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Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

latimes.com

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Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#61

Post by krish98sai »

pimlottc wrote: post #53

I just recently learned from the last Not Just Bikes video [0] that these big box stores tend to be very hard to reuse (even when they don't include a giant spaceship). 99 Percent Invisible has a good article [1] on some of the challenges and a few success stories, but it takes a major effort. 0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7-e_yhEzIw 1: https://99percentinvisible.org/article/ghost-boxes-reusing-a...

The construction guy in the video said 95% of the building is being recycled. Don't know how accurate that is, but good if true.

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#62

Post by coobird »

jallmann wrote: post #52
ack_complete wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the kinds of returns that Fry's would accept, I wouldn't be surprised if those were returns they had accepted that way. The one near me would attempt to resell laptop power bricks that had been returned with no AC power cord, and one time I got "new" RAM sticks that turned out to be actually used and so busted that a quarter of the data bus lines were inoperative.

I remember buying a Radeon at Fry's (Fountain Valley, Roman Empire), going home, opening it up and... it was something else, a cheap VGA card. They gave me a hard time about taking it back too, 16-year old me didn't know how to cut through the BS so my dad had to go back with me on a 3rd trip and get it sorted out. What a place.

That was my local Fry's and I wouldn't touch any returned item with a 10-foot pole given the stories I heard about them, despite them being on discount. This was back in the late 90s before social media, so it must of been word of mouth through my high school friends.

I had the impression that their return process was very lax so you'd have "customers" returning broken items or worse... And they'd end up on the shelves with the white "returned item" sticker with the discounted price.

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#63

Post by CalRobert »

bwfan123 wrote: post #16
pjs_ wrote: post #5

Where else could you simultaneously purchase through-hole transistors, a gaming motherboard, a 19" rack, a leafblower, a loudspeaker disguised as a plastic rock, pornography, a taser, a sandwich and a decent cup of coffee while surrounded by fiberglass cowboys and aliens... sad to see

if you looked hard, you might even find the offices of the American Institute of Math at a fry's location... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Institute_of_Mathemat...

Not to mention the history of having been an Incredible Universe on Tandy drive in the case of the Sacramento one

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#64

Post by coobird »

I probably still have some LEDs and transistors in my parts bin that (my dad) bought for me from that Fry's.

Fry's really made me feel like a kid in a candy store -- all the PC software and hardware along with electronics parts too. I was less interested in the household appliances, but I think the small Sony Trinitron TV that was in my bedroom was from Fry's.

Oh yes, they also had candy as well, strategically placed in the isle where we'd wait before reaching the cashier. Must have picked up dozens of Reese's peanut butter cups and Skittles over the years.

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#65

Post by iancmceachern »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #55
pjs_ wrote: post #5

Where else could you simultaneously purchase through-hole transistors, a gaming motherboard, a 19" rack, a leafblower, a loudspeaker disguised as a plastic rock, pornography, a taser, a sandwich and a decent cup of coffee while surrounded by fiberglass cowboys and aliens... sad to see

When I first moved out to the Bay Area in 1995 and discovered Fry's it was wire-wrapping tools, sockets, enclosures, electronic components, porn magazines, junk food, soft drinks, Computer Shopper magazines....

Computer shopper!

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#67

Post by mrpippy »

johnvanommen wrote: post #23
wileydragonfly wrote: post #17

I miss both Incredible Universe and Fry’s a great deal. Incredible Universe was the only store I ever saw that let me play a NeoGeo and CDi.

I think the best Fry's of all was the former Incredible Universe location, just south of Portland. I believe it was the only Fry's that didn't charge sales tax. The Fry's by I8 in San Diego was an Incredible Universe too. (Not the Fry's in north county, the one further south.)

That Mission Valley San Diego Fry’s seemingly bought all of Incredible Universe’s old delivery trucks too, and never repainted them. Well into the 2000s, it was hilarious to still see Incredible Universe trucks driving around delivering appliances.

(Also I remember going to the North County/San Marcos one the weekend it opened, think I bought a 128 MB flash drive for $30. Now it’s a Costco Business Center)

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#68

Post by AStonesThrow »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #55
pjs_ wrote: post #5

Where else could you simultaneously purchase through-hole transistors, a gaming motherboard, a 19" rack, a leafblower, a loudspeaker disguised as a plastic rock, pornography, a taser, a sandwich and a decent cup of coffee while surrounded by fiberglass cowboys and aliens... sad to see

When I first moved out to the Bay Area in 1995 and discovered Fry's it was wire-wrapping tools, sockets, enclosures, electronic components, porn magazines, junk food, soft drinks, Computer Shopper magazines....

You could literally purchase a bag of chips (SIMMs) on one aisle, and a bag of chips (Fritos) in another!

I must admit that “Big Boob Babes” was my favorite CD-ROM purchase in 1994. No, it was not a DVD

This morning, I was just watching the video of “The Distance” by Cake, and I vividly recall when that was released and played on my car radio, and the metaphor of corporate slavery was not lost on 24-year-old me.

My favorite store was the one with the Mesoamerican temples and stuff.

Also, remember Weird Stuff Warehouse?

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#69

Post by charcircuit »

pjs_ wrote: post #5

Where else could you simultaneously purchase through-hole transistors, a gaming motherboard, a 19" rack, a leafblower, a loudspeaker disguised as a plastic rock, pornography, a taser, a sandwich and a decent cup of coffee while surrounded by fiberglass cowboys and aliens... sad to see

Ebay? Amazon? Temu?

Re: Demolishing the Fry's Electronics in Burbank

#70

Post by timewizard »

charcircuit wrote: post #69
pjs_ wrote: post #5

Where else could you simultaneously purchase through-hole transistors, a gaming motherboard, a 19" rack, a leafblower, a loudspeaker disguised as a plastic rock, pornography, a taser, a sandwich and a decent cup of coffee while surrounded by fiberglass cowboys and aliens... sad to see

Ebay? Amazon? Temu?

[before those existed]
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