Remember in Pet Sematary when they buried the animals and kid and they came "back to life" but were really just an ugly aberration?

That's today's RadioShack.

And yeah, I miss RS. I ran one for ten years and loved it. In hindsight it was my favorite job.

They made a few of my favorite childhood toys.

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Amazon covers the big stuff way better than Fry’s and for electronic components, Mouser and Digikey are a million times better than Radio Shack or Fry’s.

I spent more time in my life (often unsuccessfully) searching for something at Fry’s than waiting for shipping.

In radioshack's final years, I only bought a couple of things...fuses when they were having liquidation sales, and a couple xenon flash tubes (to repair a functional movie prop).

They didn't really carry anything I needed for pinball repair, and the electronics components were too expensive.

There was a place called Trojan Electronics in the general vicinity that carried an array of vintage chips that I bought from a few times. They closed down a few years ago, though.

Otherwise, most of my supplies come from online electronics suppliers.

There was one independent supplier I liked for EPROMs named EPROM Man, but he disappeared several years ago, unfortunately.

Whenever I find that I need to order something, I usually order multiples, so I have it on hand the next time I need it.

Yeah once every 3 years or so I wish the local shack was still there so I could grab a fuse or something.

I guess that’s why they are out of business.

Radio Shack of the later years was totally different than the RS of the 1970s-1980s. In the 2000's, Radio Shack turned into more of an accessory store/cell phone store. RS of the 70's-80's was magical to me and I just loved shopping there.

I was just in a Radio Shack (Hillsborough, NH) yesterday. The hobby shop in Londonderry (NH) that had been a franchisee after the company-owned stores closed has evidently not renewed their franchise; they are more oriented to model-builders anyway.
.................David Marston

This is so true, bring back the 80s radio shack!

Some Hobby Towns have a Radio Shack for electronic supplies, etc. The ones having it will have a "RS" on their website.

LTG : )

I always felt bad walking out of radio shack after purchasing a pack of fuses or tv connector.. total sale ?? Under $10... I would always think how do they make money?
I do miss them though.

I used to walk by the radio shack at the mall every weekend and drool over a yellow radio control monster truck. I must have showed my parents 100 times.
Never got it

I miss the free batteries.

Somewhere in a box is my TRS 80 color computer. Complete with cassette tape drive. Upgraded with chip changes to 64k of ram.

Now you can wield your adult power to get revenge!

ebay.com link: itm

Yep - I remember. Once went into a mall with a Radio Shack and they had a VCR hooked up to what was probably a 16 inch TV - it was playing Flash Gordon. I had never seen a movie play on a TV without commercials (probably 1982 or 83) I told my parent to go shopping without me and promised I would not move. At the time Flash Gordon was on the same level as Star Wars in my mind. Stayed standing there for 90 minutes straight watching in awe. I was 10 and my parents did not hesitate to say "ok, see ya later". First time I walked into Fry's it was like going to Disneyland. Video Games, movies, computers - good times.

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No, but this place I do miss.

"As of April 28, 2023, Orvac has closed its retail storefront to the public."

https://www.yelp.com/biz/orvac-electronics-fullerton-2

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Bought metal detector kit from rs in 70s didn't build it correct took back to rs they fixed and returned. $19 for it think I found less than $5.
Still have trs 80 never learned how to use it, California gold.

I miss Radio Shack once in a while, thinking about the local convenience factor. Then I remember the stuff I disliked about the place.
Particularly the oversized cell phone kiosk phase.
No, you don't need my phone number when I'm buying $12 worth of stuff with cash.

I worked 16 years next to Fry's Sunnyvale, California. I always thought my paycheck should have auto-deducted to Fry's.

I would just enjoy browsing some times during a lunch break. Too convenient.

However, I do not miss the attitude. They often put stuff back onto the shelves after being returned. They did their cursory "test", slap a label on it and wish you luck.

I complained about non-functional items many times. The answer that I got back? "We're not worried, we know you will come back here."
%#^holes!

Nor your name and address. I can remember when those were asked for each and every Radio Shack purchase.

This reminds me that my father, who was in upper management, disliked that policy so much he developed a "routine." He's in RS, takes his item+cash to the counter, the clerk asks his name & address and Dad goes, "It's an unusual name, I'll have to spell it out for you." The clerk starts writing on the receipt pad as Dad slowly spells it: "R... E... F... U... S... E... D."

Dad says nothing more, waits for the near-dumbfounded clerk to hand him his purchase, and leaves.

He did that to them perhaps a half-dozen times throughout my life, maybe more when I wasn't there with him.

These companies make insane money selling your information, shopping habits etc to anyone who wants it.

No, I have 2 microcenters close to me!

RadioShack never sold that data, they just used it to market to customers and know where their customers came from. Aggravating for some, but nothing nefarious.

This is my go to place, it’s 15 min away and has racks and racks of components, along with random STEM toys and shit.

https://secure.sayal.com/STORE4/

I wouldn't say I'm "Jonesing," but I do miss the Radio Shack of the 70's and 80's.

They had -- *locally* -- all the transistors, diodes, caps, resistors, pots, ICs, sockets, wire, soldering iron tips, breadboards, switches, fuses, and LEDs an electronics nerd like me needed.

Then, they had the TRS-80 line of products in which I got totally immersed.

It was a cool time.

Took tubes to rs to check.

Kinda miss CompUsa. Loved that place.

a bit off topic… maybe? I was more into software and video games. These were my favorite stores that are all
gone. Especially world of Nintendo kiosks - dreamy.

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That was annoying and the pitch to buy extended warranties - even for AA batteries.

Maybe someone will remember the name as I can’t but back in the mid to late 80’s there was an electronics store. Think the name started with an A. This was at a Summit Mall in Akron Ohio. They would sell pieces parts that were working and you could build a cabinet to put things in like a radio or phone or cassette player. Never found another store like that. They went out years before RS. I loved RS. I did not care about their prices, I wasn’t buying expensive stuff. Just pieces parts. I had two or three stores by me and I could just run and get what I needed. I suppose I am inpatient. I do miss RS. Cellular Phones were not their savior after all!

I'm 100% sure that without cell phone sales they would have died years earlier. That was a HUGE part of the business for a long time. People complained when they started cutting the parts, but that was a small and shrinking portion of the business.