I subscribe to the theory that they're trying to set up a model where they own most of the checkout employees and the building, and rent the shelf space to subcontractors who are financially responsible for inventory. This would be interesting and would take a lot of liability off of their books, but it doesn't seem to be going well.
Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
221–230 of 379 posts
Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#222Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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)…
> 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." One possibility is that Fry's didn't focus enough on it's core competency: computer components for enthusiasts. Last I was there they were selling a bunch of very tangentially related things, like a lot of kids toys. That's the kind of stuff tha…
I've seen mention of what may be one of the biggest differences between Microcenter and Fry's. Fry's stores are absolutely massive--well over 100k sq ft, similar in size to a Walmart. Microcenter is generally running 20-40k sq ft, closer to a Hobby Lobby or Michael's in size. (And I'm comparing stores in the few urban areas that have both, so it's not an issue of land availability). It always felt to me that Microcenter was rather a large store, but that Fry's being so much larger leaves me somewhat perplexed as to what the hell they filled it with.
Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#223The 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…
Out of curiosity where are you located? As far as I can tell, all the Microcenters in the Bay Area have closed down.
We still have Central Computer, which is where I had to go to get my last part when Fry's didn't have it (the special screwdriver for opening the newish Mac laptops).
Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#224Earlier quoted context omitted.
Microcenter has worked for me in NY. And they match Amazon pricing.
Second thumbs up for Micro Center. I like that they have a combination of consumer-level electronics, mid-level stuff like Raspberry Pis, and low-level stuff like resistors and whatnot. It's a bit of a pain for me to get to MicroCenter (about an hour one the train), but it has always been useful for me when I'm in a pinch. When I visit my parents in Orlando, there's a smaller place called "Skycraft" which has a lot o…
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Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#225SF 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.
Yet another Central Computers fan checking in. Besides computers, they have all kinds of networking equipment, cables at decent prices, etc.
I haven't been to Anchor yet but several of my ham radio friends have recommended it.
Jameco in San Carlos also has a lot of components. It's not a retail store, other than a small display up front of mostly closeout stuff, but you can order online for will call and they will have it ready by the time you get there.
One more Bay Area source I like a lot is SF Cable. As you can guess, they have mostly cables. The ones I've bought from them have been good quality at a good price. I particularly like their flat Cat 6 Ethernet cables. I don't think they have a retail store at all, but if you're in the Bay Area it's overnight shipping.
Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reinforces Apple's decision to launch their own retail business. Circuit City was where I rediscovered Macs after having been away for a decade.
My retail days....we sold Macs at Sears (low end crap like Performas), and we sold them at Best Buy back in 1998 or whenever it was the original iMac came out. But nobody wanted them. We got 25 at our store and almost every one of them came back. People wanted PC's....
> nobody wanted them. We got 25 at our store and almost every one of them came back. People wanted PC's....
I thought the iMac was a massive success? Didn't it save Apple from ruin almost single handedly?
Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#227The 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…
Out of curiosity where are you located? As far as I can tell, all the Microcenters in the Bay Area have closed down. We still have Central Computer, which is where I had to go to get my last part when Fry's didn't have it (the special screwdriver for opening the newish Mac laptops).
I'm in Southern California, Costa Mesa to be exact (near Irvine and Huntington Beach). Microcenter is in Tustin.
Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#228Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#229Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reinforces Apple's decision to launch their own retail business. Circuit City was where I rediscovered Macs after having been away for a decade.
My retail days....we sold Macs at Sears (low end crap like Performas), and we sold them at Best Buy back in 1998 or whenever it was the original iMac came out. But nobody wanted them. We got 25 at our store and almost every one of them came back. People wanted PC's....
Not surprised. Apple spent most of the 90's cranking out one turd after another. There were a few hits for well-heeled professionals, but their consumer offerings were generally a bunch of fatally compromised Road Apples. https://lowendmac.com/2014/road-apples-second-class-macs/
MacOS was behind the times vs. Windows. Still sticking with cooperative multitasking until 2000. Crazy!
iMac was the start of something different, but Apple had a decade of second-class product to atone for, first.
Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?
#230Fry’s in Alpharetta is one step away from being a Brandsmart. The store is lackluster and not stocked very well. Thankfully I moved close to a Microcenter. It’s rare you can beat Microcenter’s Intel cpu prices for non-niche cpus. 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.
This is my Fry’s as well. A very sad state.