http://www.gamespot.com/articles/radioshack-goes-bankrupt/1100-6425169/?utm_source=gamefaqs&utm_medium=partner&utm_content=news_module&utm_campaign=homepage

i never went to a radioshack but i can imagien quite a few peopel here purchased their first pc or parts for their first upgrade at "the shack"

The Shack is a far cry today from the store we knew and loved back in the day. Inevitable, I suppose, in part as the electronics hobbyist turned into the computer hobbyist.

The local shop has bailed me out a couple times so it certainly has served a purpose. Not sure what they could have done to stay relevant while still catering to that original market with those expensive-to-operate retail stores. My once-in-a-blue-moon purchase of a diode or potentiometer isn't going to help them much.

For anyone needing that kind of stuff, these guys are a pretty good source: http://www.jameco.com/

That explains why they were having a 50% off sale on everything but gift cards... Farewell Radioshack.

Fuck em!
Asking me for my address and phone number whenever I went into buy a pack a batteries? I don't think so!

Now where will people go to buy an overpriced remote control dune buggy and a TRS-80 microcomputer?

On a related note, Shake Shack should buy some of the closing Radio Shack stores. They could save a lot of money on signage that way.

Never shopped there,but if what tinyE said is true then they would never have gotten any of my money......

Several times in my younger years i remember finding a radio shack DIY electronics kit that had like 100 pre-built projects, and explanations of how to hook it together to get certain results. I always found those fascinating, and would have loved to get more parts and be a hobbyist...

Then they dropped that and pretty much only sold completed products and dropped what made them special. Can't recall buying anything from them that wasn't parts, and curiously that's what ended up destroying them; Or i think. I recall watching a recent video on them as a whole, was it LGR i watched? hmmm My history says it's probably RTU i watched...

I loved Radio Shack when I was a teen. All those cool parts to build whatever ~ but everything that was pre-assembled (including those electronic builder tutorial toys) were way overpriced compared with everyone else, and the quality frequently failed to impress. The last real item I bought was a metal detector for my husband many Christmases ago, and I soon found I had paid too much for a stripped down model. It still works, but I still growl about that. Demanding unnecessary info was the final insult. The wonder wasn't that they finally went under, but that they lasted so long.

Thanks for the parts place link, HereForTheBeer. I have a couple of places I use, but I didn't know about that one. Looks like perfect home away from home for any mad scientist. Muahahaha!

Remember Olson's Electronics?

I always found more things there, but they died quite awhile back.

the shack isnt quite gone yet
according to the article standard general will take over around 2500 stores

and sprint will create 1750 stores ( sprint that doesnt bode wel i have heard horror stories about sprint )

They were the only place left to carry blank audio cassettes that were the extra long variety. Needed them for some lectures.

Can't stand when stores ask for unnecessary personal details. Staples keeps asking me for my email address. I just make one up or give them what I think their CEO's email address is.

Curiously my GF's been getting some emails for a few years that might be similar to that. All kinds of interesting information pops up in the email, like their names, address, that they bought certain types of cars, what their hobbies are...

Course my GF's had the email for 15+ years so why they enter her email i don't know, except to avoid spam?

My personal experiences with Sprint: they aren't spending money on their infrastructure. They are behind in sound quality, and customer service sucks. Left them for good about a year ago when they messed up my Framily plan, so I told them to fruck off. They were rated worst by Consumer Reports in 2013. While looking for a link to that article, it looks like Sprint managed to make the list again last year! So, 2 years in a row, I give you: Sprint is still America's worst carrier.

I thought I was so slick for getting Galactic Man there and not only getting him at I think half the price of the actual Shockwave, but also getting him in a unique grey colorway (foreshadowing my participation on gog by decades) which made him special. Didn't come with Decepticon stickers though, which was a bummer because I really liked those stickers.

The clerk at my Radio Shack was a jerk, though. The third time I went there to exchange my R.C. Car (you're not supposed to drive them in the snow) he said, "no, we don't do exchanges anymore." That guy was so thoughtless. He made a little kid sad.

Welp, so long Radio Shack. *tosses radio shack catalogs on pyre*