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RadioShack is back

erek

erek

8=D
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“In a bid to capitalize on a name that once carried clout in the tech world, Unicomer is adding RadioShack branding to a bunch of consumer electronics. That includes things like a Bluetooth speaker with RGB lighting ($58), a gaming chair ($250), headphones ($28), and a projector ($112).”

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/07/radioshack-is-back-kind-of-at-ces-2025/
 
I bought a Audio cable from RadioShack once it didn't even work just made a loud buzzing sound. Best thing I purchased with my Paper Rote money was a Metal Detector fun but not much treasure. Interesting store but the workers were real good salemen. One of the workers was a kid I went to Highschool with.
 
The key would be to solve a problem others are not. Maybe large community and schools involvement.

The radioshack name carries no weight anymore. They've been gone for 10 years and before that when they were a parts store even longer.

It isn't because of some unfair thing that they went away, it is because they kept trying to copy big box stores and undercut them in prices with cheap junk.

Their legacy is "great place to get parts to repair stuff" to "crappy chinese rebrands and phones for some reason".

They could go back to repair parts but that isn't a norm anymore. They likely won't have what you need and with digikey and mouser in a few days you can get parts.

Honestly I trust the chinese crap from aliexpress more so than anything rebranded by 'radioshack'.
 
1.1.2.3.5... said:
If radioshack made an online maker presence, they would kill. Adafruit, and sparkfun pull a lot of business.
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I'm not familiar with Sparkfun, but absolutely everything on Adafruit seems to cost like 3-4 times more than is justified.

A maker type retailer could really go in and disrupt that.

We used to have an electronics geek/maker superstore here in greater Boston named "You Do It Electronics". Picture a Radio Shack, but like how they used to be back in the day when they were actually focused on electric components, etc, and didn't just sell extension cords and cheap cellphones. But larger. Way larger.

It was awesome. But the last time I drove by a couple of months ago they looked to have gone out of business. It's very sad :(

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Three floors of just electronics nerd stuff (though in later years they added AV stuff too because apparently there were fewer and fewer electronics nerds :( )

They had been in Needham Mass since 1949, but I guess there just aren't enough tinkerers anymore to justify their existence, which is sad. Everyone just buys ready made stuff these days, and no one wants to think or do anything for themselves.

Welcome to the idiocracy, where everyone wants to be spoon fed everything. No one even wants to build their own desktops anymore, let alone their own electric circuits.

Of course, I say all this knowing full well that I only made it there once every 2-3 years, so it's not as if I did my part to keep them in business either...
 
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Zarathustra[H] said:
absolutely everything on Adafruit seems to cost like 3-4 times more than is justified.
Click to expand...
Adafruit puts value-adds on their stuff and then charges premium prices. As an example, compare a Feather M0 Adalogger to an Arduino Nano. You get a couple of extra LEDs, including an RGB one, a voltage regulator that can feed a couple hundred mA to other components, a micro sd card slot, and some extra components.

Also, Adafruit flaunts their leftist political opinions.
 
I always figured radio Shack became a money laundering service for organized crime. Nobody would ever be in the stores but somehow they remained open...
 
Sheldon wouldn't be fooled by this. I know brands often struggle for recognition, but this isn't really going to help.
 
I was at the hardware store the other day and saw some NASCAR branded, imported phone charging cables. Why do phone charging cables need NASCAR branding? I don't know. But I do know you could easily slap RadioShack branding on the same package and it's the same product.

Unless they want to do something unique or try to meet some type of specific quality standard (which I'm sure they are not) then this branding is completely pointless cash grab.
 
polonyc2 said:
can we bring back Circuit City!...I always liked that place
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OH yeah, Circuit City, the home of "this garbage prebuilt Compaq PC has 6 different rebates, 4 of which are designed to be impossible to collect."
 
no, it was radio shack, at least up here. first machine i ever bought myself was a compaq w/ a k62 450, got it on sale plus my staff discount.
 
1_rick said:
OH yeah, Circuit City, the home of "this garbage prebuilt Compaq PC has 6 different rebates, 4 of which are designed to be impossible to collect."
Click to expand...
Like computers that are "free" if you subscribe to their overpriced Internet service? Kinda sounds like all the 'free' phones people get on their cell plans.
 
70's, 80's, and 90's kids loooooove nostalgia, so this will probably work no matter how good or bad the actual products are.
 
pendragon1 said:
lol true but that really depended on the store.
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And the shift.

Ours had the common useless nitwits, but also one former navy tech who was basically MacGyver. He could make or fix anything with a wire involved. I'd bring in my nutty ideas, and he'd walk me through either a better plan, or sometimes, why my plan wouldn't work at all.

When he was not there, blank stares, and a unrelenting desire to have phone numbers and personal details when I bought a bag of LEDs.
 
I miss their rebranded Pioneer audio equipment under the Optimus label.....
Not sure what brand my VCRs were.

Used to always go into a RS at the mall after tech school ended for the day.
polonyc2 said:
can we bring back Circuit City!...I always liked that place
Click to expand...
Never been in one, but I've been in a Montgomery Ward before they went.
 
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