RadioShack: America's Technology Store No More - Retail Archaeology Dead Mall & Retail Documentary

[@ModPallet]

That's what happens when you turn your store into a cellphone store and have generic overprice electronics like 40 dollars for an HDMI cord. I know a lot of people will blame online shopping but it come down to bad decisions, high prices and bad inventory, etc

[@Kara_Kay_Eschel]

Every time I went in for an LED, resistor, capacitor, etc, They try bundling in a cell phone. I started just getting my components online after that.

[@hyoslvr1668]

ModPallet agreed

[@bradnoyes7955]

Yep, I went in one time to get Octal Flip Flop Latches for a project I was working on and they asked if I was building a bomb, like WTF, it's one of the most basic pieces of digital logic and multiplexing. Train your employees about the basics if they are going to run an electronics store!

[@pepethepatriot7524]

Yup! And they were SUPER pushy when it came to cell phones. Other stuff in the store they had NO CLUE about. If I would go in looking for a part of any sort, the clueless looking employees they hired didn't have knowledge about anything and even something as simple as a power plug adapter, they would try to plug it in backwards when it was super obvious what they were doing was wrong and wasn't going to work. It was just sad. A Radio Shack that I frequented in Menomonee Falls had a really nice guy (Steve) that greeted me by name when I came in and he knew everything about their products. As soon as they started switching over to the cell phone thing they fired him and replaced him with know-nothing teenage employees who were horrible to deal with. THAT was part of why they have now gone under.

[@timramich]

One bad decision was slashing their line of electronic components and mainly keeping analog and radio stuff in that area. Only old people are really into the radio stuff, and old people don't like to part with money. Had they kept those sections and kept up with all of the latest digital hobby stuff, they might have had a chance. I'd rather go to a store and buy something for more rather than get it online cheaper but have to wait.

[@ThisisDanBell]

Such a great video! Really enjoyed.

[@RetailArchaeology]

This is Dan Bell. Thanks!

[@AspFii]

This is Dan Bell. Wouldn't mind if you did videos like this :)

[@TheCavefire]

This is Dan Bell. Ayeeeee

[@internallycombusted1]

I believe when radio shack changed from the store that had neat electronics and speakers, computers, etc. to basically another cell phone store with annoying workers. This was the true downfall of radio shack

[@jpark360]

you ar right, just another phone store with unqualified personnel

[@Assimilator702]

BustedknuckleNatrona A friend of mine was a manager at a few Radio Shacks from 2001 to around 2010. He had some technical knowledge...build a computer.... hook up an A/V system...whatever. At the end of the day he was a cellphone salesman that assisted a few people per day with cables and adapters and managed a bunch of idiots for employees. I saw the writing on the wall back then.

[@scoobysnacks3740]

BustedknuckleNatrona and overpriced

[@trentrock3210]

I bought a receiver (RCA) and two speakers (RCA) at the Shack in 2004 and they are still good.

[@midcenturymodern9330]

To me, their nosedive started when they abandoned the electronics enthusiasts and became a cell phone dealer instead. I remember trying to ask some questions of the sales guy, but he was preoccupied with selling and activating a new cell phone. I waited for 15 minutes, got tired of waiting and left... That store was closed just two years later. Never abandon your core customers.

[@GCJACK83]

I remember when Radio Shack carried parts for hobbyist tinkerers and repairmen for various electronics, like radios, stereos and VCRs, and kits to make radios... and then as the years went by, their inventory changed to match what you could easily find anywhere else and there slowly became no point in going there for anything.

[@14598175]

Unfortunately, this generation has little interest in hobbies like this anymore. I have conducted several classroom surveys and almost universally, I find that they have the same hobbies; gaming, social media, and sports. They're obsessed with collectivism and conforming. I have never seen such a lack of diversity in interests and hobbies, but unfortunately, they don't seem to understand that being the same makes them a dime a dozen in the marketplace.

[@Oldbmwr100rs]

I built so many of their "P-Box" electronics kits, and did so many other projects with custom IC's they sold. I repaired my own stereo gear and rebuilt speaker's with the speaker parts they also sold. Shame they gave all that up, they lost a lot of customers especially in trying to get into cell phones at a time the market was saturating.

[@monkeyboy4746]

They would just leave me alone, I would go to the back of the store where all the "geek" stuff is. Many times I was able to get something up and running by going to Radio Shack. People just don't try to fix anything anymore.

[@GeekBoy03]

There won't be any major chain to replace them. People can get what they need online, without dealing with clueless employees, However, the company California based Steren Electronics is very similar to what Radio Shack was in the 80s, but no. They have hundreds of retail locations in Mexico. There are actually expanding there. No telling if they will expand in the US,

[@zepplinc20]

Fry's Electronics. Way bigger and way cheaper. (If you have one close by)

[@HunterRodrigez]

♪♫♬ Internet killed the radio shack ♪♫♬

[@ralphchrist2911]

The internet killed a lot of things, It has ruined our lives

[@gissellept]

radioshack Created in 1921. So Radioshack survived the Great depression but it couldn't survive 2017? Wow, that's sad.

[@estignatic]

Gisselle Penaloza And the 2008 recession

[@brian5o]

Gisselle Penaloza, I think that there are a lot of things at play that led to Radio Shack's demise. I'd say a big part is that leadership basically went for quick, easy money in cell phones from fickle customers at the expense of their loyal customer base of tinkerers and techy guys and girls. They had a niche with the original customer base- there wasn't any one else (that I can think of anyway) and they gave up that niche for the quick money while basically having to compete with a cell phone retailer on every corner. Another nail in the coffin was we have become a throw-away society. If something breaks, we trash it and buy something​ new. There are also just not as many people interested in tinkering anymore. While management decisions are such a huge part of their demise, they also had a perfect storm of other factors working against them. They at least had a good run.

[@gissellept]

mgomez207 right, it survived the depression AND recession but it couldn't survive 2017? What A world!

[@charlesmandus574]

Good points. I might be showing my age but I also remember other electronics stores too such as Olson's, Lafayette, Camer-Radio in Pittsburgh and so on. I'll be 51 in July.

[@LifeofAedan]

probably means that 2017 will be the mega depression!

[@anthonyokoren8762]

My Receipt from the last day was 57 ft long, I walked with $3,500 for $60, i felt so guilty, like i was robbing the place. R.I.P. Radio Shack.

[@MaxRoc21]

Anthony O'Koren 😲

[@Ltulrich]

Worked there in the late 90's. Even then it was clear that the company was in disarray. It was miserable. However, I did learn to play the keyboard. :)

[@Solarsystemrdffdfyyhh]

Johnny Pope hahaha every employee did! I remember a black Friday they invested in some mm candy radio or something. They thought people would be rushing in to buy! Not a single customer.

[@SpectrumSurvivalist]

It's probably on close out right now, the same one, ha ha ha ha.

[@truthseeker7564]

I love the music you used. I was born in the late 70's and it reminded me of the music at the department stores and elevators in the big buildings.

[@b33sma11]

12 years with the company, and I no longer need to defend their position(I was fortunate enough to find other employment in '14). RadioShack made some very poor ceo choices after Len Roberts. The company kept its over bloated store count increasing its operating costs, this along with its own highly profitable store bands losing market trust due to poor quality in-turn didn't allow them to keep paying their employees to be experts at what customers needed and wanted. It also didn't help that most of the things people absolutely needed from them were priced so high that in a lot of cases was insulting to customers. In short RadioShack lost its customers trust and respect. So long and Goodbye.

[@BennyLlama39]

b33sma11 I cash sum that up in 3 words: Good f**king riddance. ☺

[@CrossRoadsOfTime]

And that's even assuming they still actually sold it in the stores. I know even before the bankruptcy hit, I'd see less and less of the components and kits that where really the only thing that was worth going there for, and when that basically dried up, they shot their foot off and did nothing to stop the breeding. As like you said if it was something that was sold in other stores in the area, basically all the other stores had it for cheaper.

[@kjemradio]

Radio Shack was ones a geeks dream. Then some exec got the brilliant idea to get into the cell phone business, limit small electronics, be more gadget focused. Yeah how'd that work for you RS?

[@briansouth9325]

They alienated their core customers by switching from a ham radio and electronics store to a cell phone shop

[@funch357]

And satellite radio shop

[@HIDHIFDB]

Brian South i know if i need a resistor or a diode i need to cross the border to mexicali there they have a store called steren is like the old radio shack, i remember that in the past mexican people crossed to buy electronics here in the usa now we have to cross the border to buy electronic components, yes we can buy them online but some times i just only need a resistor or a diode and i dont want to wait a week or two only for a single and cheap electronic component.

[@777jones]

They should have converted to an anti drone / anti spyware store.

[@elkillerx]

Exactly. Instead of selling phones they should have tried selling diy cell phone repair kits with replacement batteries or touch screens or maybe even offer an in store phone repair station. In my local town the cell phone repair shops seem to be making good profit

[@townhall05446]

They didn't abandon the customers as much as times changed and the ham / electronic enthusiasts moved on. Who needs to use a ham radio to talk to the other side of the planet when you can call someone or send them a text in another hemisphere and it doesn't even cost you anything extra? It's a hobby that ran its course and there wasn't much market anymore for the kinds of things that they sold plenty of back-when. Another example, people used to replace their own car stereos and speakers. That's another thing that has pretty much ended. Radio Shack sold lots of stuff like that - long ago.

[@TampaTec]

$200 for a VCR wow, prices dropped big time over the years.

[@themusicguy2879]

radio shack

[@PicoFromTX]

I went by a closing store a month ago. Even at 50 percent off , a lot of the items were still over priced. It's no wonder they went belly up. Without a discount , all their items are absurdly expensive. Especially in the age of amazon.

[@markplott4820]

what are U talking about I just bought a $500 scanner for $150 brand new in box !!!!!!!

[@sagnbaby]

Pico so true!!!

[@Solarsystemrdffdfyyhh]

Mark Plott you still paid to much

[@smgibb]

That's how store liquidations work. The "50% off" price is based off the full MSRP, which the stores would have never sold it for to begin with. So a "50% off" price can easily be MORE than what the store would have normally sold it for. The companies that do the liquidations just hope people will think they are getting a deal. As time goes on, and the final business day comes, the price cuts get deeper. At some point there's a few days when you can get still find decent merchandise for a good deal. After that, there's mostly junk left.

[@PicoFromTX]

Sean Gibbons I went there yesterday. Evening was 90 percent. I guess I missed the boat. The only thing left were cables that no one really needs. :/ oh well !

[@MultiBrian1986]

Thanks for the nostalgic intro and vintage ADs. I walked into a Sears the other day (12/4 ). It surprisingly was clean, no one was there, but it added to the emptiness. Kind of depressing.

[@ccateni28]

"The 80's called! They want their store back!" RIP RadioShack 1921-2017

[@RayRayP2001]

bad thing is they don't even sell the good stuff like they did in the 80's. Stereo stuff/suppies etc.

[@devcelrecords]

Connery Cateni I live near a RadioShack how is it even alive

[@ccateni28]

You know yours is closing right?

[@ccateni28]

really? interesting!

[@markplott4820]

@ Hartzal - their speakers and stereo EQP and boom boxes were top notch. I even have a Realistic Digital shortwave receiver its reall great.

[@caliimade3769]

Gamestop is next...

[@kingofshmups3390]

Hopefully. No one will miss Gamestop. Starbucks can go away too.

[@FireboltPrime]

when we kill Starbucks the hipsters will have to do something useful for once

[@kingofshmups3390]

Yeah Hipsters might actually have to find a job instead of leaching off StarBucks wifi all day.

[@mustdieproductions]

I sincerely hope that both these companies fuck off and kick the bucket as soon as possible. Gamestop is an absolute shell of its former self, and Starbucks is just too prideful for its own good, literally opening brand new stores next to previously established locations that have been there for ages already

[@c.jewelvlogs]

I used to love gamestop about 10 yrs ago and now its just sad with what its become. I buy 98% of my games from ebay auctions. I used to go to Gamestop left and right but now its waaay too overpriced now.

[@ChapmanFilms]

Our Radio Shack never had anything. I went in there for a headphone adapter and they said sorry we don't have that but we could order one in for you. I told them I could do that at home myself. Welcome to 2017. He wasn't to happy with me. Great video I subbed a couple of days ago.

[@khxml]

8:20 ..."The 80s called, they want their store back."

[@jriley1992]

How Radio Shack lasted *THIS* long is beyond me. 2017 is the year of the retail apocalypse.

[@ccateni28]

jriley1992 true! A bunch of brands are ether closing stores or going bankrupt.

[@HobbyOrganist]

Because everything can be bought on-line, often with free shipping, a couple of clicks with th emouse and it's on it's way.

[@toposebi95]

Wouldn't be surprised if even Walmart kicked the bucket at this point.

[@ImpetuouslyInsane]

Wally World going out? Yeah, doubt that. That place is like a cancer that won't die. The second they start selling major kitchen appliances and a higher volume of IKEA-level furniture, that'll be the only physical store left in America. They're already trying to go into the used Video Game market.

[@kenshinhimura9387]

and it's cheaper online.

[@TheDreadLockKid]

Best Buy is next. They are super over priced as well. and they have terrible customer service

[@jeffreymanier0]

YaGirl Uneek they have awesome deals on t.v's but everything else is priced horribly over.

[@PlanktoniusRex]

Agree. They have 5 stores in my area and they are are all the same. Nobody to help customers but several groupings of blue shirts standing around chatting about the latest concert or video game. I have not been there in 3 years and doubt I will ever step foot in another.

[@LeeDee5]

YaGirl Uneek true, you can't ask the employees anything because they're clueless

[@czrs85]

jloomis7 I agree some of us Americans are fucking clueless we expect someone to know everything when they work at regular job. it's like I make regular income but you expect me to know what the pope eats for breakfast.

[@SHZ4201]

I agree with you. I also know that some people work those jobs to pay the bills and are not "into" whatever they are selling. They do try to help, but more often than not, have told me "I don't know", which is better than BSing me.

[@TiberianFiend]

80s Radio Shack is still way cooler than imploded bankrupt phone store Radio Shack of today.

[@theTORTUGAZUL]

They brought upon themselves their own demise. Ironic that they were making fun of the 80's Radio Shack and didn't realize they were shooting themselves in the foot.

[@Justinestabrook]

It went towards another demographic.

[@asherael]

Radioshack was the place to go to adapt anything into anything else. They thought they were staying relevant becoming an out of the way place to pay too much for things in a flooded market. They'd have made a killing as a hobbyist electronics store. People are increasingly interested. Raspberry pies and soldering irons are where they would make the big bucks.

[@marykacyy6802]

INNOOOOO DDDDD,: !!!! SO SAD, I FREAKING BOUGHT MY iPOD CLASSIC IN RADIO SHACK IN THE MALL ! UUGHHHH

[@woabeatz9717]

Tiberian Fiend -yeah....they sold that armatron....arm robot thing....and...coin finders..(metal detectors) #armatron .

[@old-moose]

I can remember the "good old days" back in the 50's & early 60's making the frantic run to the Radio Shack before it closed for the night so we finish some ham radio project or the other. Back in the day that it was a RADIO store. My last purchase was in the early 80's when I bought 15 "150-in-1"(?) electronics labs for a high school level electronics course I was teach by teleconference.

[@ytubesucksazznow]

they did it to themselves. they should have stayed a hobby store/ diy electronics store.... but nahh they went BOOOOOOOST MOBILE and look at them now lol....

[@JohnPiperBoots]

***AGREE VERY SAD DAY!!!*** Tons of fond memories! I still have the 150 in 1 and 65 in 1 Electronic kits. As a kid I use to like to go there and look at all the things including transistors, capacitors, resistors etc etc. I even still have my Mach 1 speakers!!!! My father got me many things there for Christmas. My father being a electronics engineer & physicist (working for USAF) - made it extra special ssing my father going there getting me interested in the electronics field. RADIO SHACK will go down in history & in history, our minds, & hearts. Thanks for sharing !!!!

[@charlesmandus574]

I also rememeber when I was a kid, they had a tube tester as did the local K-Mart

[@townhall05446]

Every place had a tube tester then including just about every drug store. I worked at a Zayre, we had one there too. Funny thing about Radio Shack, they sold regular and 'lifetime' tubes. The 'lifetime' tubes cost just about exactly double the price of the regular ones, which I figure was to allow them to cover the cost of one free 'lifetime' replacement. I doubt seriously that there was the slightest bit of difference between the tubes themselves.

[@fantom5894]

Zayre? You must be from New England. And I remember battery testers too. Local drugstore had one.

[@benni1023fm]

We had Zayre in Ohio, too. My dad used the tube testers often, as he would repair tv's and build his own Heathkit stereos.

[@iflick7235]

You must be as old as me. 64 yrs. No one alive remembers the "tube tester" but us!

[@trentrock3210]

I started working at a Shack in late '84 and it still had a tube tester, but it was gone in a few months.

[@Obeijin]

I used to love looking at their paper catalog ...

[@nudist0885]

Yeah, paper catalogs from ANY company should still be printed by ALL companies. Why? Looking through a softcover book that shows EVERYTHING THEY SELL puts everything in one nice neat package that you can peruse through without even needing to leave your house. Also, printing paper catalogs introduces you to things that you never knew existed before, that the company does supply, that now that you know it exists, AND somebody stocks it...............you want it. I've done that with Lillian Vernon, and Miles Kimball, and The Vermont Country Store, and Redhead, and Cabelas, and Uline, and Sam Ash, and Michigan Bulb, and..................

[@Obeijin]

Most of it is all online now . B & H Photo still has a great paper catalog .

[@Obeijin]

They lose a ton of business . Not everyone has a computer / internet .

[@townhall05446]

Paper catalogs can't update their price on a moment's notice or show the items the store just got in. Paper catalogs cost a fortune to print and can't keep up with the times. I used to love looking through them but now I would never trust a catalog as much as i would a visit to a website to confirm the current price, and whether they have it in stock. I've got some old catalogs and I like looking at them on some websites that feature them, but as a modern way of doing business they are obsolete.

[@townhall05446]

My wife gets paper catalogs in the mail, sometimes 6 or 8 show up in one day. In this day and age it's a total waste. I actually have a couple of old catalogs from Radio Shack and Lafayette and yes it's good to browse through them and relax, but only the old ones for the nostalgia. As a modern way of selling your stuff to customers I bet 90% or more don't spend more than a few moments flipping through a paper catalog. I also like looking at old Life and Popular Science magazines but instead of buying musty old copies for 25 cents or a buck I download them from Google Books and I have at least 100 on my iPad to browse wherever and whenever I like. No cost and zero weight, can't be beat.

[@scottschubbe282]

Radio Shack has ALWAYS been insanely overpriced on everything. I went in the Shack we have here, and I could save 90% at the time by simply walking out of the store and buying the same item new from Amazon or off of ebay. And now that they have "90% off" on everything is hysterical. That's what they deserve.

[@Steveos312]

And you realize that you are ripping off 90% of the Amazon's shareholders? Bezos should be fired and in jail for life for stock manipulation and wire fraud with the scheme known as Amazon.

[@Paddington2000]

OMG what are you on, I'd stop taking it if I was you it's not doing you any good.

[@matt5721]

​@@Steveos312Amazon has its value from AWS, not selling stuff. They meet every definition of a tier 1 isp without actually selling Internet connections

[@systemsless]

I only have 2 memories of RadioShack I was about 5 years old and my mom bought a phone at radio shack in 2004 or 2005 I thought it was a phone store that sold remote control cars

[@lindsaystern7812]

I've always found Radio Shack to be a horribly depressing place I HATED going to (much like Sears), but it *is* a little sad that they didn't quite make it to being 100 years old.

[@ebayerr]

It seems like an oxymoron to me that we live in a "high tech" world and yet a retailer that specializes in tech of all kinds could not succeed in this environment.

[@atomicpuppet]

So they're really going away this time huh? I swear the past 15 years they have went out of business like 3 times it seems. I worked part time at a Shack during college in 2009. I remember they would throw out old stock that wasn't moving, right into the dumpster.

[@MDK22420]

Like Kmart, They've been dying for like 20 years. They'll be gone soon though.

[@hailally]

atomicpuppet kmarts gone in south Texas.

[@mcearl8073]

atomicpuppet I know, I swear they already went out of business and closed all stores a few years ago, maybe it was just the ones around me.

[@bckroobnzi141]

Alyssa ExplainsITALL Yeah man, here in San Antonio a bunch of places have been disappearing

[@Shomanification]

atomicpuppet Did you take some of the old stock? I know I definitely would lol

[@Broker205]

I'm so glad that I found your channel today. I think that there is still one store in my area, and I want to try to get some photos before the end of the month. I have many, many fond memories of shopping in Radio Shack as a child and receiving remote control cars for Christmas. My favorite one of all time was an R/C Audi Quattro. Man, I loved that thing! I remember our Realistic stereo components, CB radios and scanners, just tons of memories. It's really sad to see another icon of my childhood just disappear. Thanks again for posting this.

[@alexmay7250]

My radio shack is not closing, It might be one of the last ones. They seem pretty successful though it's a combination sprint and radio shack and they have insanely amazing customer servis one guy offered to look over my circuit schematic for a project i was working on due to me worrying about lipo battery safety, and asking some pretty basic stuff.

[@theTORTUGAZUL]

I saw a Radio Shack sign today, but the inside was just a Sprint store. Strange.

[@INtErNetMeMeStEr]

I will miss RadioShack; I always had a good experience shopping at my local store in FL. I bought my AV Cord Switchboard, a Swiss Army multipurpose tool that was free with a purchase of some large amount of AA Batteries, my budget RCA Digital Camera that broke after 10 years that was replaced with a GoPro Hero 2, and almost all my desktop keyboards. It was either RadioShack, Staples, Office Depot, Kmart, Sears, Target, Dollar Tree, and Home Depot to get everything I would ever need. To me, I prefer Customer Service; and I don't mind paying $1.20 more to avoid having to find someone who is not interested in helping a customer, or get told, "sorry not my department".

[@haydenpeabody7338]

Turnt Marshfellow same, mine has a sprint store in front and a ton of components in the back

[@rockinblack5157]

Sprint is keeping some stores for phones but all RadioShacks and stuff will be gone.

[@andrewtaylor940]

They are gone by the end of the month, unless it was sold to someone else and changing the name. Amazon was considering buying a lot of the storefronts.

[@peggyhill7283]

"Is it live or is it Memorex?" (Most of my friends & I are musical entertainers. We always had fun with that commerical.) Hank you for sharing. Cool store!

[@zachmorrow7737]

80% off is still more expensive than walmart! Last time I went to a radio shack was to purchase a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter and it was about 500% mark up. I told the manager of the store "this is not fair markup, you are robbing people of their hard earned money". He agreed. I left.

[@davehtown]

Zachary Morrow Kinda ignorant to tell the poor guy "YOU are robbing people of their hard earned money" when I'm sure he didn't set all the prices and has no say in what happens to the pricing of inventory. Be a little more educated next time brother.

[@zachmorrow7737]

Kind of ignorant of you to think by saying "you" I was speaking directly to the person working at the store. I mean...I'm certain he wasn't actually Mr. RadioShack. His name tag said "Steve". But in all seriousness, when communicating frustrations, such as I did, to an employee working at a store, it is understood that the customers frustrations are not directed at Mr. Employee of the store, rather the company as a whole, that would be a very "Uneducated" thing for anyone to do. The employee was smart enough to not respond with "Hey buddy! I don't set the prices, I just enforce them". And if you would read my post again, you will see that he actually agreed with my statement, meaning that he knew I was talking about RadioShack, not him.

[@BigLewBBQ]

I loved Radio Shack, grew up loving it and worked at a Radio Shack as a young man in the '90s. They used to have great Short Wave Radios. I had several of those Radio kits as a kid in the '70s. You had a USB gizmo as a Kid? Dang I'm old! Thanks for this video, I shed some tears.

[@jhip6269]

I had one of those electronics kits as a kid, you could actually make an AM radio broadcaster. that was my favorite thing.

[@supersmashmaster43]

+jeffw1267 Kinda wish I was around back then to experience RadioShack in its prime. All that stuff sounds really cool!

[@morrielarsen]

8:58 that shopping center used to have an arcade right next to the radio shack in the 1980s, it wasn't far from where I lived, me and my friends used to ride our bikes there and play video games for hours. Back then it was an old run down center from the 60's...

[@Idelia412]

Technology left Radio Shack behind.

[@heckpac5743]

Lol

[@captcraig777]

Thanks for the great video. I used to buy all kinds of things from Radio Shack from 1980 all the way up to one month ago. I even got my very first computer from Radio Shack. The TRS-80. Such fond memories this has sparked. Thanks again!

[@soonersciencenerd383]

on the last day of RS in oklahoma, i went there, bought all components, breadboards, heat shrink tubing, solder, soldering irons, wire, tools, clips whatever. what would have costed $500 just cost me $50!!! im a DIY, scrapper, salvager, and builder. besides, RS became a cell phone store.

[@lcdmonitor1981]

Agreed with a lot of the posters, Radio Shack lost its image. Sure, the days of Amateur Radio being mainstream are long gone, but I think there was still a market for brick and mortar electronics, can't tell you how many times I've rushed into a nearby radio shack just before close, or right when it open to get some obscure AV cable, Relay, roll of solder or some other component... Guess I might be in the minority, but I'd fathom most people would have trouble finding that stuff retail these days... Most people probably don't repair their own electronics anymore, but I sure know a lot of people that install their own car stereos and the like... Where can you pick up something as simple as a roll of solder, and heat shrink these days? Yay Amazon... :(

[@GardenerEarthGuy]

The sign that says, ' Radio Shack Everything Must Go ' @ 01:03 is something to get and stash away for your children, because it will be worth a few bucks down the road.

[@GardenerEarthGuy]

I grew up with the 60 in 1 board! I could never recall the name!

[@cs5250]

My memories of radio shack was walking in to their small store, being the only one in there, feeling watched by the employee, and not really finding anything that I needed. I did use it for a few projects, but apart from that, the store didn't carry anymore of it's cool gadgets. When they converted into a phone store it reduced the layout to about half of what they originally carried. My favorite memory was seeing a store open up in our downtown street where college kids and everyone in town will go to just hang out/eat/walk around. This same store closed within months

[@alexdanke133]

Cool video man. Growing up in the 90's it was depressing watching the fall of RS. I remember browsing all the cool components and thinking of stuff to build. Then it turned into some crappy Best Buy Light stuff. Oh well.

[@oldtwins]

At least Best Buy has some competitive pricing. Not the case with Radio Shack. All overpriced. I remember about ten years ago I went into a local one to buy a toy RC car for someone on a whim but it was priced so high and the same model available elsewhere for much less that I left in disgust - only to be first stopped by a salesperson hammering me to purchase a cell phone.

[@ericbrooking]

It just wasn't fun to shop there anymore. I went there with my kid to pick up parts for a laser show that we are building, something that actually pulled my 13 year old away from the Millennial Boob Tube, the computer, but I found that they didn't carry much electronic parts anymore. I must say that in California even our Fry's Electronics doesn't carry the width of electronic parts that they used to. So now our only option is to buy online. But the problem with that is to keep a teenager happy nowadays everything has to be instant, so the shipping time to just get a stupid resistor will kill the project. This is where Radio Shack used to shine, I could always pick up a resistor or capacitor needed for a project. But when they turned into a cell phone store forget it. Done deal, they're dead. I hope the ones in charge didn't get a golden parachute! Maybe it is just a result of the dumbing down of America?

[@KORIGAN1]

This is depressing

[@jackphillips3512]

Thanks for the video. I have many fond memories of radio shack myself and bought various electronic parts occasionally until they closed the ones in my town a couple of years ago. One note, Tandy and Radioshack may not be complete dead as far as the names go. Often the names get revived a few years later by another company for use. I expect Circuit City will be back soon, at least as a product brand. Danelectro (a musical instrument company) has done this. Polaroid has done this too. A few years from now you will see some Chinese company selling Radio Shack stuff.

[@TheUniversalEyes]

Our Radio Shack just closed down about 2 weeks ago. I can remember going there last year after the new management took over and they seemed pretty enthusiastic about it, even telling me that they could get me anything I needed. I laughed inside because I was like what? Cell phones, overpriced batteries and cables Made in China? When they closed the store here it went from liquidation to closing pretty quick, they sold everything, even the shelves. Radio Shack was a good concept back in the day, it offered people ideas and a basic supply of things they could use to build technology, but it was very generic and overpriced. Once you knew what you were dealing with you went elsewhere. In my opinion Cell phones and overpriced electronics is what killed themselves off. Of course, the economy is bad too and people are more stupid which doesn't help either.

[@christophercoleman1895]

our radio shack here in canada closed years ago and some new store called the sorce is now in it,s place witch sucks i lovd radio shack ussed to but batteries radios and whatever i needed they had it bring back radio shack

[@AMD1]

I found it pretty ironic that just early this morning I pulled out my sales brochures and manual for a similar receiver and speakers at 2:00 I still have the complete system packed away in a box, because the receiver needs a recap. I love your videos. We have a couple of really cool retro arcade/pinball places throughout the Chicagoland area.

[@chocolat917]

Were you inspired by dan bell? I love his dead mall series, but you have your own style and I really like it. Keep up the good work!

[@crunchstick1277]

As a young man I blew several checks on Radio Shack merchandise, my first component system made by Realistic. There was always a time that I needed cables or some gadget that I couldn't live without. But times changed, cell phones took over and their stereos went away, gone were the catalogs and beloved electronics that audiophiles and hobbyists used to love to buy. Stores like Circuit City, Best Buy and Silo had more merchandise, especially the space when HDTV became popular. Later came online stores and Radio Shack became the store version of MTV, not living up to its name and a shell of its former self. I'll still miss the memories as I still have my gadgets of a time not so long ago.

[@joshuahudson2821]

The 80's wanted Their Store back.

[@ung427]

I used to love radio shack. Built my first radio from radio shack. It was a kit, and had a little white single earphone. I used to sit up in my parent's attic listening to airline pilots way up there in the sky. I loved buying "Realistic" speakers, subwoofers, and making them work with my garage of old receivers and amplifiers.. hearing how the base changed by making different enclosures... Oh the fun... and all of the electronic components.

[@Orange_Laowai]

Sears Outlet, Hometown, Appliance Showroom, and Appliance and Hardware Stores have been spun off into another company. They have a separate CEO and everything.

[@RetailArchaeology]

I didn't know the outlets were separate, thanks for watching!

[@TRJ2241987]

So that explains how my town is now on its FOURTH Sears location since the 1970s (failed Main Street store, failed appliance store, failed K-Mart conversion to Sears Essentials, yet now a Sears Hometown has somehow popped up)

[@seanorourke1010]

Ghawk they still are struggling

[@Orange_Laowai]

That is mostly due to the fact many people on Sears board of directors are also on the Outlet board of directors.

[@brucesmith9144]

Impressed with the commercials you were able to integrate into the video. And I absolutely remember the 1976 Radio Shack catalog with that picture of Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops, on the lower right corner of the cover, to lend some legitimacy to their stereo systems.

[@krystal945]

I remember my uncle would spend hours at this store and me and my grandmother would have to pull him out of there

[@pipamir]

RadioShack closing hits home for me a little bit. My grandpa was a regional manager for a chain of RadioShacks (actually in Phoenix!) and it's where my dad got his first job and then later met my mom while he was working there. He always had tech retail jobs after that (like in Comp USA and Circuit City and Best Buy, then more recently Apple), most of which have also closed. It's like a bit of my family history going away. Without RadioShack, I might have never existed. My dad did manage to snag a lighted RadioShack sign from a store liquidation to put up as a wall decoration, it's actually pretty cool!

[@ResidentGerm]

So apparently General Wireless decided at the last moment not to liquidate Radio Shack and keep at least 70 of their most profitable stores open and Radio Shack will be now a predominantly online store, also they're allowing 435 franchise stores to continue leasing the brand name, so Radio Shack is not dead, the parent company doesn't know what they're doing, which explains a lot of the failure. They did close 1100 stores yesterday.

[@privatedank3023]

now there are about 30 left. my boss told me that the company gon close about 5 more soon. it's over lmao

[@ComputerLearning0]

In the early 1970's I used to LOVE going to Radio Shack. Back then my town had ONE Radio Shack store and it was a great one. The CB craze was in full swing at the time and they always had their best CB's hooked up to an outside antenna and working, and you could actually try out the radios if desired. Their scanners were the same way, and I remember having one of their 8-channel handheld crystal controlled scanners to listen to local Fire, EMS and Police. Radio Shack always had such cool stuff and it was loads of fun to just look around the store but things were changing and by the late 1990's things were very different. Everything was different and was geared towards cell-phone and computer sales. CB's were long gone and only a few scanners remained. Their foray into amateur radio sales had also come & gone (and failed), and finding even the most basic electronic component was difficult, as they were getting out of the business. It saddens me greatly to see RS close but was completely expected because the bottom line is they just couldn't compete with online purchasing. RS was great while it lasted though...

[@charlesmandus574]

Bummer, my Pro-43 scanner lowers it's antenna in shame

[@BurningTirez]

Lmao

[@dfgvegas]

lots of memories being a little boy with my dad going to RadioShack he built solid state stereo components so RadioShack was a part of my life growing up feels like an old friend passing away no I haven't been to RadioShack and probably 15 years

[@pillharrmen5979]

This is the future of Apple stores just wait..

[@FireboltPrime]

true that screw Apple

[@ultrararesabra6159]

This is the ultimate future of every business, nothing lasts, everything is finite.

[@Redwaversz]

keith Haralson erm Wozniak said Apple still on bussines in 2075

[@gta4ratman]

+ULTRA RARE SABRA Yeah but you can make it last for a while if you're smart. Beretta has been going strong for almost 500 years

[@mr.santana6145]

Apple is Chinese crap that's just over priced

[@bigguyCIA4u]

Maybe if Radio Shack had leaned more into PC-building market instead of just trying to be another cell phone store, they would still be around today. That's exactly the type of clientele they were originally founded for. What a bone-headed move that was

[@jaym5118]

I've always hated Radio Shack. Not only the stores, but the employees always hover around you like vultures. You can't even search for something without them asking over and over if you need help. Best Buy is sometimes just as bad.

[@oldtwins]

Or be forced to give you entire personal information to buy a pack of batteries. Or worse yet, be behind someone doing the same and taking 10 minutes to do a transaction that should take no more than a minute to be in and out. Then be hard-pressured to buy a cell phone that you don't want, and even if you did want, you would sure as hell not buy it there.

[@theexplorer7139]

Jay M lol true. You need help, man?

[@timothyhandl2223]

Their employees were stupid too.

[@BananasananaB]

The only way I think radioshack could have stayed in business is if they had shrunk their focus and staffed with well trained and helpful people. If they went back to selling wire, capacitors, resistors, diodes, breadboards etc plus raspberry Pis and 3d printers they might have a place. Mainly in having staff there that knows their stuff though. Then have weekend classes like Lowes or Home Depot. But for electronics and computing. How to properly use a soldering iron, multimeter, basic electronics principles, basic coding lessons. Plus maybe had larger 3d printers in house where they'd print for a fee. They'd have become a one stop shop for DIY electronics again and a new customer base of people learning how to use the items sold in store, while they're in the store.

[@robles]

mervyns?

[@brockdrozeski741]

roblesjant I miss that store

[@calidoscopio1515]

Hello everyone, I worked in a Radio Shack store when I was around 20 years old, at that time Radios Shack opened stores in Mexico and since then I have been a fan of electronics and electronic devices, I got the job, they still sent us the merchandise from the distribution centers by Tandy Radio Shack with articles direct from the US The person who interviewed me for the job came from Texas and was in charge of opening stores here in Mexico, I worked at Radio shack until 1995. I really liked working there, I even dream from time to time that I get to work there and I meet my coworkers, without a doubt working there marked my life forever, today with almost 50 years of age I am proud to have worked for Radio Shack, I still have my employee badge, Shack radios represents a lot of the technician's culture or hobbyist in his garage, that time where building and manufacturing something with the electronic components of this store gave that sense of science and education that is not seen much these days. Corordial Greetings J.Ramón Zavala O.

[@ung427]

Damn it. If I won the lottery I would have totally bought RadioShack and designed all of these new learning kits that have to do with touch screen technology, holograms, time travel via laser and noble gasses, among other things. Just the same old fun beginners learning kits, but with new modern devices.

[@theTORTUGAZUL]

Beam me up Scotty.

[@andrewtaylor940]

The thing is people are doing just that now. Just without the massive overhead of 1000's of close together local stores. This is the same issue Gamestop is facing (Yeah put them on deathwatch unless their Think Geek experiment saves them. You can design those wonderful hobbiest kits. Then offer them for sale via Amazon. You can have a special hobbiest parts store online. Amazon has become the stripmall for the virtual storefront that the small special interest product maker can thrive with.

[@theTORTUGAZUL]

Amazon does not and will never come close to a real brick and mortar store.

[@andrewtaylor940]

They have been starting to experiment with some sort of "Amazon Fullfillment Center" concept. Basically a sort of reverse of the UPS and FedEx stores. You order it online and pick it up at the local storefront faster than the normal 1-3 day delivery. Plus they are starting to put some Amazon Specialty stores in MAlls. My local mall just got one. It's like an Apple store of sorts selling Kindle Fires and those creepy Alexa spybot things.

[@oldtwins]

Never say "never" to what Amazon can or can't do. They are trying all sorts of things. Some may pan out, some may not. They are like Google. Unlike the majority of retail CEOs, Jeff Bezos isn't an idiot.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

There are a few remaining Radio Shack dealer stores. There's one still in business in my area, they have since removed any reference to it being a Radio Shack dealer. The store in question is Sound Check, the former Radio Shack dealer of Pulaski, Wisconsin. They still sell electronics and cell phones as an independent family-owned business.

[@josedcarrillo24]

Can you do Sports Authority?

[@salsaproductions6286]

Jose Carrillo y Kind of late now

[@Nitro_Joe]

Radio Shack was on of my favorite stores. I could always pick up small electronic pieces for a test project before purchasing mass amounts for a classroom.

[@MrFang333333]

COME ON BEST BUY! Ohhh buddy.... soon you gonna be on the old chopping block too! Mmmm...Your years of ripping off customers and arguing your way out of warranties are OVER!

[@deeztacos6336]

MrFang333333 best buy is pure filth

[@christianparker2704]

Yeah i miss circuit city even though they had slight terrible customer service, it was still my go to place to buy electronics as a child

[@ciscof4041]

I worked for R.S. for about 8 months after I separated from the Army (2016). I thought the company had already been gone by this time, til i saw an ad on Indeed. While working here, I could already see the eventual closing of the brand. People would often come in and say "oh, i can get this way cheaper at Wal Mart or online", cutting of hours, and managements effort to tell you to keep trying your hardest to up sale overpriced merchandise. The plus side was the Sprint employees who were at my store were really good company and always cheerful. In the end I ended up closing my store in April of 2017 by packing, breaking down, and handing over my store key. Thankfully knowing the Sprint guys helped me get a job with them (who's benefits and pay are waaaay better).

[@MarkShannonroad_videos]

The 1980's didn't want it's store back.

[@ashleyshim2078]

Mark's Journey lol

[@Cristofre]

Former employee here, In my opinion, they failed because they abandoned their original market: nerds and makers. Story Time: Radio Shack was my favorite store as a kid- a freakin' candy land of magic! Then I worked there in my 20's for a few years in the early 1990's and got disillusioned. It was always about the hobbyist electronics for me, I even went to electronics school specifically because of the fun I had with the electronics kits I got from Radio Shack as a kid. I loved: Helping people find that one adapter or little part they couldn't find. Advising people on repairs or simple circuits. I hated: Being pushed by management to sell sell sell more high end stuff, Asking for people's names and addresses for EVERY sale (why do you need my phone number??? I'm just buying some batteries!), My manager once got mad at me because I was soldering a new battery into a little old man's cordless phone. "Our job is to sell! Tell him to buy a soldering iron! He implied I was making the place look low class like some kind of electronics store instead of a high class stereo/video/computer/cell phone store! Holy shit that made me so angry, and that was literally the type of thing that killed Radio shack. That little old man walked out of there dejected and confused, I never saw him again. That's where all of Radio Shack's customers went.

[@pilotguy1141]

Radio Shack killed themselves they used to sell electronic parts Ham radios you name it. my nephew's in the stem program and he loves Electronics and of course I can't buy him anything from RadioShack because they turn into a cell phone store.

[@waltschannel7465]

yowza yowza They never had great parts selection, and they changed their selection every year, which was too frequent for parts, and not frequent enough for stereos and other frequently updated electronics.

[@TrainerCTZ]

That golf game is AWESOME. I remember that being the top of the line golf game with its course layout guide, etc

[@ThomasPurcell]

About 15 years ago I considered going back into retail senior management, and interviewed with Radio Shack. They told me they weren't interested, looking for someone more cellular phone oriented. When asked why, they explained their business strategy going forward was to emphasize cell phone sales and contracts-- I told them they were foolish and their business model was doomed to failure, and then explained why. When I heard about the closures, I wasn't entirely surprised. They should have listened to me.

[@rpudates2834]

I know that RS in Mesa shown in the video and the one that used to be at Superstition Springs Mall. As a kid I used to buy electronics parts for my amateur "ham" radio hobby as well as radio scanners and CB radios at Radio Shack through the 80s and 90s. It was an easy stop while shopping for other things in the mall. At the beginning of the nineties, you could still walk in and buy resistors, capacitors, project boxes, PL-259 antenna connectors etc and then by the end of the 90s it was all gone. By the 2000s, It had become known as a junk electronics and low grade cell phone store.....and then they had that at annoying "what's your phone number and address" when you checked out at the register. Electronics and ham radio shopping for me now takes place online at Mouser electronics or locally at "brick and mortar" stores in Tempe at Circuit Specialists and Fry's Electronics or at Ham Radio Outlet in Phoenix 43Ave/Peoria (Yes! An actual ham radio-only store that survives in today's market).

[@WilliamDeanPlumbing]

wow, all ours closed years ago...

[@DeathShouldTakeMeNow]

One of my favorite childhood birthday gifts was a 200-in-1 electronic project kit that my dad picked up at radio shack. He was a bit of an electronics nut so he always bought me stuff from there, from RC cars to a metal detector to random gizmos and whatnots. He was actually quite bummed when he heard RS was closing.

[@TubboDaKittyCat]

My local Radio Shack isn't closing down.

[@RetailArchaeology]

It's probably one of the franchise locations. I heard there are a handful of franchise locations that are going to try and go it alone. They recently got updates to their point of sale software so that it will continue to work without needing to connect to RadioShack's network/servers. Thanks for watching!

[@imnotyourunicorn91]

Same And the parking lot is half full but there is only like 6 parking spaces

[@frisk4520]

Same, but mine is inside of a pharmacy

[@roseprevost8081]

I remember as a kid, I had two things from RS I loved-the stuffed animal with the radio inside, and the genie bottle.

[@sparky603]

Radio Shack put themselves out of business with their bullshit of selling customer info

[@guadalupev30]

we also had a Tandy Center, where as a kid my mom and I parked in a private subway lot and rode into the shopping portion of the building in Downtown FW.

[@miamidolphinsfan]

Another part of my childhood - gone.

[@BusStopProductions.]

There's still two Radio Shacks in Columbus, Ohio.

[@haylieg2780]

Radio Shack has sucked for so long especially where I live, they it is good that they are going away. They had no clue about even the scanners that they used to sell. Good rittens

[@danmana]

Jordan Gallacher Riddance*

[@sc0tte1-416]

Good kittens.

[@gavincurtis]

Good mittens?

[@D33Lux]

Good shittins

[@aesopsystems]

Good sit-ins

[@conicEllipse]

Nice tribute to one of my (and many men and women's) all-time favorite store. Thank you.

[@1pcfred]

Die Rat Shack Die! They really brought it upon themselves. They could have been a contender.

[@theTORTUGAZUL]

They could have been a contender, they could have been somebody. Isn't that a movie quote?

[@keeleye7225]

On the Waterfront. Excellent acting in it.

[@crazmage2678]

I used to work at RadioShack in San Diego, CA. It was really fun to work there and I really enjoyed everyday I worked there. I worked alongside great people and just was fun.

[@troy2478]

This video made me really sad.

[@yourpcmd]

Dont know why this came up in my rotation, but glad it did. I find the videos intriguing which is why I just subscribed. Looking forward to see what you have next.

[@IsaakR19]

today is May 31st. rip

[@TheSunsfan4life]

I grew up going to the one on Val Vista and Guad and I went in there the other day. It's so sad to see it in the state that it's in. I remember going to a Black Friday sale with my uncle like ten years ago and that place was packed and getting a pen with an integrated race car and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I will always have fond memories of radio shack. Thanks for the upload!

[@blackbobross4960]

Fuck radio shack they closed because they're over priced they tried to charge $15 for a USB cable one time I went in so I just went to another store and purchased the same one for $3.99

[@wrightconnection1731]

I started working for Radio Shack in the mid 70's. Started as a part time salesman, went full time, became assistant mgr. then manager. Was promoted to franchise district manager of 97 stores then bought my own franchise store in Key Largo for around 10 years. I had a good run with Radio Shack, it's sad to see them go. RIP Charles Tandy.