71–80 of 379 posts
How are brick and mortar stores still a thing for products that are NOT either things I try on (clothes), things I need to see before they arrive (groceries) or impulse purchases? The fact that the last one didn't close in 2010 is a monument to how humans refuse to try anything new past a certain age, no matter how much cheaper, easier, faster or better quality you make it.
The shelves in most of the store were empty. Much of the store was blocked off with caution tape, with buckets out to collect rain water dripping from the ceiling. I looked for graphics cards, but the aisle was completely bare. There were very few workers in the store, and even fewer customers.
In the front, I found fragrances. DVDs and Blu-rays were mainly obscure or poor films priced as high as $40. The only computers I could find were antiquated machines for the workers running Windows XP (or possibly Windows 2000) with 4:3 monitors.
One of the workers said that they were 'restructuring' their supply contracts - a clear attempt by management to keep up morale in a failing business. A store that size does not move to a consignment model.
Is Fry's Electronics in trouble? Yes.
Fry's in Wilsonville had some tough shoes to fill -- the building started as an electronics megastore called Incredible Universe, and in the beginning at least it was an event to go there. When Fry's moved in, they ditched all the theming (side note - this store never got a unique theme like many other Fry's stores; it was always promised to be "coming soon" but never did), and changed the layout to be a bit of a hodge-podge by comparison.
I really miss Incredible Universe's "bent and dent" room, where they sold items that were missing bits, slightly damaged, unboxed, etc, at a pretty steep discount.
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I've been to a Micro center once in my life, in Sunnyvale, in Mercado. The prices were worse than Staples for computer equipment so I never went back. I don't even know if it's still there anymore. I have no idea which part of the country you live in, but I would be shocked if in the Bay Area, Micro Center would be considered a "success". I can see how some stores, depending on their business agreements, might be abl…
I've been to the Boston, Chicago, and DC-area Microcenters, and had good experiences with all of them (although the Boston one could use a larger parking lot). Never actually been to a Fry's store--it seems that Fry's mostly set up west of the Mississippi and Microcenter east of it.
I actually purchased a 34" ultrawide monitor from the Rockville store recently specifically because it was the best price I could find at the time, and I went and got it the same day.
Went to a Fry's way out in the burbs of Chicago long ago, in the mid 2000s or so, it was pretty lively then. Not even sure if that one is still around.
There even used to be a TigerDirect location just south of Micro Center on Elston for a while. In my mind they always competed with NewEgg though and looks like NewEgg won out. I don't think the physical location was around that long. Might have even been a CompUSA around there too if I remember correctly.
The employees at both places are only really knowledgeable about gaming stuff. As soon as I ask them about other things they have a deer in headlights look.
I live in the midwest and there's a Frys up by Chicago. I drove up there during the holidays in hopes I might be able to snag my wife a nice monitor off the floor. I was absolutely gutted to see the state of the store. It's immense, which makes its hollowness even more shocking. I remember when the store opened during my highschool years (2004'ish?) it was a pilgrimage to go there and see double-stacked shelves of ev…
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> Fry's is dead. Chalk one up for Amazon and automation a-la Andrew Yang. It's easy to say that, but then the retort is why isn't Micro Center suffering the same issues? The two should be facing exactly the same pressure from Amazon, so the reasons for Fry's failures has to be more nuanced than "internet retailers are sucking everyone dry." For my part, I'm much more willing to buy computer parts in person because a)…
I've been to a Micro center once in my life, in Sunnyvale, in Mercado. The prices were worse than Staples for computer equipment so I never went back. I don't even know if it's still there anymore. I have no idea which part of the country you live in, but I would be shocked if in the Bay Area, Micro Center would be considered a "success". I can see how some stores, depending on their business agreements, might be abl…
Amazon returns are nice, but store warranties are where MicroCenter shines. When my Samsung SSD died after six months, I waited weeks for the manufacturer to ship me a replacement. I've gone with store warranties since then; if something breaks they'll just hand you a replacement off the shelf.
At Lowe's, I had to buy a few things for a desk Im building. I noticed the following: 1) the staff size was the same, but 2) I had to check out my own items at the self checkout which is 3) user hostile and requires assistance for about 30% of the items. 4) they only had 1 person for 8 self checkout stations and this person was super busy and checking out took unnecessarily long
I vowed then to never go back. It just so happens I had a plumbing issue, so I went to home depot. As luck would have it, they have done the same thing. However, their self checkout was reasonably polished and more user friendly. That said, I still was not happy with the process and will revert to going to one of the fewer and fewer ACE hardware stores whenever possible. I shouldnt have to know any code or special information about a product to buy it. If I have to check out my own items I shouldnt see 15 employees loitering around the store chatting.(true at both Lowes and Home Depot). I shouldnt be paying 8 dollars for a 25 foot roll of painters tape if I am checking out my own items.