I've looked at the radio Shack website. Apparently, there are now no stores anywhere. However, there are a few dealers (who probably carry limited items). The nearest one to me is about 80 miles away.
Yes. The availability of electronic parts locally was very important to me in the eighties, when I didn't have access to the internet (or a credit card).
Yes, there are the places you can order from. I liked to be able to go to a local store.
It would be nice if there was still an Ace here. It didn't last very long after Lowe's came to town (the other local hardware store is gone too).
Ace is giving Blowes and Home Despot a run here, simply by providing old time hardware store service and a better product line. When my wife was running a gated community and country club she used Ace all the time because you could walk in holding something and the Ace guy would take you to the place where they had what you need, explain what you needed and even give you a tip or two about installing it. At the big boxes you are lucky to even find a person who works there and they might not even know what you were holding. If I want building materials I go to HD, If I am looking for home decor, it is Lowes and Ace is the place for hardware.
When I moved here a few months ago the Ace is 4 miles, Lowes and HD are about 12. I forget what I wanted but since they were close I gave them a try. I was amazed. They have everything I needed, they have pleasant helpful people and plenty of them.
With a new house there were plenty of little things i needed and made many trips. Great place. I may never set foot in the big boxes again.
That's what they do here and it's why I prefer Lowes or HD instead. You come in, don't need help, but the village idiot comes running right over and asks if he can help you. So, you say that you need a round head wood screw. He then starts asking what you're doing, why you need it, yadda, yadda, yadda. Meanwhile, he's a moron. I came in one day asking if they had a simple pressure gauge for a water pump system. The village idiot starts telling me how normal water pressure in a water system is just a few lbs and he knows, because he works on the water works at the schools. I go to HD they have the gauge, without the village idiot.
At the big boxes you are lucky to even find a person
And then there are the idiot customers who show up at HD on the rare occasion that I need help. They have the store guy tied up, with nonsense. Husband standing there with a bathroom sink faucet handle in his hand, wanting a washer. Store guy keeps saying, if you have the stem, which you need to take out anyway, then I could match it. After 5 mins of who's on first with that BS, just when you think it's over, then the wife starts in all over again saying they have an outside faucet that is leaking, can that be fixed?
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