With Radio Shack going out......

[Joetrain59]

What would you stock up on from the Shack? I'm going to miss them for electrical parts and supplies.
 Didn't have to mail order for that stuff, and could pay cash instead of using credit card.
 Joe D

[RBrodzinsky]

Yes, I had one much closer than Fry's, so was very convenient, especially for the "I need a [fill in blank] right now".  I especially liked their small  project PCBs , great for mounting bridge rectifier/voltage regulators for DCC to DC under FreeMoN modules.

Rick

[Denver Road Doug]

Radio Shack closed a ton of stores back in (I think) 2005 or so, and I went through this exercise then.  I could literally see the store from my kitchen sink window and it was nice to have one that handy.   But the store was really in an ill-fitted area, and I was really able to have my pick of stuff since nobody in the area shopped there frequently.  I bought some stuff at 40% off, but waited until it got down to 70% off before getting a ton of wire and solder and other stuff since I figured that would be the last thing most people would go there to buy.

For sure:
Solder
Velcro
Heat shrink tubing
Electrical tape

If preparing to wire a layout:
Wire
wire crimps/Scotch-locks
wire/cable management items
Power Strips
Power Supplies
Wire strippers
Soldering Iron...always nice to have a backup for these last two.
Mini-heat sinks...to place on track to each side of a soldering operation

Other
Radio Scanner
USB Chargers
Quadcopter/Drone for Railfanning
Home automation components
Webcams/security cams...all sorts of uses MRR and otherwise
Other tools if needed

[Jeff AKA St0rm]

I have never used a Radio Shack when we had them or The Source as they are called now in Canada.  I go to Sayal they have a few locations across Toronto. They are better than any Radio Shack to even hope to be.

[TiVoPrince]

Miss
The radioshack.com retail store. Locally since that closed around 1999 they have been hopeless and Fry's gets 99.85% of my business. Noticed that I still have a mouse pad from there after all this time. Shack has a couple of unique items but its seldom worth the journey...

[randgust]

Funny this should show up.  After reading the WSJ articles, I thought I better get what I wanted quickly.   Our local store is RIGHT BESIDE a Verizon, which always seemed to me the ultimate stupid placement when the same phones are in the same stores right beside each other.

Manager told me that there's already a split between the 'go forward' stores and the ones slated for closure; her's is supposedly staying open.   

I don't think she reads the same news I do.    I bought a lot of supplies, pretty much the shopping list above, right down to the second soldering iron.  I think darn near everything electrical on the layout has come from RS.  For about the last.... 40 years or so.   I've built a lot of power supplies and raw projects from parts.   Their web site is supposedly 1% of sales, but if you've ever tried to FIND anything on it, that probably has a lot to do with it.  Then I tried to find something simple like Molex connectors on Digi-Key, wow, is that a worthless seach feature!  Had to search via Google on their own site, what a mess.

They went through a period there where the parts and components almost died out entirely, my store is pretty well stocked.  Not sure what's going on.  No sight of empty shelves... yet.

[peteski]

Then I tried to find something simple like Molex connectors on Digi-Key, wow, is that a worthless seach feature!  Had to search via Google on their own site, what a mess.

This is not surprising at all. It is not really a mess - it is an information overload for someone like us. The amount of available items on Digikey site (or in their phonebook-sized printed catalog) is absolutely overwhelming.

But remember, they are large industrial supplier that supplies production quantities of components to large electronic manufacturers. Most of the purchasing agents from those companies know exactly what they want. The development engineers for those large companies  love the available variety since they can dig through the stocked items and find exactly what they are looking for (even if it takes them a whole day of research).  They are like kids in a candy store!

The fact that Digikey (Mouser or Allied) even cater to the little fish like you or me is really great - just don't expect them to simplify their website for us. Molex makes thousands of items - you just have to learn the website layout and the specs of the items you are looking for and you will feel right at home on Digikey's website.

[mmagliaro]

Personally, I tend to use surplus places like Hosfelt or Electronics Goldmine, or the suppliers from China that sell
tons of cheap parts on eBay.  Honestly, I find their search and organization so much easier than DigiKey,
that I avoid Digikey now.  Their parts are fine.  But like has been noted in here, their website is tedious enough
that I look elsewhere.

Jameco and Mouser are a little easier to use, I find.
AllElectronics is handy sometimes as well.

[randgust]

Here's the official 'kill list'.....

http://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/radio-shack-closure-list/index.html?iid=EL

I'm still surprised.  Local store isn't on it, but then again, it's very small, very new, and other than the phones, has no real competition.  There are two stores in the city 17 miles north of us, both of those are open, and the mall one was deathly quiet at Christmas.  So I think I'm more surprised that all three of our nearby ones are still alive, for now.

[davefoxx]

I've got three Radio Shacks near to me that are not on the list, either.  The one closest to me only has one associate working every time I go in!  At most, there's one other customer there when I visit that store.  I'm not sure how it survives or why it's staying open for now.

DFF

[C855B]

I've got three Radio Shacks near to me that are not on the list, either.  The one closest to me only has one associate working every time I go in!  At most, there's one other customer there when I visit that store.  I'm not sure how it survives or why it's staying open for now.

VERY strange... similar thing here. Our one local store is not on the list, and it's basically a morgue whenever we visit, with a single clerk. However, the store in the next town is on the kill list, yet every time we're there, there have been 3 or 4 customers ahead of us, two clerks and always a wait... plus this store is in an area with a lot more traffic. It's better-stocked, too!

Pondering, the "two clerks" may be the key. The axe is likely falling on stores with bad net profit, and gross revenue is less important. Staff = $$$, so a store with a lot of traffic in penny items but requires a lot of manpower to support the volume might be the candidates for the hit list.

[Mark5]

For the baltimore peeps, this place is awesome:

http://www.baynesvilleelectronics.com/index2.ivnu

Mark

[Ed Kapuscinski]

For the baltimore peeps, this place is awesome:

http://www.baynesvilleelectronics.com/index2.ivnu

Mark

And one of the (minor) reasons I bought a house where I did.

[learmoia]

Here's the official 'kill list'.....

http://money.cnn.com/interactive/technology/radio-shack-closure-list/index.html?iid=EL

I'm still surprised.  Local store isn't on it, but then again, it's very small, very new, and other than the phones, has no real competition.  There are two stores in the city 17 miles north of us, both of those are open, and the mall one was deathly quiet at Christmas.  So I think I'm more surprised that all three of our nearby ones are still alive, for now.

So the closest one closing for me.... I didn't even know it was there.. and I can think of 2 or 3 others in the area.. guess I'll have to check it out this weekend.....   they are almost as plentiful as cell phone retailers..

-Ian

[Philip H]

closest to the house is staying open - and it has multiple clerks and high traffic volume.  OTOH the one by work is closing - and it also has multiple clerks and good traffic density.  So I don't know how well the net profit idea holds.  FWIW the stores closing around us mean the one by my house is probably the online left in the County.