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Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

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Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#81

Post by organsnyder »

LatteLazy wrote: post #71

Sorry to seem all pompous but I can't find another way to say this... 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 b…

You're assuming that ecommerce is universally a better experience than brick-and-mortar. Given the abysmal reliability of Amazon listings these days, I'm not ready to agree.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#82

Post by nilram »

tyingq wrote: post #42
ping_pong wrote: post #28

Well, "trouble" is the wrong word. Fry's is more like "dead man walking". The last time I went to Fry's was maybe 1 year ago. If you walk around, all of the electronics are older models, the game shelves are filled with games that are all several years old, even things like hard drives, etc are all old and expensive. There were no salespeople to help except in places like the TV area. The car stereo area, which is wh…

I don't know if this policy is chain wide, but I was very unhappy with the weird shakedown when you leave. There's a person there that stops you and matches your receipt to your purchased items. No attempt to be friendly about it either.

Which is not legal in many states, unless they have 'probable cause' or you pay a membership and agree to it beforehand (c.f. Costco).

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#83

Post by nradov »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #32
magduf wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to live near the Fry's in Tempe, Arizona. Even 5-10 years ago, I didn't really like going there that much. Their prices weren't that great any more, and returning merchandise was a bad experience. It was clear their best days were behind them. Amazon has been a better experience for a long time now. It was cool how you could find a lot of odd electronics items there (components, soldering equipment, wire, etc.…

> Amazon has been a better experience for a long time now. You mean Amazon doesn't police your receipt and merchandise at a checkpoint as you got out of the store?

You aren't actually required to have your receipt checked. I just walk straight out and ignore them.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#84

Post by whalesalad »

The Fry’s by my house is a disaster zone of sadness and empty shelves. The Microcenter up the road has completely blown up as a result. It’s regularly packed to the gills.

The employees know it. They’re always referring to how bad it is at Frys and that’s why their store has become so popular.

Microcenter is down right dangerous. There are shelves and shelves of new Ryzen processors and those Bucky ball looking Intel processor boxes. It’s tough to not build a monster rig. I’m even considering heading there as I write this comment - to pick up a water cooler for an old i7 3770k so I can clock it to the moon and revitalize it. (If any hackers here have a 3770k and tips, please share)

I love being able to go there to grab UniFi gear right off the shelf. Being able to walk into a physical store that’s a ten minute drive from my house to grab SFP transceivers and fiber cables is kind of unreal to me.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#85

Post by steeef »

taborj wrote: post #74

The one in Wilsonville, Oregon has been a sad place for well over a decade. A friend went there just before Christmas this year, and found the same as the article mentions - empty shelves, everywhere. 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 ditc…

I have vivid memories of the demos at Incredible Universe, including an early-stage VR setup. It's also the place I was able to try out crappy consoles like the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO Interactive.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#86

Post by jvagner »

LaMarseillaise wrote: post #72

I visited Fry's last week. 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 h…

Fry’s in Concord was the same as of last week.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#87

Post by sct202 »

lozaning wrote: post #55
mu_killnine wrote: post #6

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…

Hanger 1 at moffett is only 348,480 sq ft, that is an absolute unit of a Frys at 400,000. Maybe I'll have to drive over to Chicago and check that out before their inevitable closure.

The Frys in Chicago is more like a normal big box store size like a Target. I just drew a ploygon over it on Google maps and it's 3.6 acres (~156k sq ft)

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#88

Post by kabdib »

The Fry's in Renton, WA doesn't have much stock, and what they do have is mostly very bad quality off-brand stuff (e.g., the keyboard section has just one or two brands of keyboards, I'm guessing from suppliers that weren't smart enough to ask for cash up front). They had a section of garden tools at one point.

Employees appear to be well trained not to say anything negative, mumbling vague promises of restocking soon.

It's been this way for months. I am surprised they have not shut the doors.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#89

Post by bittercynic »

sn wrote: post #41

SF Bay Area folks: for buying new your options (depending on what you are trying to buy) are now https://www.centralcomputers.com/ for enterprise/personal computers, https://www.bestbuy.com/ for consumer electronics, https://anchor-electronics.com/ for electronic components. Central computers just opened a store almost right across the road from the Sunnyvale Fry's.

Jumping on the Central Computers recommendation, I highly recommend checking them out if you're near one of their stores. They have good prices on the things I've checked, and they are a pleasant place to shop. The employees are helpful if you ask, and they won't harangue you if you just want to shop quietly. One of the few shops that lacks that concentrated misery that is so common in retail.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#90

Post by raintrees »

Fry's was a great place to shop for electronics, back when the only alternatives was WeirdStuff and Quements, both in San Jose/Santa Clara area. I was always entertained by the spill-over merchandise (personal care, snacks, etc.), reportedly from the founders' Dad's grocery store line...

I still hit the stores in Campbell or Sunnyvale, as needed, although we got to referring to it as the "F" word due to the frequent trips to have to return "re-certified" parts. Their testing of returned merchandise frequently left much to be desired. I learned to avoid those stickers ("... Frys warrants this product...").

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