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485 Comments
- lbzfoxracingsmp, on 11/02/2009, -3/+485Radio shack is not what it used to be.
- DeadFox1, on 11/03/2009, -11/+443"You mean to tell me that you came back here just to show me this?"
-You bet your ***** ASS, *****. - chriscanada, on 11/03/2009, -0/+345At least he didn't try to buy a cable at best buy...
- linagee, on 11/03/2009, -0/+308Would you like a $99 installation plan for that cable?
- DefaultGen, on 11/03/2009, -0/+295Being only 20 years old, I've always seen Radio Shack as a place to buy single batteries for $6 and horribly overpriced consumer electronics.
And RC boats of course. If I ever needed an RC boat in a pinch, I might go there. - Benno, on 11/03/2009, -0/+28312 years ago I went to radioshack and bought my first soldering iron, a breadboard, components, and a great begining electronics book (this book but with a green cover: http://www.forrestmims.com/). At the time I thought it was the greatest store ever.
A year ago I went to one looking for a replacement phone charger and they wanted to charge me $30 and tried to shove a "protection plan" with it.
Radioshack, you used to be cool. - WhiZa, on 11/03/2009, -1/+206Radio shack has to be a front for the mob. It's the only reason they stay in business
- ileftfark, on 11/03/2009, -1/+199PROTIP: Electronics stores make slim margins on big-ticket items, and try to get profit margins from accessories, cables, and extended warranties.
- gankige, on 11/03/2009, -4/+141Radioshack just LOVES taking advantage of people who aren't tech-savvy in the slightest.
Eventually, I hope everyone will start catching up when they realize how necessary it is, and places like RadioShack will go out of business. - Scottfiab, on 11/03/2009, -0/+123Monoprice.com
- CRCulver, on 11/03/2009, -4/+124You have to feel sorry for Radio Shack, as far as one can feel sorry for a corporation. They used to be the place to go to for electronics and amateur radio supplies. Then, the popularity of DIY projects and amateur radio plunged, and the company was forced to compete in general appliance sales with other, more established stores even as they had little floor space to work with.
- firesinis, on 11/03/2009, -1/+86The original title is wrong. It's actually a 2,300% markup.
- acidtonic, on 11/03/2009, -0/+83As me and my friends say....
You have questions, we have cell phones. - Midtowner, on 11/03/2009, -1/+81I had front row seats to RadioShack's decline. I started there while still in high school, age 16, and worked there all the way through getting my undergrad degree. When I started, the Tandy Computers era was just then ending. That was when that company was at its prime. Instead of paying for R&D and fighting for marketshare with MS/IBM and Apple, they just threw in the towel and thought they could be competitive with the likes of Best Buy and Circuit City with PCs. Unfortunately, while getting "exclusive deals," they didn't ever have anything which was clearly better than the competition and they didn't have the floor space for selection. That and the margin on computers at the store level was around 6%, so they were seen more as a vehicle to move higher-margin accessories and credit, and they wouldn't approve someone for credit unless their credit was *perfect*.
Still, they continued to be decent in the parts arena until Len Roberts took over as CEO. He started of by running internal ads about how RS was the "Best Place to Work for in America." He then proceeded to restructure associate and managerial pay (read: cut pay) and institute policies which got rid of most older managers and senior employees. He failed to address management structural issues which remain today, and by the end had consolidated our parts business to a few drawers at the back of the store and turned the rest of the store into some sort of ghetto Sharper Image. He proceeded to game the stock, got some big bonuses and then "retired" to a position on the BOD.
The next CEO didn't last too long because it was found out he had lied on his application about graduating from college (and even then, the college he lied about was some substandard Bible college in Oklahoma which had closed and relocated)... That's about when I left to go to law school.
As far as these high markups go, I think they do the same thing at peer stores like Best Buy. I can sort of justify the price difference in my mind. Folks who are able to hook things up themselves can go to monoprice. If they want to come to a Radio Shack with their manuals and sit down with someone who knows (or ought to know) what he or she is talking about, diagramming how stuff should be hooked up, then the price of the cables versus calling some Geek Squad guy out to your house is probably going to be worth it. That doesn't mean that RS, in its training, doesn't lie to their employees, trying to convince them that the $80.00 Monster Cable for a digital application is going to be better than the $2.00 monoprice version... and why shouldn't those employees repeat that lie? They probably don't know any better... these are folks working for a couple bucks an hour above Minimum Wage. They aren't sophisticated enough (in most cases) to separate the truth from the lies and the turnover rate is so high that by the time they do figure these things out, they're fired or moving on. - geodebug, on 11/03/2009, -0/+75don't forget the warranty.
- 1x253, on 11/03/2009, -0/+69
I buy almost nothing at Radio Shack anymore, but there was a time when I was a kid (in the 70's) where you would walk into a Radio Shack and the guys that worked there could teach you how to properly do all kinds of cool stuff. It was once a place for electronics geeks to get together and talk. Sometimes if you had a question they couldn't solve the guys working there would ask a customer who they knew to an electronics god saying,"Let's ask Jeremiah; he knows everything." And then you'd go and ask Jeremiah and invariably he'd know and then they'd all look at you with that "we told you he'd know"-look.
If they attracted that kind of customer and sales rep they would probably have more business and then would not have to price gouge (the death knell of a business in trouble), because who the ***** buys their cell phone at Radio Shack. As acidtonic points out that seems to be what they sell nowadays. - theonlywizdum, on 11/03/2009, -1/+68They tried to get me to buy a $5 warranty on a roll of 12 gauge wire.
- tgc1, on 11/03/2009, -2/+68Better not tell them about Monster Cables. Or better yet, are you looking for Cat5 cable? How about a Denon cable?
Denon Ethernet Cable (500.00 - WTFHAXXORBBQ!?)
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-C ... - zantos420, on 11/03/2009, -0/+51After I took delivery of my $500 Denon AKDL1 Cat-5 uber-cable, Al Gore was mysteriously drawn to my home, where he pronounced that Global Warming had been suspended in my vicinity.
Yes, I had perfect weather: no flooding, no tornadoes, the exact amount of rain necessary, and he pronounced sea levels exactly right and that they were not going to rise within five miles of my house.
Additionally, my cars began achieving 200 mpg and I didn't even need gasoline. I was able to put three grams of cat litter into the tank and drive forever.
What's more, the atmosphere inside my home became 93% oxygen and virtually no carbon dioxide. In fact, I now exhale oxygen.
One heck of a cable.
Didn't notice any improvement in audio quality though.
lol, dugg - norwegianlegion, on 11/03/2009, -0/+43Insurance against what? Copper Gnomes?
- BoneheadFarker, on 11/03/2009, -4/+46I'd do it because of the story that there's no better deal anywhere else. If you are a dick about something, I have no problem throwing it back at you...
- groo68, on 11/03/2009, -0/+41No, that's what greed is, capitalism just makes it easy.
- jsauter, on 11/03/2009, -0/+40Half of that comment came from 1997.
- greevar, on 11/03/2009, -4/+44Ramen brother.
- arpad, on 11/03/2009, -2/+39Radio Shack is never what it used to be. I worked there a couple of lifetimes ago and the pressure to up-market and overload was pretty strong. They carried a lot more in the way of electronics parts which were decently price but the consumer stuff was overpriced back then.
- BabySinister, on 11/03/2009, -1/+38you went to a sony store..
thars yer problem - krisrm, on 11/03/2009, -1/+36or the extended service plan.
- Craig1394, on 11/03/2009, -1/+35The dumb bastards have taken everything away that made Radio Shack, Radio Shack and now they are just grasping for breath before they get pulled under for the last time.
- MasterInsan0, on 11/03/2009, -0/+32...someone who needs one?
- Midtowner, on 11/03/2009, -0/+31Old people keep Radio Shack in business.
It's actually (amazingly) profitable despite piss poor management. - clippclop, on 11/03/2009, -1/+31Yeah, cause i want to deal with random drops and slower speeds again. I'll keep my wired stuff thank you very much.
- dracoregis, on 11/03/2009, -3/+32I went to a sony store and they tried to sell me a HDMI cable for £25.99 (Read $40), and me saying that I could get a hand ful of them for that price didnt seem to go down well.
They are all criminals. - GiggleStick, on 11/03/2009, -2/+31I love how when I need an IC and I walk in the door and the 19 year old swarms on me with the "Can I help you find something?" thing. Then I say, yeah, I need a TTL- Quad NAND Gate. Even if that's not what I'm looking for, it scares them off. Of course, now I just order most of that stuff online.
- Snarfy, on 11/03/2009, -0/+27You used to be able to go in and get parts to build a radio from bare components, hence Radio Shack. Now they just sell pagers and monster HDMI cables.
- freshyill, on 11/03/2009, -0/+25They're kinda "eh".
- acknotSW, on 11/03/2009, -0/+25They would have tried to shove an extended warranty for that $40 cable down his throat.
- Snoogs, on 11/03/2009, -0/+23No, it's not... Where can you find a 24VDC potentiometer or LED's? The place was designed as a DIY palace of awesomeness, but since kids play video games instead of build ***** these days, they had to pander to the least common denominator and become a ***** cell phone kiosk.
/depressed - monodelasno, on 11/03/2009, -10/+32Hair raising adventures from The Consumerist.
- crackintosh, on 11/03/2009, -0/+21pagers?
- apr35, on 11/03/2009, -0/+20How great is it that "What customer's actually buy after viewing this" is a $3.08 HDMI Cable!
- matamoris, on 11/03/2009, -1/+21Radio Shack is the original Best Buy. How has this place stayed in business so long? Who still shops there? Surely an overpriced cable sale here and there can't pay the bills.
- diggbigwig, on 11/03/2009, -0/+20That's the power of the 'brand'. That's why companies spend millions and millions on branding. Because you get a loyal following of consumers that are willing to pay way to much for your products just because of your name (See Nike, Apple, Microsoft, etc). It's not what they sell or how much they sell it for, it's WHO is selling it.
- GregLoire, on 11/03/2009, -0/+19Assuming that Dollar Tree is their supplier.
- Galaxylander, on 11/03/2009, -0/+18I work at The Source and it's company policy to offer the warranty on absolutely everything and every employee gets graded on how many warranties, batteries and cell phones we sell, and if we slack on any of them we get an angry phone call from the district manager.
Don't get mad at the stupid "19 year old employee" get mad at the company. I'm 16 and it's not my fault that the company I work for forces me to ask you if you want a warranty on a $12 cable.
It helps that I'm a huge nerd at 16 and do know what most of the oddball stuff is that people ask for is but the point is the reason the experience is so bad now is because head office screwed it up. - WhiskeyLemur, on 11/03/2009, -1/+19I'm hoping they get with the program and stick around. Don't forget: competition is good for the consumer.
- chrysrobyn, on 11/03/2009, -0/+18I'm 33. Radio Shack has always been a place for expensive crap. I drooled over the catalogs, thinking of all the nice things I'd like to get "some day", but the prices were always insane. I could pick up any ad from the sunday paper from any other store and find it 50% less. Today I actually feel guilty for drooling over the Realistic brand name.
Part of my first pay check from my first job went to Radio Shack. I had a project I wanted to build and didn't know where else to get the parts. I knew I was paying too much, but I didn't know where else to go. Where else does a 16 year old wanna-be electrical engineer get his fix? My kids will go to Fry's. - drunkCatholic, on 11/03/2009, -1/+18The kids that work there nowadays have absolutely no clue about anything they sell except for the cell phones and maybe an overpriced laptop.
It's pretty sad stuff. - BabySinister, on 11/03/2009, -16/+33every store likes to take advantage of consumers thats what capitalism is about
- homercles337, on 11/03/2009, -2/+18My father opened a Radio Shack in a remote Montana town. The franchise fees were insane. He recently went out of business. Yea, thats my recession story.
- bigteebo, on 11/03/2009, -1/+17The comments in consumerist are right. Dollar stores sell those cassette-shaped adaptors so you can plug an MP3 player to a cassette deck for $1. Other stores charge $25 on up for the same thing.
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