The news for RadioShack is not good. The retail chain that we hackers hold near and dear to our hearts is in financial trouble, and could go under next year. With just 64 million in cash on hand, it literally does not have enough capital to close the 1,100 stores it planned to in March of this year.
On May 27th, 2011, we asked you what RadioShack could do to cater to our community. They listened. Most of their retail stores now carry an assortment of Arduino shields, the under appreciated Parallax (why?), and even El Wire. Thanks to you. You made this happen.
Today, we are asking you again. But not for what RadioShack can do better. We’re asking what they can do to survive. To live. It makes no sense for RadioShack to compete in the brutal cell phone/tablet market, and makes every bit of sense for them take advantage of the rapidly growing hacker/builder/maker what-ever-you-want-to-call-us community. Let’s face it. We’re everywhere and our numbers are growing. From 3D printers to drones, the evidence is undeniable.
With 5,000 retail stores across the USA, they are in a perfect position to change their business model to a hacker friendly one. Imagine a RadioShack down the road that stocked PICs, ARMs, Atmels, stepper motors, drivers, sensors, filament….like a Sparkfun retail store. Imagine the ability to just drive a few miles and buy whatever you needed. Would you pay a premium? Would you pay a little extra to have it now? I bet you would.
Now it’s time to speak up. Let your voices be heard. Let’s get the attention of the RadioShack board. You’ve done it before. It’s time to do it again. Hackers unite!
Would you pay a premium? Would you pay a little extra to have it now? I bet you would.
Um, probably not. The nearest RS is probably just a couple of miles away, but with traffic, etc. the minimum round trip is close to an hour. It’s only open during the day, not in the middle of the night when I’m actually tinkering. Spending a few minutes with DigiKey.com and waiting a couple days for a package is a much better use of my time.
The hackerspace idea is an interesting one, but that’s a business model for dozens of stores, not thousands. And TechShop is already there.
Radio Shack is just one of those things, like chain bookstores, that was killed by the Internet.
THEY CANT BE SAVED. A. cant manage themselves worth a shit B. their market for cables and electronics is dominated by amazon and walmart, C the specialized sales of electronic components is no were near profitable with local area sales to keep the doors open. and D is that the company is structured in a rigid fashion and is not agile enough to keep up with diy electronics trends
1. Change the name to Hacker Shack. 2. Go back to their roots as a component store. 3. Start selling 3D Printer parts and supplies at a competitive price point. 4. Fire all but three of the top brass, give them pay cuts. and 5. Turn the whole thing into a co-op invested by and run by the store’s staff.
1. The word Hacker still has a negative meaning to most people so that might not be a great idea.
2. There just aren’t enough people who go to a store buy components anymore. RadioShack can’t thrive off of the people that do. Even of the people that do need components, most of them just go to digikey these days.
3. 3D printers at RadioShack would cost a small fortune. No one would buy them there because of that.
4. Some companies have successfully done this, but I feel like RadioShack is too stubborn. I’m getting Blockbuster video vibes from their whole predicament.
5. The store’s staff don’t probably couldn’t comprehend the concept of this.
So many comments, feel the same way HaD! I want a local store to go get components, that’d be fun, me I’m a pseudo computer/radio person so either-or would suit me. My ‘local’ RS, has a chest of basic components, then another for even more basic/boring components; other than that, batteries, phones, and remote control cars. I used to love being a kid and getting RC cars from RS, but now I want every kind of component like an enormous well organized lab. Fry’s fills that void for now, I prefer going to the store too, and being able to inspect the board. Some of the employees are fellow peers at my school. Yet when I trusted Fry’s they still sell complete sh*t too sometimes, I’m going to fix it anyway, but a 7-port USB hub from China was so laughably terrible I’m blogging about it and will shame that company, which even says on their site “We strive for quality”; f*ck you.
Anyway, as much as I wish RS would get its sh*t together and sell to the right group of people, I say let it fail too. How many years have they been going selling phones and crap, me and my dad stopped going to them like 10 years ago.
Let a better company take its place, and be smart enough to capitalize on the coming “maker/hacker” market that is coming big-time.
Someplace else that I haven’t read mentioned yet that they might partner up with in some manner (yes, SparkFun, AdaFruit, etc):
TechShop (http://www.techshop.ws/)
Imagine being able to do certain TechShop things as a member at a Radio Shack – probably only simple stuff – use a laser cutter or a 3D printer, maybe some soldering or use of a workbench for troubleshooting stuff.
Or at your TechShop – you could buy Radio Shack branded electronic and other components from their inside store (or maybe the store itself is just a “Radio Shack” of some sort).
Basically – this kind of thing would bring together the idea of a hacker space and a store, but not have one or the other overwhelm either. I also agree that having parts vending machines would be a better use of space for such a thing. Maybe have a weekly “build night” where people could get together to share help and ideas.
Such a thing sounds really enticing to me – but I also know that the reality of the situation is that there aren’t enough people like us to support such a concept, unfortunately.
Back before the local Radio Shacks turned into cellphone stores, I would go about once a week to get parts, pieces. There was a guy working at the big one just down the street who was going to school as CS/EE, and we’d hammer out little projects (back in the days when the Z80 was big). I actually learned Z80 machine code from him.
Now, there isn’t a single person working at the same store who knows what Basic or C is. The only reason you can find tools there is because they have a box of “stuff” that nobody has bothered to throw out since they put in the tablet display.
If Radio Shack could go “hackerspace support,” it would be awesome, but I think they are already to the Heathkit stage of dying.
Everything has a life span. R S has sold cheap crap from china since before cheap crap was made there. Like sears their stuff is overpriced, their employees are . . . well you get what you pay for, I guess. TURN OFF THE LOUD MUSIC, FIRE THE BUNG HOLES WHO TURN IT ON< FIRE THE UNTRAINED LAZY MANAGERS< GET RID OF THE SUB STANDARD CRAP MERCHANDISE, or simply put . . . DIE.
-Radio Shack is OVERPRICED with very limited inventory.Unless impatient, most sensible people will buy higher quality electronic components online at much lower prices.
-They should get rid of those sales people, most people that go there know what they want anyway. I also feel bad when i spend too little(4 resistors..lol) or nothing at all when receiving unwanted help by a sales person. I’m not sure but I think i may be paying higher for their products for having them around.
-Their stores should be converted to online order-shipping/pickup warehouses.
-Limit stores in a city.
-Don’t sell Radio shack branded products. They are of poor quality.
-Rename the store to INTERNET SHACK. Nobody plays with radios anymore.
Wow, I see this is a very heated debate. It took hours to read all these comments. I saw some great ideas, some hating, others trolling, and some genuine concern, but we all seem to have a definitive stance one way or another…….
I think RadioShack does still have potential. Granted, most of the stuff in the store is junk, but we as a community could actually step in and help.
Home Depot and Michael’s craft store have a great edge with the classes. Don’t judge me, but I actually took a cake decorating class at Michael’s not all that long ago. It was a great class and I ended up spending almost $100 in the store shopping afterwards. I think, from a logistics standpoint, the hackerspace idea is a little flawed, but RadioShack could easily hold classes.
I do not really know what types of classes they should offer, but they should start out very basic like discrete components. You need to start with a foundation like resistance, voltage, and current. A great deal of the frustration in the electronics hobby stems from forgetting about Ohm’s Law and Kirchoff’s law.
They could then continue with getting to know the test equipment. Basic circuits probably will introduce the DVOM, but a class on the oscilloscope would be very useful. I see a lot of people that do not really know how to use the scope, I’m sure I could use some pointers myself being self taught. RadioShack can offer a Panavise for sale, but people may not know they need one until they see it used. Steve Jobs made a great business from giving customers products they didn’t know they needed. I thought Apple would surely fold since his death, just like I was sure RadioShack would have been out of business by now, almost ten years ago…….
I saw people talking about 74 series and 4000 series logic. These are really great fundamental things that hobbyists need to know. Of course that would necessitate a binary math class, but a lot of things are built from basic logic circuits that are just all combined, in a black box fashion, right on the components die.
There are so many possibilities. Ladyada, as well as SparkFun, have made a great business selling kits and providing tutorials for our community. Unfortunately, I do not have much free time, but it would be cool to design an analog signal generator using some “off the RadioShack shelf parts.” You could use it in the scope class for monitoring signals.
I think the possibilities are endless and I am glad to see such a huge turnout……
I would defintely want a local store where I can buy parts. Parts for RC hobbyist and electronics / maker / hacker would be welcomed. I’m sure many people are still interested in making radio and wireless stuff. I’m definitely not going there to buy cell phone or camera or alkaline batteries (which they are full off). I don’t know how many time I run there to buy couple switch, buttons, and wires to fix stuff for my relatives when I’m on a trip. I think they should scale down on the cell phone / batteries business.
Question would be would they be able to compete with Microcenter or Fry’s electronics?
They should diversify their product line by moving into adult novelties and rebranding themselves as the “Love Shack”. :-P Already got a song they could use for commercials… [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SOryJvTAGs&w=560&h=315%5D
Radio shaq is dead in the water.
Between price gouging and inept employees they are way to far behind the
times to catch up. If they start stocking cnc kits and 3d printing supplies
expect to pay $32 a lbs for ABS filiment and $20 a piece for repackaged zipbit
milling bits. RS had the same shorted view of the net as the U.S postal service
and now its comeback to bite them and bite them deep.
Highly unlikely that the builder/maker/hacker community purchasing electronic components can save radio shack, particularly if the expectation that a brick and mortar store sell them at the same price as they can be had online persists. Prepare to maintain your own inventory so insure yo have on hand what you want when you want it. Then tells us what kind of bargain mail order is. :) No not you Will, but those who think that ant brick and mortar retail outlet can sell for the same price as mail order outlets do, and stay in business. Sparkfun opening retail outlets, wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills up first.
What makes Radio Shack different? Why shop there rather than somewhere else? When the company was riding high, they were serving a niche market of hobbyists. That’s a market they abandoned and now the company is in serious trouble. Return to the core market.
Hobbyists aren’t professionals; they need help. Hire retired engineers part time a few days a week. Recruit at local hacker spaces, hire engineering and technology students. Put the word out to guidance counselors at local high schools that you’re looking for tech wizards. Above all, educate your customers! Be able to answer their questions or find someone who can. Bring back the engineer’s notebook series. Hold periodic seminars. Learn from Home Depot!
Get out of the malls and other prime real estate and move to larger locations in light industrial areas. Consolidate to no more than one store per 100 thousand people, and even fewer stores than that might be better. Offer 3d printing services, custom PCB machining, and sell low end 3d printers and CNCs and delta robots and robot arms and the like..
Eliminate from shelves any item sold by Walmart. Stock up on the Arduinos and Beagleboards and RasPis and Stamp and Mindstorms and shields and steppers and servos and most of the electronics catalog. Quadcopters and Rockets and Ham radio, oh my. Aluminum extrusion and carbon fiber. RC planes and boats and land vehicles and GoPro. Oculus Rift.
Sponsor a nationwide high school robot wars challenge. Sponsor a nanosatellite competition. Build your next generation of customers.
I went to go grab some arduino crap the other day because i knew they carried it. when I got there, all of it was ridiculously over priced compared to either making your own or buying off ebay. (I actually ended up going to walmart and bought a potable clock that I knew had one in it for a fraction of the cost)
Products in question are the arduino uno which was around 40$, and a little wire to interconnect crap on RC radios was 20$….. for one….
THIS is why I evade them. It has never been anything other than the prices. The ONLY time I can get a deal is when they clearance all that crap which makes it closer to reasonable.
Also, radio shack is a franchise which means a good portion of the issue is the contracts between the owners of the site and the hardware providers. So far, ALL of them I have been in, the people who populate the stock have NO idea what the things are or what people expect to pay but instead apply a standard markup on already high priced low volume components….
Open up a chain of stores in Australia!
Well that would probably close the coffin lid on them, but we desperately need them.
Overall, RadioShack needs to decide what kind of company they want to be and what model they want to use to reach that. If they want to cater the the hacker/maker market, they’ll find business there, but they need to understand their customer, their culture, and their buying habits.
There are two key ideas that I think RadioShack needs to answer:
Does the product bring value to customer?
Does the customer want to buy it here?
Here’s a few key points:
+ Rethink the product offering and prices to what matches that the customer wants.
+ Cut product that doesn’t move and doesn’t support the core customer demand.
+ Evaluate using house brands compared to a known, established branded product; are house brands relevant for this product type?
+ Bring back the idea of “going to the electronics store”, not just the place that sells phones and ‘some components’. Connect with the (maker/hacker and local) community and drive consumer loyalties.
Sure, some of us (I have) will run down for that one LED and pay a premium, but unless every maker forgot their LED orders, the Shack won’t see the revenue. Look at how maker’s buy, look at what they want to pay. A reasonable customer expects a markup for the brick and morter that offsets the cost of shipping, but a triple or quadruple markup for half as much product isn’t going to work for routine shopping. Don’t be afraid to sell more product at less cost, RadioShack. You’ll see the instant gratification win out if the dollar amount is reasonable enough compared to online sources, otherwise expect repeat business to equate to about ten bucks a repeat customer per month.
Think about what the customer really wants to buy. Is this a product they would actually purchase or just something that “sounds like it fits” the product mix. Junk on the shelf doesn’t move. Update dated offerings: is there an improved product, or are consumer’s using a new or different technology? Consider this example:
I bought a solder station less than a year ago. When looking, I looked at Hakko models, Aoyue, and a few others. I looked briefly at RadioShack’s offering, wasn’t interested. it didn’t seem to fit my needs. Budget wasn’t a question, just value. I got a product from SRA Solder (through Amazon). If RadioShack would have stocked something I could get a review on, or knew about the manufacturer, it would have brought a serious consideration to making that sell. Now, if anyone wants to argue that “RadioShack needs to guarantee the sell, not just sway you more”, consider that I made a firm decision to NOT buy. Missed potential sell != a customer who already decided to not buy from there. Keep the customer in the store, or the store in their mind, and make the sell; don’t preclude yourself out of the gate.
Bring in more kits. People don’t want to buy the product already built we want to build it. Sell the the kit and the solder and even a few tips on buidling it. May there is a video online hmm? The kit is the product, not the finished result. If people wanted the RC car, they would just goto Walmart and buy whatever is cheapest (I am generalzing a bit here, RC fans help me out!).
Reach out to the community too. Our’s is a community that is digital but still very physical. Clear out the old keyboards and TVs that don’t move and sell those 3d printers, sell those robot kits. Better still, host workshops and “weekend hacker spaces”. Some of us don’t have access to a hacker space, might be intimated, or just don’t want to be apart of the local space – whatever. Create that customer loyalty, give the customer they are contributing more then just to some shareholder’s pocket book. Give the allusion (or reality, depdning on your definition) of participating in “their store”. Chances are you can find a local group to run programs in store for you with minimal managerial intervention.
Also, step up the sales force. Actually get rid of the sales force. Have product advisors. Am I dropping a lame marketing buzzword, maybe, but really listen to the idea there. Don’t have someone that just takes my zip code, have them really understand some of the projects. I don’t expect them to design circuits, but maybe someone does, but when I ask where the solder flux I do expect them to know what it is (true story). I expect them to explain a few points about different Arduinos, or various specs on their products and applications. There are some Shacks out there with folks like this yes, but RadioShack needs to set that expectation, not hope good folks wander in.
I could go on and on, but take a few pages out of the playbooks of a few other companies: RadioShack can take some lessons to learn from the home centers (Home Depot or Lowes). Looks at their product mix and how they market it; how do they sell the value to the customer? The repeat non-commercial customer mentatlity is really not all that different, often it’s even the same customer I’d bet!
Sure, these ideas are not free to implement, and the bottom line is always what’s key. If that’s the argument to not reinvent yourself, you’ve already lost. It is completely possible to operate in a low-margin market. You make up for it by managing costs, and creating business. You have a product, improve it a bit and sell it. People WANT to buy it; make us want to buy it from you.
Kits = Dead on arrival. As kids we bought kits to save $$ because things were wired point to point. Then came circuit modules and then boards and now double sided surface mount, not one person in 100,000 can build a double sided SM kit. Of course, you can make kits with a finished and tested board and you add the box abd switches = little skill, and these can be mass assemlbed for less.
The learning experience? Make a u-tube on it – let people watch that.
The whole builder community is microscopic compared to the whole market, so no sales campaign that depends on that 0.01% of the population will succeed.
I think a central parts packing operation that bags up parts orders and ships them to the local radio shack will have a small niche, save the individual packaging, freight etc. When it arrives the bar coded bag is scanned into a locker and the buyer opens it with his USB key with the password, and while he is there buys some other stray stuff for common consumers
Step 1 is to completly abandon cellphones and tablets and cellphone plans. Stop selling them and get out of that market. All the evidence shows they cant beat either carrier stores or various discounters like Walmart anyway so why are they still in this market?
Are they stuck in contracts with carriers to sell these things that they cant get out of? Are the carriers paying them to keep selling these things? Or do they actually make money on cellphone stuff despite appearances to the contrary?
They definitely aren’t going to get out of their rut by ditching cell phone sales. Especially this early in the process. I would bet 90% of their sales right now are from cell phones. I have a few friends who work at RadioShacks and according to them, all they sell are Cell Phones and AA batteries.
That’s the problem. If all they sell are cell phones and batteries, they can’t compete. Even if they take all the good suggestions above, if they are still pushing cell phones and batteries they’ll be Chapter 11 within the year.
I would pay a little extra to have it now. I run a small computer business from home and I’m always hunting for capacitors and resistors of various sizes. If I can find them locally I buy locally just to get the job out the door. Otherwise I have to go online.
As I walk into my local rat shack, some kind of ethnic music is playing loudly, and I ask the gal with huge earrings behind the counter if they had any 18650 batteries. She said literally– waz tat? She then said some thing in spanish to the other large woman there and they laughed.
So what’s the problem with the store? hhhmmmm
Back in the day smart men who knew their shit worked there and could actually help you out. They had the parts you need. They had cool stuff like speakers and radios.
But now they are basically a cell phone reseller. Sad.
You can’t save a company with poor management – RadioShack’s downfall began years ago with it’s then parent company Tandy Corporation. Tandy has destroyed every great asset under their realm of management including Incrediable Universe and Computer City and though they were dissolved in the early 2000s, the same inept management tactics remained within RadioShack. Countless bad decisions such as becoming an overpriced cell phone accessory store coupled with the over abundance of low performing stores should have prompted changes earlier on but it seemingly fell on deaf ears.
Whilst the remedial actions of getting back to their roots with was noble, it was an effort placed too late and without enough of a push. RS may have survived if they had trimmed down the fat a bit and focused on a handful of specialty stores instead of the conglomeration of mass market stores they have today.
Time was Radio Shack employed knowledgable people, when I was a kid looking to learn electronics, the (80’s-90’s) staff at my local (CT) area Radio Shack helped me out with the perfect basic kit for a kid my age (10) and I was asked to come back to learn more, as I did the kits progressed, when my allowance would allow, and when it didn’t the staff would actually show me, using the floor model, which in itself drew attention from other customers…now, staff hardly know anything aside from e and i electronics (beit phone, tablets, e-pads or personal music players of all types) if you ask for a wiring wrapping tool they’d take you to wire ties or wire cutters, I asked a Radio Shack employee for electronic etching kit (because not all radio shack stock products the same way) and she suggested I go next door to Toys-R-Us, I asked why she said they have the etch-a-sketch and Simon games! I was shocked! but it’s also true about Radio Shack focusing their enegry on phones, and iPads, look at the placement of the electronics parts and kits. I dare anyone in the CT area to go to a similar store as Radio Shack…but better, called Cable and Connectors on the Berlin Turnpike, in Newington, Connecticut and compare Radio Shack in this Store and you’ll soon see why Radio Shack is at an all time low.
Cables and Connectors have a very knowledgable staff, they cater to proffessionals and enthusiasts (from intermediate to advanced) and make suggestions along the way. They have all varieties of programmable boards to “play” with, and again with knowledgable staff to make suggestions to fit your level of learning.
I’m not plugging this electronic store, i haven’t anything into the store. I just appreciate a knowledgable staff that can make and or help in my project needs, to which radio shack had at one time.
Again, I dare anyone in the area to make the comparison
Here’s my suggestion. Get rid of all those dinky little mall stores with their high rents and swarmy commission based salespeople. Model the store after You-Do-It-Electronics in Needham, MA and put one store in each metro area. No one needs to go to Radioshack to buy a cellphone. And the register jockeys don’t know enough to be helpful to audiophiles and electronics hobbyists.
1) Rename all stores as Arduino Shack
2) …
3) Profit!
:-)
.
+1.
If you add RasPi, Beagles, and all the others, then call it “Dev-boards R Us”
I think they should allow themselves to go belly up. Restructure the stores after bankruptcy and close a bunch of them. There is no reason to have one on every block like a starbucks. They should also adopt the microcenter model, with a twist. They should have a warehouse of stuff near their stores where they do same day delivery to the store. Keep the stores bare-bones, and more like a show room for gadgets than a store, get rid of the comission cell phone crap. Let them retail every piece of electronics under the sun. They should still keep the tool cabinet with the parts in the back. Microcenter is expanding because they will sell you the same crap online or in store. I used to drive out 30 miles to buy from them. Many times their in-store price was the same as online. Also for gods sake radioshack, get rid of the idiots in the store. When I buy the little parts they have in store, the clerk always makes a joke or two about building shit or flux capacitor parts…… These clerks should be taken out back and shot. You also don’t need 3 or 4 guys in the store. Depending on size, 1 or 2 is plenty.
I’m going to echo what many have already said. Radio Shack use to be a place for hobbyist and hackers. Now, unless your buying a phone they are as clueless (at least in my area) as anyone else.
Their parts are not priced for convenience, but almost 10 times the cost of buying components online from mouser or digikey.
Our radio shack didn’t even move into the micro-controller space as heavy as other stores did. Cell phones is basically their only use now days.
I’d shop radio shack religiously if they just hired some knowledgeable staff and stocked parts in bulk at near online prices, I’m happy to pay 25 cents for a capacitor, but not a $1.50 for a single one.
They move away from their roots, and it’s costing them. Radio Shack “could” have been the mecca for hackerspaces world wide, but instead they went in a direction they felt was easier profits.
I hope people will take this to heart. Here in Canada we’ve already lost Radio Shack in name and it’s successor is nothing more than a cheap Best Buy wanna be.
Where I used to be able to go somewhere local and browse and shop for all kinds of electronic components and supplies, I now am forced to deal with online outlets and either long shipping delays or high shipping costs. It’s terrible.
While I’m lucky in that the city I now live in has a suitable replacement for what Radio Shack used to be, most places aren’t so lucky.
Radio Shack needs to go back to it’s roots, but in a modern market way.
As has been stated, people are building things again. Sure, it’s not HAM radios and CB’s. But the people are essentially the same kinds of home hackers and DIYers. If Radio Shack could provide the components, reference*, and know how that they used to in a way that’s updated for the modern customer, they just might survive.
*Radio Shack used to have a lot of great reference materials. I still have most of my Forrest Mims books from Radio Shack and I believe that updating, modernizing and reissuing those books, along with a new series that includes things like the Arduino, RasPi, Propeller, etc. would be a great resource for new hackers and makers.
As a kid I would go to the Radio Shack flagship store in Ft Worth Texas in the Tandy center, when it was owned by Tandy Leather. It had ‘everything’ electronic. It was nearer to a Fry’s of today plus component electronics (and at that time TV and Radio tubes and tube testers!). They also had knowledgeable people that did not talk down to anyone no matter their age or understanding of electronics.
The continuing shrinking or Radio Shack store size, pushing the electronics back to one wall near the store room door in the back of the store, help that doesn’t know what their store sells (even if you ask for a capacitor by type and size, or a resistor of a given wattage and resistance, they look at me like I am crazy, and often get pointed to a ‘grab back’ with an explanation that ‘it might be in here’).
Radio Shack purchased Allied Electronics, a great catalog source in the day. But they took the same marketing practice of ‘get it off the shelf if it doesn’t sell enough ‘volume’ to justify its shelf space’ to Allied and turned it into a ‘popular components only’ place. Which made it useless to me and most of the people I know, especially since all that was left was components for new things (that typically don’t break until they are several years old or are DIY components).
Another thing that happened is from the 80’s (and started earlier than that) till just a few years ago, many people wanted a ‘finished product’, not a way to build/make/maintain things. I believe the builder/maker is growing as faster rate than the ‘just use it’ portion of the world, but it will never be as big as the ‘just use it’ portion.
Can it be saved? – It will be expensive. Train people. Reassess inventory level philosophy. Listen to the people in their stores and communities so not all RS need ONLY the stuff that is in all the other RS (so it is community based marketing). Support the local communities (support local maker spaces with discounts or meeting space, etc)
Might do some experimental things like ‘Maker Space Vending Machines’ similar to what Granger does for some industrial companies! (Check its inventory using M2M communications like Redbox and Granger, not just a ‘inventory guy’ once a month coming by like candy vendors). Even do ‘Maker Space Consignment Boxes’.
That is just some ideas.
If RS doesn’t change something, they will be a part of History like the Altair 8800 or Atari. I hope they make it, but it is/will be an uphill struggle.
Everyone seems to think that catering more to hackers/makers can save RadioShack. The truth is that there aren’t nearly enough hackers/makers/electronics hobbyists these days to turn things around for them. It could definitely help, but RadioShack needs something more that caters to the general public that wants electronic devices but doesn’t care how they work. There are far far more of these people out there than the type that visits hackaday!
I think there are far more of us than you realize. But we don’t go to Radioshack because they have nothing there anymore, and we don’t typically socialize with each other except online.
I am sure people made that argument when hackerspaces first kicked up, but many of them exploded with people.
Yes, there are far more of us than you might think. Not to mention the garage repair guy. They could try having common replacement parts and even service manuals for (or method to order them) for typical appliances around the home. Most people have figured out how to fix simple things in order to avoid the electronics repair shops’ ridiculous labor costs. It might be cheaper to buy a new electronic gadget than it is to have it repaired, but it is even cheaper to buy a replacement board or part to fix it yourself.
And I do agree. Double or triple the ‘onesie’ price from online competitors, but not 10x as a ‘convenience factor’. I have purchased resistors and capacitors (and other components) to ‘stock my shelves’ rather than pay the same amount for 1 or 2 things using RS for ‘just in time’ inventory (that they often didn’t have anyway, and couldn’t get because they sold the last one two months ago and no more are coming in).
My wife hates the space my ‘inventory’ takes, but at least I do things and fix things, that I couldn’t do depending on others to have this ‘simple inventory’.
Oh, building my inventory, I purchased the large ‘resistor sets’ or ‘capacitor sets’ etc and put them in drawers. It wasn’t that expensive and one ‘purchase’ tends to last for years. I still do order a few hundred of a particular value to ‘fill in’ if I know a project is looming that uses a lot of whatever.
The problem Radio Shack has is that it signed up for throw away consumerism and forgot it’s business. The last time I tried to buy components at radio shack the guy at the store directed me to a completely different business 10 miles away because Radio Shack basically no longer carries parts. If you go to the Radio Shack website right now, what do you see on the first page? Cellphones and maybe a laptop or two.
Dear Radio Shack you are not Best Buy, nobody goes to your store looking for cellphones and laptops. If you want to save your business I’d recommend you try to be like the Home Depot of electronics. I don’t go to Home Depot to buy a house, I go there because something broke and I need to fix it or I want to build my own.
I agree with everyone here and hope that this phrase will be taken to heart when heard from the people, because Radio Shack has lost its name and functionality…it was never phone and service provider “depot or shack” it is RADIO SHACK and all that it entails
So, say it loud for your Area:
My name is Vic and my CT area(s) Radio Shack Has let me down!
I know this is shitty, but I sort of hate Radio Shack and look forward to them closing. I’m 44 and across the span of my entire life they have become less and less useful — crapping on their customer base to try and squeeze a few more bucks out. And I remember and resent them suing Auto Shack — forcing them to change their name to Auto Zone. Y’know, screw that.
go global, we europeans are stuck with having to source random old hardware for parts, or buying from companys that literally just buy bulk from the lines of radioshack and sparkfun.
Set up a global distribution network, where if i order in the netherlands i get send to me from the netherlands, because european/dutch tax officers are total dicks
One of the cool things about radio shack of the past is that they had schematics, manuals, and repair parts lists for all the stuff they had in the stores. Then they moved that to online even. It was very helpful. I haven’t check lately, but I doubt they have this anymore.
And you know what I wish Radioshack had more of? Enclosures! That was my #1 purchase at radioshack because ordering those are sometimes a PITA and they are much easier to visualize when they are right there in your hand.
And an in-store 3d printer can be printing those enclosures as demos in between customer prints.
Have you ever actually 3D printed anything (at least on a FFM printer)? The quality is nowhere near that good.
I have a 3D printer, but I will still buy an injection molded one when looks are important.
FFM tech is just not there yet. And doubtful it could be printed much cheaper when you add in markup on the filament, labor to set it up, and cost of the time to print an enclosure (which will likely take at least 2-3 hours for an acceptable quality and size.
So what if it isn’t perfect? It’s a demo of a 3D printer, and the demo can be sold. A demo is a writeoff, so if it can house an Arduino and shield, yay.
“So what if it isn’t perfect?”
Then, I am not going to pay them money for it. If you would, then go for it.
As I said, I have a 3D printer, but I still purchase injection molded enclosures when appearance is important or designing one and the time required to print it isn’t worth it to me.
I would not *pay* for those enclosures printed on an FFM/FDM printer.
Why would you ask why about Parallax boards? They’re fantastic devices.
I think we can all agree that the internet has changed everything. For a local brick and mortar like Radio Shack, inventory of components isn’t gonna cut-it. The question should be more along the lines of: “Where do local brick and mortar businesses add value for the consumer?” In my mind the answer is in three places (maybe more): 1. A person you can talk to that is knowledgeable, helpful and willing to help you solve your problems. 2. Opportunities (classes, work-shops, etc.) to learn from experts: how to use technology, high points of new technology, skills like: soldering, PCB fabrication, trouble-shooting, operating multi-meters and oscilloscopes etc. 3. A good supply of consumables that consumers can’t get anywhere else in town (stuff you need in a hurry if you run out) solder, solder paste, 3D printer filaments, de-solder braid, soldering irons, shrink-tube, conductive epoxy, hook-up wire… etc. AND… let me dream a little bit here…. A maker space with machines like laser cutters, 3D printers, small-batch PCB ovens etc.
I think the best way to save RadioShack is to fire most of the executives and replace them with people from Sparkfun and Adafruit. The hacker space idea is good, but I don’t think it will work well enough or soon enough. I just can’t see it generating enough income to keep them going. The fact is that they will need some deep and painful cuts, I’d bet that they will need to close more than half of the stores just to keep the chain alive for a year or two. But that would at least buy them time to do something. Hopefully they will move more to a hobbiest/hackerspace friendly kind of thing, with a place for small classes and tool rentals and such.
Keeping the most knowledgeable employees at the remaining stores lets them offer a general “electronics smart bar” to help people with their various troubles, which could add quite a bit to their bottom line.They need to be very strict in making it worthwhile for the customer here – offering good service for a good price – and have some effective advertising to make sure people actually know about it. I thought they were moving that way a few years ago, but they didn’t have skilled enough employees to really pull it off. .
Along with that, Sparkfun, Adafruit, etc… would benefit from having a better retail presence, as would their customers. Right now RadioShack’s prices for components is rather high for me, so dropping the price a bit would be important. But they should focus on reasonable value for a reasonable price, not going for the cheapest possible thing.
Another facet for Radio Shack to consider is to “get ’em while they’re young” and start pushing the LEGO community to get on board as well. There’s a huge surge of LEGO enthusiasts that could benefit from Radio Shack carrying some of the more esoteric/maker style of LEGO products. And kids would, once again, get excited about Radio Shack!
The local Home Depot has things for kids to make most weekends.
Rs could do something like a flashing LED in a 3D printed case while the kids watch. Maybe a mobile unit that could go around and do demos. A food truck of tech :)
Decrease the pushy cellphone sales tactics and overpriced toys that break easily, and increase stock of components. I don’t need to be hit up with someone trying to sell a new phone and plan as soon as I walk in the door. I have made a 180 the last 2 times I walked in because instead of “Welcome. How can I help you?” I get “Welcome. Have you seen our newest deals on cell phones?” Even after I say that I just upgraded my phone and plan, they still insist that they can make a better deal for me, without even knowing what I paid. I also feel it invasive to be “forced” to give my phone number and address when I’m paying cash for a pack of batteries. BTW, 555-1212 was blocked from the system of my local RS.
Let’s face it, Radio Shack actually hates their customers. That really is what 300 comments are pointing out.
No matter what you do, you can not support the behemoth that is RS on components.
They need to have many supporting legs and even then they might be doomed because there is so much low cost, tax free availibilty online that there is nothing they can sell that Joe Smith (across the state line) can not match the price and charge zero sales taxes, which more than pay for the freight – in most cases.
Feds need an interstate sales tax of 7.5%, with 2.5% to the ship to and ship from states and 2.5% to the feds. Instate sales stay as they are – a hodge podge.
This would eliminate that sales tax problem.
They also need to get the USPS collecting import duty and sales taxes on the billions of stuff coming in via mail with low-ball invoicse
We’ve only one store left in the area. We had a second nearby, but it was franchise owned and shut after a while. Please RS…ditch the cell phones\accessories bit. I would like to see more things I can build with my kids too please. I usually get things from sparkfun, but If I can get them from a storefront then I would pay a premium for it, just not double… One more thing, please.. Have your employees educated about the products they sell. There is nothing more I hate than asking for something and getting a “huh ?”
Sunday we went to Radioshack to pick up last minute supplies, and were disappointed they didn’t cary heat shrink tubing. That would be awesome.
They carry the wire I like to use, but only in three colors. That’s not enough colors for my projects. I’m using connectors with 10 different leads, and if they had 10 different colors that would be useful.
I have a Radioshack down the street from me, and I’ve always wanted to believe it could be more than a cell phone outlet. The addition of Arduino and such made the trip worth it, but I’ve still had problems with them. I made an order online for a school project, they canceled the order without notice and provided a shaky explanation. The documentation that I needed on the parts included in said order was wrong. If Radioshack added a 3D printer that we could upload to from the cloud, then drive to the store and pick up our parts, I would love it. If they included more electronics parts from more brands besides their own I would love it. Another thing is staff. If I needed advice picking out a part or finding something for a specific project, the employees usually told me they had no idea, then told me they wish they knew more about electronics. Radioshack should at least give a pamphlet on electronics basics with links to websites when they hire someone, if not listing a basic knowledge of electronics as a requirement. I hope Radioshack doesn’t go under, but if they don’t make some more major changes soon I think they will.
To save Radio Shack, they should lower the prices and add services for 3D printing and other things that makers could find useful.
This week I did do some impulse buying at Radio Shack. An Asus transformer notebook and a Littlebits starter kit. Between where I work and home are atleast 4 Radio Shack stores. I got back into hacking a couple of years ago with an impulse buy of an Arduino UNO. Since then I have had way more ideas than I can implement. I have been trying to get my kids interested in hacking type hobby but they have little interest.
The local RS has been refurbished and does have a 3D printer on display, ironically the week before, I had bought a Printrbot Simple Maker kit for a third the price of the printer RS is selling. Their filament supplies are way to expensive.
For starting a weekend project they can be good, but I may buy 1-2 parts from RS and then go online and get 10 – 100 once I know the idea will work. Half of each store is trying to compete with the Mall cart phone vendors which is doing to be a loser.
If all the Radio Shack stores closed I would probabaly do less impulse buying and I would miss them.
Given money, my boys would spend it at Gamestop one one side on the RS store and my girls would spend it at the Walmart on the other side.
An EMP that takes out the internet where are the online parts shopping occurs
Simple, replace the CEO, as they have not lead the company in a profitable direction. After that’s done, demand a breakdown of The p&l, next, identify current goals of the company vs the locations of where they put these retail locations. I saw radioshack next to a bookstone one day, and RadioShack just looked like a cheap version of bookstone. Then identify the Tandy brand, as it can not compete anymore with known brands.
It is in my humble opinion, radio shack is positioning their retail stores, in places of old, and not matching the demographics of said locations. If I need a cell phone charger, would be nice to go to radio shack, if I need batteries , nice to go to radio shack, but I won’t be going there to select a laptop or a desktop.
If we keep thinking about the inventory for hackers, the stores will still fail, as the other metrics are not changed. I am not going to the mall so I can get a pic 18f2525, if I need wire, I will just run to “all electronics ” even though I will pass 5 radios hacks because they are in locations that’s doesn’t match the demographic of the customer.
Just my two cents….
I’m sorry, I grew up going to and learning from Radio Shack back in the 80’s. Today they have over diversified, trying to capture too many sections of the “electronics market”.
They currently cannot compete vs the online electronic suppliers in price. There was a window in the mid 90’s where they could have migrated their electronic component catalog
to an online only system with a central hub. Then they could have competed with Mouser and Digi-key directly and made a profit.
Now is too late, they are drowning in too many poor business model choices and changes, if you know what I mean.
I hate to say it, but it is time to load up the .22 and put Radio Shack out of its misery.
God speed old friend.
Good luck finding .22!
They need to quit selling these products… [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q16wTzfTJvc&w=560&h=315%5D
I say let the Rat Shack die. Michael’s should realize the market potential and expand their line- a few Arduinos and kits to start and expand as it grows. You could convert one aisle at a typical Michael’s and have more useful stuff than an entire Rat Shack. RS- you turned your back on us years ago- don’t ask us to bail you out now.