The Decline of Fry's Electronics...What Happened?

[@EdmundKempersDartboard]

Browsing Amazon just isn't the same as loitering for hours in a Fry's, drooling over the things you can't afford.

[@copester1204]

or agonizing over the thousand different options for PC parts trying to figure out which was the best deal for the price and also not likely to catch on fire

[@aicelio]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpSyc6CGjNiDhq8

[@mariodelrio2387]

True lol

[@jindodogg]

@@copester1204 You just had to avoid the ECS motherboards which Fry's commonly used in their builds. Those were crap products.

[@stater3]

Actually looking at the product and reading every print on the box.

[@bircharbor9042]

Genuinely ,my dad used to wow me with stories about frys. it was his favorite store, and he took me there as a kid and I was wowed. I stopped by two years ago and it broke my heart. Ill miss you nerd heaven :(

[@oracle8192]

Same here man. I'd always go to there Burbank location with my dad. The one with the big ol flying saucer coming out the front and a fifty's diner in the store showing old scifi movie screenings. Last time I went there was 9 months ago, and I remember getting a banana milkshake and hot pressed panini, sitting in the jet setter car converted into a dining booth, watching some puppetted sea monster rip at a beach town

[@kevinhibbard320]

Yeah my dad would think of any excuse to go out there. It's depressing now. Like part of my childhood is gone.

[@ArynRozelle]

Former fry's employee here... I quit over 8 years ago and even then, I saw it coming. At least I got lifetime friends and a spouse out of my time there ;)

[@scherzva]

I used to go the one in Woodland Hills until it was no longer an enjoyable experience.

[@-SundayWolf]

Yep, you're right! That was about the time when I started noticing the decline. At first prices were not as good as they used to be. And then inventory started shrinking down. I would say, it all begun around 2012 - 2013. But for last 4 or 5 years visiting Fry's was so depressing that even me, being quite loyal customer, stopped going there. And I used to drive from Seattle to Portland so, I would avoid paying sales taxes. My favorite Fry's was in Las Vegas - best customer service and employees knew what they were selling there. What store did you work in?

[@joncarloaguilera]

Did you work at the Roseville location by any chance? lol. Former employee here as well!

[@cccycling5835]

My wife used to work @ the Sunnyvale location. She says she doesn’t miss the place at all lol

[@BeautifulAngelBlossom]

that pretty neat

[@tac73]

Fry's was like Disneyland for Geeks. I frequented the Manhattan Beach store, as it was just a couple of miles from work. We'd often make a run for parts. The good ol days!

[@lastkazakh621]

Me too. I went to the Silicone Valley location once though, which was like a tech museum.

[@girohead]

That was the one with Area 51, wasn't it?...just awesome.

[@justinelkins560]

Same! I used to live at the Manhattan Beach location!

[@69pointdexter]

Same here lol!

[@grendelprime166]

I was right there alongside you. I still remember picking up Starcraft and parts to build a new computer at that very store with the Tiki theme. I miss them.

[@stampscapes]

Miss the good old days of Fry's. Maybe the closest thing to a "toy store" feeling I'll have as an adult. Was like the Toy's R Us for grown ups. Used to go there and browse for hours --and buy too. Bought a lot of media, cameras, and blank CD's and DVD's. Always looked forward to getting that Fry's ad in the paper every week too.

[@Unpopular_Duality.]

Yep!!! It saddens me to see fry's go down like circuit city.

[@ExaltedDuck]

I can still get that "toy store" feeling at Beverages & More. I don't even really drink these days but the smell of their flavored margarita salts as the doors slide open... so soothing...

[@michaelwills1926]

@@TheSeniorTaco compusa...now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. Good times

[@JBM425]

I used to refer to Fry's as "Bigger Toys for Older Boys (and Girls)." But just like Toys-R-Us, now Fry's is consigned to the dust bin of retail history.

[@-SundayWolf]

@@Unpopular_Duality. and mee too...

[@JustBlazeIt]

Man Fry's was such a dope store back in early to mid 2000s, RIP

[@Labyrinth6000]

Late 90s especially

[@tempestindustries9446]

This is where me and my mom would go to shop for electronics and stuff to upgrade my dads computer for birthdays and stuff. I always liked to shop here... I'm sad its gone

[@highping1786]

I worked five minutes away and would occasionally go there for lunch to sit tin the massage chairs.

[@swallowedinthesea11]

Fry's Electronics was awesome! My Dad and I would visit it almost every Friday after high school. Browsed around a lot. It was the first time he bought me a PS2 in 2004 and got my first dedicated GPU - Geforce FX 5200. I took some pictures of our local Fry's as keepsakes. Going to really miss it.

[@MUZUKUN-YT]

Definitely was dope. They got some real dope deals too.

[@EdgarVerona]

Yeah, last time I walked into a Fry's I saw that exact same experience: a nearly empty store, with some crappy items on the almost-barren shelves and a couple of people walking around absent mindedly. It felt like the store had already shut down, and they had just forgotten to lock the doors so a couple of people randomly wandered in.

[@edzeljereza8234]

Last time I was at Fry's here in Vegas was at the tail end of Pandemic 2020 (October)....looked like a deserted warehouse inside, "hello hello hello....anybody here here here"....maybe five cars in the parking lot....they were on their death throes....

[@hajime2k]

I was at the Fry's in Irving the weekend before they shut down. It was low on products and had more employees than customers. This was in the afternoon. I thought maybe folks stayed home because of the winter storm aftermath, but as I looked around I was not that impressed with the item selection. Something told me this could be another CompUSA situation and sadly I was proven right. I LOVED the Fry's in Manhattan Beach and would take two buses or a 1 hour bicycle ride just to get there. Oh the good old days...

[@andya2665]

Location, location, location. The Fry's in phoenix phoenix was a destination store with nothing else around it. bad, bad, bad.

[@TheMrawesomest]

I vividly remember the empty shelves last time I was at a Fry's store. The PC hardware section was half full. There were some old graphics cards with the lock device around the boxes, yet there were still full price.

[@visnik]

@@andya2665 not true, just down the road you have Castles & Coasters and what used to be the great Bill and Ted's Excellent Metro center mall. Ok, nevermind, you're are correct.

[@dcooper1994]

The shelves had been bare for some time. When you asked an employee if they were about to close, they would say we are getting ready to reorganize the store. I heard that explanation several times.

[@MrDICKHEAD28]

THEY REORGANIZED INTO BANKRUPTCY

[@meansock]

I always would say yes 💀😂

[@johncook9392]

I heard that in 2019 or so they decided to go w/ a consignment business model (supplier/manufacturer gets paid AFTER the item sells, vs retailer paying for the item upfront), which if true DEFINITELY was the nail in the coffin...

[@kevinhibbard320]

It went from exciting and fun to depressing and sad. Bare shelves are sad to see.

[@timpete78]

Even Sears was in denial. You would get similar vague and misleading responses from their employees, even though other locations were closing, their shelves were mostly empty, and the writing was on the wall. If a store is understocked and largely empty, its demise is imminent, no matter what they tell you.

[@arh3733]

The Fry's flyer in the Friday paper was like the Sunday comics for computer geeks. I'll miss that place.

[@paulngo4631]

That was the main reason I would buy the Sunday paper

[@digitalranger4259]

I would get the flyer out of the paper and just drive to Fry's. I knew they would have something I wanted. Most of the time it was a group trip.

[@ThePhonyAccount]

I missed that. That flyer was the only reason why I bought the newspaper at all.

[@Aaron-fr5di]

Yup i always loved reading it

[@CZsWorld]

This one hurts the most. Not only was it a great place to go to pick up cheap hard drives, but the decorations made it a perfect spot to play Pokemon Go.

[@brettwestbrook215]

I used to live about five minutes away from an incredible universe that was turned into a Fry's eletroni I stop going there about ten years ago. I used to go because I could get my games CDs and movies in one place but when they dropped CDs and movies I stopped going.

[@JacksonWalter735]

Fry's was a dream to play Pokémon Go at for me back in high school before I went to college or took the bus downtown. It was probably the place with the highest amounts of PokeStops and had a Gym that wasn't a local church without any other PokeStops nearby.

[@bumfist88]

The tiki and koi fish pond lol

[@loveofmangos001]

These kids play Pokemon Go I grew up when Pokemon was played on Game Boy and Game Boy cartridges. It's beyond reason to walk on random people's lawns like mine playing that.

[@JacksonWalter735]

@@loveofmangos001 Pokémon Go is free and my family was poor growing up. A phone that has multiple functions while also allowing you to play games is a better investment for my family than buying a 3DS and then buying games for it. You don't have to walk onto people's lawn to play Pokémon Go. In fact that's very rare. If there's a Pokémon Stop that happens to be on your property or home, you can always get it removed.

[@erikkovacs3097]

They're such liars. They said "Oh don't worry about the empty shelves we're just switching suppliers, we'll be back in no time". That was 1.5 years ago.

[@diskmastermoo5567]

seriously. i heard the "restructuring" argument, year later. came out of the same store on the brink of tears. that was my last time before this happened.

[@Crosbie85]

They kept saying that shit

[@GrumpyWolfTech]

3 years ago.

[@rogeliobeltran1742]

dudeeee i heard that a lot too

[@willissudweeks1050]

They did the same thing at Shop Ko. They marked down the entire store by like 40%. I asked if the store was closing, and the lady said no. Later that week there were “Store Closing” signs on every shopko.

[@TheMountainLynx]

Having witnessed it during the year I spent as a supervisor at Fry's, another huge factor was that they structured their departments to be in competition with each other; the same mistake that killed Sears. The cutthroat sales environment was what necessitated the shift to consignment model in their inventory, and the subsequent lack of stock on the shelves is what ultimately led to their collapse.

[@VincentGonzalezVeg]

I'm between where two fries electronics would have been 30 minutes away I knew a little bit about my computer but I need a new way more

[@nicholasamos7773]

I worked at Fry's Electronics for 2 years. Started out as sales in A/T then moved to MT after half a year, and got passed over for Assistant DM multiple times due the company hiring someone from outside the company for that position.

[@CHEFPKR]

Frys was where my dad took me on the weekend to look around at all the gadgets, my friends and I bought Bawls energy drinks from there for LANs, so many parts purchased. Good times.

[@vaiyaktikasolarbeam1906]

oh cooking video guy!

[@Joe-bm4wx]

Same!

[@saltrush3448]

Dude same here, I lived fairly close to two growing up and we'd just go there to look around and get a Bawls

[@rickertonfickerton1268]

same, i went there a year ago ish for a pc part and honestly it did lose the magic, a lot of cheap stuff and used components was basically all that was there, still hard to let it go.

[@tommy2cent427]

My dad used to take me to lol I didn't know much about it except that the store looked cool as hell

[@patrickcarrillo714]

I feel like the consignment model was the reason why Fry's ultimately failed because 99% of suppliers hate that model and most don't even bother to work with stores that do that

[@williamhaynes7089]

Also with consignment model, Frys didn't have to pay for shop lifting, the vendor did

[@patrickcarrillo714]

@@williamhaynes7089 yeah It was a lose-lose for the supplier

[@TheCritic-MMA]

They didn't choose it--the reputable vendors came in and repossessed their products. The shelves were literally bare with only candy and school supplies before they got some consignment crap in. And of course it was crap. Also probably the reason we didn't get any 'going out of business, 30% off' '40%' '50%' weeks before they closed the doors for good. They didn't have any money into the crap. Either the vendors pick it back up or they don't, doesn't matter to Fry's bottom line.

[@GrumpyWolfTech]

@@TheCritic-MMA um no, if you paid for an item first the venor can't come "repossess stuff" their shelves went bare AFTER the consignment.

[@delruiz3669]

@@GrumpyWolfTech bro they've had that consignment model for a very very long time. I worked there for a almost 9 years. What screwed them over was not paying the vendors back in full and selling the products wayyy below margin to try to sell their warranty

[@CareyHolzman]

Just think of how big the new Spirit Halloween stores are going to be this year!

[@helidude3502]

I don’t know, depends how hard ‘rona hit the Spirit stores. Holiday stuff had lots of leftovers in the stores because of ‘rona.

[@jensen365]

Too soon...

[@blackamerican40]

The one in my hometown got turned into a seafood restaurant.

[@alejandroaguilar9038]

SPEAK ILL OF THE DEAD LOL - THATS SO WRONG

[@talusranch990]

Subaru man!!!!!!

[@TheRealHamsterfist]

I worked there through college in Arizona and I have to say, I knew they weren't going to last for too long. The management was amateur level, the work culture was very pushy, and it seemed like they were trying to rely on a cultist mindset to keep employees. I had moved to Arizona for school, and the manager had the audacity to ask me "this company puts clothes on your back and food in your belly. What's more important to you, school or your job?" They were shocked when I said "school." I certainly didn't move to the desert to work at Fry's! This was back in 1999.

[@thedumasgroupllc]

Arizona store worst I'd been.

[@robwebnoid5763]

Heh, right answer. With schooling, you could find more better jobs than being stuck at one job. However, I was a Frys fan since they arrived in my location 25 years ago.

[@bluejaysfan965]

I would've laughed in that assholes face then quit.

[@maynardholmes8870]

😂😂😂😂wonder how it’s working out for that manager I laugh, but I don’t wish any ill will upon. Anyone has nothing to do it being politically correct and more to do with anybody can be given a bad situation somewhere in their lifetime but with that attitude there is karma there’s age discrimination there is cronyism nepotism that manager might be experiencing a lot of things now, I enjoyed fries but they just got too big and then the sad part is they leave a moon crater when they go out of business

[@melchior2678]

Well unless you were a STEM student then school only indoctrinated you into a mindless sheep, so I hope you made the right choice.

[@The_Horizon]

The closest Fry's electronics location to me is just 5 minutes away from a Microcenter with far better deals, which probably explains alot of it

[@kloroformd]

Sometimes Fry's had stuff cheaper. Not often. I'm most sad I didn't go get the AT PSU for my 486 that Fry's still had a few weeks ago. It was one of the few things still on the shelf.

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

I was just at the Aztec temple last week. Half that store is “under renovation”

[@cranklabexplosion-labcentr8245]

@@mrcosmojones880 Phoenix Arizona

[@Triginhil]

I hate MIcro Center for the reason that the one by me is 70 miles away and cuz of covid, theres a 2 - 4 hours wait time to even get INTO the store. They cant prioritize online order pickups from normal walk-in customers and for that, I refuse to give them any business.

[@cozyapustaja8249]

A few of my old Fry's coworkers actually moved over to micro center lol. Snatched their customers AND employees

[@samyyyyyyy]

Last time I went to Fry’s it was one of the most depressing retail experiences of my life. Shelves were empty. It was dead silent. A shell of its former self. Sad.

[@1997loza]

Exactly i felt the same way😭😭😭

[@chocolatechris7304]

Last time I went to Fry's last year most of the shelves where empty and the only things was outdated products from ten years ago

[@MicroUrb]

Exactly, it was that way for me as well and that was back in 2019. That consigment nonsense was a death knell, what idiots. As a small business owner even I know you always want to at least look like you have more product than you can sell, its the appearance of abundance, people flock to places that has a lot of stuff to buy as long as its stuff people want. People will always want computer parts, and secondary storage devices, they should not have put that on consignment, ridiculous. Not to mention, who doesn't love DJI drones? GoPro cameras? come on. they deserve their outcome unfortunately the consumer and the economy loses out as well.

[@MrBryansa]

I'm glad I didn't witness that, though the last time I went they had just started the consignment thing. They must have known that it was the beginning of the end & didn't want to have to sell off their merchandise for less than they paid.

[@Weaponized_Poutine]

I was at the wilsonville oregon location a week before closing... yea it gave me a sad

[@votekyle3000]

Visited Fry’s in Austin December 2019. It was like visiting your grandparent in a nursing home.

[@huntermcclovio4517]

worse I would say...at least at a nursing home you get to see your grandparents....here you got to see nothing but empty shelves!

[@JBM425]

It truly was depressing to watch the decline. Once the motherboards went out of stock and weren't replenished, it was only a matter of time.

[@kevinheckeler]

I had a hard time articulating how it felt - you nailed it.

[@inranglhood60]

Seriously. I've had the same experience for years, so I started to go to microcenter more.

[@rileyesmay]

IKR. I wanted there to be sales on things they had like movies or cables, but nothing at all was on sale. Im not spending $20 on a bluray movie lmao

[@Sgv1tm]

It feels like a part of my childhood just died. Those were the great ol days. This is right up there with tower records and miller’s outpost closing. No words.

[@sirebellum0]

Fry's failure is sad but deserved. They really failed to adapt to the changing world at a proper pace. When they finally made the too-late decision to focus their inventory, they went overboard and really lost the pizzazz of the store. And then they also failed to stay competitive. I was on the Fry's newsletter for years thinking about the times when they had really good deals, but I literally never came a across an interesting deal from Fry's in like the last 4-5yrs. Those alerts started largely getting ignored in my inbox. RIP to Fry's

[@Will_The_Ripper]

Exact same for me

[@davidthomas6949]

Many people dont like the "changing world" and we will rebel.

[@cheeselord8153]

@@davidthomas6949 what are you going to “rebel”. go to the now shut down stores and demand to buy stuff? Attempt to buy stuff from a Amazon warehouse instead of ordering from an app? Like I'm honestly confused what you'd do to rebel the shut down of a company

[@sagelow3274]

@@cheeselord8153 I think he's referring to world changes as in boy dressing as girls, girls acting like boys, kids not going outside, not socializing in nature, people wearing silly masks and freedom being suffocated. The list can go on but I'm sure you see the light.

[@catman422]

Fry's was so special that we got a Fry-day episode of Company Man.

[@syxepop]

THAT HOITS!

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

It took me a moment to remember that it's Friday as by my workweek, today is the equivilant of Tuesday for me, lol.

[@woofffer2368]

Ehgeheheheh

[@woofffer2368]

Wait it’s Friday?

[@chad55009]

Gotta get down on fryday

[@sh_claire9284]

Fry's was looking to be at deaths door by mid 2010s. Shelves were already empty, employees were standing around and did not know their products, yet were pushy and clearly paid on commission. It felt uncomfortable to be there. They made online shopping in the comfort of your own home feel like the better experience.

[@JL-sm6cg]

I heard the employees were only paid commission on big items, and were screwed if you wanted small stuff.

[@DzheiSilis]

@@JL-sm6cg Depended. Sometimes there was good commison on small items, but if the product was on sale or if it was price matched the commission was the first bit that the PoS system cut to maintain profit.

[@TravisPluss]

Everything that was on sale had no commission, so employees would have to sell you extras just to meet commission - which was minimum wage. No customer wanted to buy anything that wasn’t on sale.

[@JL-sm6cg]

@@TravisPluss that's what it was. Right. That sucked. I hadn't been in Fry's in at least 2 years, so there's that for me as well.

[@Aethelbeorn]

Customer service blew. I wondered why they always steered me to the high ticket items first.

[@methamphetamelon]

Fry's did a lot of things wrong that really hurt. There's no reason they couldn't have competed vs Internet shops because even with Amazon, not everything can be had same day. With Radio Shack having long become a ghost of its former self, Fry's was often the only place you could go to get a vast amount of components right away. Personally I worked for the company for a few months in a Southern California store decades ago. The first red flag should've been my would-be manager asking if I had classes or anything, and was glad when i said i did not, then making it very clear that Fry's did not schedule around classes. I got stuck in the cage when I wanted to do sales in electronic components. So many times the returns people would bring back a "returned" part and it would be the customers old/broken RAM or CPU, etc. They really did not hire the right people or train people very well. The commissioned sales model was rather dumb as well. Nothing like being the customer and price matching an item only to have that cheerful/helpful employee suddenly become much less cheerful/helpful because the price match made their commission disappear on the sale. It really is just a sad tale of multiple layers of bad decisions and mismanagement, IMO.

[@johncook9392]

Most of the Best Buys in my area are doing just fine, though that could be because they really are the ONLY electronics store left. But I agree, if Frys had handled things correctly they still could have maintained a niche in the market...

[@Bro_Joe]

@@johncook9392 Best Buys is going "bye bye" pretty soon also. Have you been into one lately?

[@Bro_Joe]

Piss poor management.

[@johncook9392]

@@Bro_Joe Ones in my area seem to be doing OK. Bought a TV from one a few months back and it was pretty busy...

[@Bro_Joe]

@@johncook9392 They are still up and running, but they have certainly diminished in "style". Like many other stores, at times it's hard to find qualified salespeople to help you. It's difficult to find items that you are looking for to purchase in-store.

[@devincreislerstudios]

I went to Fry’s as a kid and was amazed by all the electronics but didn’t have money to buy anything. A couple years ago I went to Fry’s and only found Printer Paper and flash drives as good deals. The bare shelves and lack of customer service, quiet atmosphere with almost no one else there did not have me excited to go back. I guess ever now.

[@PinkBunnyCorporation]

They failed to adapt. Its like how sears failed. They could easily have adapted to the internet, they could have been what Newegg became. The large retailers could have been really nice for store pick ups or store deliveries too. In addition, I think they had a real chance to expand further and cater to the entire north American market. I saw the shelves go empty. They stopped carrying computers, then different parts. I had to explain to an employee what Flux was when I couldn't locate it. There used to be music, vinyl records, TVs and more. It was bad. I went in one day and found the shelves empty. And it just never got better. I felt sad. But I can only say, it was one of the last lingering wholesome bits of the 90s era, where there was a bit of cheesiness to everything, tech was great, but stores were still king because the internet was still a baby.

[@WrongHandedGuitarist]

This is spot on. Fry's leadership completely ignored their online competition until it was too little, too late. Nobody in the store had the knowledge to help, but they all sure wanted commission and wouldn't hesitate to start writing up a quote as soon as you walked in the door. They should have set up an online storefront that leveraged the ability to order online and pick up in person and been years ahead of the competition but they seemed to have little interest in wanting to change.

[@JohnDoe-kv3kd]

I didn't realize just how bad it had gotten until I saw the article about them closing and it included a pre-pandemic video of somebody during CES 2020 going to first the Burbank store and then actually flying to the one in Vegas during the CES. the people working at both stores seem to be well aware of how absolutely effed everything was and how management was just down playing everything.They realized I'm sure that the suppliers weren't going to be supplying and that everything was going to go completely to shiz. My single experience with Fry's was very underwhelming but it was what I needed when I needed it. At least I can remember him for that before they fell into the abyss and became total garbage.

[@Gatorade69]

While I loved Frys I would still order a majority of the time from Newegg. Still if a part died and you needed a replacement ASAP then Fry's was awesome. I actually got my current TV on sale at Fry's. That's too bad to hear about the shelves going empty as I used to love their music selection. The store had everything someone like me wanted.

[@Go4Broke247]

Got slaughtered by Amazon, simple.

[@Gatorade69]

@@Go4Broke247 I would argue that Newegg did more harm to them. I don't think of buying computer parts from Amazon. Amzon definitely helped kill Fry's book and music section though.

[@SebastianCamposTech]

There was this Fry’s location I loved going to as a third grader. They had a movie theater inside. Free popcorn. Free movies. Parents could shop for appliances.

[@1OneArmBtw]

I remember walking into the theater and watching my all time favorite movie. it was like a dream come true

[@etn]

unlocked a childhood memory of mine i had forgotten

[@EweToobUsername]

The Phoenix location off Thunderbird?

[@SebastianCamposTech]

@@EweToobUsername no it was a little out side of San Diego county iirc

[@justdoingitjim7095]

I shopped there because I liked the "hands on" aspect of it. When I went to buy some GOOD speakers for my PC I was able to listen to the different speakers they sold. I ended up buying the "Creative" brand because, believe it or not, it easily beat out all the Bose speakers hands down! You can't compare like that on the internet!

[@celestepalm6949]

Yes, there's no reason why a good electronics store can't exist on the ground. They don't need to supply 'everything,' just the hardware people want to test for themselves. People still need to go hands on things like computers, laptops, etc.

[@mjc0961]

I believe it. Bose is all undeserved reputation.

[@daveyelmer3222]

@@mjc0961 those original Bose back in the 70s were pretty impressive.

[@gahbah274]

@@daveyelmer3222 Impressive for the 70's maybe

[@gahbah274]

Yeah, Bose is all hype for most of their products unfortunately.

[@BRADSPIG]

When any store has almost no product on their shelves it's going out-of-business, no matter what the corporate headquarters might say.

[@dtvjho]

Sam Walton once put it this way: customers shouldn't be forced to save, i.e. when the product they want isn't on the shelves, they hold onto their money. Often they drive to the competition and get it there.

[@JeffFlowersgoogle]

As a 90s kid going to Fry's was like going to to Disney, and you basically hit it on the head with your analysis. It went from a fun trip, to one that was just so frustrating. I'm a bit of an introvert, I suspect a lot of other customers were too. So you can imagine how having sales rep's that just wouldn't leave one alone would get after a while. I would wear headphones, and still they would bother me. I literally just wanted to wonder about - pick up whatever I came for and buy extra fun stuff I didn't need - washing it down with a jolt cola and snowball. Don't get me started with the whole showing of receipts. Normally I wouldn't care, but they would have the most moronic person doing this - they would literally watch you get rung up/pay... and still fumble about, wasting time trying to figure out your receipt. Once a friend of mine was so frustrated - he dumped everything on the floor and then yelled at the dude to call out each item whilst he put it back into the bag. Their closing is really emotional still. I remember my grandpa taking me there. He wasn't a computer person, but knew that I was. Will be missed by me still.

[@-SundayWolf]

Just like I wrote to someone above, it felt like somebody from corporate office was trying to push the company out of business. And that receipt policy was one of the things to push people away from the store. I am going to miss every electronics store that used to exist: Fry's, Circuit City, CompUSA and many other small ones

[@Matrxmonky]

"Can I help ya find something?" "CAN I HELP YA FIND SOMETHING?!?!?" "C A N I..." EVERY. FRIGGIN. TIME.

[@1972OGTony]

@@Matrxmonky Consider yourself bless because in Houston none of them asked to help you with sheit.

[@JeffFlowersgoogle]

@@1972OGTony of only they had switched this policy around...lol.

[@YoSpiff]

Since the floor staff got rated on assisitng the customers to make sales, I understand it was important for them to give you that slip of paper for them to get credit for it. Usually they would ask if they could help and then leave me alone. Only one time did it go too far and the sales person followed me from aisle to aisle, waiting for me to choose something so he could give me his slip. I complained on the way out.

[@jdbarrera]

When Fry's was hot in the 90s it was crazy. Store was packed, nowhere to park, line to check out was 20 minutes or more long. It was really something. My favorite was the one with the Space Shuttle, it has a coffee shop inside.

[@ooogg]

Anaheim has a cool space shuttle one

[@kabj06]

A fellow houstonian I see. Used to go to that same one out in Webster (or is it Clear Lake?) Last time I was there was 2013 and it had an ok selection still. Picked up a nice ASUS WLAN stick I still use to this day.

[@johnseah957]

In the 90's, Silicon Valley had tons of stores that sold computer components. Even with competitors like Comp USA, Fry's was the place to go to as they had the largest selection of brands and the best prices. Even with large chains like Comp USA as a competitor, the prices on average was at least 10 percent lower than Comp USA.

[@dmfraser1444]

The one in Anaheim. That was my regular Frys when I lived in Orange. Ehen I moved to Costa Mesa I went to the Roman theme one in Fountain Valley. Then I moved away from LA in 2010 but went to the Renton WA store. Also the Las Vegas one. Frys was my go store for electronics. I even bought some tools there, motherboard, hard f\drives and even stuff like solder.

[@Gatorade69]

@@johnseah957 I remember my local CompUSA not even carrying Processors or ram . Sure they had video, sound cards and hard drives but no processors !? Wtf.

[@MRxMADHATTER]

I was totally caught off guard. My first Fry's experiance was in Dallas, TX. I saw the store threre and was blown away. I lived in Louisiana and came to Dallas for a friend's wedding. I found out they had stores in Houston, TX and it became a regular destiation for computer system building supplies. I knew they could be a little sketchy on returns but I figured they got a lot of people taking advantage of them. But it wasn't uncommon to buy a dead component that had been returned and repackaged to look factory fresh. You had to practically hold a gun to their heads to get an exchange, much less a refund. But it was usually the best price and they still had selection back then. I started to notice a problem when I was visiting in San Diego. I found the Fry's there and there was almost no selection at all. That was not the kind of Fry's I remembered. I had already been to several stores in the Los Angeles area. The one in Manhatten Beach cracked me up. It had no theme like other Fry's stores. It was packed solid inside. The isles were barely wide enough to walk down if they wern't blocked. Merch stacked to the ceiling. I don't see how anyone could find anything in that store. And the store was tiny, sq. ft. wise. My eye opener moment was in 2018 at Christmas. The Store in Phoenix was practically empty. Then came pandemic and I have not been to a Fry's since. I hope someone will take it upon themselves to recreate at least some of what they had. But I guess we are doomed to be anti-social and shop online from now on. One interesting experiance I had a while back. I was looking for a Samsung UHD (4K) TV and went to every Fry's in the Los angeles area I could find. In every instance they were playing some lame low-res VHS quality video to display the TVs. They were showing the TV I wanted online as "in stock". But that was a lie. I had to go to a special Best Buy to get the TV I wanted. I sent a message to Samsung's public relations people and told them how their products were being displayed. They apologized and sent me a USB drive loaded with 4K movies and content. This was just after 4K became available. That was cool.

[@danderson8431]

I’m disappointed that the Fry’s near me in Dallas was just a normal, non-themed store. I feel like I missed out.

[@FireAlarmTech7.]

Same here. My store was a former Incredible Universe, which wasn’t themed.

[@jamesr5574]

I went to the one in Vegas plenty of times and it was kinda lame imo. The first one I went to was aquatic themed and had fish bowls all over the place.

[@Seth9809]

My local one looked very Aztec and I loved it.

[@Lamb666]

Mine in Houston was themed like an Oil field.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

Definitely. Ours had a cool western theme.

[@Patelivision]

You missed that in 2008 a Fry's executive got caught for embezzling $65 million dollars. Sure that was in 08, but I don't think a company the size of Fry's could have recovered from that yet.

[@danc2014]

He embezzled money but a lot was kick backs from the manufacturers to promote there items. Thus they did have some great prices a internet store could not. Those Friday sales adds were like a black friday every week.

[@erwincuellar5806]

He didn't put that in? That's super important to their culture of negligence. I'm just about to watch the vid.

[@ExaltedDuck]

I think that was kind of the beginning of the end. Or rather the end of the beginning of the end. The polish and glimmer of their experience had been fading several years up to then, but in the years after, they were sliding downhill fast, then in freefall for most of the 2010s and a twitching fetid corpse from about 2017 on.

[@eopest]

Yeah... I remember this. They downplayed this really hard at the time. I don't think Fry's ever really recovered from it though.

[@AJ-iu6nw]

So when is the next person going to come in and fill in the gap that Fry's left?

[@a.c.1877]

I remember visiting my dad in Phoenix years ago. He asked if I wanted to go to Fry’s, and I jumped at the chance to talk him into buying me some new electronics. Imagine my dismay when it was just the grocery store.

[@laidback93]

Haha, that reminds me when I saw that my friend's then girlfriend had a Fry's key fob for the discount and I scratched my head. This was in Oregon where I grew up. I'm like, oh Fry's electronics! That store kicks ass. She then tells me it's a grocery store in Phoenix. I'm like, huh???

[@bryanfuentez7640]

Dang was it the one on 35th ave and thunderbird? Right off the I-17

[@joesolis2]

I’m from CA and moved to Phoenix for a job. Imagine my surprise when all of the Fry’s were grocery stores, except the one on Thunderbird.

[@aniassantiago6445]

Yah the grocery store chain Frys threw me off too when I moved to AZ 😭😂

[@americanpaisareturns9051]

🤣👍🏽

[@BloodFromStoneRocks]

The worst thing about Fry's was feeling like they wanted to strip search you upon leaving the store.

[@orangecookie3132]

Man they never strip search me I feel slightly offended

[@Neidhardt150]

FUNNY THING ABOUT THAT I used to work at one a few years back when God War came out on the PS4 some guy stole every copy we got in shoved into his pants for some stupid ass reason nobody searched him and not 3 hours later all our copies were on offer-up with our security clamshells IN THE PHOTOS the dude was arrested later lmao.

[@stevenernest2459]

I never had that feeling. You must look like a suspicious person.

[@Naamturd101]

At the store in Anaheim Fry's was a pretty notorious store for theft. They even had an aisle set up in the store that was just a bunch of empty plastic bins so nobody would browse it. It was intended to make shop lifters feel safe due to no traffic being there, but there were more cameras set up around it. They never seemed to care much about putting their DVDs and video games behind glass like other stores did. If you were a teenager in the 90's and spent time in Fry's you definitely knew what it felt like to be followed by security for fitting a look.

[@eeellama]

It was the final indignity of the Fry's experience.

[@alexandertheresurrection2810]

I remember when Fry’s electronics in the early 2000s was literally the coolest electronics store ever! How the mighty can fall... :(

[@marcwelby1836]

It was never that lol.

[@Napsteraspx]

I remember when an Atlantis themed one opened up locally in like 2004. It was a sad day when they shut off the power to the giant scuba statues

[@crBudgetWatches]

@@marcwelby1836 if not the coolest one of them. One typical conversation between my friends was weather to go to Frys or to the mall on a Friday afternoon after school. Usually they chose the mall because there were not many girls to look.at at Frys.

[@dannylay7965]

They built a very nice one 10 minutes from my house in 2006. It was such a nice building and huge! Marble floors wood and chrome accents. Felt like a luxury experience, they even had a cafe in the middle.

[@waverider01]

I used to enjoy Fry's Electronics back in the day. But through out the years, they slowly morphed into the K-Mart of electronics stores.

[@wjekat]

perfect comparison

[@mrjohnnyk]

Yup they used to have good service, then it became a joke.

[@DocNo27]

While empty, at least Fry's kept the stores clean. The last time I left a KMart I felt like I needed to go get a tetanus shot.

[@joejohnson1213]

Who remembers going to Fry's Electronics on Black Friday during the early 2000s? They opened at 5am but by 4:30am there were more than 1000 people in a line that stretched around the front of the store and extending all the way to the back parking lot. Even with more that 25 cash registers active, it took more that an hour and a half to check out!

[@billybeemus3929]

In the early 90s, that was every day at the Sunnyvale store. Maybe not 1000 people in line, but lines to get in nonetheless.

[@joejohnson1213]

@@billybeemus3929 I used to shop primarily at the Tempe AZ store but I have visited a number of Fry's locations in both Northern and Southern CA...

[@DJH3ARTL3SS]

I remember waiting in line for the PS3 way back in the day and literally running to the gaming section to get my hands on one.

[@legendaryTMNICO]

@@DJH3ARTL3SS Selling Ps5 and keeping all the shelves consistently stocked could have helped Fry’s stay in business. They also stopped advertising in the LA Times.

[@rlg222]

I really loved Fry's Electronics. I was really SAD when I started to see empty shelves and no one who worked at the locations would tell you what was going on...

[@americanpaisareturns9051]

Aw Homie... It was sad seeing Fry’s so empty. I remember walking into their store in 2019 and their shelves were empty. They told me they had switched vendors and that was the reason they had no inventory at the moment. From there on out the stores were empty. No inventory and no people in store. It was sad. Very sad. Good bye Fry’s. Thanks for the good memories.

[@-SundayWolf]

I heard rumors that they were about to merge with the company that owns Fred Meyer's. I guess that didn't work out...

[@BNGamesYT]

Once they started piling all that "Made for TV" crap and got rid of the media section I knew it was over.

[@georgesenda1952]

There was one thing I got there that was invaluable. The huge 12 outlet power strips that I use all over my apartment. I have no idea where I am going to get them now. Every device I seem to use needs a plug for its power brick including powered USB hubs. I have 7 of them in here.

[@clairesmyth8733]

@@georgesenda1952 My husband has found these power strips at garage sales. That's one option. He bought one last that looked a bit worn. We repainted it and swapped out the outlets. It's working great.

[@DyreStraits]

@@clairesmyth8733 You should never paint a power strip.

[@rusack7174]

I knew it was over when the store in Renton, WA started selling mattresses! Really? In an electronics store? Last time I was there they didn't even have them!

[@markphaedrus1716]

Another factor: Fry's applied the discount-store model to technology. If a wholesaler or manufacturer found itself overstocked, Fry's would buy up the product at steep discounts. Then Fry's would sell the product slightly below normal retail and still make a big profit. From what I understand, pulling this off depended on who you knew -- finding out about buying opportunities before others did. And Fry's was good at that. But then business-to-business Internet sites exploded, and those wholesalers and manufacturers could easily offer their overstocks online. And Fry's buying opportunities dried up. And then huge retailers like Amazon and Walmart stepped into the game, and they could buy up unwanted products with a scale and efficiency that Fry's couldn't hope to match. And so Fry's either had to buy at normal wholesale prices -- and completely lose their pricing advantage. The only products that Fry's could buy on the cheap were things so weird that nobody else wanted them. And of course, that was always part of the mix at Fry's. But the weird stuff only worked because of the cheap desirable goods that drew customers in the first place. And that was gone.

[@avs_4u]

They had everything except ears to listen to the customers

[@melchior2678]

That's why they sold Beats by Dre

[@loomsmcgooms824]

Fry's is where I learned how to build my own computers, understand technology and also shop for my random kitchen gadgets. Going to miss this place.

[@maddercat]

yup same

[@Shadow__133]

I've never seen a physical store, didn't even knew it existed.

[@sto2779]

I'll be honest, Fry's seems like a cool chill place to hangout, specially for tech savy people. Fry's should've adapted to the new era of electronics business which is done everything via the internet.

[@maddercat]

Yeah they could have tried stuff like Barnes and Noble like put a starbucks in the store or a coffee place and made it just a place to chill and shop like I think they probably wanted to originally with all the candies and food and stuff that they sold in addition to electronics....they could have gone a lot further than they did especially with the themeing and essentially made little theme parks maybe even with virtual reality but maybe they just gave up.

[@maddercat]

they seemed extremely slow to react to changes with online and web based issues...they didnt seem to understand that part of electronics when it happened which is weird cause they enabled it to happen, they essentially killed themselves off.

[@vxy357]

Fry's was a grown man's paradise. This was at a time when the home theater boom took over. I would love to listen to the various high end speakers, subwoofers, and stereo systems. They even had a small home theater that played the latest movies or cartoons. And their selection of widescreen TV's....I though I had died and went to heaven.

[@raidergainzx5290]

Oh that was you in the home theater section making all that noise? 😆

[@dtvjho]

@Bob Watters I remember Best Buy in Rogers Ark having this enclosed section off the front door dedicated to home theater. That was in 2008. Not any more. Their TV section is in disarray, not focused like it used to be.

[@NEV3RBACKDOWN]

Two reasons why frys, circuit city failed and soon best buy as well. CDs and dvds are no more a thing. Just look at red box. 10 years ago they were soaring, now tanking. Even blockbuster was a part of all this.

[@michaeldelaney6256]

did you just refer to them as "widescreen tvs"?

[@vxy357]

@@michaeldelaney6256 Widescreen , plasma, AND flatscreen TVs

[@mfchimichanga]

Never been to or seen a Fry's, but I appreciate that they didn't design their stores to look like boring two toned boxes.

[@wendyokoopa7048]

Same. Reminds me of when I as a kid would nag mom or dad to go to loblaws or one of our McDonald's. Not because their prices were great but in two of the locations there was a pit

[@syxepop]

I've seen through them through PHX local Retail Archaeology and probably a couple of his colleagues...

[@Triginhil]

My dream was to visit EVERY store to see all their themes. Unfortunately I was only able to visit 4, Industry, Anaheim, Burbank and a San Diego location. Industrial Revolution, NASA, Alien Invasion and Atlantis themed receptively

[@jessefisher1809]

your loblaws had a ball pit??

[@Medicranger]

In Austin, Tx our frys was shaped like a giant piano.

[@TheKeithCarnes]

I was born in '90 and grew up going to Fry's primarily with my Dad. We both loved it up until it's closing. But the 3 years before the actual closing, the signs were very apparent that they were struggling in the modern world. They started getting less and less stock in and when my Dad would ask a worker why, they gave a vague "we're redoing the whole store so stock is low right now" but this went on for 2/3 years! My last visit was really sad, almost nothing to look at and it was more than clear they were preparing for a shut down. Roughly 3 or so months later, they announced they were closing down. It sucks but they never improved where they really needed to. Terrible customer service, returns were a headache, plenty of items were overpriced, price match was decent but annoying at times, and the workers didn't know much to anything about the products they sold and their website was horrible. The plus side was they had harder to find items, really good deals if you really looked for them and sometimes more stock than regular stores like Walmart. I remember when the Switch was sold out everywhere, they actually had some in stock! It's a damn shame they closed, I miss going...

[@heavenandhello6629]

Gonna miss them so much. My favorite out of all locations was the Anaheim, California location. It was themed to a space shuttle. I hope they’ll bring the business back with a different name someday and make all of the locations the same as the ones they used for Fry’s. And just like what they did for Fry’s every location should still have their own theme. I would still want them to keep the space shuttle theme for Anaheim though.

[@jonathanvaldez2200]

I’ll never forget being a kid in the early 2000s and going to Fry’s with my family when Frys was in its prime. It was a really cool experience for me as a kid because it was such a big store and they had a huge selection of electronics, DVDs, cds, video games, and there was a good amount of customers to which I felt like really helped create a very vibrant atmosphere for the store. They would play recent movies that came out on dvd on there display TVs and DVD players, and they had cool stuff to look at and interact with like a plasma globe. Then right before you get up to the register they had a huge long selection of all kinds of candy, snacks, and drinks, it was probably my favorite section of the store as a kid. However as I got older I knew Frys end was inevitable, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t even a little sad that they’re going out of business. But its crazy to think that now as a 23 year old I still remember those trips to Frys so vividly. I think it just goes to show that when Frys was in there prime it truly was a pretty cool place to shop.

[@Speedfreak515]

Yep, I feel that. I am 43 so I started going to Fry's as a teenager since they first opened in my area. I loved going there and just looking at all the things they had. I had many memories with family and friends taking a trip there. Sometimes we just needed to pick up some little thing or maybe take a second or third look at something big that I was saving up to buy. Other times it was just to walk around and go to the car stereo department and try and play some of the subwoofers as loud as I can :D. The early days was before internet buying was a real thing, but I have to admit that once internet buying became more of a normal thing, I would be going to Fry's more just to look at something in person before I bought it online from another cheaper place. That didn't stop me from still going there on many many short trips because my friends and I were in the middle of a build and we needed a part or two that we had to have right away.... along with some other things that I happen to see and couldn't live without.

[@rossvg6632]

I was hoping you’d go into their marketing. You couldn’t turn on AM radio in the Bay Area in the 00’s without hearing: “YOUR BEST BUYS......... ARE ALWAYS!!!!!!! AT FRY’S...... GUARANTEED.”

[@ebinrock]

Don't forget those cheesy sci-fi laser sounds right after "Your best buys..." I'm not from California, but I spent a week there on business back in 1999 and just from that I remember the radio ad! That's how memorable the ad is! Kudos to the marketing/advertising team who put that campaign together.

[@dgpsf]

Oh man, I remember that SO MUCH.

[@marcuswai]

Who was that guy who did the voice? He’d name the product and the price one by one.

[@JG-pw5cr]

They would also advertise their deals a ton in the newspaper. My dad's office was closed on Sunday but i would ask him to bring me the Sunday paper so i could look at the fry's insert to look at all of the deals. He used to bring me the newspaper every day. I/we didn't have a ton of money but it was a way for me to dream a bit about things.

[@ghost3729]

The last time I was in a Fry's (Vegas) was about 2 years ago. They had tons of empty shelves, barely any PC parts, and the employees were just wandering around aimlessly because there were no customers. Pretty depressing.

[@GeorgeVCohea-dw7ou]

The last time I was there was in late November or early December. The only full shelves where filled with bargain bin and random DVD and Blu-ray discs, overpriced _Bazic_ office/school supplies, KN95 masks and other pandemic supplies. If one needed pandemic supplies Fry's Las Vegas had this stuff available all day, everyday, but no one knew!

[@bobtone101]

I went in them in Texas, I only lived about 15 minutes away, I thought the theme was a cool thing, but you are right, the shelves were mostly empty, but they had some cool things. But the cashier treated me incredibly rudely, I couldn't believe that he should be working in a customer service position. Somebody Really Dropped the ball on this one!

[@americanpatriot2999]

I watched the Frys in Tempe, Az, change from a "Go-to electronics, we are here to help you" store to a "We don't give a rat's ass that you are here, now get out!" The level of apathy there just filled the air.

[@Pudentame]

The only Fry's I've ever been in is the one in Tempe. Back in 2007 when I was visiting a friend in Mesa. It was still the "GO TO electronics store" then. It's a shame they're gone, but that happens when you won't adapt.

[@billthejazzfan6225]

@Заработок от 3000 в день ??????

[@gustavomondragon9767]

As a Frys former employee, I saw this coming when Amazon started becoming popular

[@chestbumphero]

Out of curiosity, what were some of the bad experiences working for them? or is that confidential?

[@ExaltedDuck]

Fry's let Newegg take over almost the entirety of the online arena before they even tried to compete, and even once they did - just like their inventory system - they were about on-par with Sears. The last time I even tried to buy something at a Fry's was 4-5 years ago when I wanted a 1070ti and a 4k screen. They had a nice screen on special for 180 down from "270" and an acceptable 1070 for 400. But they were out of stock on the screen at the 2 closest stores and I had to drive 45 minutes to a store where they had 2 left. Only they didn't. After telling me on the phone they did. And showing no change in inventory on their website. So instead of heading straight home, I went the long way and bought the same screen at microcenter for 210 and a comparable video card for 380. And never opened my wallet to Fry's again.

[@philliproscher5817]

Amazon did to Fry’s, what Fry’s did to RadioShack.

[@judywright4241]

---You don’t think treating all their customers like thieves, didn’t play a part in it? I was carrying a computer book while looking thru the videos--when they used to be fantastic with oldies--and a sales person YELLED at me to ‘bring that book back to the computer area!’ Stunned, I took the book back to the computers, checked it out there and went back to the videos, losing enthusiasm, we just left.

[@ellisgl]

@@philliproscher5817 RadioShack shafted themselves over and over again. Also times changed, people are not longer repairing things. Just toss it out and buy new.

[@onyx8231]

I spent 4 hours in the Vegas Fry's waiting for a friend to arrive at the airport. It wasn't NEARLY enough time. I picked him up and we went right back to Fry's.

[@MojaveDan]

I was told by friends who worked for Fry's the Vegas store was stocked with what was left from the other stores for the CES crowd. Probably the last location to look like a Fry's before their downfall started.

[@bebe7385]

Las Vegas store is trash they have nothingggggggggggg. Nothing for computer builds, upgrading or gaming. They did stock some shelves with empty boxes of merchandise they used to carry. It’s ridiculous...

[@devincurran2398]

The Vegas Fry's had that good atmosphere for years. I use to go there when I was younger all the time, and I loved it. It's now just barren, but it's still one of my fav stores

[@gilltim5711]

Great video. Thanks for this thorough explanation. As someone who shopped at Fry's for decades, I too saw the gradual decline of the company. There used to be huge lines of customers at checkout. They had to have a supervisor standing at the head of the line, telling customers which cashier to go to. Over the last few years, there were no longer lines. Maybe one or two people standing waiting to check out. The shelves were empty, the TV department stopped carrying the latest models, the software section dried up, the monitor section vanished. I asked one of the floor assistants when the company was going to shut, and he quickly said they were just trying a new model. It was obvious they were doomed. Sad to see them go, but frankly, I can buy it all online. The market evolves.

[@sephondranzer]

I would actually point out that while the average Fry’s Electronics is more tech saavy, it was initially so diverse with such a huge selection that anyone had some section of Fry’s they understood little/nothing about.

[@alvallac2171]

*savvy

[@Fade2GrayOG]

The death of Fry's was incredibly depressing. I'm surprised it took them this long to finally close their doors. On a side note, I didn't know Fry's and Fry's were actually connected.

[@gavinthecrafter]

Same, I only found out about the grocery store a few weeks ago and was super confused

[@ExaltedDuck]

it was really undignified the way they just kept flopping around and bleeding for the last 3-5 years. Looking back, I would bet they had something not-so-proper going on with their books to where they couldn't pass due diligence to sell off the chain to someone more worthy of running it. And probably spent the last several years find ways to hide and/or embezzle what they could until the bank account hit zero.

[@jasburger]

@@gavinthecrafter Don't worry, the grocery store is way better

[@Skeloperch]

@@jasburger So you say, but having worked at one I've become a bit disillusioned with them. Kroger is still the best large-scale grocery conglomerate, but I think the recent ads are indicative of the corporate culture on the inside. Plastic and cheery on the outside, but scrape off a bit of the surface and it's just hollow void underneath.

[@-SundayWolf]

Same font, very similar logo... However, it was surprising to see them selling groceries instead of electronics. Yes, I got confused too.

[@Matt_P]

Anyone thats walked into a Fry's saw this coming a few years back when shelves started staying empty. I will miss going to the Fry's in Concord.

[@ktgiang]

Worked at Fry's ~2012. It was an all commission job and I worked part time while in college. There was a summer where the A/C was broken for a solid week or two. Old customers were passing out and the fire department threatened to close the store down until the A/C was fix. The day I graduated from college, my manager asked me if I was ready for a MIT (manager in training) position. I told him to hold that thought, and put in my 2 weeks notice the next day. I would come back every year to motivate me to work harder at my current position and remind me of what a terrible place Fry's was. I appreciate the experience because it taught me of how the real world operates. I heard about Omar and upper management. The one thing that I thought was the most odd was "they never rehire"... my manager at the time had moved down to a part time position a few years later as he pursued bigger ventures because he knew if he had quit, he would no longer be welcomed back. Company culture in a nutshell.

[@SIMKINETICS]

This saddens me and brings on a feeling of nostalgia about my early days as an engineer in Silicon Valley. I remember my mom preferring to shop at Fry's grocery store in the '60's, but later noticed that it disappeared. In the '80s, that old familiar logo reappeared mysteriously on a small, crowded building that quickly became the go-to source for electronic gizmos & components for us engineers, offering stuff that Radio Shack didn't carry. One day, there was a notice posted there than Fry's had moved to a bigger facility across Lawrence Expressway, and later to an even bigger new building blocks away. Then, Fry's started popping up in several places just like many new high-tech businesses all over Silicon Valley! For a techie like me, this was great! Fry's was like a huge, fascinating toy store with lots of cool, new goodies. I learned to go in there with only a limited amount of cash in my wallet, leaving my credit-card at home! Those were the days when I took pride in building my own special, fully-loaded PC! Much has changed since those days, and I've since retired & moved to affordable digs in a rural community far north of Silicon Valley, left with memories of far greater affluence and the ability to afford a trip down the aisles of a Fry's Superstore!

[@seanmarx973]

Towards the end my local Frys looks like a depressing cross between Barnes and Noble and Circuit city

[@CSXIV]

When the Fry's that was closest to me started giving off K-Mart vibes (and instead of fixing a motorized walkway, just put up concrete half-walls to block access, while leaving the gears exposed), I figured it was only a matter of time. It actually closed a few months ago; not surprised.

[@emanuelruiz7710]

All that was left at mine was gum, bbqs and electric scooters 😂

[@GashdakSaghzaar]

How the hell did Sears outlive both Toys ‘R Us and Fry’s Electronics?

[@ianboard3555]

A bit like being on death row in California.

[@gavincurtis]

Did you know that entire towns in America were built solely from Sears direct ship house kits? Sears was HUUUUUUUUGE mid century.

[@berryreading4809]

Sears would send catalogs and delivery to rural areas that didn't have electricity or running water, and delivery meant personal contact with the local postmaster to figure out who lived where! The Sears catalog in 1930's-60's is like what the McMaster Carr catalog is nowadays, for people who know what that is 😄👍

[@wulfone5961]

Sears won't be around long. The local Sears in the only really local mall to me closed 2 weeks ago. The mall itself isn't doing well either and hasn't been doing well since the mid and late 2000's. Around 2008 is when the mall started going to hell with empty storefronts. It's pretty much the only local mall that's left that you can drive to in less than 30 minutes. At one time it was considered a high end mall.

[@ianboard3555]

@@gavincurtis The house I grew up in was from Sears, built in 1927. When I was a teenager, I was rummaging around in the attic where no one went and found the plans as well as the correspondence with the builder.

[@calebwilliams7659]

Actually I credit the shift from desktop PCs to laptops as being the biggest reason Fry's failed. Techies loved to build their PCs from scratch and needed to buy the parts, but as laptops replaced desktops from 2010 to 2020 and desktops started being thought of as "grandpa boxes" there was just less & less interest from the younger generations in building PCs from scratch. Sure hardcore gamers still do that, but that's an even smaller slice of an already small niche. I saw the writing on the wall for Fry's 10 years ago and was frankly surprised they managed to stay afloat this long, the pandemic just speeded up what was already inevitable.

[@Labyrinth6000]

I’ve been to the Frys in Houston themed after NASA in the late 90s/early 00s and it was a computer geeks Disney Land! PC games in big boxes on display as well as a row of console games for all to see. Don’t forget the food court, music players, and sound system demonstrations. Never forget! Do a video on Microcenter?

[@SummaGirl1347]

The Fry’s experience: Drive to BFE, walk around in exasperation for two hours looking for the part you need, give up and order from Amazon. They were awesome for a hot minute...and then they sucked for a really long time.

[@sto2779]

Exactly, they should've invested in their inventory system at all their locations into a great network of online e-commerce system, competing with newegg and bestbuy. What a shame they couldn't make it and ended on 2021.

[@Habu12]

If this was a surprise to anyone, then they haven't been to a Fry's in the last ten years. Even then the writing was on the wall. The last time I can remember even seeing Fry's busy and stocked full was the mid-aughts.

[@rileyesmay]

Thats crazy. The Oregon location was stocked well up until around 2015. In 2012 I got an ipod touch, and lots of other cords and things up to around 2015. Then it tanked

[@Rhameolution1]

I had a boss who left our company to go become a manager at Fry's in about 2010. I went and visited the store (a recently converted COMPUSA) and immediately thought she made the worst decision. So many empty shelves, and what was there was disorganized.

[@romevang]

I had visited two california stores, one in Concord (2017) and the other in Woodland hills 2008ish. When i went to the Woodland hills store, it was a busy place, felt great and energetic even, always wanted to go back. The Concord store wasn't as busy, and you could tell something was already off, not a lot of employees, and computer hardware was scarce. Granted this was during the crypto mining boom, so parts were hard to come by. Sounds like right now, but definitely a different atmosphere. Sad.

[@ludusphasma5863]

I literally went to one right before they shut down, just finding out that they just shut down.

[@galahadkoa1]

The one in Downers Grove, Illinois was stocked really well up to maybe a few years ago. Then you could see a really slow decline after that.

[@kamodt]

When Fry's Electronics opened in Sunnyvale, it was a shining beacon for those of us who worked in the computer industry in that area. Not only could you find components needed for that single-board computer you were building, but you could also pick up snacks, beverages, and some "adult" magazines maybe at midnight if needed. It was nerd heaven and it's sad to see it go away.

[@Allen-sz7jz]

I loved frys and literally had one 5 mins away from me, but around late 2019 i noticed their shelves, and displays were slowly running low on items, and then the pandemic hit and all their shelves were clear. I didn’t think they would go out of business but now we are here.

[@pigboykool]

Fry's had been the Man version of Toys R Us for decades, sad to see them go.

[@aaronbarkley539]

I loved going to frys when I was younger cause it was like stepping into the future, but then when I got older they stocked less stuff, customer service got worse, and the magic just left.

[@ICeli1221]

exactly, it was like walking into a candy store

[@bengonzales1182]

If I think about it, I can still remember the entire layout of the Fry's that was near me. I will miss it. Speaking of candy stores, the Fry's near me had a ton of candy and snacks and drinks and stuff near the checkout lines too. They even sold certain candy, snacks and drinks that couldn't be found elsewhere.

[@franksandoval6046]

@@bengonzales1182 blame China

[@aicelio]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpSyc6CGjNiDhq8

[@KevinLangford1]

I remember checking the Fry's ad and circling 5 deals before going down to the store, only to find everything sold out most of the time. It was a sad decline at the Phoenix location. Returns were always a dreadful process.

[@AbandonedMines11]

The Fry’s here in San Diego didn’t seem to have a theme. Sad to see it go out of business because I bought my first desktop computer here back in the early 2000s. It was an E-machines computer - remember those pieces of crap? LOL

[@ellisgl]

They stopped doing themes on some stores, but some they did. In the Dallas / Fort Worth area, only one had a theme.

[@Ccg9024]

Willsonville Oregon didn’t have a theme either. That one was an incredible universe, rebranded as a Frys in 1997.

[@shanester366]

The San Diego one was one of the Incredible Universe ones they bought, I remember going to it before frys bought it with my dad as a kid. I always loved going to frys and I dont live to far from it, but its been a while since I last went. I think I went about a year and a half ago because I needed a new hard drive, they didnt even have that, ended up going to the best buy in mission valley. Sad when frys was so empty with barely any customers yet the best buy was packed, really shows they were mis managing stuff.

[@theblanklogo]

Shanester366 is correct. The San Diego Fry's was an Incredible Universe first, so no theme. That was my first Fry's. Used to love going there. They had so much stuff. The only problem I ever had there was finding where an odd electronic item was going to be tucked away. In those times, good luck finding an employee just to ask directions.

[@DocNo27]

The San Diego one did have some aquariums when they first opened - while it's been a while (mid 90's!) I don't think the aquariums lasted more than a couple of years before they were empty then they just yanked them out. And other than the cheesy slot machine entrance, the Vegas Fry's wasn't really themed either. Burbank was my favorite one - the cafeteria was set up as a drive in theater with the tables in car bodies and a screen over the food counter. El Segundo probably had the most elaborate and detailed theming - it was jungle themed and REALLY laid on thick.

[@krbacon]

That point about returns was a significant factor in me opting for other stores. Would regularly make purchases for work for pickup as it was on my way home and it eventually got to a point where even being told everything was ready for pickup they would not have the items. Beyond that, the final stray was them charging my card after confirming everything was present and accounted for only to find when they handed over the bags 1/3 of the items were missing. At that point, one would think they could simply correct the price... instead they made me speak with three different managers at customer service and wait "ten to twenty days" for the refund to be processed. That was my last trip to Frys.

[@Eric-xx3mb]

I loved going into Fry's. I wish they weren't closing. Sometimes I would go there to buy things even though I could get them online just because I wanted them to stay in business. When I went there I felt like, "a kid in a candy store!" It's too bad they're gone...

[@aurinkobay7118]

ohh that is exactly how i was .. a kid in a candy store.

[@mikeazeka1753]

It was great 15 years ago, but not recent years. The last few years it was sad and depressing

[@Eric-xx3mb]

@@mikeazeka1753 That's true. But that just made me more nostalgic for the way it used to be.

[@dtvjho]

It would have been better had they built stores near the big cities on the East Coast. Lots of population makes for good store performance. Look at Micro Center. They built single stores in major metro areas like Philly and DC, and they're still in business in spite of floor space reductions.

[@gxu000]

I was a big fan of Fry’s for almost 20 yrs, and I really appreciate this video discussing its business. I think another big reason is mobile devices. As we are using more and more mobile devices, there are fewer demand for PC computers. Fry’s did not catch this trend. They did not offer accessories for mobile devices such as backup batteries, charging cables, etc.

[@greghavens7679]

One significant problem was the refurbished, repackaged, factory second products.

[@larryhead1]

My last four purchases at Fry's were all defective items, so I stopped going there.

[@russjohnson5443]

Those were returned items. They ALWAYS opened return items to inspect that nothing was missing from the packaging. Even when the item was never opened and seals were intact. Then the items were discounted 10%. No big deal. Beforehand memory modules were tested.

[@greghavens7679]

@@russjohnson5443 My bad. Returned, refurbished, repackaged, and factory second components.

[@Forensource]

The Filipina virgin bride, I called it.

[@mlob535]

We got two gaming computers, a desktop (Acer) and a laptop (msi), not for gaming but for their capacity of handling graphic software and both have issues. Within a couple of months after purchase, the Acer was sluggish and the BSOD appeared. I’ve never seen the blue screen come up so soon with such a new computer. The laptop was also acting up. They were probably refurbished crap being sold as new. I’m not surprised they are going away.

[@CharlesReinmuth]

This is so spot on. I am a guy who has driven an hour to Frys. But with Amazon, even though I've found myself wishing I could go to Frys to look around and shop in a tangible way, I can't justify going the distance when I can find obscure stuff easily online. So I haven't gone in a while.

[@ZiaTheGeek]

I used to go to Fry’s a lot. When they stopped carrying most things, their prices were no longer competitive, and wasn’t worth the hour long drive to get there. I went a couple years ago to Fry’s and was shocked at the insane amount of empty space. Not even empty shelves. Huge areas with literally nothing. No products, shelves, signage, nothing. I used to love Fry’s.

[@wakiyabrenton8526]

I saw the what I believe stock searching PCs for employees missing and I thought they either got stolen, given away, sold, or put in the back when I went to the old local one in my area.

[@ModMINI]

My only question is "what took so long?" I went to a Frys about a week before the pandemic lockdowns hit. It was obvious that there were problems that were going on for a long time. The store was 80% empty shelves. There were maybe two other customers in the huge store. I bought a HDMI cable or something like that, just staring at the cashier and thinking "why do you still work here? Get out before they close the store and you're all laid off involuntarily!" How were they able to keep such large stores open with such little sales volume. Was the whole business just a front for a money laundering? It's obvious that they have been losing a lot of money for years.

[@davidparker9676]

@@ModMINI It must have been a money laundering front or a giant write-off for the owner's holdings. I used to love going there when the prices were good and the shelves were stocked well. That was a very, very long time ago. I too wondered how they were staying in business with an empty store with too many useless employees and most of all, no customers!

[@Juichi]

I disliked going to Fry's because it used to be so crazy (the amount of people and parking could be a pain). However I loved going to Fry's because of the selection. You would always find something cool there. However I moved to an area where there were no Fry's around, so it made going to Fry's an even bigger hassle. The last time I went to Fry's was when the new 3DS was released. Just like everyone says, half the shelves were half empty. I bought what I needed and nothing else. It made me sad. I hadn't been to that location before so I don't know if it was just that location. If all locations were like that then I'm surprised they stayed open that long.

[@Memo_323]

Frys was an important place for me as a young adult. I used to meet up with my dad and drive down the 60 freeway, exit crossroads parkway and walk the isles and eat in the cafe. All while bonding with my dad about all things happening in our lives. I lost him a few years ago so reading the news about their closure hit me pretty hard.

[@chrisyanover1777]

That Baseline location was an awesome location! Right across the freeway from Arizona Mills!

[@thefray123]

Fry's had EVERYTHING- to a fault. It was damn near impossible to find what you were looking for, but you knew Fry's had it when no one else did. It was always a fun journey. R.I.P!

[@johnryan6582]

Yup!

[@BobbyGeneric145]

David, those are the types of storrs that are the destination unto themselves... Kinda like thrift store shopping, where you have no idea what you might leave with and you go for the experience.

[@steveftoth]

This was true about 10 years ago, but in the last few years their inventory was really limited.

[@thefray123]

My final time at Fry's was sometime in late 2019. It was a ghost town in terms of customers AND products compared to when I would go there in the late 90's/early 2000's. My one regret is that I never tried any of their sandwhiches or hot dogs.

[@JBM425]

That is what I'll miss. It was like Radio Shack and Best Buy rolled into one and on steroids. That's what made the decline the last two years so depressing to observe and the paucity of inventory.

[@kkal1183]

I grew up in Silicon Valley. I remember my dad taking me to Fry's in Sunnyvale, and then Fremont. It was like Disneyland to a child of an engineer (my father). We used to wander around the store for for hours looking, playing, imagining.. What a shame it has ended. Brick and Mortar has nearly died off from the likes of Amazon. Best Buy and even Target are doing quiet well because they adapted their business models. Fry's management failed to adapt.

[@Krycek7o2]

There’s more to this. I was a DM for one of the big stores. The horror stories I can tell you. I left the company after five years. One of the major issues of money drainage was the fact that Frys’ executives sucked at handling business relationships and the way they would pay themselves.

[@-SundayWolf]

from what I observed it felt like someone in the company was pushing Fry's to go out of business. And that wasn't a store or even a regional manager - someone in corporate office or one of the executive. Hypothetically it felt like the company made a deal with mobsters or mafia lords back before they become big chain, but couldn't pay back at the end; so they got taken over by those mobsters. It would be a good sketch for a romantic novel or a movie...

[@DyingSaturn]

It's funny you mention their business relationships. Someone I knew at FedEx told me that they were only allowed to pick up packages at Fry's if they paid with cash upfront. they were so bad at paying on time, that Fedex had enough.

[@kevintheomanharris]

The big stores have Dungeon Masters???!

[@Krycek7o2]

@@-SundayWolf I wouldn’t be surprised if it was. When the top brass came to Vegas; they lived it up. I kid you not. One time a top guy showed up coked out of his mind. Bloodshot eyes, erratic movements. Oddly enough he was the KZbin host of their shows for some time.

[@c.s.i.inamerica2420]

Great job on this video, mate! Also, it was fun to see a clip from one of my old Fry's Food & Drug Stores commercials in your video!

[@melchior2678]

Mate? Are you British?

[@kelloggfan]

poor management...7 years ago, our IT department would take the afternoon, go to lunch and then hit Frys for a shopping spree...it will be missed - at least when they had merchandise.

[@aurinkobay7118]

yeah you have no idea how much hardware i bought from frys.. I miss it already. it is literally across from me. :(

[@nebiatyifru4045]

Ex-Fry's employee here and yeah, ended up quiting about a year before the branch I was working at closed its doors for the last time.

[@BethFineberg]

As someone who grew up in the bay area with engineer parents, a part of my childhood has died

[@averagejoe9040]

I feel that.

[@Will-ze6rq]

I loved going to Fry's. I would spend hours at there stores. I was not alone, the parking lot would be full and the lines to register was long! I miss Fry's

[@angelinaramon]

When I was living in Sunnyvale, CA this was like my toy store/second home. It's a shame because it was a great store.

[@chinogabesv650]

Literally the coolest feature of Sunnyvale, sucks the place is gone now it was a good source of jobs and almost everyone ive known since middle school had good memories of the place

[@jonbourgoin182]

“Fry’s” is an unfortunate name for an electronics store.

[@AxxLAfriku]

Do you have any idea who is replying to your comment right now? It's me, the FUNNIEST MAN ALIVE! My v*deos are so extremely funny, if you don't cry tears of laughter, you are allowed to D*SLIKE my EXTREMELY FUNNY v*deos! Do you think my v*deos are funny, dear jon

[@ghostcoffee1099]

I always thought they had a restaurant inside there when I was young, obviously with French fries. Only when I’m older do I get the connotation.

[@Triginhil]

@@ghostcoffee1099 They had a Cafe with amazing sandwiches! I'd drive 70 miles with the gf as a "date" simply for them

[@bingbonghafu]

@@AxxLAfriku you’re here too?

[@lovelykitty42]

just ignore AxxL, they’re a known troll and just a weird guy

[@Engineeringuncovered]

I remember going to frys when I was a kid and while my parents bought stuff I would look at the motherboards and pretend each was a different city. Maybe that’s why I ended up becoming an Electrical Engineer

[@williamplatt1680]

The Grid...

[@captainpoptarts]

It got really confusing when someone says they were going to Frys here in Arizona. In fact, there was a Frys Electronics literally only a mile or two from 2 or more Frys grocery stores. I never realized that they were started by literally the same people.

[@freesheep0]

They would hire high school kids that didn't know shit about computers. Then they wouldn't help you by standing around talking to co workers.

[@savagegecko4575]

Yes! I would go there and ask for an item like a cpu or ram and would have to wait for them to finish talking... I remember a few times they would even make comments about the parts you are buying, trying to get you to buy the most expensive items. I was doing pc builds on Craigslist and would purchase according to budgets I was given to meet certain task, and would always get smart-ass remarks like oh I would not use that cpu, gpu, or whatever.

[@789french5]

My older sisters first boyfriend was the jock type and somehow got a job at Fry's, I was lucky enough to go there between 2001-2010 when the store was somewhat decent and the guy just played the display consoles, told me that "SSD's are a fad, they're not reliable" and that I should get an Xbox after asking him where the LG 775 socket mobo's were. He somehow got assigned to the PC component section. idk what was worse, the empty shelves or the aisles filled with either random legacy hardware or games from 1999-2003 (without them I never would have played Allied Assault so thanks I guess?). Remember the cages behind the registers? Or the insanely well-stocked snack aisle at checkout? Crazy store full of memories, met my first LAN buddies there ;(

[@savagegecko4575]

@@789french5 I remember you could get anything. I remember being a teen and when you would buy a processor from them you would get a cheap ecs motherboard. As a team saving those 60 dollars on the mobo meant more money on the gpu. Back in like 2003 era

[@rileyesmay]

Yeah and??? That's literally genius. I don't think I ever went in there needing help... They know their customers well, they just severely lacked switching to online, and pickups there took FOREVER compared to just getting an amazon 2 day, or now 1 day delivery

[@michaelmarks5012]

@@savagegecko4575They were total pieces of shit. I'm glad that this flounder has sunk to the bottom of the sea.

[@nn567]

Christmas 2019, walked into Frys in Renton Washington and greated with mostly empty shelves. Suprising it took this long to close it down.

[@stevecarey2030]

Yeah, same thing happened to me in Sunnyvale CA just a few months ago. There were almost no customers in the store and the shelves were half empty. I think I knew they were finished when I saw that.

[@AnonymOus-ss9jj]

I think they hoped Biden would end the trade war with China, and Covid would go away. They stayed open because they saw a light at the end of the tunnel, a light that never got any closer.

[@AnonymOus-ss9jj]

That's just what I've heard was likely the reason I could be wrong.

[@clairesmyth8733]

@@AnonymOus-ss9jj I forgot about that excuse. Thanks.

[@humorme27]

Me too! Also, the staff was rude and didn't want to help.

[@margaretvallas3719]

I basically stopped shopping there because their rebates were a joke. I never got money back. Sad to say, they did this to themselves.

[@J47470]

When they went to only blue ray movies I stopped shopping there.

[@spol1622]

Once COVD hit their shelves were almost empty. Had to go to their competition...

[@robertatkinson6864]

^^^ This. I don't recall ever actually getting a rebate back. At a certain point I just stopped bothered with the rebates as it was often more trouble then it was worth.

[@robertatkinson6864]

@@J47470 So when did that happen? Because the ones in Sacramento CA, Renton WA, and Wilsonville OR all still sold DVD alongside Blurays up until they went to a consignment only model. They were especially good at getting the DVD's for old, odd or rare movies and TV shows that regular stores like Best Buys, Walmart, or Target often never carried.

[@Dtoolman]

I "always" got my rebates back, always.

[@genematts6895]

I think your analysis is 100% correct. Sad to see the stores go. As I have read from other post, Fry's was a fun place to browse and see stuff you never thought you needed (and probably didn't) but you bought it anyways. I remember the first store in Sunnyvale from their meager beginnings until that store was rebuilt with a massive building over on E Arques Ave. My last adventure was to the Campbell store about 6 months before they went bankrupt. I was astonished that the shelfs were all half size and filled with the same stuff for a few rows. I wanted a network product and the selection was abysmal and from manufacturers that I would never buy. I left that day thinking the end will soon come. And it did.

[@CustomSC]

Oh man, so many memories going to black friday at Fry's Electronics and checking out the games section. 😢

[@Crosbie85]

Damn 😔

[@jansalomin]

f

[@Unpopular_Duality.]

Yep the was plenty of people at fry's on black friday but not so many that you can't find deals or get what you wanted.

[@mrjohnnyk]

It was one of the few places you could get Japanese imports back in the day

[@Ccg9024]

Frys is like Kmart and Sears. Failure to innovate and keep up with the times and poor executive leadership. Frys could have become the top electronics retailer with both as strong online presence and physical presence. Have online pick up services and maybe even a “prime” like service where people would pay extra per month to get fast shipping and other perks. I do agree with the points you made on why they failed. The one near me (Willsonville, Oregon, the one you showed in your video) was once an incredible universe Even once had a huge jumbotron as soon as you walked in that displayed various things. It wasn’t themed at all but it did have some left over incredible universe signs such as the home audio and music ones. It was nice back in the day but with in the last couple years it went all downhill. Some areas that had empty shelves were roped off, the tv area even had upside down shopping carts and rope blocking exposed electrical outlet boxes that were once bellow the TV counters that they removed. There were even times where there were practically no sales associates on the floor. Some items even started to collect dust for just sitting on the shelves for so long.

[@-SundayWolf]

I think what they showed in the video was Sacramento store - they have identical layout to Portland one. However, I like customer service in Wilsonville better. Remember the cashier there - old woman with rainbow propellerhead hat? she was always making my day.

[@nickbruns4154]

I remember the dusty items. Got a PSU for a guy's PC in I think 2017. It had dust on the box.

[@jonathanluxton1060]

Grew up with the Sunnyvale one, but I went to the Wilsonville store back just before Christmas, wanted to check it out. Iknew they were struggling (been expecting the bankruptcy announcement for a couple of years now), but it was even worse than I expected. Like a ghost town. 70% empty shelves and what they did have was mostly cheap crap spread in thin layers to make the shelves look more full I guess? Like entire aisles of off-brand flash drives, etc. I don’t think they were even selling computers anymore, the department was completely wiped out. Sad to see but they’ve been an animated corpse for a couple of years now.

[@nickbruns4154]

@Steven Turner yah kind of sad. It wasn't a cheap PSU either, I think it was a Corsair 550? The price wasn't bad either, maybe $4 more than Newegg. I wonder why it wasn't selling, but looking back, the video said it all...lack of local interest maybe? Or just poor advertising.

[@aznnp77]

It's actually harder than it sounds to have two nearly opposite focuses. If you think about it, a lot of companies made the shift to online way too late. Amazon had already eaten their lunch. So what do you do at that point? Use time and money to try to expand into online sales as a small fish in Amazon's pond, or try and invest your resources in the 31 stores that you're trying to help survive? There's only so much money to go around. Amazon went all in online and they have a gigantic head start on everyone else because of it. They never had any brick and mortar to protect. That would essentially stunt their growth and be counter intuitive. To pull people back to Brick and Mortar when they're trying to move them online. Fry's probably didn't want to move people online where they'd simply be in a price war with Amazon while they're 90% brick and mortar business bit the dust.

[@magdavelas]

One time I went to the Fremont store to buy a microwave. The sales clerk checked inventory for the particular model that I wanted, stole an unattended shopping cart from another customer, told another customer who tried to ask him a question to get lost, and brought me the item from storage in a snap. I thought their customer service was spectacular!!!

[@Ltulrich]

Lol what more could you ask for

[@IceSick88]

This was a well written joke.

[@zoltankaparthy9095]

I started shopping at Fry's in Sunnyvale when they were selling more potato chips than computer chips. And their expansion was wonderful but after the Palo Alto store and the Fremont store things started to get out of focus and they could not be counted on for service, other than poor service. And on-line was way easier. You got the story right as I understand it. They just missed the boat with on-line sales.

[@melchior2678]

More potato chips than computer chips LMFAO Classic! (and so true 😂) This should be top/pinned comment .

[@zoltankaparthy9095]

They sold food first, then computer stuff later@@melchior2678