Radio Shack: How do they stay in business?
photo credit: Flyinace2000
I have written articles and talked about Radio Shack in a number of arenas. I have pointed out the slogan, “You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers” really means, “If you ask a question, we can come up with an answer that sounds pretty good.”
Consumerist.com posted this interesting account about trying to find a standard and common cable at Radio Shack.
Sadly, I have had similar experiences with Best Buy and Office Depot. Cables are very inexpensive. Before you head out and buy a cable from one of the usual places, check you local Big Lots, dollar store or even Ross. Recharging cables, USB cables, mice and keyboards are staples now. This means that you will find them at extremely low prices in places that sell closeout items of all kinds.
If you’re not in a hurry and don’t mind ordering from the web, you can find cables and accessories of all sorts online. I once had a prong break in a $50 – 25′ Monster cable. I headed over to eBay and found a replacement for $12. I am sure audio and video geeks will try to convince me that the Monster cables were superior in some way, but I am not using $20,000 speakers or a $72″ plasma TV.
I used the Monster cable for about a year. I am going on seven years with that $12 cable and I bought a second one as backup.
Sales Pitches: Radio Shack Sales Staff Unfazed By 2,400% Markup.
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Adam Cochran
Adam Cochran - computer guy, social media enthusiast, college instructor, former radio DJ, radio talkshow host, podcaster, photographer, writer, and capitalist.
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I am in no way defending Monster Cables and their outrageous claims or pricing. If you did happen to buy a Monster Cable and it does become defective, remember they offer a lifetime warranty on their products. Just look up their 800 number and call them. I (mistakenly) purchased a Monster S-video cable a long time ago. It became defective after a few years. I called them up and they replaced it without any problems.
This is definitely the exception, because most cables will last many, many years and even if you do have to replace it, you will still spend only a fraction of the cost of what you would have paid for a Monster Cable.
I’m an old school Radio Shack client… back in the days when soldering was fun and projects were cool to tinker with. Lately, you can barely find a resistor or capacitor to save your soul…
And asking about such stuff… well, let’s just say that they don’t have answers 😉
Truthfully, they are now more of a small time consumer electronics supplier (which is fine), but they aren’t innovative, have horrible answers, and the products aren’t price competitive…
Unless you need something right now, or want face2face customer service, online venues are cheaper and more reliable now. Sad…but true.