Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A Eulogy for RadioShack

sbnation.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 171 posts

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#91

Post by Throwaway12928 »

blhack wrote: post #53

Radioshack, want to save you business? Turn every single one of your stores into a hackerspace. You don't even need much. Get a laser cutter, a 3D printer, a drill press, free WiFi, some tables, and a stack of arduinos and you'll be doing awesome. Then build an instructables-esque community website for people to show off their projects. I'll even consult with you guys on this if you make a big enough donation to the…

Too niche, not enough profits. My Radioshack plan...

1. Sell off all the inventory.

2. Rebrand, lose the name Radioshack because it's the definition of cheaply made, overpriced garbage. It's embarrassing to even be seen in that store.

3. Go with a minimalistic store layout, like the Apple store (http://cdn.iphonehacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/AppleR...), because existing stores look like a warehouse or junkyard. Carry higher end phones, tablets, ebook readers, laptops, headphones and accessories.

4. Sell some cables and things cheap to get people in the door. Instead of selling an HDMI cable for $100, sell it for $5, so people walk in the door, and don't feel like they're being screwed over. Then, when they're inside, they can play around with the expensive hardware, and potentially walk away with a tablet.

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#92

Post by amorphid »

As of today (Nov 26), Yahoo Finance shows RadioShack as having 3-ish billion USD in revenue, and a market cap of of 83 million USD. I guess there isn't a lot of faith on Wall St. that RadioShack is going to turn itself around.

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#94

Post by T0m_Paine »

morganvachon wrote: post #25

I'd be willing to bet that this is exactly the way it was at most, if not all, corporate RadioShack stores. On the other hand, the franchise stores (which mostly no longer exist) could be great places to shop and to work, because they were owned by actual breathing human beings, not faceless corporate overlords. My first "real" job after high school was at the local RadioShack, which was owned by one of the most amaz…

We have a fantastic Radio Shack in our town too. Granted, they've branched off quite a bit and sell firearms and ammo as well as electronic components, but the owner is incredibly helpful and knows that his business only thrives because he is service minded. I've long swore off Radio Shacks as a whole, but spend money there whenever I need a component or two even if things are cheaper online.

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#95

Post by Retra »

mgirdley wrote: post #65

Just tonight my father-in-law's new TV required a HDMI cable. He suggested RadioShack. I said "I'm going to Target. At RadioShack you have to talk to people." The days of high-touch service are over.

I might like to talk to people if they weren't all hiding incompetence behind a sales pitch.

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#96

Post by chaostheory »

morganvachon wrote: post #25

I'd be willing to bet that this is exactly the way it was at most, if not all, corporate RadioShack stores. On the other hand, the franchise stores (which mostly no longer exist) could be great places to shop and to work, because they were owned by actual breathing human beings, not faceless corporate overlords. My first "real" job after high school was at the local RadioShack, which was owned by one of the most amaz…

> he'll likely have to drop the RadioShack name one day soon

Why is this sad when his store will outlive Radioshack? I'm sure he or one of his customers can come up with a better name anyways.

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#97

Post by russell »

jmspring wrote: post #11

Radio Shack at this point is a sad caricature of itself. I remember being able to buy all sorts of ICs, analog parts, interesting radios and kits. Now it peddles cell phones and overly prices things -- I recall needing a battery for my cordless phone recently, they wanted $23 for a battery for a $50 phone? Uh, no. Two other bay area places that have changed a lot are Frys and the now closed Quement Electronics. Fry's…

Remember the original Fry's in Sunnyvale? It was pretty much a cross between a 7-Eleven and a components store and not much bigger. I remember thinking to myself, that it was certainly a strange place. Then they built the big Sunnyvale store and it became the go-to place for me. But not in this century. The prices are too high, the service is terrible. I realized that it is faster and cheaper to go online.

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#98

Post by sbierwagen »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #47
toomuchtodo wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It really saddens me to know that he'll likely have to drop the RadioShack name one day soon Could he turn his shop into a for-profit hackerspace that has inventory for projects?

This is an idea I've toyed with for a while, I called it 'prototype electronics' where the 'store' part had inventory that was known to work together so that projects could be designed, built, and sourced out of the store parts. (this was true early in the RS era as well of course) There are some annoying liability (ie expensive) issues with letting minors operate soldering irons on the premises or while using solder…

http://www.metrixcreatespace.com/

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#99

Post by Retra »

RickHull wrote: post #16

Food for thought: any organization is vulnerable to such stagnation and dysfunction, particularly when it was born for and evolved with a state of affairs that no longer exists. Either the organization must adapt, or it should die. Thankfully, the death of dysfunctional organizations is a given in free markets -- perhaps even a reason for bittersweet celebration. Governmental organizations, in contrast, have no incen…

Your food for thought is hundreds of years old and getting a bit stale.

Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack

#100

Post by eropple »

technomancy wrote: post #33
chrischen wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I remember being able to buy all sorts of ICs, analog parts, interesting radios and kits. They still do. Most radioshacks I've visited carry arduino kits and ICs, electronic parts, LEDs, resistors, capacitors, etc.

IME it depends on whether they're inside a mall or not. The ones inside malls tend to just be glorified mobile phone sales depots, but you can actually get components at the standalone ones.

A lot of the standalone stores are franchises, where most of the mall locations are corporate. Big difference.
Post reply on HN