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Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

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Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#101

Post by redisman »

brundolf wrote: post #94

Lots of memories of Saturdays spent wandering the aisles of Fry's with my dad. He mostly wanted to look at the big TVs (this ritual started around the dawn of HD/flat TVs); I mostly wanted to look at the games and computer stuff. It was something we could reliably do to spend time together. My home store - Plano, TX - was themed after the history of the city itself. Lots of hundred-year-old photos, blown up to 10 fee…

I also have fond memories of browsing the computer and electronics super store in the nearest city with my dad and brother. That was in the 90s when all of it was still very magical. It is kind of sad that everything is moving online. Now I order the RAM online or get the game from Steam what once was a day out among likeminded people.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#103

Post by system2 »

jariel wrote: post #46

There were some serious positive externalizations from Fry's. Wherever there is a Fry's there are smart people enabled by doing smart things. Not exactly a socialist but man, we should try to save Fry's. It's one of the few retail entities I really wish was near me.

Save what exactly? Have you been to one before this news? They were not even selling electronics (almost). All I could see was cheap chinese gadgets like handheld fans and screw driver tips. They were dead years ago.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#105

Post by Qub3d »

rpm91 wrote: post #96
jrmg wrote: post #88

Local Bay Area TV news channel says it has confirmed the story: https://www.kron4.com/news/national/frys-electronics-permane...

Perhaps the link should be changed to this, as this has more details, formal confirmation from a reputable source, and contradicts some aspects of the original source, such as that the website will go down at midnight, which wouldn't really make sense—presumably they'd want to sell the remaining merchandise. Edit: or the link in the reply below, which is an even better article (and explains a potential reason that th…

Ars has posted an article sourcing the parent, and expanding on some of the context: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/02/frys-...

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#106

Post by solotronics »

mbreese wrote: post #91
jaredandrews wrote: post #50

Okay, so how is everyone feeling about MicroCenter now? I used to live in Allston and would ride my bike to the one in Cambridge, it was sick. I live 45 minutes (in no traffic conditions) away now and rarely make the drive.

Depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for parts for a last minute electronics weekend project, Microcenter is a mess. (I am closest to the Cincinnati location). I still found what I needed, but it was a mess. Don’t get me wrong, you can find a lot of parts, but mainly things from companies like Adafruit. But the section was so disorganized it made it take forever to find the one specific part I needed…

I usually just ask one of the kids working there, you let them put a sticker on what your buying and they get a commission so it's a win-win to me. I go to the one near me every couple weeks and buy something mostly because I can't imagine living without a decent computer parts store to browse in. Heck I bought a DJI drone there it was the same price as on amazon so why not? Support a physical store or they will disappear.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#108

Post by brundolf »

dlevine wrote: post #5

I remember going to Fry's for the first time in the late 90s. Having grown up on the East Coast, I had only heard about this magical place where you could buy pretty much anything computer-related. It was truly an experience, especially when compared with from CompUSA and Best Buy. When I moved to the Bay Area, I did enjoy going to Fry's and walking around ogling the hardware. Over time, I switched pretty much to buy…

For a while there I would find my parts online and then have them price-match in the store. I'd get my item same-day, they'd get the sale. Of course they may have been losing money on those sales, who knows.

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#109

Post by RoadieRoller »

m463 wrote: post #8

I went there about 2 years ago. It was a graveyard. I just wanted a USB extension cable, and they only had one, and active extension cable that must have been languishing on the shelf for 10 years. What I don't understand is how best buy has survived and Frys (I think a much better store) did not survive.

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...

Re: Fry's Electronics is closing all stores

#110

Post by JakeStone »

Ah, Fry's...

Back in 2000ish, went to the Phoenix store to get parts to repair a friend's PC that had blown up.

I think it was around 2010, me and Grandpa went to the one in the Dallas area to build a PC "old school" because he'd built his ham radios from tubes and solder, it was time to stay current. Afterwards, he was a bit disappointed at how easy it was. He expected at least a spark from the power supply and we might have to buy new parts. On the other hand, he was pleased to see that the tinkerer and willing to make things was still running through the bloodline.

For the first few years here in CA, it was a great place to look at new toys and occasionally buy them. It was always good for buying a quick phone when one would die late night. Ingress kills phones, man, deal with it.

But yeah, the year before the plague was eerie and empty and "No, we're not closing." and now I'm sad.

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