Radio Shack -discrepancy by store

[carolinatoughguy]

Why is it that some Radio Shacks have only 1 or 2 scanners, and others have about 8 on display? Is it based on previous sales data or is it just the manager's discretion? I went in one last night that had a Pro-197 on display, poorly programmed, no alpha tags, lots of distortion, etc. That is no way to sell a scanner. I've been in stores before that have several good models on display with one fully programmed to the hilt for our area and being broadcast on an external speaker throughout the store. I think that is the way to make a positive sales impression and possibly consider someone to pull the trigger and buy it.

And please don't go off on the Shack's strategy on cell phones, etc. as I already know that. I'm just asking about scanners only per the second sentence above...

[buddrousa]

Our local store is a private owned franchised store and it stocks 2 of each current scanners and the corparate stores are mostly stocked by sales stats and as for the scanner not programmed the best well most people at the stores are not scanner or hobby people so they do not care or know better. This is not the case for all RS people you can find some that care about the customer and are very knowledgeable if you have one of these stores you are luckey. Our local store reads this forum for learning purposes the owner took the pro-106 home for the weekend when it was 1st released and learned to program it by hand even to the point to trunktrack only the PD and FD on the local 800 system but it is his store and he is a retired teacher that cares about customers. So do not judge all for some actions.

[RogerH11]

When I bought my Pro 106 the Rat Shack store didn't even know they had it. It was stocked in the storage room so nobody would know they had it by walking in.

[markandjere]

I stopped in a Radio Shack today at Mount Union ,Pa and believe it or not they had a new Pro-46 ,in the box on the shelf.

[AlmostHandy]

My local ratshack has a single pro106, still in the box, inside the glass case next to the register. It's been there since I started to frequent this particular store, and it doesn't look like it's ever moved.

[Terminal]

To go a little deeper, scanner stock is now based on two factors, tiers and sales performance. If anybody noticed the big renovation/move-around from last year, that's when we divided product distribution into tiers (core, extended core, top tier) based on available space and sales history. It's divided so sharply now, some stores don't even stock scanners! Within those tiers, you'll still notice some differences, such as who carries higher end models like the Pro-106, and selection of antennas.

In general, the average store should have at least a pair of base/handheld cheapies ($99.99, cutoff at 512mhz), and then another matching pair of current trunking models, currently the 163/164. If you see one but not the other, chances are it can either be drop-shipped from our warehouse, or might even be collecting dust in the backroom. Oddly enough, there are some stores which seem to ONLY carry something like the 106, but those tend to be high volume mall stores that have a higher chance of expensive impulse buys.

[ILMRadioMan]

Down here in Wilmington, the main Rat Shack has a pretty decent selection on its shelf. 5-6 different scanners always going.

[pratzert]

I think it has a lot to do with weather or not the store manager is a "Scanner Head" or not.

I have run into a few stores here and there where the Mgr is really into the hobby and has all of the scanners on display and all programmed properly.

Then other stpres where they have one scanner on display and it's still in the box !

Tim

[Bubba1661]

The Radio Shack I go to has 1- Pro 137, 1- Pro -164, and 1 Desk Top, It took 3 or 4 days to get my Pro-106 shipped in, but it was well worth the wait!

[AlabamaRS]

the only scanner here in the store by the mall, (on the shelf) since December is a an old pro racing scanner... I haven't asked if they had any others in the back room tho

[mrstellar]

Here in Colorado the local Radio Shacks always refer everyone to the Downtown store. Most RS only carry old display models and returns of analog scanners which are mostly obsolete since the majority of ES is digital or analog with ESK.

[N1SQB]

Here in CT. its pretty much the same. Some stores have a few some have a lot. Some stores dont even have a clue of the scanners they have. I went to one store who said they had a 2 pro-160s in stock. They never found them... Till this day the sales MGR. has no clue where they went.

Manny

[jcase469]

Here in Lima, Ohio they tell me that the company owned stores get what is sent to them and that for the most part they can't even order in product for store stock. They stock whatever someone else at a higher level has decided that they should have in stock irregardless of demand for certain products.

On the other hand, the franchise dealers can order whatever they want to stock in their stores. I found this out when shopping for a PRO-106 and or PRO-197. The 2 stores here in Lima, Ohio are both company owned and neither stock the newer digital scanners and cannot get them to stock in the stores. The franchise dealers 15 miles away in two different directions do stock both scanner models even though neither always has both in stock at the same time. (I just checked and one has neither model now and the other has both in stock).

The management at one local store says that due to the fact that our county is going over to the digital Ohio MARCS system by April, and word is getting around, they are seeing a lot of customers coming in looking for a scanner that will receive it. So far they have had to order it for the customers. They are going to request the ability to stock the PRO-106 and PRO-197 so that they can satisfy the upcoming demand locally.

I now have a PRO-106 and a PRO-197 and love them. The PRO-106 does seem to have a problem with CTCSS but that may be a post for a different thread here.

Larry - W8NEW