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Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

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Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#281

Post by geocrasher »

aatharuv wrote: post #275
geocrasher wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, "more knowledgeable than Best Buy" is a pretty low bar. In desperation I went to a Best Buy looking for a SATA controller (circa 2004) and they said "The controllers are over here..." and took me to the game pads and joy sticks.

I can beat that. A couple of years ago, I'd asked where their UPS's were (I'd bought one from a Best Buy more than 10 years back so I knew they had stocked them) and they told me there was a Fedex near by.

L O L !

That's hysterical. Thanks for sharing it!

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#282

Post by malkuth23 »

cainxinth wrote: post #217
ericbarrett wrote: post #125

Lots of nostalgia about Fry’s here. Well, I have a different take. Fry’s was my first job, and my first introduction to wage slavery. They never at any point cared about employee health or well-being. Breaks were the state minimum. Pay was the state minimum. The entire staff (and there were hundreds back in the day, when the checkout line would back up into the store even with 20 registers open) shared one 7x7 beige…

My first real job was at CompUSA. And my experience was identical to what you just described.

I worked there for half a day. Did the training and had just started my job when the manager told me they needed me tomorrow at a store 4 hours away at 6am. I left and never came back.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#283

Post by BeetleB »

geocrasher wrote: post #249
BeetleB wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sad to hear these stories. For me, Fry's was the opposite. I wouldn't call them experts, but they were more knowledgeable than the competition (Best Buy, etc). Also, no other place in this city that has some of the components they would sell. Now the only option is to buy online.

To be fair, "more knowledgeable than Best Buy" is a pretty low bar. In desperation I went to a Best Buy looking for a SATA controller (circa 2004) and they said "The controllers are over here..." and took me to the game pads and joy sticks.

> To be fair, "more knowledgeable than Best Buy" is a pretty low bar.

Now that Fry's is gone, Best Buy is the only option in town. So yes, it's a low bar, but it is the only bar here.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#284

Post by taurath »

heleninboodler wrote: post #87
taurath wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah weirdstuff is gone? I suppose the only businesses left along those lines are the startup graveyard furniture stores

You haven't lived the life of a late 90's bay area nerd if you've never grabbed your copy of Computer Shopper and hit Fry's, Weird Stuff and Central Computer in a single afternoon. With friends. :D

Early 2000s here but yes it contributed so much to my feeling that it was an engineer/hackers paradise. Now it’s all consolidated so much it feels like it’s just corporate. Hoping I’ll get the chance to find that sort of feeling sometime again in life. I hear shenzen is incredible for that since they still make stuff.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#285

Post by r00fus »

ZacharyPitts wrote: post #66

Frys was always fun to go to... but I can’t believe one of the first popular joke websites on the web not linked, only to be found in web archive... the frys employment application https://web.archive.org/web/20200130175501/http://homepage.s... Heck I think I first saw this in a newsgroup even, but memories are fuzzy

Straight up hilarious.

> Flush a toilet without assistance?

( ) Yes

( ) No *NOTE: If answer to any of the above is yes, please answer YES.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#286

Post by sodality2 »

BTCOG wrote: post #274
sodality2 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surprisingly, true: https://www.cnet.com/news/fbi-paid-geek-squad-staff-to-be-in... However, they aren't all FBI agents (duh).

This isn't surprising to me. What does boggle my mind, is that anyone would take their personal PC to any repair shop and allow strangers full access to their filesystem in the first place. What an odd and ignorant thing to do.

It's simple, really: "Do I have to type in my password to log into windows? Yes? Okay then there's no possible way around that. here you go my good sir"

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#287

Post by cooldevguy »

I only found out about Fry's in 2005 (living south of the border) and from then on, it was my must-stop every time I came to the U.S. Haven't ever seen a store that carried so many PC parts it was a dream come true for a young impressionable teenager as I was.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#288

Post by joquarky »

jjordan wrote: post #81

I'm in a state that never had Fry's, but I was amazed when I finally got to visit one. Motherboards plugged in and on display , whaaat! All those PC parts I always thought you could order online were right there on the shelves at Fry's. They also had sweet looking telescopes and the biggest TVs I'd ever seen at the time. There is something sad about our turn to websites and Amazon warehouses over visiting the store a…

The first time I went to a Fry's, I remember most vividly that one corner of the store had the display walls covered with dozens of motherboards. I loved it; it was like a theme park for nerds.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#289

Post by RoadieRoller »

mmebane wrote: post #273
RoadieRoller wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just saw this displayed in a Best Buy store, but not on the headlines yet. This one is in North Irving, Texas. I hope it is some other issue and not related to what we discuss here. https://d3926qxcw0e1bh.cloudfront.net/post_photos/e9/97/e997...

Is that the Best Buy right next to the Irving Fry's?

Yes, it is.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#290

Post by octetta »

jdorfman wrote: post #39

I just walked by the one in Woodland Hills, CA (Alice in Wonderland theme). I first started my career in IT and that store was my go to for parts. I went there in November and it was depressing, empty shelves, no customers, small staff. End of an era.

When I first moved out to Woodland Hills, I could walk from my apartment to Frys easily. I bought more junk than I really needed because of that arrangement, but I guess not enough to keep 'em in business. :'(
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