Article

2021-02-24 Economy

Fry's Electronics closing after 36 years in business

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Posted by M. Murcek 2021-02-24 08:09|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 I've never seen them in this part of the country, but it sounded like a cool place; Radio Shack on steroids?

Posted by Raj 2021-02-24 10:59|| 2021-02-24 10:59|| Front Page Top

#2 Big box. Not just computer stuff, but appliances, TVs, toys, CDs and DVDs, cameras, raw components. Easy for an enthusiast to spend the day and too much gelt there.

Posted by M. Murcek 2021-02-24 11:03|| 2021-02-24 11:03|| Front Page Top

#3 mostly chinese crap too

Posted by 746 2021-02-24 11:17|| 2021-02-24 11:17|| Front Page Top

#4 Notorious for sharp practices and outright fraud. Good riddance.

Posted by Spusolet Clavising6390 2021-02-24 11:26|| 2021-02-24 11:26|| Front Page Top

#5 Well, some of us got our money's worth. But that doesn't fit The Narrative™.

Posted by M. Murcek 2021-02-24 11:38|| 2021-02-24 11:38|| Front Page Top

#6 Others - many others - did not. From the Forbes profile of the company's sales practices at its peak in the late 90's:

Fry’s milks its customers hard. Employees at the return desk are given bonuses based on the number of customers they talk into taking store credit instead of cash. Getting a refund check can take weeks. Internally this policy is referred to as “the double H” for “hoops and hurdles,” according to Kiefer Davis, a former customer relations supervisor in Portland. The point is to wear customers down until they give up.

Local Better Business Bureaus rank Fry’s stores as unsatisfactory, largely because they refuse to respond to customer complaints. Los Angeles radio station KROQ once devoted an entire morning segment to dissecting Fry’s infuriating service.

Posted by Maggie Munster9669 2021-02-24 11:48|| 2021-02-24 11:48|| Front Page Top

#7 Bought a lot of stuff from Fry's over the years. Mostly cheap parts, but that's what I was looking for. You had to know what you were dealing with, cause the guys there generally didn't. Particularly when you got in amongst the motherboards.
They did have a an electronic hobby area (breadboard type stuff) that couldn't be beat. Picture a big box store with a dozen different types of soldering irons.

Posted by ed in texas 2021-02-24 12:14|| 2021-02-24 12:14|| Front Page Top

#8 Fry's in my area was competing with Micro Center. Micro Center mother boards were poorer quality but cheaper. I built computer from Frys that lasted for ever. Micro Center components were touch and go.

Posted by Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 2021-02-24 12:17|| 2021-02-24 12:17|| Front Page Top

#9 Fry's in Menlo Park during the 90s was an amazing place.

Then it sort of lost its purpose after everyone upgraded their PCS around Y2K; and some companies specialized in selling pre-upgraded game machines; and those that knew what they needed to upgrade without a salesperson turned to Amazon. That left them without a purpose.

Posted by rjschwarz 2021-02-24 13:38|| 2021-02-24 13:38|| Front Page Top

#10
I go back to about 1994 with Fry's.
Even had a Fry's Email Account with them when they were still offering them.

Was a great store with great prices.
But it took it hard when the Tech Bubble burst, then was hit with the Obama Era Recession on top of it. Laugh all you want, but I am still upgrading the CPU I purchased from them back in 2002.

It kinda lost its IT TECH image as it expanded into being more like a Best Buy clone.

Checkout their website it has some fantastic Closeout deals.

NOTE: But exercise caution in purchasing with it shutting down.

Posted by NN2N1 2021-02-24 18:14|| 2021-02-24 18:14|| Front Page Top

#11 ^ Not doing closeout. Just a Dear John goodbye letter now at www.Frys.com.

Posted by Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 2021-02-24 20:19|| 2021-02-24 20:19|| Front Page Top