[aprssig] RE: Radio Shack (NOT)

[A.J. Farmer (AJ3U)]

On 1/20/06, KC2MMi <kc2mmi at verizon.net> wrote:
>  Personally I've been expected Rat Shack to go out of business for over a decade
> now, there's nothing they do or sell that someone else can't do
> bigger-better-faster-cheaper in a mass market.

If they continued to sell electronic components and parts exclusively,
they probably would have gone out of business by now.  I can
understand them moving into selling consumer electronics and cell
phones because the market and profits for those items is much larger. 
That is what has allowed them to survive.

If there was money to be made in selling electronic components in a
"local" brick and mortar store, then there would be more stores like
that around.  One such "mom and pop" electronic component store opened
in this area about a year ago.  They sold everything you guys would
ever want: transistors, diodes, resistors - all the staples an
electronic tinkerer's would ever need for a project.  They had RF
connectors, coax, etc.  They even had the basic learning electronic
kits like what you see from Ramsey.  They went out of business and
closed up shop within 6 months.

The number of tinkerers and electronic do-it-yourself'ers has greatly
declined over the years.  We might need this stuff, but there aren't
enough of "us" in any given area to support a local store.  If there
are hardly any people to sell to, then why bother selling?  The
"biggies" like Mouser, Digikey, and Jameco can survive because out of
one warehouse they sell to a worldwide market.

--
A.J. Farmer, AJ3U
http://www.aj3u.com