be carefull at ratshack!

[Soundguy]

mouser.com ships the same day if you get your order in by 3:00 pm.

sure.. and a single 1/8 w 1k resistor that costs me a buck 5 at radio shack , costs me 20$ at mouser cause i got to order them in bulk an pay a shipping charge.. then i got enough resistors to pass down to other generations..

for onesy items.. local is mUCh better.. especially it it is onesy and... the gate tot he shop won't open without it.. NOW.. that's when you hit ratshacke

 

[RobertN]

35 years ago, they still had Radio Shacks, in the store.

I remember going there, and waiting for the guy to get off the HAM radio. And he actually could help you with electronics stuff.....

Now, good luck...

i liked them for being able to run in and get a discreet component.. but nowadays they are mostly a cellphone store. 25ys ago.. they sold electronics.. etc..

 

[tractchores]

went in today to get a motorola to bnc connector.. also decided to get a couple m 2 f rca patch cables. ( 5$ items..e tc )

clerks there are like vampires!

tried to sell me a dozen toys or anything else I was standing near... took 5-6 no's to get out of that one..

then wanted me to upgrade my phone. didn't want to.. then they have this spiel about giving you $ just to check to see if your phone / plan is available for an upgrade.. yada yada. ok.. got out of that after saying no 15 times.

next..they wanted to sell me a 99 cent 'extended warranty' plan on each cable and the connector end. SERIOUSLY?!?

that took another 5-6 no's to get out of.

by that time I just wanted them to run my darn credit card so I could run out of the store before they tried to sell me anything else. SHEESH!

I avoid them for this reason. I go once in a while when i have to get something and can't wait. I actually walked out once when they refused to complete the sale without me giving them my address. I think we'll see fewer and fewer of them around over time.....

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Agree, mouser.com is not economical for buying only one small item.

But they have a huge selection of items, where radio shack will have maybe one item that is kinda close to the specs, but not dead on. And, when you add in the fuel for the trips to radio shack only to find out they don't carry that item any more, it adds up.

 

[big e]

I'm banned from my local store... they wanted my info for a simple transaction, and... well... then... were off to the races.

 

[dmccarty]

Many, many years ago I worked at Radio Shack. Sure beat working outside in FLA during the summer! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I HATED having to ask people for their address. If people refused, and many did, we just drew a line through the ticket and completed the sale. Yes, a paper ticket. Radio Shack, the technology store, had us using paper tickets even thought the store had a few computers for sale. What was worse, was that at the end of the day, we had to manually enter the sales ticket into a computer to be transmitted to Texas. Back then we still had quite a few components for sale. They were a PITA to inventory. Hated them. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

What I really found funny is how many people would come it and get their free AA battery every week or whatever time period it was. Most of these people would not buy a thing but they were as regular as clock work on that free battery. I hoped they did not make a special trip to get the free battery, otherwise they spent more in gas than what the battery was worth. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Our local RadioShack is locally owned. They have some components but not many. To be fair, I would think demand for these things would be pretty low and taking up precious display space for higher priced items.

Even back when I was working at the 'Shack people complained about our lack of parts. We did have a tube tester but it was broke so we sent people next door to the drug store to use their tube tester.

I still have all of my stereo equipment that I bought as an employee. It is all boxed up sitting on a shelf. I figure one day I can sell it for a fortune on Ebay! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[Tig]

It's called "The Source" up here, but it's the same experience.
I went there last Christmas to replace a failed CF card reader on short notice. For the sake of Christmas, I bought one for the usual, un-sale price of one for the price of three. That's the price of convenience in a small town.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Radio Shack used to be good. My first 2 computers and printers were from Radio Shack, as was my first hard drive. And the employees used to know the products, but I guess that's all changed now.

 

[BigBoyinMS]

I have a Radio Shack within 2 miles but I'll usually make a 15 mile drive to a store named Hoopers Electronics in a "not so safe" part of town. Talk about what an electronics store should be... stuff piled everywhere and 2-3 old guys (older than me) that know where all of it is and what it's used for and what can be used in place of something else. I'll miss it when it's gone.

 

[caps]

Depends on the store. There are a few with knowledgable people but most are low paid and electronically incompetent. I was in a store a few weeks ago and the clerk was trying to convince (hard sell) one of his customers to buy very expensive gold plated cables for his stereo. I was minding my own business until he started spouting off about the conductors being oxygen free and electronically neutral and quoting numbers about how much better gold was as a conductor than silver or copper. I couldn't take it anymore and then butted in and said "Tell you what, I'll bet my paycheck against yours that copper conducts better than gold". Talk about back pedaling. I then explained to him that gold is used as a plating for its anti oxidizing effects not its conductivity. Silver is even better as a conductor and although it oxidizes easily the oxidation still conducts. The customer thanked me for the info and bought the less expensive cables; the clerk gave me dirty looks; and my wife told me I embarassed her. Well two out of three ain't bad

John
KC3LX