Fry's Electronics - Did aliens kidnap all their merchandise?

[dalton99a]

WTF.

[magicarpet]

1. Black Friday Sale,...

Everything was gone three minutes after they unlocked their front doors. Swarms and swarms of people came in and swarms of people left, after they bought every thing, for the next retail store up the road.

[marybourg]

2. What did the employees say?

[dalton99a]

8. "We're waiting on another shipment"

since August. Yeah, right

[gay texan]

3. Go ask the door Nazis

They know and see everything

[marybourg]

27. Or the door buzzard.

[Zorro]

4. Like Sears, I think they're in their death throes

Hard to compete with online shopping.

That being said, they do offer some tremendous deals. I'm heading to one either later today or tomorrow to see what they have. Our two local Fry's may be sparse, but they aren't barren (except for customers).

I remember shopping at the original Fry's in Santa Clara off Oakmead Parkway in the early eighties. It was a novel idea at the time, computer chips on one aisle with potato chips and other geek necessities the next aisle over.

[csziggy]

5. Apparently the empty shelves have been going on for a while

And speculation is that Fry's is going out of business - which they deny.

Have the reports of Fry’s death been greatly exaggerated?
Fry’s fans fret over the future of the once-hip techie sandbox

By Patrick May | [e-mail] | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 7, 2019 at 1:06 pm | UPDATED: October 8, 2019 at 6:20 am

There are two dramas playing out these days for Fry’s Electronics:

The brick-and-mortar one, with operators of that once-hip techie sandbox insist that empty shelves and a dwindling workforce aren’t a harbinger of its demise, and that they have no intention of closing Fry’s stores for good.

And then there’s the virtual one, as nostalgic fans obsess over those same empty shelves, clearly saddened even as they declare a collective R.I.P. online.

More: https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/07/have-the-reports-of-frys-death-been-greatly-exaggerated/

[WA-03 Democrat]

6. Empty - which location?

Not a healthy sign

[MurrayDelph]

12. It's neither the

Woodland Hills (CA) nor the Wilsonville (OR) locations, though the Woodland Hills store was equally barren the last time I was there a couple of months ago.

A couple of times, I tried to offer stuff from weekly adverts, only to have the order cancelled because none of the stores actually had any in stock.

[WA-03 Democrat]

14. I zoomed in on the walls

My guess is Palo Alto.

[tinrobot]

41. Burbank store is almost as empty

[WhiteTara]

7. o, what is happening?

That looks like they went out of business. Are they now just a front for laundered Russian money?

[mshasta]

9. Out of business

That’s it that store will be gone

[nilram]

10. Where is this one?

When I went to the one near me (Wilsonville) a few months ago, they had merchandise but it was pretty sparse. Parking was super easy—not the way it was in their heyday. My guess is that they’re going down. Another Amazon victim.

[dalton99a]

11. Recent photos from Wilsonville:

"It looked like an empty warehouse of shelves"

https://www.yelp.com/biz/frys-electronics-wilsonville

[MineralMan]

13. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I lived in San Luis Obispo County

in California. No Fry's stores. Every once in a while I and three of my computer geek friends would take a field trip to the nearest one, up near San Jose. I put together several PCs from parts bought at Fry's, and sold them for a small profit to other folks.

Fun times. But no more. Computers are just commodity appliances these days. They become obsolete before they break. I finally took all of my retired ones to a tech dump place not long ago, as part of cleaning out my basement.

[Demovictory9]

16. back in the day - there were these tech stores that sold the components of computers

the memory, the fans, the "brain"... where one could update from a 386 to a 486.

[MineralMan]

19. Yes. Then PCs became commodities and got cheap,

so nobody was building their own any longer.

It's OK, but I sort of enjoyed putting a PC together from parts. A guy could make a few bucks doing it, too, especially if he watched for sales at places like Fry's. But that was a long time ago, back in the 80s and 90s. I don't really miss it that much.

[Blue_true]

29. Do you know how to build specialized controllers? nt

[MineralMan]

44. I don't. I built a lot of PCs, though, back when they were

expensive to buy. I ran a PC User's group, as well, that had about 100 people at each monthly meeting. That was from 1986-1998. Once a year, we'd have a "build your own PC" gathering. People signed up and the club bought all the components from Fry's and other suppliers The people who signed up paid in advance for the cost of the components. Then, on the Build It day, a few of us supervised the assembly process, helped where needed, and did troubleshooting if any problems occurred. The first year, we built 8088 XT clones. Each year after that we built PCs from whatever the current CPU was, and whatever motherboards were available at reasonable prices. Some of our members built a new PC each year to keep up with what was going on. Toward the end, we had a checklist for each member to fill out, specifying options for their project, like RAM, hard drive size, modems, etc.

It was great fun, and people saved a pile of money by building their own computers.

[Blue_true]

46. Thanks MM.

From your input and that of one other DU member, I see that I will need to find people that specialize in process controllers. The inputs helped me narrow things. Some standard OEM industrial controllers work as long as a person has fewer that a given amount of components that are being controlled, beyond that number custom controllers are required, that is where I will be in around 8 months from now. I will educate myself on where to look and on exactly what I expect to need, that helps when I find process controller designers and builders. The thing is that I didn't know that a person can't just take a laptop and turn that into a controller, maybe people can, but I have no clue on how to do that.

Again, thanks

[Initech]

20. Not if you build one.

If you build one yourself you know exactly what goes into it and it will last you years longer than if you just buy a junker off the shelf at Best Buy or Costco. And it's not that difficult to build one either.

[Demovictory9]

15. closing down?

[Initech]

17. It baffles me how that chain continues to exist.

They are awful on every level. I guess I'm just spoiled because I have access to the far superior Micro Center, but really, how is Frys still a thing?

[spanone]

18. they are ridiculously too large...dinosaurs

[Wounded Bear]

21. Was discussing this with my bro at breakfast today...

our local store has been looking almost this bad for months, though I must admit I haven't been there lately.

Looks like the brick and mortar stores are dying. They do have an online presence last I checked. There are a couple of small computer stores around, but they tend to cater to the businesses, not necessarily the DIYer.

[Blue_true]

31. Radio Shack looked like that before it went out of business.

I used to love going there because I could find components that a person can't find anywhere by foot. I eventually started using an online component superstore because RS progressively started not having what I needed.

[hunter]

22. Computer hobbyists are buying parts and supplies direct from China.

Fry's was a middle man for that trade back when it wasn't so easy.

[Initech]

23. I'm a PC hobbyist, I can't say I've ever bought parts from China.

Yeah back when it first started becoming a thing, I could see that. And also when the Bitcoin boom caused a shortage of graphics cards, but now with Newegg and Micro Center, there's really no reason to go to Fry's anymore.

[hunter]

24. I used to visit Fry's a couple of times a year, with side trips to Weird Stuff.

Now Weird Stuff is gone and Fry's has nothing for me.

My last visit to Fry's was a little sad. I walked out empty handed.

In years past I could usually count on spending a few hundred dollars on computer stuff whenever I visited Silicon Valley. Especially when someone was paying me to be there.

When our children graduated from sixth grade, and then again from high school and bound for college, my wife and I would buy their computers at Fry's, usually something "refurbished" (whatever that meant...)

The last new x86 computer I bought for myself was a 386. Otherwise my various x86 machines have been diverted from various e-waste streams and have served me well running Linux.

I have bought a few brand new ARM machines since, $35 Raspberry Pis and such, but I haven't bought anything at Newegg or Micro Center. I have bought components direct from China, possibly because I'm more an electronics and radio hobbyist than a PC hobbyist.

Any computer I can comfortably browse DU on is probably good enough for me. I'm posting this from a very well worn Chromebook that I bought ridiculously cheap when it was merely shop worn. I've used it hard enough that many of the keys are black, the white labels worn away.

My current desktop machine is a lovely beast with a solid state hard drive, multiple processors, and lots of memory but I don't turn it on unless I have to grind through something horrible.

[Initech]

25. I build my own PCs.

I currently have two desktops and an HTPC that I've built myself. Guess you could say I'm a bit obsessed.

But my current rig is based off a Ryzen 1700 and a RTX 2070 and the CPU I'm eventually going to upgrade to a 3900X.

I'm just thankful that I live in an area where I have access to Micro Center and I never have to set foot in a Fry's. It's worth the extra 30 minute drive to get there.

[Blue_true]

33. Do you build controllers? nt

[Initech]

35. No, my knowledge of circuitry only goes about at the basic input-output level.

Bit too advanced for my knowledge!

[Blue_true]

39. Thanks. Controllers do require coding knowledge.

I need to use some specialized controllers in a few months for a project. I will look around hobbyist sites, likely can find what I need there.

[Xolodno]

36. Wish it was easy to build your own lap top.

My last two PC's were laptops because it fits my needs currently....particularly gaming so my wife can interact with me as opposed to being locked in a room for hours.

[Blue_true]

32. A hobbyist is unlikely to buy directly from China.

Chinese manufacturers sell massive lots, if you need 5 of a component, you don't want to buy a lot of 5,000.

There are a couple of online shops that buy mass lots then sell small quantities to hobbyists at a markup on each piece.

[hunter]

42. E.g. you can buy an ESP8266 microcontroller from Amazon, Adafruit, or Chinese retailers as you wish.

Espressif's U.S. page points to Mouser for their ESP8266, but a U.S.A. hobbyist isn't limited to them.

The same is true of many electronic components.

I'm less likely to drive to Fry's when I can order components online, even components sent airmail from China.

The last ARM single board computer I bought arrived directly from China, so did one of my software defined radios. That's where they were made, so it makes sense.

[Blue_true]

48. The risk you assume is reliability, I would guess.

Have you ever needed to return a bad component to a Chinese seller?

[kimbutgar]

26. I was in the one on Thunderbird avenue in Phoenix And there were a lot of bare shelves also.

I was going to buy my hubby a new tablet on the website and couldn’t find one.

Yes I bet they will not be around this time next year. I enjoyed going to frys and looking at all the stuff but the selection was pitiful.

[TheBlackAdder]

28. Don't buy anything by mail order from AC Moore, they are going bankrupt and closing down soon.

[MicaelS]

38. Who is AC Moore? n/t

[TheBlackAdder]

40. A large craft store like Michael's

[MicaelS]

43. Thanks. n/ t

[MicaelS]

30. Damn!

I used to go to Fry's ever Friday, 10 years ago. I am appalled at this.

[Blue_true]

34. There are specialized online shops that sell any type of electronic component imaginable.

Literally they are just warehouses that fill orders. Brick and mortal shops that have rent and transport overhead can't compete with that.

[Xolodno]

37. I remember going....

...and the parking lot was full, long lines, every checkout counter open, scores of DVD's and Blu-Rays, Computer components galore, etc.

They were built during a hey day. Now, phones and tablets do what most people want. As for PC gamers, most of what you want can be found online...and when your building a new Desktop, your not too much in a hurry.

Went to the one in Woodland Hills about a year ago to buy a cheap laptop for my wife. She has a habit of not securing her electronics, so I get her the cheap stuff, which suffices. The sales guy was doing his best to get me to buy the extended warranty on a $200 refurbished laptop....which may I add, the cost was way more what the lap top was worth. Six months prior, I bought a replacement tablet for her....$60. They were trying to sell me a $200 warranty.

During my few trips there, I noticed they are trying hard with different merchandise. Appliances, Perfume, Board Games, etc.

But yeah, the merchandise areas, seem to be getting smaller. Probably running the stock out they have and not replacing it as it is seldom bought. And them closing the store in Palo Alto...the mecca of tech is telling.

Have to think, they have a plan to shutter their big box stores and reopen smaller or have buried their head in the sand and will be filing for Bankruptcy protection.

[pecosbob]

45. I still sometimes get PC parts at the local Fry's here in Las Vegas

I sometimes order from Newegg or video stuff from B&H Photo. It's nice to be able to go in and pick up a part NOW instead of waiting for it to arrive by mail, and in the years I've been building PCs I've bought the wrong item enough times to value being able to swap it out for the right part without waiting forever.

[Ron Obvious]

47. Chinese Trade War holding up shipments is what the employees in Renton, WA are saying...

I agree it's hard to believe this moribund store could survive much longer. Shame; it was always a favourite destination of ours, starting with the one in Wilsonville, OR before we got our own in Renton.

Some things you just want to buy in person and not online...