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Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

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Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#261

Post by newman8r »

I stopped going there after they sold me a previously used item as new (I'd been a customer for at least 20 years). Kind of gross to get a mouse that someone else had used, and was DOA anyway.

If they're going to lie and sell returned items as new, they could at least try to refurbish them and see if they work. As much as I don't like best buy (and don't go there anymore either), I don't think they'd ever try to pull that BS.

Going to frys as a kid was a lot of fun, but it would be a last resort for me now.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#262

Post by derefr »

rrix2 wrote: post #258
derefr wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not sure what the numbers show, but I think, as people who are interested in tech, we often forget a large segment of the population needs some in-person assistance when choosing new devices. My dad asks me every time he needs a new laptop, TV, or whatever. He has no interest in doing the research himself. Sounds like you could make a good business out of being an "online shopping guide", to help people pick th…

That sounds like what wirecutter.com does these days across a pretty wide selection of product categories. Just got a new pillow through them after drowning in Amazon reviews looking for a good side sleeping pillow.

Sure, there are reviewers that publish "objectively best for use-case X" reviews. But they don't review niche product-categories on demand, nor do they filter by your weird personal requirements (say... needing the tool you're buying to be made out of a material that will survive having other parts TIG-welded onto it.) Though I guess you could track down the people that write for one of these sites and commission them?

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#263

Post by BitwiseFool »

ajflores1604 wrote: post #22
rossdavidh wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is the Micro Center in DFW doing? I see other electronics retailers doing ok, so I think Amazon is just the coup de grace.

Microcenter is doing great, at least from the point of view of a frequent customer. The Fry's in Plano is in a similar state to what parent comment is describing. It's an incredibly weird feeling walking thru. They've stopped restocking, so anything I remotely could use or need isn't there. What's left are things that nobody really wants. I have lots of memories growing up in that store, sad to see it like this. I de…

It's mostly school supplies and pallets of bottled water now.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#264

Post by dawnerd »

spookthesunset wrote: post #205
dawnerd wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kinda funny how they treat years old ram like its gold. I feel bad for the employee(s) that get locked in cages all day. They're spending a ton of labor for things that don't matter (like keeping a cafe open). No wonder they dont have money to keep their shelves stocked with anything other than as seen on tv junk.

Have you ever tried ordering from those cafe things? It is almost comical watching the poor cashier try to punch in the "order" on their POS. Like they had a binder of SKU's they scan for "coffee" or "latte", and then it would spit out the same mile-long receipt you'd get for ordering a $3000 laptop. It was super bizarre.

Yeah, tried to buy just a simple bottle of coke once and it was a... process.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#265

Post by ar_lan »

whalesalad wrote: post #84

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…

It's so sad there's no Microcenter here in the Bay :/

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#266

Post by octetta »

sswaner wrote: post #237
shakezula wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had almost this exact same experience three weeks ago at a Fry's in LA. It was honestly sad to see it. I kept joking to my friend that it felt post-apocalyptic because it looked like it had been looted. There were rough and cut-open boxes on empty shelves, empty and open packaging on the floor, no signs for the aisles to show what they had on them, employees that looked dead in the eyes, rows of shelves that were j…

I had the same thought at the Fry's on Canoga in Woodland Hills, it felt like the only items left on the shelves were the things nobody would steal. Sad to see them slip away, one of the joys was wandering the aisles looking for things I didn't know I needed/wanted.

I work in the SVF but live in Ventura County. Sadly it's the same story for the Frys in Oxnard... LA really needs a Microcenter :-)

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#267

Post by hotsauceror »

blantonl wrote: post #4

Answer: of course, yes. When I visited Fry's in the DFW area last year (Irving Store off of LBJ freeway) I was shocked at how low energy and sad the place was. It was just one big pile of despair. Just a handful of people were shuffling in and out. They shelves were in complete disrepair, and there were areas where there was no stock on shelves. Computers on display were broken, twisted wrecks. The home theater areas…

Same shocking experience in Austin a few weeks back. Trying to pick up a DisplayPort KVM and a couple of DP cables. This is the big one on MoPac by Opal Devine's. I'd say more than 50% of the shelves were bare, with merchandise strewn about, loose power cables still plugged into outlets. A surprising number of employees but no one was actually doing anything. The computer hardware section looked like a bomb went off. No stock anywhere. But there weren't any "Liquidation / Going Out Of Business" banners like you'd normally expect to see in these circumstances.

I used to love Fry's, they had a great selection for system builders and hobbyists. Although I will say it always had a kind of grim, penitential air to it - all the employees in their black and white outfits and the massive black locked cages behind the rows of registers. It seemed oppressive, like you wouldn't be surprised to find out that the managers were beating the cashiers or something.

Still, sorry to see it go. I've been disappointed with the other system-builder-oriented place in town who knowingly restock broken merch. I guess it's Newegg from here on out!

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#268

Post by whyaduck »

unlinked_dll wrote: post #176
dougbarrett wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, I find that hard to believe. I worked in the Oxnard location for a short time in 2007 and that has never been my experience. They'll dim the lights well after store closing, but it's never been dark enough that I felt like I couldn't see what I was doing.

I'm 100% serious. I have been in there maybe two dozen times in the last 2 years. The audio area in particular is quite dim, there are ceiling lights that are never turned on (underneath the weird UFO shaped outcropping).

Maybe they're not bothering to replace burned out bulbs? Neither's a good look, though.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#269

Post by jonny_eh »

Skunkleton wrote: post #233
rickyc091 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Best Buy price matches to Amazon. They also work with cashback services and often times gives you a $5 coupon after purchasing a certain amount. Finally, they also let you return open boxes, no questions asked. Forgot to mention, you can do same day pick up for an item.

Around three years ago, bestbuy realized that they would need to make some sort of change. They did and their stores got better. It still isn't a replacement for what Fry's used to be.

But my point was that Fry's could have made changes too. It's very possible to compete with Amazon.

Re: Is Fry’s Electronics in trouble?

#270

Post by IronWolve »

The Seattle frys has been dead for 2 years. Both times I needed a usb drive or power supply and the had none. Found a local mom and pop up near mill creek that had seasonic power supplies in all sizes (wanted an 850), and a collectibles shop. Thanks @ https://computerconceptsbothell.com

Back in the day, compusa was the place, then it went oob. Then hard drives northwest bought compustop and closed them.

For a tech town, this place is missing good computer hardware stores, little strips of computer stores in Redmond just disappeared in the early 2000's. Use to call it little silicon valley (near hdnw).

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