I remember when the CD section of Best Buy was like minimum 1/4 of the store

@jasonsenita1

5 ай бұрын

Same here. I did just go in there for the first time to get a computer, or at least look at them first, but was amazed not seeing 1/4 or the store filled with cd's and dvd's

@kennethbrettel8762

5 ай бұрын

Wasn't that the best thing? It was the golden age 😢

@b4rs629

5 ай бұрын

bro I remember getting lost in best buy many times. Cd, dvd, video games... endless really long isles... a trip there was minimum 2-4hrs.

@williampaz2092

5 ай бұрын

There was a time when 1/4 of the US Navy Exchange was CDs and DVDs as well.

@fraudsarentfriends4717

5 ай бұрын

Trying to kill off physical media was a big mistake, they need to put cd players back in cars.

I’m older and used to love buying stereo equipment. Components, boomboxes, Walkmans, and physical media. It used to be exciting.

@kennethbrettel8762

5 ай бұрын

I bought everything you said 😢

@MrCenturion13

5 ай бұрын

I bought my boombox and my home stereo from them. Good machines, good price, good sound. Bought a cpu from them, too. Satisfied with it all.

@ebinrock

5 ай бұрын

I heard at CES 2024 some knockoff company (already forgot the name) was reintroducing a real cassette Walkman...but NOT SONY!!!

@TheOzthewiz

5 ай бұрын

Are you old enough to remember "Sound Of Music" stores? They became Best Buy Superstores in 1983. SOM started in 1966, selling some of the FINEST audio gear on the planet. They even had "audition rooms", you closed the door, sat in a cushy chair and listened to some awesome (expensive} components from Japan, Europe, US, but NO Chinese crap! So SAD that those days are LONG gone!

@kennethbrettel8762

5 ай бұрын

@@TheOzthewiz those listening rooms were definitely the place to hear all different components switched between all different speakers. Yeah I lived in those stores in the early 1970s the golden age of hifi they say. Japanese equipment was pouring into the USA with Sansui and Marantz pioneer technics just. a few. Every store sold their own favorites. One had only Yamaha the next it was Kenwood. The best equipment was very expensive McIntosh type products. They still are beautiful technology.

Shocking lack of mention of the metioric rise of online shopping (e.g. Amazon et al) during this timeframe, which was a huge contributor to this phenomenon.

@nascarsimracing1

4 ай бұрын

LITERALLY FR. I always like to say, online shopping has been both a blessing and a curse. It has been a blessing for convenience, but it comes at a cost of in person stores barely carrying anything now. Which ends up becoming an inconvenience as now you're forced to wait for delivery instead of being able to go into the store and walk out the same day with what you need. I miss going to Radio Shack for electronic components like motors, LED lights, and jumper cables. Now, all of those little things I'm forced to buy online because there's literally no in person stores around me that carry those things. And if there is a rare store around me that carries them, it is way overpriced compared to what I can get online.

@Wheelman2004

4 ай бұрын

Online shopping is the gigantic screaming elephant in the room for discussion of any form of retail decline, so I kinda see how specifically mentioning it fell by the wayside here. Still... it's screaming, so we should point it out lol

@SteveLombardi58

2 ай бұрын

I was going to say the same

As a kid in the 90s I remember Best Buy was THE store, it seemed like me and my friends whole worlds revolved around it. A few months ago I went to a Best Buy out of boredom while trying to kill time and, wow, what a completely stupid and totally unnecessary store. Like half the floor space was kitchen and laundry appliances that were waaaaaaaay overpriced and the TV selection is better at Sams Club.

@Nerotique

5 ай бұрын

It was Circuit City for us. We didn't even get a Best Buy until 1998.

I am a relic fighting the 'you will own nothing and be happy' agenda - I WANT to OWN physical media; I want to have my own OS install disc; I want control over my computer and laptop; I want my online privacy. As a reclusive tech geek who hated shopping, Fry's was the only shopping I actually got excited for - that's long dead (thanks Amazon) Please support my open source company in 2024!

@Aaron-kx7oi

5 ай бұрын

Sounds dangerous to democracy… 😅

@Larkinchance

5 ай бұрын

It seems like there two basic kinds of movie viewers, The sort that watch a movie once and then never again and people like me, that will watch a treasured film over and over. We are the type who buy DVDs... Lately I found myself waiting for a DVD release that never arrives (Buster Scruggs and The Queens Gambit) … Upon release DVD's are often priced at $39.95. After a few months they end up in the bargain bin for $9.95. But even at $9.95 there is often enough profit to go around. As I stated in another post, If they deny publication of DVD's it legitimizes piracy...

@CNe7532294

5 ай бұрын

I know what you mean. Miss Fry's too. More so given I take ownership to the next level and fix stuff that is broken. About digital media, the fact that a multibillion dollar cap company can just simply deny something you bought and paid for then ask for more money for the exact same product is disgusting. That is not progress. That is being stagnant. Imagine no art or tech. Basically no novel ideas because of perpetual greed. Subscriptions suck. Its not just movies either. Anything software. Games. OS. Necessities like Office. For movies I miss BlockBuster as well.

@Larkinchance

5 ай бұрын

Big corporate are the ones behind this. You and I can spend a lifetime building a library of music, film, Photoshop and the evolution of video games. But if big corporate has their way, when we die, it all disappears and our children must start from nothing. Does the protect the artist? Left up to the corporations, in the future, if it is not profitable it will vanish. This will result the permanent loss of many great works. If this trend continues it will legitimize piracy

@Larkinchance

5 ай бұрын

In the very near future I envision a palm size, 1000 terabyte SSD with the entire history of recorded music made easily transferable. Corporate has changed formats one too many times..

The main thing that killed Electronics Retail is of course the Internet!

@DenverStarkey

2 ай бұрын

with radio shack it was just forgetting their roots that killed them.. originally they started as a store for electronic parts for DIYers that were into ameture radio or the hobby of radio controlled toys (cars and planes the big boy toys). you walked in you saw things like capacitors , diodes , circut chips and waht not for building boards to the above mentiond radios and remote conrolled toys. in teh 70's and 80's they began to expand their business model mroe by carrying music related eletronics as well , speakers , speaker cabinets and the like. then the late 80's came , and they stared carrying computers begining with the tandys. this is where they started to turn. the more computers radio shack started carrying the less circut board components you'd see , then they stoped carrying things audio related to expand into cell phones. again you saw less and less radio and radio controlled stuff and less components . then smart phones came .. so they jumped on that .... Now any one that even wanted computer stuff were also left high and dry and had to turn to the internet or other retailers for stuff , much like the customers that wanted radio parts for remote controlled toy parts. bassically radio shack died because they slowly forgot more and more that they were Radio Shack. Sad . just fucking sad.

Well done! I remember back in 2001 when the first flat screen TVs hit the stores. Circuit City advertised a 42 inch plasma for $11,200. I bought my 55 inch Samsung 2 years ago for $369 from Best Buy.

@forgottenplaces9780

5 ай бұрын

Wow i didnt realize they were that much lol

@cancel.lgbtq.6892

5 ай бұрын

Bought my 60" Sony big screen from Good Guys for $4,000 back in 1999. Even back then that was a lot of money. Come to look at it , I made a lot of stupid decisions.

@stpworld

5 ай бұрын

@@forgottenplaces9780I once had such a bad experience at best buy in 2005 I never went back again.

@whatthepick

5 ай бұрын

Yep now it is the VR Apple Headset for $3,499 that battles against the Flat Screen TV One day in the far future that will be the $369 item from Best Buy

@colombianguy8194

5 ай бұрын

​@@forgottenplaces9780 I'm from Colombia, and there was an exclusive Sony Store called 'Sony Center' in my town, and in 2002 I saw the first plasma TV: it costs 10,000 dollars or 25 Million pesos. You could buy a new car with that money, it was insane.

Best Buy is doing everything they can to avoid admitting that they are dying. But the way things are going, they won’t be able to dodge that reality much longer.

@forgottenplaces9780

5 ай бұрын

I agree.

@steveurbach3093

5 ай бұрын

I went in to be HELPED, not be SOLD what they (the staff) mad the most commission on. I'm old school. I want to touch and look before I buy. For that, I am willing to pay a bit more... But not 40%+

@OG-SoaringFalcon

5 ай бұрын

Last week I went there to pick up an online order, 30 minutes it took them to help me due to the fact that there was TWO people working the whole store, and one of them was the store manager! He looked beat and about to quit!

@ButtersCCookie

5 ай бұрын

Yes! Overpriced everything!

@TheOzthewiz

5 ай бұрын

That's TRUE. Too much competition from Amazon and Walmart!

I remember budgeting for food, gas for my truck and rent and then taking the rest of my paycheck to Pacific Stereo to buy blank VHS tapes. Still have a lot of F1 and ChampCar races recorded on a dusty rack in my hallway. Not sure what I was thinking but that’s what I did.

@TheOzthewiz

5 ай бұрын

I remember "Mad Audio Video" in Minneapolis in the "early days" of Beta VCRs. I would go down on Sat morning and "browse" thru the Beta "XXX" tapes in the "back room". Beta had the BEST selection of "adult" entertainment!

@jeremyloveslinux

3 ай бұрын

Should try to get those uploaded to internet archive or something like it!

Technology seems to be its own worst enemy.

@disruptapps

5 ай бұрын

It isn't technology, its the Big Tech companies that are behind the technology that are their own worst enemies. For example, all the big software companies embrace AI that basically destroys people's jobs and reduces head count - this is driven by the profit motive. On a grander scale, Big Tech and Big Business are colluding to basically AI and automate so many blue and white collar jobs because of cost savings - which is gutting the working class - Big Tech and Big Biz are in such a pursuit of short term profits they are destroying the long term stability of society and the working class ability to earn a decent living. Its reckless! Thanks for the comment

@TheOzthewiz

5 ай бұрын

And thanks to the CHINESE, "planned obsolescence" is the norm in Today's World!

@disruptapps

5 ай бұрын

@@TheOzthewiz No - its not the Chinese - planned obsolescence is a Western Invention long before China ever industrialized.

@spellerlittlewing

4 ай бұрын

​@@TheOzthewiznot the Chinese fault blame the CEOs for wanting to line their own pockets so they sent jobs to China etc.for cheap labor

@frankleespeaking9519

4 ай бұрын

@@TheOzthewizThat has nothing to do with the title of this video. These stores are no longer needed because of the smart phone and the Internet. Both of which you are using right now. Blame STEVE JOBS

In the mid 1970’s I reasoned that electronics was here to stay and there would always be a need for someone to repair the stuff. I started out repairing televisions. Then by a tremendous stroke of luck I got into telecommunications and I was repairing mobile radios and even microwave radios. By late in my career, everything was becoming IP based computerized equipment that really wasn’t repairable. As the video pointed out, the prices for electronics made repairs prohibitively expensive compared to the original price. I witnessed the transition from vacuum tube electronics to solid state and then surface mount devices. I somehow managed to hang on and finally retired just before the industry would have probably retired me!

@ButtersCCookie

5 ай бұрын

All repair places gone. I have vacuums I just need cord change. I could buy a used washer, repaired just like new. You could get a bootleg from a crackhead back in the day. They hit trains, not drug stores. I'm glad you made it. How I wish you weren't a dying breed.

@Dannysoutherner

5 ай бұрын

@@ButtersCCookieI am still in the repair business - like him I started out on tv and stereo repair. Now I don't bother with tv sets. I really don't want to deal with 80 to 100 inch sets, broken screen very easy to happen. No one fixes anything smaller. There is one dedicated tv repair shop in my town, no idea how he is making it unless he is doing warranty work. I do a lot of pc repairs, just did an ssd upgrade on a laptop, doing a tower this week. Saves a ton of money over a new pc and performance is similar for most people. I do a lot of handyman type jobs - the key is to diversify - most people can't be just a tv repairman anymore and expect to eat. Your vacs would be no problem to fix.

@jayrowe6473

5 ай бұрын

It's all about controlling the flow of information.

@edwil111

4 ай бұрын

yep, its "all in the cloud". Everything is now centralized in IT for (good) security reasons.

Ah the experience of going to Best Buy and having staff there tell me things I knew were false (in a vain effort to get me to buy things there i didn't need). Memories. I shouldn't complain too much; back in the 90s and early 2000s you'd get completely taken if you went into any electronics outlet not already knowing about the products you were looking at. "Here, this $100 Monster HDMI Cable really helps get the most out of your DVD player!"

@MarkSmith-nw4os

5 ай бұрын

Thats what turned me off on the Hi Fi shops. The guy was putting the hard sell on a $300 pair of RCA cables. Never trusted them again.

@TheOzthewiz

5 ай бұрын

I don't know about the "$100 HDMI cables", but the "Monster" speaker cables at $10/ft really make a difference in how "tight" the BASS sounds! It's TRUE, you can hear the improvement immediately! LOL

The iPhone was a device replacer: calendar, calculator, phone, video camera, music player, still camera, tape recorder, answering machine, gaming platform. So many things that existed at Radio Shack are now in a phone. Then Amazon took away some of the benefits of physical stores. I have plenty of electronic devices, but I haven't been to Best Buy for a major purchase in ages. Nothing against them, but unless I need a new TV or phone case, they have little new to offer. It saves me money but it's also rather dull.

@BrianWaller-qe7gr

5 ай бұрын

You forgot alarm clocks. I don’t know anyone who still using electric alarm clocks. You can setup multiple alarms on your phone

@JaceFalcon

5 ай бұрын

I still make purchase from them online and puck it up in store. Rather than just support Amazon

@TheOzthewiz

5 ай бұрын

Best Buy has turned into an "appliance store" more than an audio or electronics store.

I’m surprised Radio shack held on as long as they did. They had abandoned their key market long before closing. I remember walking in the store looking for a particular electronics component and not finding it. When I asked a clerk for help, I either got a bland stare, or asked if I was ready to upgrade my phone. 🙄

@kingforaday8725

5 ай бұрын

I take it you weren't looking for batteries!!!

@mattrodgers4878

5 ай бұрын

@@kingforaday8725 nope, batteries were just barely within the skill level of the counter help!

@ebinrock

5 ай бұрын

If you happen to live in Texas, Altex is your place.

@heatherharrison264

3 ай бұрын

The demise of Radio Shack has left a big hole. I used to take it for granted that, if I needed some small parts or cables, I could just go to the nearby Radio Shack and find them. In the later years, the selection went down, but they still had something. Now, they are gone, and there is little to replace them aside from industrial supply companies that are in inconvenient locations and have inconvenient hours. Fry's also used to be a great store for this, but they are gone too. Of course, these parts can be ordered online, but if I am in the middle of a project and need something, I need it now. I don't want to order a part and wait a day or two for it to arrive. When I was a teenager, I got interested in tinkering around with electronics, in large part because I went into Radio Shack in the mall and bought things that looked interesting. I still have and still use the multimeter that I built from a Radio Shack kit back then. I have to wonder how kids today might get into this hobby without any stores to buy things and without knowledgeable salespeople to provide advice.

Best buy is so SLOW now they don't even bother opening regular checkouts. They force everyone to checkout at customer service. And they constantly rearrange the stores, but then the staff stalks you afraid your shoplifting if you want to just look around.

Best Buy is speeding up the inevitable by removing physical media Blu-ray movies

@American-Motors-Corporation

5 ай бұрын

But pretty much no one wants physical media. Lol I've laughed at them for over a decade thinking people still want CDs and a 60 dollar cordless phone for the house!

@Venom3254

5 ай бұрын

@@American-Motors-Corporation I'll wait the day when their fav media gets removed by corporates who will force them to pay up for another overpriced streaming service.

@American-Motors-Corporation

5 ай бұрын

@@Venom3254 that's why you find adjacent programs that have the ability to record and then you store them! Aka bootleg! Duh like duh total duh!

@Venom3254

5 ай бұрын

@@American-Motors-Corporation Good luck not getting your computer get AIDS lol

@hitmontree3736

5 ай бұрын

​@American-Motors-Corporation the traditional house phone still has its uses though. They're still useful if your cell phone network goes down

Electronic stores suffer from your everyday problem of soaring rent and tax costs with declining sales due to an overall overpriced economy where people now only buy tech when they need it as opposed to being an affordable commodity.

@hewitc

5 ай бұрын

They can buy everything online for the same price or less, delivered to their home. And there is a greater selection. The US economy is now booming. It's just that everyone buys things online.

@ganymedehedgehog371

5 ай бұрын

Tech is more affordable now than ever. TVs and games were more expensive. You also don’t need to buy an iPod anymore, just a phone. Earbuds/headphones are at their best and cheap.

@OG-SoaringFalcon

5 ай бұрын

Their advantage was Customer Service, and that is the 1st thing most of them cut! You can't stay in business if you don't have repeat customers!

@Longlius

5 ай бұрын

Tech is cheaper than it has ever been. Buying a midrange PC in the early 2000s would have set you back around $2000 (or around $4000 if you account for inflation). Today, $2000 buys you a high-end PC. Same with televisions - you can buy a pretty good 4K set for only $300. $150 in the early 2000s would have bought you a pretty crummy CRT set with composite inputs if you were lucky.

@user-sb1vz9pv5y

5 ай бұрын

​@hewitc Not exactly. While it's true a lot of people buy products online, there are still people that like to see the product in the store, don't like delivery fees, delivery schedules may be easier from a local store. returns are easier. If you need something, it may be possible to pick it up. Some people to browse but not stare at computer screen. Turns shopping into a chore or job. It's endless clicks of can I get this cheaper when surfing a bottomless pit of online merchandise.

A big problem is a phone can do what you needed many devices for in the past.... camera, camcorder, walkman, tape recorder, video games, walkie talkie, flashlight, ect... Now all you need is a smartphone. That leaves very little to sell

@TheOzthewiz

5 ай бұрын

TVs...............AND "phones"?

@mirzaahmed6589

2 ай бұрын

@@TheOzthewiz no one buys TVs anymore.

High pressure sales pitches and bait and switch tactics were what did the electronics stores in. Much better now, IMO, to beable to buy something on Amazon or a specialty website and have the item in a couple days with no sales droid hovering over me.

@AENock

2 ай бұрын

Even Amazon is pretty terrible. It's been swarmed with cheap Chinese clones sold under illustrious brands such as FABGA and ZEOPNY. You kinda have to know what you're looking for on that site or you're paying $20 for a $2 Alibaba drop ship.

Karma for those Monster Cables sales pitches

@hewitc

5 ай бұрын

They looked cool but ridiculously expensive and did nothing for the signal

@ebinrock

5 ай бұрын

As for speaker wire, 16 gauge will do just fine in most cases.

@volentimeh

5 ай бұрын

@@ebinrock It always amuses me to see thick ass cables going to speakers whose internal wiring is a lot thinner, let alone the x-over components having smaller wiring, then the voice coils in the drivers them selves being almost hair thin.

@ebinrock

5 ай бұрын

@@volentimeh One time when I rebuilt my dad's speakers, I put in the same 16 gauge wiring for the internals as I did going from terminals to the receiver.

Walk into an electonics retailer for a power cord and you will immediately be assaulted by a salesman trying to are-wrestle you into buying an over-priced computer, laptop or tablet. The item may show up as ' in stock ' on the store's website, but it rarely is. Instead they have the 'executive' version at four times the price, or, you can wait ten business days for it to ship to your door, providing you also pay for postage. What a great deal!

@Chris_at_Home

5 ай бұрын

I was looking at TVs in a Best Buy and the salesman tried to tell me I needed a 60” TV when I told him I’d be sitting about 8 feet from it. Stupidest salesman ever. I never went back into a Best Buy again because trying to sell something based on a commission instead so common sense isn’t where I want to shop.

You didn't mention Fry's. I used to love to go there. Unlike many stores, they offered many choices of brands and at good prices. They even had a coffee shop in the center of the store. Miss Fry's!

@crosslink1493

5 ай бұрын

If you were "the other person watching" the 2023 World Series, 😊 did you notice the Fry's Electronics logo on the right-center outfield wall in Phoenix? I wonder why that's still there as the stores in the Phoenix/Glendale area closed a while back. Great place to shop if you were an electronics parts geek, they had a 'DIY' section that could pretty much fulfill your needs for electronic and radio systems parts after Radio Shack shut down.

@henryca03

5 ай бұрын

@@crosslink1493 That's for Fry's Food and Drug, which is a subsidiary of Kroger operating exclusively in Arizona. Fry's Electronics was started by the three sons of Charles Fry, who formerly owned the grocery chain along with his brother Donald.

@TheTheo58

5 ай бұрын

I shopped a few times at Fry's back in N. CA and when I moved to the PNW in 2005 traveled to the Fry's in Wilsonville a few times. They had a very good product selection, including parts cables, for hobbyist. Plus tools. I guess it was about 3 yrs now since the went out of business.

@larrys4618

5 ай бұрын

​@@crosslink1493it was likely the Fry's grocery store logo not Fry's electronics. The logos look similar.

@heatherharrison264

3 ай бұрын

Fry's had a great selection and poor service, at least until the last few years, when the shelves were half-empty and they still had poor service. Fry's filled the gap after Radio Shack became useless, but unfortunately not for long. Now, there is nothing to fill that gap.

Radio Shack in the 70s was amazing.

I quit buying from Best Buy around 1997. I got sick of their fraud of selling open box/returned items as new and charging full price.

Miss the theme stores of Fry’s throughout California. The Alice in Wonderland was my favorite.

Fry's. 😢 The staff in brick and mortar stores act like they're operating a showroom and don't even try to sell anything any more. When I was in the market for a new TV last year the local Best Buy staff ignored me so I bought it on line and had it the next day.

Hard to believe I bought a TV at Macy’s in the 90s. First one after getting married was at a department store called Ann & Hope in Boston. A Sharp, it was quite expensive, and pic tube shot after 5 years. We have come a long way, now with low pricing and superior quality.

I remember when Best Buy used to have about a dozen registers and they'd all be busy during Christmas shopping. I used to go there weekly to check out what was new. I can't remember the last time I even stepped foot in a Best Buy.

My favourite place when growing up was Virgin Megastore. I used to stand in the CD aisles for hours with those headphone systems that allowed you to listen to music samples. If there was a PlayStation hooked up somewhere, I'd find it and chill there for hours. I'd pretty much live at malls.

Big box stores are dying, independent retailers are growing. CD,DVD and bluray are easily ordered online and sent through the mail. It doesn't make sense to carry them in stores with the low profit margins.Why many started carrying vinyl records with better profits.

FYE was the last place I could still buy CD's for quite awhile after most places stopped. Last time I went to an FYE a few years ago it felt like they were just trying to be a Hot Topic but worse

It's very simple. I went there to buy a new modem, then walked across the parking lot and bought the exact same one at Wal Mart for $22 less including the free replacement warranty I bought with it. Also, when Radio Shack went under, the rest were living on borrowed time, too.

We must protect Micro Center at all costs.

@OG-SoaringFalcon

5 ай бұрын

I think they are safe, for now, as they specialized in one field, bet on customer service and excel at it. They also pay commission, so there is an incentive for their staff to help customers with their purchase! They also have a great corporate sales department!

@kingforaday8725

5 ай бұрын

Unfortunately like Frys they are only located in large cities. Which makes sense but still doesn't help those that are a whole days travel away.

@ebinrock

5 ай бұрын

I visited one in north Dallas once and wasn't too impressed.

@heatherharrison264

3 ай бұрын

I bought all of the parts for my new PC at the Tustin location. They had everything I needed, the prices were fair, and the salesman was knowledgeable and helpful. This level of service is seldom encountered these days. It's about an hour away from where I live, but it is worth the drive.

Crazy how prices on TV's are dropping as everything else is climbing in price. Costco has 65" TV for $400.

Too many locations. MicroCenter is doing well, and that's because their locations are strategically placed in major metro areas and there's typically only one store in a metro. Electronics retailers like Best Buy, and the now defunct Circuit City and CompUSA overexpanded in the late 90s into the 2000s. Combine the embrace of Newegg and the maturation of the technology market in general, and there just wasn't enough business to keep all those stores open, and it was too late for them to revert to a more sustainable approach like MicroCenter.

@trainsurgeon

5 ай бұрын

You hit the nail on the head. My MicroCenter is in the Villanova University area, just outside of Philadelphia. I first encountered this “chain”, (ironic calling it that considering the topic) when I lived in Metro Atlanta. Fantastic store - and I believe there were two or three locations there at the time.

I remember when it used to be fun to go to Best Buy, now I feel dirty going into their stores. Mom and pop electronic stores these days are horrible too.

The nearest Best Buy to me is 130 miles. If I want to order a tv over 50” I have to go through Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, or Amazon because Best Buy won’t ship larger tvs to my residence

LBO's killed most of them, Same with most other large retail stores that are no longer with us

I talk to retail customers all the time and the one common theme I hear is how glad customers are that there are still stores where they can walk in see/touch the products and actually TALK to someone about them and get their questions answered. As convenient as on-line shopping is, it is very cold, distant, detached and removed and a lot of customers just don't like that. There will always be a place for retail because customers will always want to have a chance to interact with products in person (to at least one degree or another) and talk to a salesperson before they make their purchase. Retail will certainly continue to evolve over time, but it will never be gone entirely.

I still have huge collections of CDs, DVDs, dvd players etc. But I do everything online now, times changed.

I worked in retail for about 30 years. For all it's faults, it was really a very cool thing to be involved with. It's really too bad that's there's just no saving the CE retail industry.

Best Buy was originally "The Sound of Music" (SOM), started in 1966 in St Paul, MN. SOM sold ONLY audio components, from "low end" to "high end" gear. They did not sell TVs or appliances and had "audio rooms" where you could audition various components without noise or distractions. This was during the "Golden Age" of audio and produced some of the FINEST equipment from World manufacturers (NO Chinese products). I had purchased turntables, amplifiers, tuners, tape decks and speakers from SOM. In 1983 SOM became "Best Buy Superstores" with the atmosphere becoming "circus like". The stores started selling TVs and appliances with the auditioning rooms going away. The really HIGH QUALITY audio equipment selection was dwindling and for us "audiophiles" finding good equipment meant we had to shop at the "audio specialty' stores. And even those stores are getting scarce because the "masses" buy the Chinese JUNK at Walmart or Amazon. I really MISS those days browsing through the high end gear at SOM! Really FUN times................LONG LIVE VINYL!

I remember frequent visits to Media Play back in the day, browsing games, cd's, game consoles, etc.

There's never anyone to help you at Best Buy and no one approaches and asks.

I really hate the fact that CDs are no longer in stores as anything more than an afterthought. What also sucks is that you can’t even order CDs and get the full-on jewel case, just a flimsy cardboard ‘digipack’. Come on guys, someone is willing to pay for a CD; why not deliver quality?

Similar situation in the UK. There are only two major electronic retailers left Currys and Richer Sounds) Currys has always been a shop that sales just as many white good electronics as it does TV’s Hi Fi’s and Computers. Richer Sounds has always tried to keep their overheads low by having small shops places where retail space is less expensive. Also more importantly it’s got a good reputation when it comes to customer service.

Thank you, for this very good video. Another major factor over this time period, has been the exponential growth of "on-line" shopping for electronics. As for myself, I am more of a relic because, I still prefer to shop and return if, needed items at my local retail electronics stores (smile...smile).

I remember so many electronics stores from the past that sold electronic devices, including stereos, TVs, DVD Players, VCRs, Radios, Videos, Music, Video Games, Gadgets, etc. Some of these stores included Circuit City, Best Buy, Silo, The Good Guys, Computer City, Incredible Universe, Fry's Electronics, Radio Shack, Montgomery Ward, Sears, FYE, Camelot Music, AT&T Phone Center (Landline era), Captron Nintendo, Funko, KB Toys, Toys R Us, CompUSA, Computer Land, CompuAdd, Micro Center, SG Computers, ATC Computer, Blockbuster Video, Major Video, Castle Video, Office Depot, Staples, Borders, Media Play, The Wearhouse, Tower Records, Gateway Country, Al & Eds Autosound, Microsoft Store, Apple Store, FYE, Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, Today's Computer Business Centers, Sun Computers, Creative Computers, Crywolf Consulting, Alltech Electronics, Macmall, and others.

Weird, all this time I thought it was Amazon that’s killing retail.

If GameStop and Best Buy go out of business I dont know where I would buy high price electronics. I refuse to ship a $1500 tv or high end laptop to my door. I once got home from Best Buy to find the tv panel was broken. I went right back and exchanged it. If that was an online purchase I cant even imagine the hassle that I would go through for an exchange.

We used to have an ample selection of products but now that everything is online we can only hope foe the best as the internet is being flooded with imitation or broken products as there is no quality control anymore.

I remember all these electronic stores recently. My Best Buy closed up in Manchester, Missouri.

Having shopped at Radio Shack for some 50 plus years which "had just about every thing in electronic parts" SW radio, CB radio, scanners. I noticed over the last 18 yrs their product line was slowly declining, especially with parts and the like. Their business had taken more to PC's and cell phones, TV etc. Over time parts I could get before has been discontinued, perhaps with less DIY and hobbyists. It was around 2015 when I noticed less products and finally two years later, the local stores began closing.

@garymunson2493

5 ай бұрын

The advent of the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), especially the surface mount variety, spelled doom for electronics DIYers. You could no longer repair most electronics and manufacturers were able to create new things far more advanced than hobbyists were then able to build. I remember back in the 70's while playing with B&W photography, Radio Electronics magazine had an article on building a photocell device that controlled your enlarger. It looked down at a piece of white paper on the enlarger platen, and, after having calibrated it to the different sensitivity photo paper you commonly used, you set the calibration dial to the paper type, put the photo paper in place and pushed the button. It would then control the enlarger light for the correct timing for proper exposure. At that time there was nothing available commercially that would do that. Photographer friends were astounded and I put a bunch of those simple but elegant things together and "test exposures" were almost never needed anymore.

When I was a kid, GameStop was called funcoland

It is sobering to see this happen. I am in my 50s. I've seen all these changes and I have embraced all of them. I love the fact I can find any song I want at the swipe of my finger. I hate that cds,dvds,blurays are becoming a thing of the past. 4k has become a tough sell for anyone but movie buffs. Phones and tablets are now atmos and 4k. What else do you need. Note....I do like the colored vinyl releases. They do look cool.

A big thing for me is the atmosphere in the stores. Even if I want to go in and just look around, the employees in these stores won't leave you alone. You're constantly asked if you need help finding anything every minute. Employees *constantly* try to engage you, and all I want is to just browse in peace. It completely turns me off from ever going into these stores

@heatherharrison264

3 ай бұрын

It's either this, or the store is as dead as a morgue, and the few employees shamble around like zombies, offering the customer no useful help whatsoever even if asked.

Just a few days ago, Godfrey in Australia announced theyre shutting down. Sold vacuum cleaners for 93yrs. Everyone shops at big box stores that sell everything. Dick Smith shut their stores and are online only. Im surprised Jaycar hasnt closed yet.

Interesting video history. It’s true that with each new tech gadget everyone wanted one and sales were booming. I was one of those new tech addicts. I’m certain I spent thousands of dollars at Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City, Computer City, CompUSA, Sears and others. That said I think many of these companies and other companies in other businesses mismanaged their business, over expanded and were financially overextended. An example is Steak & Ale or Shakey’s Pizza.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: Future Shop did not literally close down. It got bought out by Best Buy and lasted a few years. Best Buy saw no need to compete with itself, so they closed all the Future shop stores. In areas where there was a Future shop but no Best Buy close by, they turned that into a Best Buy. Now, with less stores, traffic goes directly to Best Buy and not to Future shop anymore. (Radio Shack in Canada became the Source by Circuit City-CC went bankrupt so Bell Canada bought the Source stores) DO NOT BUY A TV @ Source Stores. ALL they care about is getting you to be a Bell Fibe customer. The TV is just to get you in and switch from Rogers or whatever source you choose to use. They even throw in $100 off the TV if you switch...and believe me you DO NOT hear the end of it from them...like getting you to switch is their commissioned bread and butter. (or something, lol) Thank-you for reading this.

Am a minimalist i love this compact world 🌎 no more heavy bulky equipment everything fits in my backpack 🎒 travel as bever been so adventurous until now

I’m in the market for speakers, and I’d love to be able to listen to them before buying. Oh well, thanks for an excellent video.

I used to buy at my local electronics retail store not only to purchase stuffs but to get the demos how to use them.

If you go to estate sales like my wife and I do there is a TON of electronics out there. I also noticed that most of them have LOTS of CDs and DVDs and sometimes just to move them the estate sale will ask you for 5 bucks to take the entire lot. Estate sales are now the new Radio Shack from what I can tell.

Best Buy has been Amazon's showroom for many years... And Circuit City spent big bucks in a mall where I live, displacing a supermarket and building a second floor. I don't think they were in the building even 5 years when they closed. New Tenant in that awkward space: Bed Bath and Beyond. Lol! There's an empty Sears in the same mall.

I see this trend around myself although I'm not in the US. Selling electronics in physical stores became split by categories. TVs are often sold in appliance stores although those sometimes have some cheap smartphones. Computer store chains re-appeared. Those usually have relatively small spaces that sell Smartphones,computers of various types and consoles. Finally office supply stores also have laptops and Smartphones. Big traditional electronics stores exist in special no VAT zones like airports. A major part of the commerce moved to digital platforms although I personally don't use those for anything significant. Amazon has too many scummy sellers.

Fry's Electronics was where it was at, we waited weekly for their add.

It is also hilarious that this teen misses by far the biggest reason why "electronics retail is failing." It's the Internet. The ability to buy all of this stuff online. I honestly thought everyone knew this. Here he is telling the rest of us what is what and he has no clue himself. Oh, that's right. I'm on KZread, where anyone can post a video claiming anything and get lots of likes from people who are even more clueless than the KZreadr.

Problem with electronics stores is the prices are always way more than they should be.

So true, I grew up through the 90s and 2000s and 2010s and I used to own stereos, discmans, mp3 players, consoles and handheld consoles, cheap tvs, pocket radios, digital cameras, external harddrives, alarm clocks, GPS's, portable speakers, earphones and headphones, pocket tvs, vcrs, printers, laptops, Desktop Pc's, set top boxs, scanners, cds, dvds, vhs, physical video & PC games, usb, blank cds and dvds.. But now days I use a smartphone and a big screen tv LOL. No wonder these stores are dying, much easier just buying online.

I remember that futureshop, it was in my city..

No mention of Amazon?

@Mr38thstreet

5 ай бұрын

Your right, Amazon is a big factor in closures of electronic stores and many others.

@hewitc

5 ай бұрын

Or Apple. There are still Apple stores everywhere

My local best buy is like an empty warehouse. Hardly anyone is there. If you want to buy something, you have to find an employee to man the cash register. You can buy online for less with free shipping and a much bigger selection. You can read reviews. You no longer need to see or hear something in person.

I had a friend in 1990 who bought a Mac at some large retailer e.g. Sears or something, and I asked him, why aren't you getting it at a computer store? He said their markup wasn't necessary since a Mac is a branded product, it doesn't matter where you buy it, it's the same machine, the same AppleCare warranty, etc. The only thing a small or boutique retailer can add is convenience of location or selection, but if you don't buy electronics that often, that doesn't matter either. So what if Walmart or Target is two miles farther?

Physical media is important! Streaming has been an absolute disaster for movies and music but lately more people are going against the grain. Discless video game systems have been an utter flop and have drawn the ire of the community for having NO resale value and preventing access to titles customers have paid their hard earned money for.

I remembered in the 1990s of how hard it was for independent electronic stores. They were always better than big chain stores. And it was the big chain stores that ran many of them out of businesses. And that's why i don't care about big chains! We never needed them! And would welcome the small mom and pop stores at every opportunity!

I've been into building PCs since 1999 yet haven't been in an electronics retailer since the mid-2000s. The internet is a venue for product research and a few more keystrokes to order beats wasting time, money and vehicle wear. I buy appliances online and have no use for local sellers who don't carry what I want.

I would love if there were a Microcenter near me. Bots have ruined online shopping for low supply electronics like GPUs, new game consoles, etc.

These retailers marketed and sold the very tech that would make them obsolete

@NextNate03

5 ай бұрын

They sold online stores? 😂

I remember my first JVC MX-GT90 (Tower of Power) and The next Year getting The JVC HX-Z3 and those mini systems incredible bi-wired low end bass off of 460 watts and 520 watts of power.. Running them off a Sony Discman with CDR Mp3 playpack. Nowadays they don't make systems like that anymore. So sad. Now its just Bluetooth speakers. Arguably they pack a lot of punch for low watts and small size of a toolbox. but i remember the early 2000's how much those JVC bad boys pounded!! Sure I got a great set of W-King bluetooth 80w x2 BT Speakers but they don't compare two those early days and if had I still had those systems I could have had them running of Aux or Optical paired with bluetooth today.

With Radio Shack and Circuit City, you could buy hundreds more parts and accessories for your electronics. Radio Shack had many high-end audio products which simply can't be found today. Walmart really doesn't offer that many good audio products, although, they seem to have way too many LCD TV's.

It's videos like these that remind me what happens every time some says that a company or product will always be around and this is my response 😁.

I miss fry’s most of all. What an absolute variety they had. If I was building a pc and didn’t have thermal paste, I could just drive Down and buy it. Now I have to order it and wait

You have things like cell phones that replace multiple devices. You no longer need to by a camera or camcorder. I used to require cassette tapes, video tapes, CD's, DVD's and the like to record and save stuff, where today's storage is far cheaper and hold far more media. Even things like alarm clocks have been replaced with amazon devices that do far more than just tell the time and wake you up. There is still a market for electronics but it has shrank and I don't think we have the demand to upgrade as frequently as we once did. I remember constantly having to upgrade our computers but now it's rare.

What goes up must come down.

Online stores demand lesser rent space and offer cheaper price. Retail stores are always more expensive. Smaller players like PC Richard and Son, buydig/beach camera,B&H, Abt, and Adroma are pretty popular. More and more stores now own their brand products to sell in their own stores. In Asia countries, especially in China, many companies own R&D, factory, and direct sell stores together. The USA companies on the other hand still a retail source from other brand makers making lesser price advantages.

I used to love the smell of those stores. As in, I’d go in walk around even if I wasn’t getting anything

This is scary as we move more to the digital space. We have will more digital gate keepers that will have a monopoly on the market. Such example is in the games industry having game stores close down. Means that Sony, Nintendo & Microsoft can set what ever price they deem fit. Advantages with retail is that they can make abit of markup on the physical games. They can get a cut of the profit margins that the publishers and platform the manufacturers control. Without retail stores Publishers have no reason to keep the prices low. For ease of convience we have now pay higher prices for games that we could negotiate for a lower price at brick and mortar stores. Especially if you consider trading your games or consoles to make buying a newer game easier to purchase.

I’m OG and built my own computers since 1999. Now it’s Newegg and Amazon. Depends on what I’m buying and how much for shipping and how long it takes to get to me. I don’t care necessarily about 2 or 3 day wait for parts that I’m going to assemble for my next PC that I will be using for a decade.

I went into F.Y.E. the other day to look at possible DVD's and CD's to purchase. I like to own my digital media, not acquire a license to stream it which can go away based on some backroom deal. Don't even get me started on streaming which will never use the potential of High Definition TV's, so why are they getting rid of the very media that makes the most out of HDTV? You would think with the end of Netflix DVD mail service, retailers would prepare for a surge for all of us that want quality. Sadly, the DVD and CD section has been reduced to 1 isle each at about a third the isle's former length. Inventory was lacking. I found nothing worth buying that I didn't already have in my own inventory. Just like other brick and mortar retail shops, they are shooting themselves with stupid decisions as they force us to go online to purchase the items we want.

The problem with BestBuy is their insane overpricing of products. Look up any computer they sell then look it up at the creators personel online store. Its not even 50$ they slap on there. Its literally several hundred dollars easily ring an 800$ computer up to 1500$. Buying anything from them is just you shooting yourself in the foot.

In Texas at least, I really like Altex. They're kind of like what Radio Shack used to be back in the day, where you can pick up mostly electronic and computer components, not so much major consumer electronics and appliances, etc. I think if brick-and-mortar is to survive, it's going to be in things that people need on-the-spot like cables, adapters, parts, etc., and can't necessarily wait for in shipment. Long live Altex!

Now there are many buyers clubs who's pricing on consumer electronics undercuts stores like BB by a wide margin. I still buy computer stuff from BB because their prices are competitive with online retailers plus I can buy and return locally.

I woke up this morning and saw the Browns lost to the Texans, and I thought "isn´t Forgotten Places a Browns fan?" and BAM I see you video :D (If you are: sorry, but good job getting into the playoffs)

No mentioned of Fry’s Electronics with their horrible return process but neatly themed stores.

Stores like Target and Walmart aren't likely to ditch their electronics departments. Best Buy may hang in there if they can compete in the ecommerce space.

Both Hardware and Software are soulless nowadays... From the people who made it, to the people who sell it, and to the people who buy and use it... They just use it all by themselves and not sharing like it used to be back then such as : Family Movie Night, Couch Gaming, LAN Party, Sharing of CD/DVD either Movie, Song or Games and so much much good memories of social interaction generated by thay stuff made my people (even if it's a material thing)... Since they already have their Own Device that Can Do Everything because of the Internet... Damn... Take me back...

I miss Radio Shack a lot. I miss real stereo shops like Audition - was in love with Magnaplanar speakers. Would love to have some today. Big Butt I am not wild about. I guess electronics in general is in decline. It is all disposable. 65 inch tv for 300 bucks, good deal, good pic but lousy sound. I do like seeing turntables and records coming back. Nothing like owning your own music and not being tied to the internet. Comp Useless, I remember their death knell - they tried selling plasma tvs - out of business 6 moths later. Radio Shack became a cell phone and toy store and gone 6 months later.

I remember going to best buy in 2002 and getting a 64MB usb flash drive and it was 70 dollars

I buy all my Nintendo switch games, electronics and DVD’s from Amazon - never had a issue - always in stock - this is the new reality of the world unfortunately shopping at stores is dead - I even have to buy my clothes online now - Covid was the nail in the coffin for life like it was in the 90’s.

I don't know, l think there's a strong case to be made for physical media still. Digital services are not infallible and I don't see it as a replacement for physical the way they're pushing it. Why pay a subscription fee every month when you can build a library yourself that will never go away and doesn't require fees just to view it? Why rely on cloud servers that can go down, hard drives that can fail, and internet that can cut out (I know mine does all the time)? I won't deny the convenience of digital, but I would never sell off my physical collection and convert to digital. That just seems silly.