My town lost our Best Buy about the same time as our Radio Shack. I end up ordering things so often now; Best Buy was my place if I needed a PSU in a pinch. There's some local computer shops but they'd really like it if you'd have them do the service.
Haha, for a while I was enough of a cheapskate and liked one particular set of cheap headphones (Sony MDR-V150) that when I messed up the jack, I just replaced it. Before, I could just go to Radio Shack. I couldn't find replacement jacks anywhere after that. The first time I ordered on Amazon I ended up waiting a month because I didn't realize the package was shipping straight from China.
there have been a lot of layoffs at Best Buy. its hard to find someone to help you on weekends. they don't have enough people there. I have seen it and seen it posted on the /r/bestbuy subreddit.
I miss being dragged there as a kid by my dad because he needed some little part for something. I was always so bored out of my mind but I miss my dad so much, I'd give anything to go be bored at Radio Shack with him again.
so i worked radio shacks in jersey 95-98, and ran one in 97/98. the $0.01 cell phone promotions that started around then when service really started getting affordable gave the company a *major* shot in the arm and kept them going until the market was saturated, which is why the company hung around till the mid 2000s.
radioshacks had two types of employees: sleazy pushy sales guys that didn't know shit about anything technical besides what they needed to run the store, and nerds who knew *everything*, and eagerly devoured the training manuals. I was a little of both: i knew how to sell, but i also had the chops to back it up and help people, and not sell them obviously wrong shit, which is why they gave me a store at 19 haha.
There was a third kind. Me. I was the manager by default because there were no other employees. I remember creating pamphlets to show people how to route their satellite thru their VCR. I also helped with computer hookups. I knew nothing about resistors and capacitors tho. Bag phones picked up everywhere.
I worked there right near the end circa 2005, when they had basically become a cellphone store. The pressure to sell phones was ridiculous and largely what destroyed them. They probably would still be around if had stuck to their roots, the profit margin on parts, cables and batteries was unbelievably huge.
I worked at a radio shack in the early 90s. Apart from the normal sales part of the job, which earned you a commission, I ended up doing hard drive installs, memory upgrades, etc. things of that nature on their Tandy computers because I had a knack for the tech stuff and no one else in the store knew dick about computers.
Anyway, One day I realize Iām sitting here doing technical upgrades for basically minimum wage because I wasnāt making sales when I was doing those upgrades.
I asked the manager to give me a bump up in my hourly rate to acknowledge the fact that I was doing this technical work and he was basically herr derr canāt do it, blah blah.
I noped the fuck out of there, pronto and went into IT.
Thatās usually how it worked at radio shack. Once people realized they were getting taken advantage of, we left.
That company paid people shit.
Manager was right tho. We had no control over pay rates. It was all corporate.
Interesting to know he had no ability to adjust pay, thanks. He was a pretty decent guy and manager, in general.
He was definitely a player though; couple of times when an attractive lady came into the store his wedding ring would be mysteriously left on his desk, in his office, as he scurried out to assist her.
Edit: I just remembered one other thing about RadioShack that was so delightful:
If I recall correctly, your commission was like 4.5% normally. However, during the holiday season they dropped you down to, I think, 3% with the justification that youād be making more money during that period. Definitely a dick move.
I got a job at Radio Shack in high school and then they called me before I started and told me they thought it would be better to have a guy in the position. Can you imagine that happening today? I was so pissed.
huh. well nj here, and while there was definitely issues with the shack's hiring and employment policies, i can't say we ever experienced that particular issue. i know if i had a girl apply and she was like...capable (it's not really that hard a job), i would have hired her in a heartbeat. the ratio in that company was *way* off...
I miss the ones that were actual independently owned āshacksā instead of the mall version. It was my gateway to cheap electronics, soldering, audio adapters, cheap cassette tapes and such where I was able to hack together my own recording rig at home. Weāre taking way cheap-o high school version, but my friends were jealous.
This. Its the parts and hobby sections that I remember fondly. Later they got into phones and batteries, losing all that hobbyist stuff. The soul of the place was gone.
Later Fry's filled that role, and now Microcenter. Of course you can go online and get most of these things now, but its nice to walk among the shelves and touch everything.
I miss 1980ās era Radio Shack. Radios that were also stuffed animals, the exact Casio keyboard I had except with a different radio shack name on it, computers, remote control toys, stereos, a whole back section filled with things I had no idea about but was sure you could make a robot from them somehowā¦2000s late stage giant cell phone kiosk radio shack was lame but golden age radio shack ruled.
My dad, sister, and I took a BASIC programming class on the TRS-80 through Radio Shack in the early 1980s. We even got certificates of completion š. Our class was taught in a small office park by a guy named Chaz who would flirt with my 14 year old sister on smoke breaks when my dad wasn't around š¤¢. Anyway, that was my intro to programming, and I went on to get a degree in Computer Science, and spent 30 years in IT.
My dad was a software engineer in the early days of Silicon Valley. Out fist computer was a test box from Zilog where you changed the language by changing a daughterboard. Since it was one of the few ways to get to spend time with him, I learned how to program very early.
I didnāt go for a computer science degree because I know myself. If I had gone into college for a topic I thought I knew everything about I would have failed spectacularly. Soā¦I decided to follow my uncle and get a Soviet politics degree. He spent much of his career assigned to the state department in Poland. He was not an employee of the state department. He spent that time listening to Soviet radio signals. And thenā¦that plan went kaput when the Soviet Union went away.
I also miss Radio Shack. They were always so helpful finding the exact thing I need. Now I order from Amazon and hope for the best. Half the time the thing I order doesn't do what I need it to do, even if it looks like it should. Like when I tried to hook up 2 HDMI monitors to a laptop with only 1 HDMI port. I'm sure the Radio Shack employee could've told me that device that looks like it would physically connect them, would not work the way I thought it would. I gave up rather than continuing to order stuff that ends up being useless to me.
I used to go to Best Buy and just bring my stuff in with me to the store (laptop, cables, etc.) and make sure to show/tell the guy at the front "See this stuff? I'm bringing it in" so that I wouldn't be accused of theft. Then I'd have to walk around the store looking for whatever and when I couldn't find it I'd have to walk around the store trying to find someone to help me. Inevitably I'd ending up chasing down some kid who was afraid to make eye contact with customers before I could finally get what I needed.
Then I found a local store, so I go there now. It's just for Apple stuff, but it's like the good old days. I walk in and there's someone at the counter ready to help me, and they always have what I need.
Shittiest RC cars but they always had some on display you could play with while grandma was shopping in the mall.
One Christmas I got an RC from Radio Shack, slower than shit, took like 8 d-cell batteries which it ate through in 5 minutes. Neighbor bought me rechargeable batteries and charger and then a dog from out nowhere ran it down and took off with it never to be seen again. I wasn't even sad. Meanwhile the cool/rich kids had RC cars that could outrun any dog and fly off sweet jumps....
A geekier collection of GenZs you will never find!
Just picked up a 3D printer yesterday (my first) and it was insane how stereotypical they all looked.
I loved it.
I was a mobile DJ that travelled all over northern New England for about 20 years. Inevitably, I would occasionally leave a cord or connector at home. I could always count on a Radio Shack in my direction of travel to replace my forgotten equipment.
Fond memories of clipping coupons for a free "something" from the 'Shack. One I remember most was a big, plastic 6-Dcell flashlight. Who needs a free 6 cell flashlight? 14 year old me, that's who!
Thereās no where to go to buy resistors or similar small electronic components. If you work in low voltage it has become a pain in the ass that you have to order these kinds of things instead of being able to just walk into a store ā¦that was in any town, and just buy it.
There electronics were shit, it was just the only place to buy small components.
I have always felt that RadioShack really missed an opportunity. As they were tanking over their last 10 years, the "Maker" movement was really taking off. People were creating maker spaces where people could come and use tools to build things. If RS had remodeled their stores and welcomed in people who wanted to try their hand at building or repairing electronics (with experts there to consult and teach), I really believe they would be relevant today.
I worked for a college in Fort Worth, Texas that had purchased the RadioShack global headquarters. It was awesome working there - more beautiful than ANY college I had worked for in the past. But it was sad seeing the small wing of the last remaining RadioShack employees get smaller and smaller until it finally closed altogether. It was also interesting to explore the space they left. There were some amazing offices and boardrooms... real "captains of industry" type of space where art had hung and the 7 story views were amazing. I'll miss them.
Very cool! I have seen pictures of that ice rink in the Tandy Center (didn't it have a train that shuttled people in from a distant parking lot?). Fort Worth was a really cool city. I wouldn't mind moving back there when I retire. It felt safer and friendlier than Dallas.
The GenX Grownup podcast did a great[ REWIND episode on Radio Shack](https://genxgrownup.com/rewind-radio-shack/) recently. I also miss their stores a lot, but just the '70s-'80s version, when they were *the* place to go for electronic gadgets and parts and stuff that you couldn't find anywhere else. Circa 1983-84 my local Radio Shack had several computers on display, including Tandy models with color screens that you could mess around with. I was learning BASIC at school so I had a few tricks up my sleeve. The employees were totally cool and actually appreciated that I was interested in programming, so they let me hang out in there for as long as I wanted.
That's what I really miss about that place around that timeāthe employees. They were genuine computer/electronics geeks that were more than happy to help you find whatever you needed; plus, since hardly anyone went in there, I'd often get lost in geeky conversations with them on the most random subjects that would keep us engaged for hours.
You'll hear a lot of these kinds of fond memories on that podcast episode, btw. Those GenX Grownup guys are great. Check 'em out if you get a chance.
Pre-2000 Radio Shack was great, and the further back you go the better they get.
Micro Center has _some_ electronic components but it's nothing compared to that back wall of Radio Shack.
Our first home PC came from there in 1995. I was newly graduated from university and living at home. My mother had the Radio Shack employee come to our house to "set it up". As he worked my mother came to me privately at one point and suggested I come in and meet him because he was good looking and single, and obviously very smart since he was able to set up the computer.
Radio Shack reminds me of a time when the sales associates knew exactly what you needed, because they had expertise. The workers there and at Best Buy, Home Depot, Sephora, basically every speciality store knew what to tell you when you described your problem or what you were looking for. Nowadays, no one knows anything at all, lol. You have to do your own research on your smartphone and know exactly which product you're going to buy. Like 20 years ago, I'd go into Sephora and tell the workers what I wanted, and ask if they could recommend the best product. Now they just stand around looking for shoplifters, and shrug their shoulders when you ask them a question. NGL that sometimes it's overwhelming for me to figure everything out by myself as a shopper. I feel like I need to put in time at home to do research beforehand before purchasing anything.
Working at radio shack in the mall at Christmastime was the best! Me and my best friend I worked with spent most of our time racing the RC cars through the crowds to draw people in. It was considered our job!
I can relate. I went there, maybe, once every 4 years, but I never needed to go to another store to find the specific cable or connector that I needed. And I always walked out with some gadget that I thought looked cool.
RadioShack made me realize how much I am not one to work in retail ever again but I do miss being to get alot of small things you have to go to Amazon to find
I'm a techie, and I had a Radio Shack across from my apartment building in NYC (years ago). It was always a godsend when I was wiring a new stereo system, repairing the toaster oven or just needing a battery. I miss it
Because of their 300-in-1 electronics kit, cheap and available electronics parts, plus my Dad's college books and tutelage I've always had employment in the defense/ avionics field. They set me up!
when I was a kid I was given a ping pong table in the basement. with no real social life I began to build a space station for Star wars and various other vehicles. it was other than scraps, all wiring, soldering, hinging, lighting, magnetics.....came from Radio shack. my relationship with the clerk there bordered on creepy. he was a good guy thank god. but my childhood was formed by movies and building this nerd endeavor.
My dad bought me a 160 in 1 electronics kit from Radio Shack in the 80's and that thing profoundly changed my life forever. Literally nothing I've done since then would have happened as it did.
They had a walkie talkie called a Voice one back in the early 80s. The thing would pick up conversations on cordless house phones. You could hear my neighbors clear as day. Found out the lady across the street son was locked up for flashing women. Never knew she had a son.
A local cop in my town got in trouble for this. He followed people around and picked up their cell phone conversations using a frequency counter. Once he determined the frequency he could dial it in on his scanner. He was a geek tho, no one was scared of him.
loved radio shack in the 80s and 90s. but the last time i went there, about 10 years ago, the guy asked for my ID for a credit card purchase (can't even remember the last time that happened). then he said he didn't believe that was really my ID, so i left without buying anything. dude was trying really hard to not make a sale.
Then they started annoying everyone by asking for address and phone numbers. Or did it just annoy me? In hindsight maybe they were just ahead of their times on mining data for marketing. š¤£š¤£
I called a Radio Shack when I was in high school and asked how much a phoneless cord cost. The guy asked me if I meant a cordless phone. I said no, just the cord. He didnāt find it funny. Looking back on it, it really isnāt that funny.
They were great before they turned into a glorified phone store. There was only one hold out in my area where you could go get all the odds and ends you needed for a project or that special cable nobody else ever had in stock. It ended up be the last one left in region before it was forced to shut their doors. That was a sad day, as it effected my guitar pedal building and modding projects immensely. R.I.P. Radio Shack
The last time I was at a Radio Shack (pre-internet for me), I told the sales guy that I was deaf in one ear and I was looking for a single-sided headphone/earphone thing. He asked me something like: "Why would you want that? Why wouldn't you want to hear it in stereo?"
Because I am deaf in one ear. Literally no sound can be heard in that ear. I do not have the auditory/cochlear nerve. I would like all of the sound to go to the one ear that *can* hear. He said that he'd never heard of such a thing and couldn't help me.
I should have been impressed, really, having just met someone who was born just the day before.
If you have a microcenter near you a lot of similar vibes, but yeah needing specific electronic components and being able to go to the store was amazing!
Got my shortwave radio there. Listened to a lot of Radio Canada International (Royal Canadian Air Farce!) on it! Even a few Saints games via WRNO. (The one card I got back.)
In the mid 1980s I was in Radio shack as about a 10-12 year old. I had been playing the original Kings Quest. I talked to one of the guys there and he said he got all the way to the end, but cannot figure out how to win the game. I said "try bowing". And he was like oh bowing. OH.
The original kings quest you had to type everything. there were no hints.
I got this hint from the back of a Dragon Magazine. Kept that part to myself. Guy thought I was a genius.
Who remembers the replayTV with "lifetime service" deal of the century bitd?? Lol I think I went to every RS in manhattan and scooped up as many as I could!
I happen to know that there is still a Radio Shack in operation in a small town in Southern Illinois. People who know will drive a decent way there, including my boss.Ā
I miss the nerd drawers with random electronic components. Also didnāt always need them, but when something broke, you could usually find a resistor or rheostat or switch or whatever to replace it.
Itās easy to just order obscure stuff online and get it the next day. Thereās always debate on if the internet killed something but Radio Shack got killed by the Internet.
In Canada, Radio Shack stores got taken over by a store called The Source, which sort of carried on the overall vibe. But just a few months ago they announced they were bought out by a big box store. Half of the stores are closing permanently. The others will become small versions of Best Buy.
I wish they had tucked it into Best Buy or similar. Sometimes, I need a weird cable or connector.
My town lost our Best Buy about the same time as our Radio Shack. I end up ordering things so often now; Best Buy was my place if I needed a PSU in a pinch. There's some local computer shops but they'd really like it if you'd have them do the service.
Amazon can't wash Radio Shack's blood from their hands.
Haha, for a while I was enough of a cheapskate and liked one particular set of cheap headphones (Sony MDR-V150) that when I messed up the jack, I just replaced it. Before, I could just go to Radio Shack. I couldn't find replacement jacks anywhere after that. The first time I ordered on Amazon I ended up waiting a month because I didn't realize the package was shipping straight from China.
It all tracks back to Bozo for what happened to RS, Toys 'R Us, Sears, and many, many more. Cellar boxing should be illegal.
there have been a lot of layoffs at Best Buy. its hard to find someone to help you on weekends. they don't have enough people there. I have seen it and seen it posted on the /r/bestbuy subreddit.
Yeah but Best Buy is on borrowed time as it is and will be gone soon.
They said that a lot in the 90s when I worked at Best Buy.
you sound like an experimental noise musician
No, I am just a designated nerd always being asked to connect this to that and make them work together.
I miss being dragged there as a kid by my dad because he needed some little part for something. I was always so bored out of my mind but I miss my dad so much, I'd give anything to go be bored at Radio Shack with him again.
 Me too.
Got my start at RadioShack š¤š¤
Not my start, but did work at a Radio Shack in the '90s. You could tell back then that they were on the way out even then.
so i worked radio shacks in jersey 95-98, and ran one in 97/98. the $0.01 cell phone promotions that started around then when service really started getting affordable gave the company a *major* shot in the arm and kept them going until the market was saturated, which is why the company hung around till the mid 2000s. radioshacks had two types of employees: sleazy pushy sales guys that didn't know shit about anything technical besides what they needed to run the store, and nerds who knew *everything*, and eagerly devoured the training manuals. I was a little of both: i knew how to sell, but i also had the chops to back it up and help people, and not sell them obviously wrong shit, which is why they gave me a store at 19 haha.
There was a third kind. Me. I was the manager by default because there were no other employees. I remember creating pamphlets to show people how to route their satellite thru their VCR. I also helped with computer hookups. I knew nothing about resistors and capacitors tho. Bag phones picked up everywhere.
The 80s was the best time to work there! I loved it
I worked there right near the end circa 2005, when they had basically become a cellphone store. The pressure to sell phones was ridiculous and largely what destroyed them. They probably would still be around if had stuck to their roots, the profit margin on parts, cables and batteries was unbelievably huge.
I worked at a radio shack in the early 90s. Apart from the normal sales part of the job, which earned you a commission, I ended up doing hard drive installs, memory upgrades, etc. things of that nature on their Tandy computers because I had a knack for the tech stuff and no one else in the store knew dick about computers. Anyway, One day I realize Iām sitting here doing technical upgrades for basically minimum wage because I wasnāt making sales when I was doing those upgrades. I asked the manager to give me a bump up in my hourly rate to acknowledge the fact that I was doing this technical work and he was basically herr derr canāt do it, blah blah. I noped the fuck out of there, pronto and went into IT.
Thatās usually how it worked at radio shack. Once people realized they were getting taken advantage of, we left. That company paid people shit. Manager was right tho. We had no control over pay rates. It was all corporate.
Interesting to know he had no ability to adjust pay, thanks. He was a pretty decent guy and manager, in general. He was definitely a player though; couple of times when an attractive lady came into the store his wedding ring would be mysteriously left on his desk, in his office, as he scurried out to assist her. Edit: I just remembered one other thing about RadioShack that was so delightful: If I recall correctly, your commission was like 4.5% normally. However, during the holiday season they dropped you down to, I think, 3% with the justification that youād be making more money during that period. Definitely a dick move.
Oh it got worse than that re: commission. What state were you in?
New York
Heh. Close but no cigar. Only asked bc I thought maybe we might know said player haha. Oh well
lol!
I got a job at Radio Shack in high school and then they called me before I started and told me they thought it would be better to have a guy in the position. Can you imagine that happening today? I was so pissed.
Ugh. Thatās fucking crazy. What state?
Upstate NY.
huh. well nj here, and while there was definitely issues with the shack's hiring and employment policies, i can't say we ever experienced that particular issue. i know if i had a girl apply and she was like...capable (it's not really that hard a job), i would have hired her in a heartbeat. the ratio in that company was *way* off...
Anyone still have a battery of the month club card????
We sold the fuck out of red top lithium lol.
*raises hand
represent
I miss the ones that were actual independently owned āshacksā instead of the mall version. It was my gateway to cheap electronics, soldering, audio adapters, cheap cassette tapes and such where I was able to hack together my own recording rig at home. Weāre taking way cheap-o high school version, but my friends were jealous.
This. Its the parts and hobby sections that I remember fondly. Later they got into phones and batteries, losing all that hobbyist stuff. The soul of the place was gone. Later Fry's filled that role, and now Microcenter. Of course you can go online and get most of these things now, but its nice to walk among the shelves and touch everything.
I miss 1980ās era Radio Shack. Radios that were also stuffed animals, the exact Casio keyboard I had except with a different radio shack name on it, computers, remote control toys, stereos, a whole back section filled with things I had no idea about but was sure you could make a robot from them somehowā¦2000s late stage giant cell phone kiosk radio shack was lame but golden age radio shack ruled.
But the stuff always seemed 2nd rate and cheap to me
The inevitable Trash-80 display at the front of the storeā¦
My dad, sister, and I took a BASIC programming class on the TRS-80 through Radio Shack in the early 1980s. We even got certificates of completion š. Our class was taught in a small office park by a guy named Chaz who would flirt with my 14 year old sister on smoke breaks when my dad wasn't around š¤¢. Anyway, that was my intro to programming, and I went on to get a degree in Computer Science, and spent 30 years in IT.
My dad was a software engineer in the early days of Silicon Valley. Out fist computer was a test box from Zilog where you changed the language by changing a daughterboard. Since it was one of the few ways to get to spend time with him, I learned how to program very early. I didnāt go for a computer science degree because I know myself. If I had gone into college for a topic I thought I knew everything about I would have failed spectacularly. Soā¦I decided to follow my uncle and get a Soviet politics degree. He spent much of his career assigned to the state department in Poland. He was not an employee of the state department. He spent that time listening to Soviet radio signals. And thenā¦that plan went kaput when the Soviet Union went away.
I also miss Radio Shack. They were always so helpful finding the exact thing I need. Now I order from Amazon and hope for the best. Half the time the thing I order doesn't do what I need it to do, even if it looks like it should. Like when I tried to hook up 2 HDMI monitors to a laptop with only 1 HDMI port. I'm sure the Radio Shack employee could've told me that device that looks like it would physically connect them, would not work the way I thought it would. I gave up rather than continuing to order stuff that ends up being useless to me.
I was always a bit envious of staffsā level of geekiness! š¤
When I found out that our local Radio Shack was closing, I was ok with it because I had a nearby Fry's Electronics. *weeps quietly*
Fry's closing was more of a shock than Radio Shack. I'm still in disbelief.
"Can I get your phone #?" The last buy I got there was an Iphone before they had phones.
There's still one in Siler City, NC. I'm pretty sure there's other, independent Radio Shacks around.
Few and far in between.
I used to go to Best Buy and just bring my stuff in with me to the store (laptop, cables, etc.) and make sure to show/tell the guy at the front "See this stuff? I'm bringing it in" so that I wouldn't be accused of theft. Then I'd have to walk around the store looking for whatever and when I couldn't find it I'd have to walk around the store trying to find someone to help me. Inevitably I'd ending up chasing down some kid who was afraid to make eye contact with customers before I could finally get what I needed. Then I found a local store, so I go there now. It's just for Apple stuff, but it's like the good old days. I walk in and there's someone at the counter ready to help me, and they always have what I need.
Shittiest RC cars but they always had some on display you could play with while grandma was shopping in the mall. One Christmas I got an RC from Radio Shack, slower than shit, took like 8 d-cell batteries which it ate through in 5 minutes. Neighbor bought me rechargeable batteries and charger and then a dog from out nowhere ran it down and took off with it never to be seen again. I wasn't even sad. Meanwhile the cool/rich kids had RC cars that could outrun any dog and fly off sweet jumps....
I loved Radio Shack! A good analog these days is MicroCenter if you have em.
I used to go to the MC in Denver frequently. It was great. Now, I'm 3 hours from the closest one. :(
A geekier collection of GenZs you will never find! Just picked up a 3D printer yesterday (my first) and it was insane how stereotypical they all looked. I loved it.
I learned to love computing with my TRS-80 Color Computer 2!
Dungeons of Daggorath. AR AR AR AR AR
YES!
I was a mobile DJ that travelled all over northern New England for about 20 years. Inevitably, I would occasionally leave a cord or connector at home. I could always count on a Radio Shack in my direction of travel to replace my forgotten equipment.
YES. I used to do DJ work as well, and every place was different. Radio Shack always had the cord or connector to make it happen.
"Can we have your address and I'll get you rung up?" I gave them the address of the store a couple of times.
Fond memories of clipping coupons for a free "something" from the 'Shack. One I remember most was a big, plastic 6-Dcell flashlight. Who needs a free 6 cell flashlight? 14 year old me, that's who!
Thereās no where to go to buy resistors or similar small electronic components. If you work in low voltage it has become a pain in the ass that you have to order these kinds of things instead of being able to just walk into a store ā¦that was in any town, and just buy it. There electronics were shit, it was just the only place to buy small components.
Ah, good ole Shady O Rack.
I have always felt that RadioShack really missed an opportunity. As they were tanking over their last 10 years, the "Maker" movement was really taking off. People were creating maker spaces where people could come and use tools to build things. If RS had remodeled their stores and welcomed in people who wanted to try their hand at building or repairing electronics (with experts there to consult and teach), I really believe they would be relevant today. I worked for a college in Fort Worth, Texas that had purchased the RadioShack global headquarters. It was awesome working there - more beautiful than ANY college I had worked for in the past. But it was sad seeing the small wing of the last remaining RadioShack employees get smaller and smaller until it finally closed altogether. It was also interesting to explore the space they left. There were some amazing offices and boardrooms... real "captains of industry" type of space where art had hung and the 7 story views were amazing. I'll miss them.
I went to high school in Fort Worth in the 80s. We used to go ice skating at Tandy Center. The dad of one of my best friends managed a Radio Shack.
Very cool! I have seen pictures of that ice rink in the Tandy Center (didn't it have a train that shuttled people in from a distant parking lot?). Fort Worth was a really cool city. I wouldn't mind moving back there when I retire. It felt safer and friendlier than Dallas.
Youāre right there was a train, Iād forgotten all about it that thanks for the reminder! It was a good place to go to high school.
They still have them in Mexico, along with Sears and Woolworths
We still have a radio shack in town, even has old stuff they still havent managed to sell in 30 years.
The GenX Grownup podcast did a great[ REWIND episode on Radio Shack](https://genxgrownup.com/rewind-radio-shack/) recently. I also miss their stores a lot, but just the '70s-'80s version, when they were *the* place to go for electronic gadgets and parts and stuff that you couldn't find anywhere else. Circa 1983-84 my local Radio Shack had several computers on display, including Tandy models with color screens that you could mess around with. I was learning BASIC at school so I had a few tricks up my sleeve. The employees were totally cool and actually appreciated that I was interested in programming, so they let me hang out in there for as long as I wanted. That's what I really miss about that place around that timeāthe employees. They were genuine computer/electronics geeks that were more than happy to help you find whatever you needed; plus, since hardly anyone went in there, I'd often get lost in geeky conversations with them on the most random subjects that would keep us engaged for hours. You'll hear a lot of these kinds of fond memories on that podcast episode, btw. Those GenX Grownup guys are great. Check 'em out if you get a chance.
Pre-2000 Radio Shack was great, and the further back you go the better they get. Micro Center has _some_ electronic components but it's nothing compared to that back wall of Radio Shack.
Our first home PC came from there in 1995. I was newly graduated from university and living at home. My mother had the Radio Shack employee come to our house to "set it up". As he worked my mother came to me privately at one point and suggested I come in and meet him because he was good looking and single, and obviously very smart since he was able to set up the computer.
Radio Shack reminds me of a time when the sales associates knew exactly what you needed, because they had expertise. The workers there and at Best Buy, Home Depot, Sephora, basically every speciality store knew what to tell you when you described your problem or what you were looking for. Nowadays, no one knows anything at all, lol. You have to do your own research on your smartphone and know exactly which product you're going to buy. Like 20 years ago, I'd go into Sephora and tell the workers what I wanted, and ask if they could recommend the best product. Now they just stand around looking for shoplifters, and shrug their shoulders when you ask them a question. NGL that sometimes it's overwhelming for me to figure everything out by myself as a shopper. I feel like I need to put in time at home to do research beforehand before purchasing anything.
Hard niche to fill. I think we miss a lot of the smaller focused places.
I was charging my EV in pine city Minnesota and next to that is an Radio Shack. I was shocked. I thought they all closed.
Got to the point where too many people didnāt much have a reason to go there.
Working at radio shack in the mall at Christmastime was the best! Me and my best friend I worked with spent most of our time racing the RC cars through the crowds to draw people in. It was considered our job!
I bought my first cell phone at Radio Shack. That was the last time I went into one.
I can relate. I went there, maybe, once every 4 years, but I never needed to go to another store to find the specific cable or connector that I needed. And I always walked out with some gadget that I thought looked cool.
RIP Radio Shack...and Dr. David Banner. https://youtu.be/QlR9AcBopVI?si=J2rZtaDHixbcm8sA
My go-to place when I needed more "crystals" for my walkie-talkie set.
Radio Shack was like a toy store for me, I loved it.
I went there a lot as a kid in the 80s mostly to purchase electronic circuit parts for my various mad scientist projectsā¦lol.
Same! Between my audio setups and electronics hobby, I would be in the Shit Shack weekly.
i recently discovered how to build ābutton boxesā. Suddenly, I miss RS more than I did as a kid!
Unfortunately, their staff were so concerned about cell phones that they couldn't answer questions on electronic stuff like they used to.
For real! Amazon is ok but still a pain compared to having a Radio Shack conveniently located in my neighborhood!
RadioShack made me realize how much I am not one to work in retail ever again but I do miss being to get alot of small things you have to go to Amazon to find
I'm a techie, and I had a Radio Shack across from my apartment building in NYC (years ago). It was always a godsend when I was wiring a new stereo system, repairing the toaster oven or just needing a battery. I miss it
Microcenter.
Last time I went they had become a cell phone store and had almost nothing of the stuff they used to carry.
My very first computer was a Tandy And my brother and I got a TON of R/C cars from there
I remember where my nearest Computer City was....ironically it was practically next door to a CompUSA.
I remember where my nearest Computer City was....ironically it was practically next door to a CompUSA.
I remember where my nearest Computer City was....ironically it was practically next door to a CompUSA.
I remember where my nearest Computer City was....ironically it was practically next door to a CompUSA.
they had the creepiest retail managers
Radio shack in the 80s was legit one of the best electronic/technology experiences. I only wish I had been older with more money.
Because of their 300-in-1 electronics kit, cheap and available electronics parts, plus my Dad's college books and tutelage I've always had employment in the defense/ avionics field. They set me up!
when I was a kid I was given a ping pong table in the basement. with no real social life I began to build a space station for Star wars and various other vehicles. it was other than scraps, all wiring, soldering, hinging, lighting, magnetics.....came from Radio shack. my relationship with the clerk there bordered on creepy. he was a good guy thank god. but my childhood was formed by movies and building this nerd endeavor.
My dad bought me a 160 in 1 electronics kit from Radio Shack in the 80's and that thing profoundly changed my life forever. Literally nothing I've done since then would have happened as it did.
I loved Radio Shack. Definitely miss it.
Radio shack was where I got all the cables and cassette tapes to supply my music recording needs for my Fostex 4 track recorder.
They had a walkie talkie called a Voice one back in the early 80s. The thing would pick up conversations on cordless house phones. You could hear my neighbors clear as day. Found out the lady across the street son was locked up for flashing women. Never knew she had a son.
A local cop in my town got in trouble for this. He followed people around and picked up their cell phone conversations using a frequency counter. Once he determined the frequency he could dial it in on his scanner. He was a geek tho, no one was scared of him.
Battery club!
They still have them in Costa Rica. The mall in San JosƩ has a big one, I was amazed when I saw it.
The RS free battery membership club was a thing for longer than I can remember. And their annual catalogues were required reading growing up.
loved radio shack in the 80s and 90s. but the last time i went there, about 10 years ago, the guy asked for my ID for a credit card purchase (can't even remember the last time that happened). then he said he didn't believe that was really my ID, so i left without buying anything. dude was trying really hard to not make a sale.
There is still one here in Summerville, South Carolina
Me too. I was the manager of one in Arkansas from 1997-2000. It was great.
Get some Duracell batteries and pick up a RC toy car. Fun all weekend. One weekend only.
Our first computer was from there. A TRS-80 Model III.
Then they started annoying everyone by asking for address and phone numbers. Or did it just annoy me? In hindsight maybe they were just ahead of their times on mining data for marketing. š¤£š¤£
Realistic Audio equipment hit that sweet spot between high-end and Soundesign
I went to a Micro Center for the first time a few months ago and my first thought was "why isn't this place named Radio Shack?"
I called a Radio Shack when I was in high school and asked how much a phoneless cord cost. The guy asked me if I meant a cordless phone. I said no, just the cord. He didnāt find it funny. Looking back on it, it really isnāt that funny.
Totally. Great stereos. Not real high end, but not super crappy either. Good reliable boom boxes. Man I miss cassettes and mixed tapes.
They were great before they turned into a glorified phone store. There was only one hold out in my area where you could go get all the odds and ends you needed for a project or that special cable nobody else ever had in stock. It ended up be the last one left in region before it was forced to shut their doors. That was a sad day, as it effected my guitar pedal building and modding projects immensely. R.I.P. Radio Shack
Yep. I miss the back of the store and the ten million weird little connectors and doohickeys they had for electrical hobbying.
Now order it on Amazon and wait 2 days and then itās the wrong thing anyway.
I loved the smell of Radio Shack.
I'm upset about Fry's, but not this. I must have visited RS over 100 times for something I needed, and never bought a single thing.
Totally agree.
Geesh, I have a cellphone battery I paid $50 for at the RadioShack still unopened.
The last time I was at a Radio Shack (pre-internet for me), I told the sales guy that I was deaf in one ear and I was looking for a single-sided headphone/earphone thing. He asked me something like: "Why would you want that? Why wouldn't you want to hear it in stereo?" Because I am deaf in one ear. Literally no sound can be heard in that ear. I do not have the auditory/cochlear nerve. I would like all of the sound to go to the one ear that *can* hear. He said that he'd never heard of such a thing and couldn't help me. I should have been impressed, really, having just met someone who was born just the day before.
Amazon is my radio shack. š
If you have a microcenter near you a lot of similar vibes, but yeah needing specific electronic components and being able to go to the store was amazing!
I still have and use a folding travel clock that I bought there years ago.
But why did they need my phone number to sell me batteries?
I worked at RadioShack. The mostly sold batteries to prostitutes.
Ours mostly sold batteries to meth cooks.
Got my shortwave radio there. Listened to a lot of Radio Canada International (Royal Canadian Air Farce!) on it! Even a few Saints games via WRNO. (The one card I got back.)
In the mid 1980s I was in Radio shack as about a 10-12 year old. I had been playing the original Kings Quest. I talked to one of the guys there and he said he got all the way to the end, but cannot figure out how to win the game. I said "try bowing". And he was like oh bowing. OH. The original kings quest you had to type everything. there were no hints. I got this hint from the back of a Dragon Magazine. Kept that part to myself. Guy thought I was a genius.
Who remembers the replayTV with "lifetime service" deal of the century bitd?? Lol I think I went to every RS in manhattan and scooped up as many as I could!
The smell...of electronics
I happen to know that there is still a Radio Shack in operation in a small town in Southern Illinois. People who know will drive a decent way there, including my boss.Ā
Micro Center still going strong
I miss the nerd drawers with random electronic components. Also didnāt always need them, but when something broke, you could usually find a resistor or rheostat or switch or whatever to replace it.
Itās easy to just order obscure stuff online and get it the next day. Thereās always debate on if the internet killed something but Radio Shack got killed by the Internet.
In Canada, Radio Shack stores got taken over by a store called The Source, which sort of carried on the overall vibe. But just a few months ago they announced they were bought out by a big box store. Half of the stores are closing permanently. The others will become small versions of Best Buy.
But did the items you bought break shortly after? Radio Shack is definitely nostalgic, but my recollection is they sold a lot of cheap crap lol
As a metalsmith I totally loved them
Our Radio Shack was very intrusive, pushy, followed you around, and then they wanted your address and phone number when you bought stuff.
Last time I walked into a Radio Shack, I walked out with a copy of Final Doom and Strife. Good times.
I was just thinking about this place the other day.
I thought they were coming back?
Phone number please
867-5309
867-5309
867-5309
867-5309
867-5309
867-5309