R.I.P. Fry’s Electronics

[MR.MAGOO]

My local Fry's (Fountain Valley) had a good selection of CD's, DVD's Blu-ray, wonder what happens to the inventory? Goes to the highest bidder I suppose (Amazon?)

 

[3db]

We had a Futureshop chain in Canada until Worst Buy bought the chain and dismantled them. Service at Futureshop was ok to good but went downhill really quickly after Worst Buy. A bunch of pimply faced kids that know their way around a cell phone but couldnt rub two clues together to get an idea in audio.

 

[j_garcia]

Lucky we have a BB in our town and another one that is 45 minutes away. It is the only place I will buy a TV or AVR, for the most part.

Lol. Expect them to follow suit soon too. Big box stores just aren't going to really work in today's big warehouse/fast shipping economy. I did buy my TV from BB too, but only because we had a credit there and I could have it delivered right away.

 

[highfigh]

Lucky we have a BB in our town and another one that is 45 minutes away. It is the only place I will buy a TV or AVR, for the most part.

Hold that thought- Best Buy just laid off 5000 and will close more stores-

Best Buy just laid off 5,000 workers and will close more stores

 

[snakeeyes]

I’ve only been to the Renton, WA and the Phoenix, AZ location. I probably haven’t been to one in over 10 years though.

The store I miss is the old Magnolia HiFi stores back in the 1990s before Best Buy bought them and shut them down to steal their name. No Best Buy store is anything like one of the original Magnolia HiFi stores. LOL

Fry’s wasn’t much better than the Good Guys (Also gone) or Best Buy. Fry’s didn’t take their website business seriously like Best Buy does.

 

[Pogre]

I’ve only been to the Renton, WA and the Phoenix, AZ location. I probably haven’t been to one in over 10 years though.

The store I miss is the old Magnolia HiFi stores back in the 1990s before Best Buy bought them and shut them down to steal their name. No Best Buy store is anything like one of the original Magnolia HiFi stores. LOL

Fry’s wasn’t much better than the Good Guys (Also gone) or Best Buy. Fry’s didn’t take their website business seriously like Best Buy does.

I bought my last PC at the Phoenix location a couple years ago.

 

[snakeeyes]

That’s the main difference with Best Buy. Fry’s had tons of computer parts.

 

[TankTop5]

The best I could describe the Fry's B&M for someone that has never been into it was "like a cross between best buy and old school Radio Shack"

Except it’s the size of a Costco!

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Shame.

World Wide Stereo is local to me. They don't do everything and anything... Their business model is custom install home and auto av. and internet sales with two small stores. I think they have the best balance for the time being to maintain a b&m presence. We'll see how long they can maintain the stores...

 

[davidscott]

Spent some time n the local DFW locations when I lived there. Lots of PC components and accessories were purchased there. And I still have my Infinity Primus 363 and 163 speakers which I got at a heck of a discount. RIP indeed.

 

[ellisr63]

I went to the local SF Bay area/Silicone Valley Frys for years. I remember they were famous for mismarking and I found some great deals. I also know they were know to repackage returned products and re-shrink them and sell as new. I remember 1 time buying a new answering machine and when I got home...I found someones outgoing message on it and messages from callers too.

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

 

[little wing]

I think this generation just doesn’t care about music like previous generations did.

Maybe because unlike the last generation there is less really good music being made. It is a shame about Fry's though..

 

[MR.MAGOO]

It's been over a year now since I've been to Fry's, this might be one of the last purchases I made there, a pair of these funky desk lamps.

Back in 2013 when I started the A/V system hobby my main suppliers were Radio Shack and Frys, for cables, speaker wire, etc.

I've seen my local Radio Shack go from a big 'mega-store' to a tiny shoe-box size store, then to nothing. Now that Fry's is gone I hope the vacant warehouses are put to good use, probably Amazon will buy them for distribution centers, ya think?

 

[Cos]

Frys has been dead @ their Downers Grove store, which is right by my office for the past 2 years. Glad they finally pulled the trigger, it was depressing. Used to have CompUSA, TigerDirect and quite a few stores close to me, that has changed a lot. At least I have a Microcenter, which seems to be doing very well, and is quite honestly the best B&M to build a PC.

I guess I am fortunate, in the Chicagoland Area I have plenty of A/V Specialty Stores that seem to be doing well. I have been buying from my local place for the past 19+ years. When I was auditioning speakers, I hit 3 other Specialty A/V resellers (all less than 30 minutes away) & all were extremely busy, noting a uptick in the home theater business thanks to Covid-19. With HBO, Disney, Paramount (soon) releasing content direct to home, hopefully people will realize soundbars just don't cut it.

 

[slipperybidness]

Spent some time n the local DFW locations when I lived there. Lots of PC components and accessories were purchased there. And I still have my Infinity Primus 363 and 163 speakers which I got at a heck of a discount. RIP indeed.

Oh yeah, my 363s also came from Fry's

 

[slipperybidness]

I went to the local SF Bay area/Silicone Valley Frys for years. I remember they were famous for mismarking and I found some great deals. I also know they were know to repackage returned products and re-shrink them and sell as new. I remember 1 time buying a new answering machine and when I got home...I found someones outgoing message on it and messages from callers too.

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

I never had that type experience, but I certainly saw plenty of returns on the shelf, marked as such, and discounted pricing.

 

[slipperybidness]

It's been over a year now since I've been to Fry's, this might be one of the last purchases I made there, a pair of these funky desk lamps.

Back in 2013 when I started the A/V system hobby my main suppliers were Radio Shack and Frys, for cables, speaker wire, etc.

I've seen my local Radio Shack go from a big 'mega-store' to a tiny shoe-box size store, then to nothing. Now that Fry's is gone I hope the vacant warehouses are put to good use, probably Amazon will buy them for distribution centers, ya think?



View attachment 45222

I'm sure the old Fry's stores will become those seasonal Halloween Mega-stores!

BTW, nice stapler!

 

[cpp]

ONline shopping before long will be the doom of B&M. Sad as I actually enjoy going into a store and touching and in the case of audio, hearing what I'm buying. Time will time.

 

[Montucky]

Fry's back in its heyday in the late 90s was something magnificent. Was always a pilgrimage I'd make when passing through the DFW area. Blew my mind as a teenage computer and A/V nerd. I know it's been on a death spiral for many years now, but I'll always have fond memories of what it WAS back in the day. RIP

 

[panteragstk]

Spent some time n the local DFW locations when I lived there. Lots of PC components and accessories were purchased there. And I still have my Infinity Primus 363 and 163 speakers which I got at a heck of a discount. RIP indeed.

I've spent a lot of time in the Fry's in Plano. It was cool in some ways, but it also sucked big time. I'd already been buying PC parts from Newegg for years simply because I lived in west Texas and PC parts stores were either non-existent, or horribly overpriced. Fry's was better, but it's no Microcenter. Their PC folks also didn't have much of a clue. The A/V guys were much better. Tried to get me to work for them. Would have had it not been for the commision only part.

My frustration with Fry's was how difficult it was to find things. I want looking for an HDMI cable and they had them in at LEAST 4 different places and at least 2 didn't make any sense at all. That's what stopped me from going there. That place is too damn big for me to have to look on my own for something that should be in a logical place. I ended up getting pissed and left.

B&M stores won't survive if they don't have good management and good employees. That's what's really killing them.