[Coco] Another Radio Shack Article

[Steve Batson]

Weighing in with my 2 cents! :)

First, has definitely been enjoyable reading this thread with all the memories, comments, nostalgia, etc. 

For me, when I was a Kid, I loved going into a Radio Shack and looking at all the gadgets and unique products that you really didn't see in other stores. I'd see something I liked, put it on lay-away and then pay on it in chunks until I could go pick it up. Later on, I went into the Military to become a Radio Technician and while I was going to technical school and well beyond, I loved to go buy parts and tools for various projects. I remember buying kit to build your own multimeter. That was a fun project as I had to solder all the components. It worked and I used that for many years. It was a great place to go get needed parts, project boxes, etc. I was usually easier to go to the local Radio Shack if you needed something quick and sometimes you could find someone that knew what they are talking about to help you with suggestions if you didn't know exactly what you were looking for. I didn't get into computers until my early 20s when the CoCo came out which was my start with computers. In my area, they had a few Radio Shack Computer Centers that were very cool to browse the CoCo and other Computers they sold and I ended up getting a Tandy 1000 to get into the PC world.  I had a friend that worked at Radio Shack for several years while attending College pursuing an electrical engineering degree. He also had a CoCo was a big time hacker (both hardware and software) and learned a lot from him.

From a computer perspective, I think they started going down the tubes when they started trying to go with just the PC Clone stuff as someone else mentioned earlier. For me, the experience of the stores as well as some of the unique products, computers or otherwise was always the draw. Let's face it, with a few exceptions, here and there, the components and tools were over priced crap compared to what you could get elsewhere. It did the job, and when you needed it now or couldn't find it elsewhere, it was worth it. What got me in those stores, again, was the experience and unique products and of course the ability to get the part I needed or wanted right now and of course some of the odd-ball parts, adapters, etc. Just to clarify, I don't think the Tandy Computers and some of their other unique stuff was over priced crap, just the more common parts and components.

I rarely go into a Radio Shack Store these days unless I need some odd-ball part now that I think they might have, and half the time they don't even have it or the price is through the roof. And of course, coming from a generation where there was good customer service, I hate dealing with some idiot that can't even understand what it is I need to be able to help you find it or determine if they something that will work for you. I also felt the same as most of you about their Cell Phone focus...the first time I went into a store and saw they were going that direction I started going even less. And don't even get me started on their slogan, "You've got, we've got answers"....Uh, no you don't!. 

I think as several have already mentioned, it's going to be very hard for them to revive. At least to anything the hobbyists would like. My friend had told me they don't like to sell anything without something like a 40+% profit margin which would explain the over priced crappy components. That was way back. I don't know how true that is or if it still stands, it's just what I had been told. With all the options available today and the ability to find decent prices on-line, they certainly wouldn't survive trying to focus on parts and gadgets alone hoping for that high profit margin. They need something you don't see elsewhere, they need a reason to get you in the store time and time again. And, they'd need to become the "Go To Place". 

Be interesting to see where it goes.