadioShack for one-off quick projects, but then
> we would order stuff cheaper online once we figure it out. It would be nice
> if you could buy something in the store, then they would let you order
> online quantities of the same item as a competitive price.
>
>                 -- A
>
>
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