Fry's Electronics closes

[Tom]

Once an icon for all things electronics (inc. equipment and parts), Fry's Electronics are closing their doors after 36 years. Started in Sunnyvale, CA they opened numerous stores. The exterior of each new store had a unique theme. Fry's says that they can't recover from the effects of the pandemic, but I thought they were being hammered by amazon for years before that.

When Fry's opened their store in Campbell, CA it caused the demise of my all-time favorite Quement Electronics. In addition to all kinds of parts, I could walk into Quement and get schematic diagrams for almost any electronic equipment or appliance.

 

[Matt_C]

That is a WOW. They don't have a local for me, but when I was working in Chicago, it hit there often.

 

[SeilerBird]

I miss shopping at Fry's.

 

[Lou Schneider]

I'm not surprised. About two years ago (before the pandemic) the Las Vegas Fry's store started looking like an empty warehouse after they switched to a consignment model, only paying suppliers after their merchandise sold. Many refused those terms and stopped supplying them. According to the articles, there won't be any going out of business sales - they're packing up the not yet paid for merchandise and shipping it back to the suppliers.

Hopefully this will lead to the re-emergence of local parts stores in the markets Frys has abandoned. Every couple of years Escapees holds their Escapade in Tuscon and one of my must visit places is Elliott Electronic Supply, a large old school store along the lines of Quement and Halted (pronounced Hal-Ted, after the founders). I've also discovered other old school parts places in several towns where Escapees has held their Escapades over tne years.

 

[Tom]

I'm not surprised. About two years ago (before the pandemic) the Las Vegas Fry's store started looking like an empty warehouse after they switched to a consignment model, only paying vendors after their merchandise sold. Many refused those terms and stopped supplying them. It's a shame things had to come to this.

Aye Lou, when I was (briefly) in the Concord store over a year ago, I couldn't understand why almost all the shelves were empty.

Chris took our oldest grandson (from the UK) to one of their Sacramento stores approx 5 years ago. He came back very disappointed, saying "they have pictures of the products and you have to order them"

 

[Larry N.]

I've never seen a Fry's Electronics, and often envied what I heard about them, but obviously that has changed so there's nothing to really envy now about that.

Hopefully this will lead to the re-emergence of local parts stores in the markets Frys has abandoned. Every couple of years Escapees holds their Escapade in Tuscon and one of my must visit places is Elliott Electronic Supply, a large old school store along the lines of Quement and Halted (pronounced Hal-Ted, after the founders). I've also discovered other old school parts places in several towns where Escapees has held their Escapades over tne years.

Even without such a place as Fry's, the electronics parts stores I used to frequent have disappeared long ago. So 9 times out of ten (or maybe a lot more frequently), I have to go online for something I want. I hate that, since I much prefer to look at things in person prior to purchase, but that's getting tougher to do. If it's not mass market, it's probably no longer local.

Of course Mom & Pop shops got driven out by the Walmarts, etc. and it's the rare local shop that is still around. And I used to find all kinds of stuff in the yellow pages (remember phone directories?), but that's mostly gone, too, and online search finds (and repeats, and repeats, and...) big stores before displaying the small fry.

 

[solarman]

Sadly these stores will all disappear, much like the beloved RadioShack did..

 

[msw3113]

I recall time spent in the smaller shops (electronics supply, hobby stores, etc) that served as inspiration to solve a particular situation. "Hmm, that should work instead!"
The orange-aproned or blue-vested workers may be willing to help but surely aren't as invested as the local folks in their own stores.

 

[Ex-Calif]

One of my brothers is a total Fry's geek. He and his kid line up overnight for the black friday sales.

I posted to him that I expect he will probably camp out for three days outside for the going out of business sale. But while he's in there to pick me up an external 5 1/4 floppy drive in case I ever need one -

 

[Tom]

One of my brothers is a total Fry's geek. He and his kid line up overnight for the black friday sales.

I posted to him that I expect he will probably camp out for three days outside for the going out of business sale. But while he's in there to pick me up an external 5 1/4 floppy drive in case I ever need one -

Tough to have a sale when the shelves are empty.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Tru dat but he was in Silicone Valley and is now in orange county, Who knows, maybe the high geek/population ratio will keep those ones stocked up longer - LOL..

And as Frys and Radio Shack killed the local "tv repair shop" amazon is killing Fry's and Radio Shack.

Same thing with the big box places.

I predict someday even the mighty Lowes and Home Depot will get targeted and Amazon will be delivering pallets of wood overnight for your deck project.

I had a buddy complain when his local camera shop closed. I asked him if he had any culpability when he would go there, fondle all the merchandise and order on-line. "But it's cheaper on-line" - Duh

 

[8Muddypaws]

Saw this coming. I've spent lots of money at fry's over the years. I used to go there a couple of times a month for connectors, cables, chips and other odds-N-ends. Sad to see them go but in reality they stopped stocking any of the things I needed a couple of years ago.

Now I'm kind of stuck with ordering parts online and hoping for the best.

Quement was about a block from my first high school. Knew them well. I still have a bag of parts from 'Q'. See attached.

10 years later I worked about 1/2 mile from Halted. I always enjoyed poking around in the bins.

 

[Tom]

Tru dat but he was in Silicone Valley and is now in orange county, Who knows, maybe the high geek/population ratio will keep those ones stocked up longer - LOL..

Several of the stores I mentioned, all within driving distance of our home, are in the SF Bay area.

 

[John From Detroit]

Sadly these stores will all disappear, much like the beloved RadioShack did..

Radio Shack is back, at least on line Not sure now good yet as I've not spent much time on the web page but Radio Shack is back.

I have an on-line friend and fellow science fiction type who used to work at Frys..

 

[regval]

Fry's closed the Duluth, GA store near me about a year ago. I first shopped in the Sunnyvale location and it was my primary go-to for electronic parts for my projects. Sad to see them go.

 

[DonTom]

Several of the stores I mentioned, all within driving distance of our home, are in the SF Bay area.

There are (were?) a couple of Fry's just west of here in Roseville and in Sacramento. That is where I purchased my Swan stuff for my internet security cameras, both wireless and wired at all three of my houses.

That way I can watch any of them, inside or out from here or anywhere I can get an internet connection. I also watch them from my RV trips.

Since I am a firearm collector, I like to keep an eye on things. The cameras are in addition to house alarms.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[DonTom]

Radio Shack is back, at least on line Not sure now good yet as I've not spent much time on the web page but Radio Shack is back.

I have an on-line friend and fellow science fiction type who used to work at Frys..

I was in this Radio Shack a year and a half ago, in Payson, AZ. Building looks like any other RS, using their emblems and all. However, the owner explained to me that all the RSs are totally independent shops and what they keep in stock at different RSs varies greatly. The stuff they sold in the Payson RS was much different than any other RS I have been to.

Not only that, the guy opens and closes the RS at random times as he wants. It's hit and miss at any day at any time.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[scottydl]

Reminds me of when Circuit City closed their doors in the mid-2000s, although that was way in advance of the online shopping boom we have now. CC was a staple in many areas of the Midwest, as a serious competitor to Best Buy for awhile. I worked at a CC in Illinois for a few years during high school and college, before heading off to my "real" career.

Although interestingly enough, the Circuit City name was bought some years back and their website was revived and is operational for online shopping only. I wonder how they're doing against all the other online outlets. Maybe Fry's will have a similar future option?

 

[BernieD]

The Wikipedia summary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry's_Electronics
provides a pretty damaging history of mismanagement, incompetence, fraud and theft. It was on a downward slope for a long time.

 

[scottydl]

The Wikipedia summary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry's_Electronics
provides a pretty damaging history of mismanagement, incompetence, fraud and theft. It was on a downward slope for a long time.

Yeah that's unfortunate. Sounds very similar to the once-iconic Toys R Us, whose demise is easy to blame on online shopping... but was actually due to the business model that was dependent on carrying a crippling debt load and recurring lack of innovations on the retail "customer experience" level.

Amazon, for instance, doesn't only sell just about everything (which has developed over time)... but it's based on a great platform, with quick and complete return/refund/resolution processes that favor the customer in most situations. And their retail business is just one small part of their overall universe.