radio shack files for bankruptcy

leftwinger57

I just heard a snippet on the news that Radio Shack has filed stating that the access to music via i-tunes,i-net radio and other sources have made them kinda obsolete.

http://radio.foxnews.com/2015/02/05/radio-shack-files-for-bankruptcy/

F1nut

Sprint is taking RS over, so the stores will remain with the Sprint name over Radio Shack.

Polkie2009

Have been following RSHC decent for a couple of years now, sad to see it happen as it has always been nice to be able to drive down to a RS store to pick up a hard to find adaptor fitting or cable connector etc... Not many local stores carry hard to find things like that, maybe Fry's Electronics?

gudnoyez

Yeah its nice to have one of their stores nearby when you need that slow blow fuse or an Adapter or whatever else you need knowing that Best Buy won't have it. I hope the store by us stays open under Sprints wing.

DaveHo

I worked there during college back in the late 80's. Even then they were not the store they used to be. I have a store a mile from my house & might go there once a year. It's sad to see them go but they've failed to keep relevant in today's marketplace & have been circling the drain for years.

tonyb

DSkip wrote: »

When all anyone wants to buy from you is a fuse or an adapter, how can you stay in business?

They have a lot more than that to offer Skip, thing is a lot of these parts are expensive and for a few bucks more you can buy a new unit given the cheap price of Chinese electronics these days.

Also, the DIY crowd was heavy into RS, now you can find it online cheaper, and a bigger variety, delivered to your door no less. I would say the internet put them out of business.

WLDock

"Sign O' The Times"

Just like the local hardware stores....what the big box stores did not take over, the internet killed. Once R.S. stopped selling, TV's, Stereo's, radar detectors, computers, home phones, home alarms, CB's, Electronic Toys, etc....it was OVER! They could only remain a cell phone store for so long. Sad....had some good memories over the years.

Always wanted these when I was younger:

LInaeum

ZLTFUL

Up until my mid 30s, my single biggest take home paycheck was when I worked at Radio Shack over Christmas my senior year of High School. A $3700 check for one week worth of work was staggering for a 17 year old kid. But then I was also lucky as hell getting over a dozen families in buying Tandy 1000s for their kids. And it was still commissioned at the time.

Once they got rid of the large bins of various resistors, capacitors, mosfets, etc etc, I lost all interest in them.
I think I purchased one pair of circuit boards from them in the last 5 years.

codyc1ark

I always seem to need something small from them, but thats it, all of the larger ticket items they have in stock are junk, and way overpriced. I was at the one in Merle Hay mall last week to pick up a 18365 battery, and it was like a ghost town in the store. Nothing on the shelves, everything was 25% off, and even then it wasn't a good deal. The 'girl' at the counter told me that they were turning that store into a 'Clearance RS', whatever that means.

Polkie2009

You're right Cody, I remember about 6 or 7 yrs. ago, one of the small Radio Shack stores here got turned into a Clearance store and has been gone for a few years.

Mikey081057

Tandy was Handy

I never felt that their pricing was all that good but they had a lot of stuff. Nowdays you can get a lot of stuff at Lowes and HD too.

Good luck rat shack!

Joey Ward

Bought my first receiver from Allied before they were Rat Shack in 1970. Still using it, Allied model 395 with real 50 RMS watts.

deronb1

My biggest complaints about RS are that they were pretty expensive for so so quality. Also, the actual purchase process was cumbersome. I remember being in my local store alone for over five minutes before someone came out of the back to help me.

Coulda robbed the place blind.

mhardy6647

I imagine you all knew this already -- but on the off chance any of you didn't -- it's easy for us old geezers to reminisce about the R/S of the 1970s (breaker, breaker, one-nine! and, perchance, to dream of the R/S of the 1950s and 1960s...

www.radioshackcatalogs.com

polkfarmboy

Wow before my time but those Marantz and Mc's for the price, if only they were that price today.

gudnoyez

I am guessing I better stock up on a couple packs of these then in case our rat shack down the street closes these can come in handy. I would hate to see our store close but all I ever buy there is fuses and batteries and whenever I go there the store is empty.

ken brydson

Realized I still had these out for a Karma. Different thread bump...

http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/139133/realistic-optimus-5b#latest

oldrocker

Remember the old days going in there. My Dad used to get the catalogs all the time.
Neat stuff, love the Altec's in the picture. TKS Mr. Hardy...

mhardy6647

I loves me some Altecs, too, of course.
I don't know, but I doubt that mine started their lives at Radio Shack...

oldrocker

A distant relative has 2 sets of em not sure the model as its been a while since we visited but man the last time was sweet. They just look so capable of saying, sit down, shut up and let me entertain you..

leftwinger57

One question, did The Tandy group (RS) buy out Lafayette Radio or they just went out because of the RS chain competition. ? My 1st real stereo was from Lafayette a 50 watt amp, a Dual 1225 tt w/ United Audio Base and Criterion 100s. Doc I can't believe the old ads you come up with, such memories w/ a touch of melancholy thrown in.

mhardy6647

Tandy didn't buy Lafayette; Lafayette (LRE) just went away. George Grand knows way more about LRE than I do.

Tandy did buy Allied Radio of Chicago and, briefly, merge R/S and Allied to "Allied Radio Shack" in the early 1970s, but the US government forced a divestiture.

The R/S story may be found at:
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/history.html

There's a history of LRE at:
http://www.ohio.edu/people/postr/bapix/LafArt_60_3.htm



EDIT: FWIW, I have a (growing) collection of LRE catalog item scans of Flikr at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/42750692@N07/sets/72157647866688621/

LRE 1979 cover by mhardy6647, on Flickr
The last (AFAIK) LRE catalog, 1979

leftwinger57

I think your right. Mr. Tandy out of Texas and Lafayette was a retailer from the east. I'm pretty sure I got my 1st and only crystal radio set from Lafayette Radio. The thing was put together and w/ a long copper string antenna hanging out my window I did hear stations very late at night. Headphones resembled ww2 bomber pilot types,

Polkie2009

I was thinking we had a Lafayette store here in Houston back then. I may be confusing them with Olson electronics stores. They were real popular for the ham radio guys and diy electronic fans.

nooshinjohn

Lafayette is a brand I would love to see come back.

mhardy6647

On the average, I liked their stuff (and their store*) better than R/S, when both were yet extant.

* There was one LRE store near me, in a shopping center in Glen Burnie, MD, on Route 2 (the Gov. Ritchie Highway).

erniejade

Skip
The 2100 was actually a good sounding receiver. The mach1 on the other hand.......

The linaeum sounded good! They had a floor standing version also.
I had a 40 watt per sta820 in my late teens that actually sounded better then a friends marantz 1060. I think it was fostex made. I remember selling It for a grand integra in the late 80's-early 90's.

drumminman

Here's an idea for their final ad:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/09/john-oliver-radioshack_n_6643046.html

PSOVLSK

My brothers college roommate had a Realist system that I thought sounded great. I'd love to hear it now to know if it really did:)

I've had a few Realistic and Optimus speakers. As a matter of fact, I'm still using a passive sub that was part of a satellite/sub system. I thought the prices were a high for what you got, but I always managed to find things 50% off which put them at the appropriate price range.

nooshinjohn

drumminman wrote: »

Here's an idea for their final ad:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/09/john-oliver-radioshack_n_6643046.html

I wish I could give you more LOL's for that...

polrbehr

I also worked there a few decades ago. I owned a really nice sounding pair of Optimus bookshelf speakers from them, though the exact model # escapes me.

After working there, it was hard buying anything from them knowing that a lot of their stuff was garbage - with a huge markup. So I fell into the >$3.00 per visit crowd for most items. It was just not cost effective to buy from them for most things.