Shannon Nutt

I also remember a similar rumor about Pizza Hut changing it's name to "The Hut", but I think George Lucas stopped it. (Just kidding about the Lucas part - but I do remember the rumor)

BobO'Link

The last thing I purchased at Radio Shack was a *cassette* deck cleaner for the car (a wet cleaner type only they sold which was the absolute best one on the market - or was is a fuse for a amplifier?). That was sometime in the late 90s I think and the employee on hand had no clue what I was looking for - probably because it wasn't a boom box or such. I can get adapters, cables, parts, boards, and more far less expensive at a true *electronics* store in town.

We have 2 Radio Shack stores here (1 "stand-alone" and 1 in the mall) and I'm always amazed they survive. I tried using their web site a few times to look up parts and see if either store here had them in stock. Every attempt has ended in frustration.

Abob Teff

I actually decided to visit a Radio Shack today. Strangely enough, they were selling shares of their stock on the clearance rack ...

Alan Smithee

Remember that Radio Shack carried blank 8-track tapes and players far into the 80s, long after they were gone from everywhere else. (Of course I ended up becoming an 8-track collector in the 90s...)

Josh-da-man

Really?

Well, knock me over with a feather...

jjcool

I go in to the local Radio Shack once in a while. Got a computer from them on Black Friday 2 or 3 years ago. THey had a good deal, and NOBODY was there, so I was able to get in and out quick. I buy batteries from them every once in a while, as they were the only ones that had AAAA batteries on the shelf, and I had something that took those stupid batteries. I seem to luck out goign in there, as I always seem to find stuff on "clearance" that is actually reasonably priced in todays internet marketplace. Most recently I have found HDMI cables and optical cables for under $2 each.

Abob Teff

4A batteries? Never knew such a thing existed ... Which leads to the question: Batteries come in AA, AAA, C, and D ... where are A and B?

big e

Oh god, I'd love for a place like that to pop up.

Jay G.

They've been around for a while, but are usually only used in applications where the thin, narrow width is needed. The Surface Pro 3 uses them in its stylus. They're similar to the cell batteries inside most 9V batteries, so some people take apart a 9V battery when they need AAAA batteries in a pinch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAAA_battery

They exist, but are not commonly used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...mmon_batteries

These links explain why A and B (along with F) batteries fell out of favor:
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index....o-b-batteries/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/12325...re-b-batteries


Also, those battery sizes should not be confused with the A, B, and C battery types that were used for vacuum tubes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(vacuum_tube)

Ranger

Oh Suncoast went out of business?

Kmical

Nice to have you back, Mr. Van Winkle

Living Dead

I used to buy a lot of cables there before the internet made them easier to obtain. I also worked there as a teenager and it was one of the worst jobs I ever had.

I don't think I've been in 15 years or more.

PhantomStranger

I think I only ever bought one or two movies from Suncoast but I loved browsing their shelves.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, I never really go the point of Suncoast. Almost anything they had could be purchased cheaper from Best Buy, Amazon, or another online retailer. And this was even back in the day when Best Buy had a decent selection of DVDs.

I've always heard that places like Suncoast and the various music chains like Sam Goody, Musicland, Tower, and Camelot would charge MSRP (or, in some cases, more) because of high rent costs, but that always struck me as a self-defeating business model when a place like Best Buy had essentially the same selection of media for significantly less.

Jay G.

Suncoast and the other specialty shops had a point before Best Buy and other discount retailers really got into discounting media, especially as loss leaders. DVD in particular was a huge shift, since new titles could be bought cheaply in high quality soon after theatrical release, compared to before where there was either the very expensive laserdisc or the moderately cheaper VHS. When online stores popped up, it was a bit of a death knell for them, much like how Netflix (both rental by mail and online streaming) killed off Blockbuster.

stvn1974

Every time I would stop into Radio Shack the clerk would tell me that they didn't have what I wanted but I should check Best Buy. I would go to Best Buy where they would tell me they didn't have it but I could order it online.

Strapped4Cash

Suncoast began in '86 and ime their heyday was in the 90's, before any, and then many, people were buying online. BB wasn't a presence during much of that time either ime. The bigger competitors here were Blockbuster, Music Plus, Tower, the Virgin Megastores and the Wherehouse (the last one of which I am aware of just went out of business a few months ago actually). And then later Borders.

Part of the appeal of Suncoast was that it was in malls back when nearly everyone went to them. Nobody gave very significant discounts back then, as most VHS were an expensive MSRP everywhere, and then slowly the manufacturers tried selling them for $20-$25, whereas before they were pretty much all $60, then $80 then $100, then $100+. And at places like Blockbuster then special orders would take 2-3 weeks, at best, with a "we have no idea if this might actually ever ship" attitude.

Suncoast actually had some inventory in-store, along with posters and pins and various collectibles. In the pre-Internet age then that was closer then most people ever came to that other stuff, and everyone was trained to pay MSRP, or slightly less if they waited for good sales. Suncoast just couldn't adapt well enough as the business model changed and the Internet grew and the other B&M sellers went out of business or did their best to change with the times.

DVD Polizei

Did they offer an insurance plan?

Interesting article I read posted here, and when the comment was mentioned "Do they even make Ham Radios anymore?" I had to laugh. Ham radios are still a big business, and equipment can be exotic. And more people are getting their licenses than ever before, thanks to free classes offered at many universities and hospitals.

I remember when Radio Shack used to be the only place to sell high quality radios and scanners that you couldn't get anywhere else. Not the case anymore. With Yaesu and others, Radio Shack just fell behind, paying more attention to irritating and screwing over their consumer base over by mass marketing techniques used in the 50's.

What Radio Shack didn't want to realize, was that you piss off a customer enough times...they really will find another place to shop. And eventually, your consumer base will dry up.

sportsfan64

I was at a RS over the weekend checking out some clearance when a guy came in looking for a land line telephone 2-in-1 splitter. The clerk took him over to the cell phone accessory area and asked if he needed one with USB. The customer was confused but I figured out what he wanted and found the item myself and showed the guy. He bought it (for $8.99!?!). I saw him later in the parking lot and told him he could find the same thing at a dollar store.

Alan Smithee

Suncoast seemed pretty cool the first time I saw one of their stores (1989). They were pushing video sales, using the slogan "Own your own" at a time when most people were just renting- they were the first video-centric store I'd seen that DIDN'T do rentals at all. In those days, if you wanted something it was either pay full price at one of the few stores that actually had it in stock, or order through the mail. Their laserdisc selection was never as good as Tower's though. Thinking about all those walls lined with VHS tapes, wondering how many of those are in a landfill right now

dan30oly

cdollaz

We bought some rabbit ears there about 3 years ago. I don't think I had been in one in the decade before that.

JZ1276

Fk RadioShack. They are greedy & overpriced. I havent set foot in one for years until a couple of years ago when I needed an optical cable ASAP and have a RS a couple of miles from my home so went there to pick one up expecting to pay $10 or so and they wanted like $50 for the cable which I had to find myself because the dude working there didnt even know what it was (and this was only 2009).

jjcool

Yeah. I had one device that used one of those stupid batteries. It was essentially a skinnier AA. Same height, but half the diameter.

When I was researching that stupid battery, I did come across that fact about the 9v. It never came to that, as my local radio shack carried them, oftentimes on clearance for some reason.

jjcool

Suncoast, Sam Goody, and Musicland were all the same company. Around here, we didn't get a best buy until the late 90s or early 2000s. So the only palce that had a decent stock of media was Sam Goody or Suncoast. Suncoast was good because they actually had a decent selection of VHS in widescreen at the time. Of course everything was at list price, but If you knew how the system worked, you could get stuff substantially cheaper.