# How is Radioshack still in business? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 25, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498 "2014-09-25T04:12:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/1 "2014-09-25T04:12:42Z")
The one near me has the absolute worst employees. Most of the time I go in there I see an employee outside smoking, and whoever is inside is just sitting back texting. They also have no idea about anything they sell. I once made the mistake of asking them for a 6’ RCA cable, which is something any electronics store in the past 50 years should have. They said they didn’t know what it was, and instead tried to sell me on upgrading my cell phone. After I refused, they offered me insurance on my current phone. When I asked for a soldering iron that heats up to at least 750F, they said to just look at every one on the shelf until I found one. Almost everything they sell is stuff you can find both cheaper and higher quality somewhere else, and the other stores don’t try to force you to buy lots of useless stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Itself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/2 "2014-09-25T04:29:15Z")
You’re not the first person to [wonder](http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/) about that. I can’t imagine that they sell electronics parts in enough volume to turn a profit for a nationwide chain (especially since, as you said, they’re hardly the easiest to find, cheapest, or most reliable source). They seem to have gone into cell phones and cell phone accessories over the last decade, but that isn’t a reasonable answer either. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/3 "2014-09-25T06:17:53Z")
I recently bought batteries there. They were the only store around that carried the particular odd size I needed. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/4 "2014-09-25T08:47:04Z")
Nobody really knows how it has survived till now…but it apparently won’t be in business for long… > [@](#): > > RadioShack’s (RSH) plan to revive the struggling electronics chain is crumbling, with the company warning that the company could declare bankruptcy. > **[RadioShack sliding toward bankruptcy](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/radioshack-sliding-toward-bankruptcy/)** > > Electronics chain says it it is running out of money and is exploring strategic options, including a Chapter 11 filing ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/5 "2014-09-25T12:29:03Z")
Recent thread more or less on topic [Radio Shack closing many stores. Are experimenters obsolete? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=717384) ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/6 "2014-09-25T12:38:02Z")
I thought the same thing last week. I needed Cat5 plug ends (the little plastic plugs at the end of computer wire). I had bought some at The Home Despot a week earlier but needed about five more. Radio Shack is next to Sams Club so I thought I would pop over and get some. They had none. The counter person (I refuse to call her a sales person) looked it up on the computer and said they sell 100-packs over the internet, but don’t sell them in stores. How the hell is it that Home Depot and Lowes both have _electronic plugs_ but Radio Shack does not? Crazy, and I ended up going out of my way back to Home Depot. As the OP said, I didn’t see much that you couldn’t find elsewhere much cheaper. It looked to me like RS is now a cell phone store. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/7 "2014-09-25T13:51:38Z")
Resistors, diodes, capacitors, thin gauge wire, circuit mounting boards, etc… I buy online now (on the very few occasions I need any of that), and other, more normal consumer things I can find at several different local stores, including the big boxes. In high school, late 70s early 80s, I used to work at one on weekends. I made a ton of spiffs on stereo equipment and had lots of fun selling it. One thing I disliked then and now was the “Give me your entire contact info before I sell you 28 cents worth of stuff” check out procedure. We would get reprimands if we didn’t have a certain percentage of receipts with completed info. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/8 "2014-09-25T14:05:03Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > It looked to me like RS is now a cell phone store. Lots of RC cars, too, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/9 "2014-09-25T14:06:59Z")
The one close to us closed recently. It’s now a fish store. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/10 "2014-09-25T14:09:26Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > One thing I disliked then and now was the “Give me your entire contact info before I sell you 28 cents worth of stuff” check out procedure. We would get reprimands if we didn’t have a certain percentage of receipts with completed info. Somewhere in Radio Shack’s archives is a pile of receipts showing my address as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington D.C. That’s the White House, for those who don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/11 "2014-09-25T14:33:56Z")
I needed a 12v, CT power transformer. The Radio Shack salesguy did not know what it was, and they had no transformers in the store. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/12 "2014-09-25T15:45:51Z")
Every time I have been in a Radio Shack it seems to be 'The place where people with shitty credit ratings but a handful of cash can get a cell phone. At least twice I’ve seen their employees telling customers that they need to deposit hundreds of dollars to get or restart a cell phone. I don’t know how that happens when a Virgin Mobile phone costs like $20 and is pay as you go. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/13 "2014-09-25T16:28:30Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Somewhere in Radio Shack’s archives is a pile of receipts showing my address as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington D.C. > > That’s the White House, for those who don’t know. Obama would like you to collect your stack of Radio Shack catalogs and fliers, please. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/14 "2014-09-25T16:54:33Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Somewhere in Radio Shack’s archives is a pile of receipts showing my address as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington D.C. > > That’s the White House, for those who don’t know. That’s the same address I used. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/15 "2014-09-25T18:26:05Z")
Where will I purchase a transistor radio when they close? I still use one during baseball season. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/16 "2014-09-25T18:43:49Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Where will I purchase a transistor radio when they close? I still use one during baseball season. Lafayette Electronics. Oh. Some Chinese company on Ebay. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/17 "2014-09-25T19:17:27Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Where will I purchase a transistor radio when they close? I still use one during baseball season. Any AM/FM radio made in the past 30+ years is a transistor radio. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/18 "2014-09-25T19:25:38Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Any AM/FM radio made in the past 30+ years is a transistor radio. 30? Try closer to 60. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/19 "2014-09-25T19:38:19Z")
The consensus answer to “How is Radio Shack still in business?” seems to be that they had enough of a $$ cushion to keep them in business until now, but they’ve just about drained it, and it’s just a matter of months before the whole chain goes bust. Their stock is currently trading for about 80¢ a share. That’s right - eighty cents a share. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498/20 "2014-09-25T19:45:45Z")
Radio Shack has made more than 50% of its profit from cell phone sales and accessories for quite some time. As for knowing anything about the other products, RS has always maintained a proud tradition of hiring completely ignorant sales people, so that they knew only what they were trained and told. (This goes back to the 1980s, when a good friend who managed a Radio Shack told me he\* could not\* - would _not_ be allowed to - hire me [for seasonal overload sales] because I knew too much.) I also worked with RS central in Texas on several projects and the pre-Apple, navel-gazing, smugly self-satisfied “nothing else exists” 'tude went all the way to the top. They \*are \*as seriously strange and head-up-ass as you might imagine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-radioshack-still-in-business/699498.md?page=2)