[MarkG]

My wife just showed me an article in the Northwest Herald which states that Radio Shack is closing up shop. They were a very handy resource to have around.

 

[howdy]

Yeah my local Radio Shack is closed and the windows are covered. I used to work there in the early 90s, I remember selling some of the first cell phones.

 

[Music818]

What a pity...

 

[tomb]

From a DIY standpoint, it's been a long-time coming.  Consider that you can get finer quality parts online - in only 3-4 days - and that the shipping costs approached the gas you would spend (a few months ago anyway) by driving to Radio Shack.
 
Still, I'm sorry to see it go, too.  Even if I had stopped going there and went to Frys instead.  I think that's a vastly superior alternative, at least in the larger cities that have them.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

Tom you summed it up pretty well. Radio Shack had (generally) lower quality parts at higher prices than places like Mouser and Digikey. It was hard to find a reason to go, unless you needed an obscure battery or you needed a resistor or switch that very day. Tools and general goods were all overpriced, $40 HDMI cables and $20 plastic solder suckers, it's hard to imagine that inventory turning very fast. 
 
I was, however, able to take advantage of the closing, I got about $100 worth of switches, breadboards, pilot lights, and other minutia for like $20. 
 
It will be interesting to see who buys the storefronts... Sprint, Amazon, etc.

 

[EniGmA1987]

Dang, Im going to have to check the ones nearby me tomorrow. I get some HD15 connectors there and they are only a couple bucks and work perfect. The big sellers online either have things too confusing the compatibility to bother with or dont have what I need. Ill have to buy as many as I can get tomorrow before they are gone because I use them at work for various inkjet coders and certain encoders.

 

[FrankCooter]

Radio Shack's closure has been a long time coming. When I first started going there as a teenager in the late '60's, it was a real electronics store that specialized in components and DIY materials. It was a great place for a kid to get familiar with project kits, books, and reasonably priced construction supplies. It definitely was a starting point  for me and many others of my generation to a life-long interest in electronics. Over the years it lost it's way, ending up as a vendor of 3rd rate, overpriced consumer electronics and cell phones. The original business model was no longer viable, but every change management made  only made matters worse. Over the years, I've watched as their component section has shrunken to a single gray cabinet buried in the back of the store. Never the less, I will miss them. They were still very handy for that small part you needed right away. And although most of their components were overpriced and not the best quality, there were exceptions. Their solder is great. Everything I've ever built has used their 60/40 rosin core.
 
"God's Speed" Radio Shack. You made a difference in my life.

 

[quo155]

I too agree that it has been a LONG time coming, though sad for me in some ways. I worked at one of our local stores for a couple of years back in the mid 90's and it was a great place to work. But, by the mid-to-late 90's, with the internet starting to really hit the floor...I saw it begin to sink. I think they tried to stay afloat some, but I also feel that they did it to themselves by stocking sub-par electronics and the parts came in cheaper and cheaper (quality wise). There were some good products but you had to pay well more than what you'd find it for online.
 
"Radio Shack...you've got questions, we've got answers!"

 

[macm75]

They were a very handy resource to have around.

Not in my lifetime.

 

[macm75]

Off topic but the first catalog was spectacular - 1939.  http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1939_small/
BTW, the 50 was $1.35 (had to be ST).  According to an inflation calculator that amounts to $23 today.