Hearing a comedian dis da ‘shack’ by implying no company could pay mall rent by selling analog-to-digital doo-dads and tandy computers and unknown brand cell phones, I would ask –
How do they stay in business?
Batteries.
The comic was exaggerating for humorous effect.
They haven’t sold tandy computers for years and years. They seem to sell HP, sony, Samsung etc. computers. The same goes for phones they sell normal cell phones.
And random electronical doo-dads that are difficult to find anywhere else, such as an adapter so that this cord can plug into that hole.
Yes. Lots of electronic and electrical devices – things like travel voltage transformers, testing equipment, and much else.
Since attempts have been made at a serious answer, I think I can toss out this bit from the Onion, “Even CEO can’t figure out how RadioShack still in business”:
Even after reading that article, I am still not sure whether they were making shit up or not 
I have to go with specialization. Every single time I’ve had a “weird” item (like a special battery) I look everywhere then say “OK I’ll go to Radio Shack,” and there it is. It’s never failed me yet. I don’t know why I just don’t look there in the first place
Radio Shack also serves the “geek” market moreso than Best Buy or other stores, which are for the general public.
Even if it’s a bit more expensive or complicated there a niche market and Radio Shack exploits it.
Learner geeks, maybe. There were plenty of times during projects at electronics school when I wished that we had an all-night Radio Shack handy. But as time went by, we discovered more knowledge and better selection at specialist electronics distributors like Active Components.
When you need a widget right now, Radio Shack may be your only option. They have been reducing the shelf space dedicated to parts, at least around here.
They’re happy to sell you $8 audio cables. Which are worth about $1, but where else are you gonna buy one?
Best Buy where they will charge $12 for the same cable.
You could get them at Best Buy for $35.
Well around here Radio Shacks are in small towns whereas Best Buys will only be found ~40 miles away in a city. So, short of mail order, Radio Shark is about the only place to quickly obtain cables and adapters and things of that sort.
Best simulpost this week.
I went into Radio shack a few days after Christmas to get a video A/B switch for the kids’ new Wii. I got the last one of their second shipment since Christmas. All their other cables, switches, etc. were pretty much gone too. So their “Black Friday” appears to be the few days after Christmas when everyone is trying to hook up their new toys.
At the bottom of that article, I found a link to This American Life Completes Documentation Of Liberal, Upper-Middle-Class Existence. Absolutely brilliant!
For what it may be worth, I shop at Radio Shack regularly. If I need some smallish electronic doo-dad, like a telephone, an answering machine, or whatever, it’s easier to go to Radio Shack (a 5 or 10 minute drive) than some big electronics store or office supply store (a 20 or 25 minute drive) which has 20 different models for sale. It’s just not worth the trouble to compare 20 different phones and drive an extra half hour.
Too bad gazpacho & garygnu didn’t post in alphabetical order.
Tell me about it… When I was a kid, the store was pretty much wall-to-wall shelves of resistors, LEDs, and other such components, with a handful of radio controlled toys tucked into one corner. Last time I was in a Radio Shack (to buy such components, naturally), they had one floor unit about the size of a large filing cabinet for components, with the rest of the store devoted to assorted geegaws. And I wasn’t able to find as much variety of LEDs as I needed, so I ended up having to order a bunch of them online.
Based on the stock price of the few shares I had left over from my time as a store manager, they aren’t doing a very good job of it. (I have 12 shares, once worth $60 or so per share, they are at $11.25 as of 3:30PM today. It’s rebounded a bit since Mid Nov.
My particular store made money (back in the early 90s) on all of the “back wall” items. Connectors, wire, switches, etc. I am a ham radio operator, and studied EE in college, so had many folks that would travel past their nearest store to come see me to get the correct information on what they needed to buy to connect their latest project. Once in a while, I’d review someones design, and make some suggestions. That brought me lots of business for the small stuff, and they remembered me when they needed something more expensive as well.
The “proper mall” stores make much of their money from accessories, but they really make their money from the floor displays during the holidays. Jan-October is paid for by Nov-Dec sales. I ran a store in a strip mall, with fairly minimal overhead.
Of course, their not paying me hourly for the 70-80hr weeks (min 6 days @ 12 hrs each), and a reduced commission as manager didn’t hurt their bottom line either.