Frys going out of Business

fightingfi

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 9, 2008
Messages
3,231
my frys in Houston Texas sales dude told me they are going out of Business FYI shutting stores and warehouses down etc...
 
my frys in Houston Texas sales dude told me they are going out of Business FYI shutting stores and warehouses down etc...

how busy is that store?

the store here in austin is usually pretty busy.

they have gone to internet price matching to keep up with the likes of amazon, but was it too little to late?
 
Another EggHead competitor going belly up? Eleventeenth Floor anyone?

No surprise here as there have been many stories of under-stocked shelves recently. Being a private company Fry's financials are not known. More likely some downsizing rather than full closure. I have wondered how they deal with all the overhead of those huge themed stores. Not to mention shady business practices. Seem to remember a big scandal about customer returns about 20 years ago.
 
given they're in direct competition with Microcenter in Houston it doesn't surprise me.


Another EggHead competitor going belly up? Eleventeenth Floor anyone?

No surprise here as there have been many stories of under-stocked shelves recently. Being a private company Fry's financials are not known. More likely some downsizing rather than full closure. I have wondered how they deal with all the overhead of those huge themed stores. Not to mention shady business practices. Seem to remember a big scandal about customer returns about 20 years ago.

they make it back by ripping off their employee's.
 
how busy is that store?

the store here in austin is usually pretty busy.

they have gone to internet price matching to keep up with the likes of amazon, but was it too little to late?
its the one on west rd and i-45 its super slow lack of employees lack of merchandise was dead last night i know it was a Monday night but the sales guy told me were going out of Business........
 
RIP Frys, I used to love going there when I was going to UC Davis back in the day. I built many PCs purely with parts from the Sacramento location. Unfortunately times change, since Amazon came out with Prime, that's all I use now.
 
Wouldn't surprise me...the Fry's in Indianapolis has been depressing for a long time now. During the Xmas season it picks up and is busy, but the rest of the year its dead.
 
I don't see the Dallas location closing....

Jupiter / 635?

It's one of the dumpier ones... the one in Plano is nicer, as is the one in Irving, but the one in Arlington was also dumpier when I last visited. Not sure I remembered much about the one by NASA in Houston, though I did stop by in the last year or so.

Would prefer to see Microcenter expand, and if possible, would prefer to buy from either before Amazon given that Amazon charges tax now in TX.
 
damn, I hope Microcenter isn't next. They seem to have their shit more together though... I went to Frys in Houston (the one out by 59 and the Beltway) a couple times when I lived there and wasn't terribly impressed. Definitely not worth the massive trek from downtown for mediocre stock in an overly large and weirdly-organized warehouse

the NASA Frys did look neat from the outside... never went into that one
 
Used to frequent the Houston location the first few years they were open. The store looked dingy last time I was there. It has a less than optimal location (IMO), being sandwiched at least 15 miles in any direction from affluent 'techie' neighborhoods. I'd rather wait a day or so for shipping to avoid driving the 30+ mile round-trip.
 
Good, Fys sucks!

Terrible customer service every time I visit that place, and its ALWAYS a clutster fuck of merchandise.
 
Would bad if true. They're nice to use if you need something quickly and I've had some luck with them price matching Microcenter CPU deals ($200 for i5 4670K). Selection is decent and being able to see some peripherals in person is always nice.
 


Pretty crazy to see stores looking like this. I have only been to a Fry's once, about 10 years ago (the one OP is referring to, actually), but it sure didn't look like that.
 
I have not gone to Frys in years. They used to distribute huge 8 page flyers in the friday papers. Then it changed to 1 back page. Now gone. Electronics market has really crashed. I mean it used to be a big growth industry with lots of innovation. But today a 10 year old PC works about as well for most people as a new PC. There isn't really much "reason" for average joe to upgrade. The profit angle is also gone. Why spend a bunch of money on components when a $200 laptop will be fine for most purposes. That is less than the price of many components. Not really surprising since the exact same thing has happened to radio shack and circuit city (and toys r us) - niche big box stores. How long will best buy survive?
 
Last Christmas I back ordered some iFixit tools that were on sale and I only got a part of my order. By the time they got the other half in stock, the CC# I gave them expired and they wouldn't allow me to change it so the order was cancelled (like 5 months after I placed it). I definitely wouldn't recommend ordering anything from them now unless it says in stock and will ship immediately. Kind of a shame they always had some good deals during the holidays.
 
That's a shame. Frys was my go to electronics store when I lived in Indiana. It was one of the last places you could walk in and buy electronic parts. Capacitors, resistors, circuit boards and what not.

I don't think Microcenter would be going anywhere. Thier main store in Columbus is always busy, and they do well online.

I could see them at some point possibly closing any satellite stores to keep the main store running though.
 
Anyone been to Fry's in Downer's Grove, IL? I should head back there this wkend...
 
The Fry’s in my hometown of Wilsonville Oregon is great! Well it used to be. Seems like half the store is “as seen on tv” garbage and other things to boost margins (makes sense though as hardware has such low margins and software is a download away even legally).

The best thing they did was match the amazon price fro things. That way I could get something from them quicker than on Amazon and still pay the same. And no sales tax in Oregon so woot.

Back in the day people would come from all over the state to Wilsonville just for frys and their deals. I’ve met people from Bend, and Corvallis, and as far south as. Ashland just making the pilgrimage to it as it is the only Frys in the whole state.

It will be a shame if it goes away because the only alternative is the Best Buy in Tualatin and their hardware selection is garbage.
 
Funny, the Wilsonville Location is the only one thats kinda close to me and I generally haven't had a good experience there. I've stopped by a few times when heading north to Portland to see if there was anything I wanted, and I rarely came out with anything.

Though it was where I was able to pick up my R7 1700 day one, so I guess that was nice.
 
Hopefully Microcenter can stay afloat. In Denver that's basically THE option and our store is always packed.

I was in Europe recently and was a little surprised at the number of BYO tech shops I saw.
 
Yeah just watched a video of microcenter opening up in a Jay 2 cents video store looks pretty amazing would live to visit one someday.
 
The Fry's off Jupiter and i635 was the one I frequented the most and mostly because it was close. It was also nice for things other than computer hardware but I came to hate them really quick due to poor organization, high prices and constantly repacked returned inventory that was often missing accessories. The one in Plano is closer to me now, but I often go to Microcenter due to much better prices, better organization etc.
 
Yep, even the Silicon Valley Fry's locations have been in free-fall for the last few years, with things seemingly rapidly accelerating as shown in the above video in the last year. Little inventory, lots of what is stocked is crap or just kinda weird (the local stores are selling mattresses and exercise equipment now). Even their ads now feature lots of "refurbs". Once-packed parking lots are empty. Even fewer employees are around. I'm surprised they've been keeping the smaller stores (e.g., Campbell, Palo Alto) open.

I was disappointed when the local Microcenter pulled out, hopefully when Fry's goes under they'll come back. At least there's Central Computer, but they're kinda small and can be hit-or-miss.
 
When Fry's first opened, it was nice because they had good prices and a great selection. This was in the days prior to internet giants like Amazon and Newegg. Fry's was a mess because of high return rates for computer hardware, but most of them aren't truly defective so Fry's just repackaged most things without checking them out. So you could get damaged or incomplete items if you weren't careful. Sometimes they tagged things properly and had a discount applied, but sometimes they didn't. Over time, Fry's became more and more problematic as their massive overhead, huge staff, and building costs prevented them from competing very well. It's weird though, because Fry's sells a lot of higher margin items that could sustain them in light of the computer related stuff having such lean margins. Microcenter doesn't have a lot of those items comparatively.

Of course, the people at Fry's who buy the product are idiots. They buy a lot of crap that doesn't sell and sits on the shelves forever. Comp USA had this same problem. As far as I am concerned, I think Fry's suffers from mismanagement and expanding to a point where its become too large to change its behavior quickly. Also, it sells a lot of stuff outside the computer market and doesn't push its technical services. This puts them in line to compete with cleaner, brighter stores like Best Buy. Microcenter stands alone as a niche with a far better shopping experience.
 
When Fry's first opened, it was nice because they had good prices and a great selection. This was in the days prior to internet giants like Amazon and Newegg. Fry's was a mess because of high return rates for computer hardware, but most of them aren't truly defective so Fry's just repackaged most things without checking them out. So you could get damaged or incomplete items if you weren't careful. Sometimes they tagged things properly and had a discount applied, but sometimes they didn't. Over time, Fry's became more and more problematic as their massive overhead, huge staff, and building costs prevented them from competing very well. It's weird though, because Fry's sells a lot of higher margin items that could sustain them in light of the computer related stuff having such lean margins. Microcenter doesn't have a lot of those items comparatively.

Of course, the people at Fry's who buy the product are idiots. They buy a lot of crap that doesn't sell and sits on the shelves forever. Comp USA had this same problem. As far as I am concerned, I think Fry's suffers from mismanagement and expanding to a point where its become too large to change its behavior quickly. Also, it sells a lot of stuff outside the computer market and doesn't push its technical services. This puts them in line to compete with cleaner, brighter stores like Best Buy. Microcenter stands alone as a niche with a far better shopping experience.



Former CompUSA employee here. Very true but the death in 2008 was a trigger pulled by Carlos Slim because it was steadily declining over the years, commission based sales reps got the rug pulled from them and flew out the door. Piss poor management. I mean the managers used to strongarm the shit out of customers and yell to get out of the store if they complained too much. I couldn't tell you if you sold a laptop without TAP how bad you would get grilled by management. I still got grilled when I sold bronze plans. Who the heck wanted a $500 warranty on a $900 laptop.
 
Yep, even the Silicon Valley Fry's locations have been in free-fall for the last few years, with things seemingly rapidly accelerating as shown in the above video in the last year. Little inventory, lots of what is stocked is crap or just kinda weird (the local stores are selling mattresses and exercise equipment now). Even their ads now feature lots of "refurbs". Once-packed parking lots are empty. Even fewer employees are around. I'm surprised they've been keeping the smaller stores (e.g., Campbell, Palo Alto) open.

I was disappointed when the local Microcenter pulled out, hopefully when Fry's goes under they'll come back. At least there's Central Computer, but they're kinda small and can be hit-or-miss.

Heh, Local news just reported that Fry's is closing the Palo Alto store come January. Supposedly no others in the area are, but I'd be surprised if that holds.
 


Pretty crazy to see stores looking like this. I have only been to a Fry's once, about 10 years ago (the one OP is referring to, actually), but it sure didn't look like that.


Damn I used to go to that location often when I lived in Scottsdale. So sad but expected with Amazon dominating. I bet we will see Best Buy and Microcenter go bankrupt soon after.
 
I used to drop by Frys anytime I was in LA or San Jose, but that was not very frequently. The only thing close (<4 hrs) is Best Buy.

Too bad. I think there's a single Microcenter somewhere in LA but I haven't been to it.

Is Hover Hound still updated?
 
Went to the Fry's in Industry, CA today - off Crossroads Parkway and the Pomona Freeway. This one looks like it is closing down as the parking lot was only about a quarter full and the store shelves were emptying out.
Also used to have security at the door checking purchase receipts and now employees are doing it.
Employees would not confirm or deny going out of business when I asked them- just that some locations were closing.
 
Former CompUSA employee here.

source.gif

"I have hair on my balls and I sell [TAP]. The end." - The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
 
I used to drop by Frys anytime I was in LA or San Jose, but that was not very frequently. The only thing close (<4 hrs) is Best Buy.

Ah.. memories of the original Fry's where you can buy chips and chips (as they were just one aisle over from each other).
 
Former CompUSA employee here. Very true but the death in 2008 was a trigger pulled by Carlos Slim because it was steadily declining over the years, commission based sales reps got the rug pulled from them and flew out the door. Piss poor management. I mean the managers used to strongarm the shit out of customers and yell to get out of the store if they complained too much. I couldn't tell you if you sold a laptop without TAP how bad you would get grilled by management. I still got grilled when I sold bronze plans. Who the heck wanted a $500 warranty on a $900 laptop.

I worked there twice. From 1997 to 1999 and from 2004 to 2005 part time. I worked in the tech department, but I had friends who worked on the sales floor. The two stores I worked at weren't quite as bad, but I think that came down to your specific management.
 
Back
Top