RadioShack, with the drawers of capacitors and resistors.
You can only bring back one. Which do you choose?
Submitted 4 days ago by Mickey7@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/01fb6829-5950-425b-94b4-8ed5f2863d9f.png
Comments
klemptor@startrek.website 4 days ago
Bahnd@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Old Radio Shack, not that thing from 2015 that was functionally a brick and mortar cellphone stand.
knexcar@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Sadly the new one is all I have memories of
ohshittheyknow@lemmynsfw.com 3 days ago
Yes the old radio shack not the new one which was just a 3rd party cell phone carrier.
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 3 days ago
The drawers are the best everywhere. RadioShack? Component drawers. Home Depot? Fastener drawers. On and on.
Pilferjinx@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I want DYI kits for everything!
Landless2029@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I could see them have an entire section for RC cars and drones today.
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 3 days ago
And maybe bring them back with a good assortment of PC parts, too.
interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 3 days ago
That’s not even a question, the spirit of radioshack with 2025 technology, that would be awesome !
GroundedGator@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I just want to be able to run down the street to buy a pack of overpriced unmarked capacitors anytime I need.
HiddenLychee@lemmy.world 2 days ago
We have a few around me still. One in my town and one in the neighboring town. A bit pricey but I try to get what I can there since a best buy just opened up near them.
HappySkullsplitter@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Radio Shack
No one else has electronic components
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 3 days ago
Fry’s. Some Microcenters. Al Lashers.
outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Fry’s also gone.
rozodru@lemmy.world 3 days ago
As someone who used to be an Assistant Manager at Blockbuster…keep that thing dead and gone. Like as a consumer, sure I get it, but working there absolutely sucked. No one remembers the late fees or the fact Blockbuster would send you to collections for ONE late fee (like a whole $3.25) and then send you those bullshit cards in the mail letting you know that you owe them less than $5? yeah I remember cause on a near daily basis I’d get someone in the store yelling at me that they’re trying to get a loan or a house and this little card is fucking it all up for them. MOST of the time the late fee was because the absolutely ancient computer system we used that they never updated…at all…since the 80s…would skip barcodes randomly on scans. That or some vengeful employee at another store would just manually add fees to someones account (yes that was possible, yes we could just add fees to random accounts willy nilly)
also my District Manager was a douchenozzle. Mike, rot in hell.
gon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 days ago
None of these ever existed in my country, except for Toys “R” Us, which still exists.
Samsy@lemmy.ml 4 days ago
Sure? Thought they are now called Smyth’s or something.
gon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 days ago
Not here; They’re still called Toys “R” Us.
And from looking at the Wikipedia for Smyths it seems that they bought the Toys “R” Us stores in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Not really the same thing as here (Portugal, btw), I think, since they kept the branding, but IDK, I’m not an IP lawyer…
bigb@lemmy.world 4 days ago
An obligatory “Fuck Blockbuster:” They sucked compared to the local rental shops.
uberfreeza@lemmy.world 3 days ago
This is probably true, but I remember Blockbuster was good at renting out trash movies. While Netflix does this also, some of them no streaming service wants to or can pick up today. Like the old Mario movie or the weird Red Riding Hood movie with Henry Cavill. That being said, I still wouldn’t bring it back.
hperrin@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
If they’re like they were in their heyday (innovative computer tech), RadioShack for sure.
Grabthar@lemmy.world 4 days ago
We still have Toys R Us and Party City here, and they seem to be doing fine. Blockbuster isn’t really needed anymore. Old school Radio Shack would be pretty cool though.
caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
Hello fellow Canadian
zipzoopaboop@lemmynsfw.com 4 days ago
Greater Vancouver area has gone from like 6 toys r us to 1, don’t think they’re doing too fine
Grabthar@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Right, I forgot the Orleans one closed this winter. Ot actually seemed to be well stocked, too. 3 to go in the area, I guess.
Surp@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Friendlies still exist I saw one just a month or two ago
Briguy@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I live 5 minutes from a friendlys and 15 minutes from another. They’re still out there
qbus@lemmy.world 3 days ago
WanderWisley@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Fry’s electronics
falidorn@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Fry’s had been a living corpse for a decade. You’d have to go as far back as Circuit City to actually get the Fry’s you remember.
JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Even the zombie version of Fry’s was better than most of the alternatives (cough Best Buy cough).
stoly@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Radio shack for sure. Has anything electronic or computer related you need.
shrewdcat@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
I miss Fry’s. It was nice if you were building your own PC to go in and get parts immediately. Amazon with their unfair no-taxes that crippled big box stores and mom and pop’s, and Netflix for videos by mail (remember getting DVD’s in the mail?) and then streaming began wiping out most of these, except Friendly’s.
P1k1e@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I literally joined this thread to say what you said
shrewdcat@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Missing Fry’s buddies!
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Circuit City. I grew up on CompUSA but CC had better prices, if I remember right from my childhood. Then CU died, then CC died, then FE died, now all we have is shitty BB.
My CC I got to go ‘in the back’ to watch then replace a psu that died and I correctly diagnosed, back in like… 03? Two techs for the store, super chill, talked me through the process. I’ve been building and repairing my own systems ever since. They told me to let them know when I was 16, they’d put in a good word for me after we chatted for about an hour. By the time I could legally work, the writing was on the wall, and CC died before I turned 17.
I wonder where those guys are at now. I thought I knew what I was doing, but they were so kind in explaining everything, answering every question, giving me confirmation about all sorts of stuff. I really hope they are doing well. They couldn’t have been mid-20s at the time.
Mickey7@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I loved Radio Shack for the same reasons. I learned so much from the guys that worked there. I might buy something that only cost $5 but they would spend 30 minutes with me explaining how to fix issues that I had.
qbus@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Micro center is the last real computer store. I miss egghead
Jackcooper@lemmy.world 3 days ago
How about independent pharmacies
Tx8664@startrek.website 3 days ago
Toys R Us was really special for me as a kid. Especially when my local one ran yugioh tournaments.
BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Toys R Us. No contest.
Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
I thought they were already opening some stores.
outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Old!radioshack gets a pretty good case made for it elsewhere in yhread, or I’d agree with you.
Hozerkiller@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
Aren’t some of those still open?
AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Last I checked there’s a Radio Shack in Los Alamos. Uncanny vibes, but it’s there
Maven@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
The radio shack brand got bought up by the guy who did the “I’m in my garage” ads and now is a front for a crypto exchange.
It’s a completely different company using the shell of Radio Shack for brand recognition
outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Party city closed this year. Corporate raid, like toys r us.
Hozerkiller@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
You say that but I’ve seen both of those stores open in the last 6 months.
W3dd1e@lemmy.zip 3 days ago
I know some who still works for RadioShack in KS. It’s official RadioShack but also it’s its own thing. Idk maybe a franchise or something.
MITM0@lemmy.world 2 days ago
RadioShack
Vinstaal0@feddit.nl 4 days ago
Probably none of them, I prefer MOM-and-pop shops
DerArzt@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Not a lot of mom-and-pop electronic components shops near me (zero total) so RadioShack.
MrBadApple@lemmynsfw.com 4 days ago
Friendly’s still exists, it’s just regional now though.
Dreaming_Novaling@lemmy.zip 4 days ago
I was like, “Friendly’s is dead?” for a terrifying second before I read this 🥹
Actually I was like 5 the last time I ate there so it’s really not that special to me but happy they’re not dead yet. Started my love for gummy bears in ice cream.
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 4 days ago
They’re still about as good as you remember. I.e. my five year old thinks it’s the best thing ever.
Therobohour@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Umm I don’t think we need more massive monopolise gaint corporations
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 4 days ago
Tower Records and/or Borders Books & Music.
Daft_ish@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
Blockbuster. Movie night was magical.
solsangraal@lemmy.zip 4 days ago
i’d bring circuit city back so i could piss on it and burn it down
somerandomperson@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Idk what these places did, (double it and) give it to the next person
aeronmelon@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Fuddrucker’s
paultimate14@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Video rental is just plain outdated. Streaming as it is today has a lot of problems, but they are ones that could be easily solved through regulation if regulators ever had the appetite. These stores went out of business because technology made their industry obsolete. I bet most people would have to do a little work to even play a DVD or Blu-Ray today. Maybe dig out an old device and hook it up, or use a laptop with a disc drive. Maybe a gaming console, but there have been a lot on the market for a while now that don’t have optical drives. There’s enthusiasts of course- including people who still keep VCR’s and laser disc players and even people with their own reel-to-reel projectors, but they’re a tiny minority.
Friendly’s I only went to once and it was unremarkable casual dining. That industry DOES have a problem where private equity keeps on buying, looting, and destroying companies, but I’m also hopeful that can open up more space for small businesses instead. I’ll pass on this one.
My memories of RadioShack were that it was cheap junk that was overpriced, but often the only reasonable option unless you wanted to order online or through a catalog from somewhere that could take months to arrive. I do wonder what the world would have been like if RadioShack had positioned itself as a repaor parts supplier and lobbied for Right to Repair legislation. Probably a stretch of the imagination.
Circuit City… For some reason I thought they went out of business largely due to embezzlement, but when I look forward that now I can’t find anything so maybe I’m thinking of another company? Best Buy seems to be struggling to compete with Amazon and Wal-Mart still today, so I don’t think Circuit City could have lasted much longer than it did either way.
Party City and Toys-R-Us are the 2 that make me upset, because both were successful businesses ruined by Private Equity. Not that I want to simo for these corporations, but what PE has been doing to so many industries in the past decade is absolutely disgusting. Id I had to choose one to bring back I’d say Party City because a lot of the custom and specific party supplies there aren’t going to be stocked by your local Target or Wal-Mart, and that’s the kind of thing you’d prefer to see in person rather than order online.
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 3 days ago
Do I have to?
Fives@discuss.online 4 days ago
Radio Shack. And not the recent version. The OLD version with breadboards and soldering irons and electronics kits.
TragicNotCute@lemmy.world 4 days ago
I remember being in high school and going in there to buy resistors and shit.
somewhiteguy@infosec.pub 4 days ago
We were in there once or twice a month getting solder and random assortment of components for little home projects we had going. The workers also knew how to help and always had suggestions for the projects we were doing. I remember the day we (grandpa and I) went into the store and realized it wasn’t the same anymore. Only a small selection of components and the whole front was full of RC cars and random expensive electronic gadgets nobody asked for. We only went back once or twice, but it became evident that we can’t find what we were looking for there anymore. We started sourcing our parts from overseas vendors for fractions of a cent per unit, but we had to buy in bulk. We stopped doing those small projects because it was taking too long to get components and the cost was out of hand with thousands of unused components in boxes in the project room taking up space. Well, made myself sad for the morning.
Atomicbunnies@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 days ago
That would be my pick as well. I still have a few of the free CueCats they gave away. After some easy modding, I use one to scan the barcodes of my books to add to a database on my comp. I miss old RS so much.
outhouseperilous@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 days ago
Okay i was gonna be for toysrus but damn. I want that store to exist in my life right now.
LilB0kChoy@midwest.social 3 days ago
Yes please!🙏