Bye Bye Fry's

[ind224]

Fry's Electronics suddenly went out of business

Fry's Electronics suddenly closed all of its stores overnight, ending a nearly four-decade run in business.

currently.att.yahoo.com

Could not get 6V leds for the 2045 project and the place was looking more like a flea market than the Fry's of old.

 

[mmckenna]

It's a shame. We've got a number of them out here in California. Was a good resource. Unfortunately their customer service always sucked.

 

[techman210]

It's a shame. We've got a number of them out here in California. Was a good resource. Unfortunately their customer service always sucked.

Somehow they managed to hire all the employees rejected by Radio Shack

 

[mmckenna]

Somehow they managed to hire all the employees rejected by Radio Shack

I think you may be correct. Always seemed surly and annoyed I was trying to ask them a question.
Worked best when I could walk in, find what I wanted and get out without having to talk to their staff.

On the up side, I did purchase a Fluke 27 multimeter from them about 25 years ago. It was a display model and got it at a really good price. I still use it frequently.

 

[eorange]

I visited a Fry's only once during a business trip to L.A. in the 90's. I forget where it was, maybe somewhere around Pasadena or Monrovia? I remember being wow'd by the sheer variety of stuff they had and wished I could've spent a longer time there.

 

[6079smithw]

I was in the Roseville (CA) store around 11:00 yesterday (2/23) and both the place and shelves were emptier than the
proverbial hooker's hope chest. Bought a 12-volt LED and a bag of Doritos for the ride back to Reno.

Used to make a monthly trip from Reno to both the Roseville and Natomas stores back in their heyday... got my first
flat screen monitor there when they were still a novelty and no store in Reno had them yet.

Damned shame.

 

[cmdrwill]

Sad, Fry's had a big store in Burbank just south of the Burbank airport.
Fry's in City of Industry. https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!...hUKEwiTqdfElYTvAhXIbc0KHdEpCOUQoiowEnoECCYQAw

 

[mmckenna]

Unique and large stores. Will be interesting to see what happens to them. Likely sit unused for a few decades then get torn down.

 

[SteveSimpkin]

I have a lot of fond memories of Fry's Electronics in the 90's. Just like I had fond memories of Radio Shack, dedicated calculator stores, electronics parts stores, CB/Scanner shops, home computer stores, The Federated Group, Circuit City, Comp USA and others that I frequented in the Los Angeles area since the 70's. All gone now.

 

[AK9R]

I shopped at the one in Indianapolis (Fishers) a few times. Never quite understood the store layout. There were parts for assembling a PC (cases, motherboards, power supplies, etc.) on the south side of the store. But, if you wanted a mouse or keyboard or monitor, you had to walk all the way to the north side of the store. Unfortunately, from my house to that Fry's store required an hour-long round trip, so I didn't go very often. Reports I've heard over the past year indicate that their inventory has been steadily dwindling. Their website was always a bit challenging to navigate, as well.

With Best Buy also in deep doo-doo, we are losing ability to buy consumer electronics in a brick and mortar store. We will be left with buying from online retailers and hope that they have good return policies.

 

[bharvey2]

I have made a lot of purchases from Frys over the years. As stated above, their customer service was pathetic. In their earlier years, many of the sales people reminded me of the stereotypical used car saleman who couldn't tell the truth if their life had depended on it. Thankfully, that behavior tended to fade away over time. The last few times I went in over the last 12-18 months, their shelves were almost completely empty except for a shelf or two in the front that stocked some "As seen on TV" items. They did fill a niche so it's too bad they're gone in some respects.

 

[N4DJC]

I visited a Fry's only once during a business trip to L.A. in the 90's. I forget where it was, maybe somewhere around Pasadena or Monrovia? I remember being wow'd by the sheer variety of stuff they had and wished I could've spent a longer time there.

I was in one once in the Atlanta area and thought the same thing...

 

[ind224]

What I remember most; oscilloscopes not just in stock but powered up and ready for probing.

 

[RandyKuff]

Micro Center still seems to be hanging in there...