|
|
Post by Coolverine on Mar 23, 2021 10:53:44 GMT -5
Slightly old news now but Fry's Electronics suddenly closed all of their stores 1 month ago. I knew they were in trouble when their shelves were all but completely empty, and that was well before the pandemic started. Last time I went there I was able to buy a few things I needed though. One of the best electronics stores and I always enjoyed going there, was sad when I heard they closed. Also it was Fry's where I found my SNES Mini.
There were at least 4 locations around here and each one had a different theme, which is something they were known for. I'm just glad MicroCenter is still around.
|
|
|
|
Post by ForRealTho on Mar 23, 2021 11:10:57 GMT -5
When I lived in AZ I never got around to going to Fry's, also never been to Microcenter.
Was a sad day for me when CompUSA went out of business because when I was in high school I loved going there, I used to fantasize about working there when I was like 14 lol.
I think the last thing I ever bought at CompUSA before it went under was my GeForce 6800 GT so I could play Doom 3.
|
|
|
|
Post by Coolverine on Mar 23, 2021 11:19:47 GMT -5
Oh yeah I remember CompUSA, there was 1 location in Plano that held out for a very long time but eventually closed. Their closure was also sad.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emig5m on Mar 23, 2021 21:37:46 GMT -5
Pretty much everything is RIP anymore...
But I don't think Microcenter is going anywhere anytime soon though. Every time I go there its always packed and I've been building systems cheaper from buying parts there than internet stores since the i5 2500k era. I also stopped shopping at places online like newegg when they started to copy Amazon by trying to sell everything and allowing resellers it felt like an unorganized mess because I just wanted PC parts and to be processed and shipped by Newegg themselves. I used to like Newegg because it was my one stop everything you could need for a PC with the cheapest prices and fastest order processing and shipping but something changed for the worse with them. Microcenter blows away any brick and mortar computer store that I've ever been to because they stock the highest end parts and plenty of them. The entire rear wall of the store is nothing but PC cases stacked to the ceiling from wall to wall - they must have a 1000 different cases. When I picked up a Notcua cooler I must of counted 70 RTX 2070 & 80s on a shelf. My local CompUSA wasn't shit compared to Microcenter...
|
|
|
|
Post by sj on Apr 12, 2021 9:43:29 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Coolverine on Apr 16, 2021 0:19:02 GMT -5
If I think about it, I can still remember the entire layout of that place. I really enjoyed going there and just walking around. Fry's Food and Drug stores are still around looks like but I think they're primarily and AZ, didn't know until recently that Fry's also has a chain of grocery stores. |
|
|
|
Post by ForRealTho on Apr 16, 2021 9:49:47 GMT -5
If I think about it, I can still remember the entire layout of that place. I really enjoyed going there and just walking around. Fry's Food and Drug stores are still around looks like but I think they're primarily and AZ, didn't know until recently that Fry's also has a chain of grocery stores. Yeah in Alaska we had Fred Meyer, in AZ we had Fry's, turns out I could use my Alaska phone number to get discounts at Fry's because Fred Meyer and Fry's are both actually Kroger. They kept the regional names of the stores for brand loyalty purposes. |
|
|
|
Post by Coolverine on Apr 25, 2021 14:32:59 GMT -5
That's pretty cool, I never knew all those companies were under the same umbrella. I was looking around at my stuff, still have quite a lot of stuff I bought from Fry's that's still in use, like one of my monitors and the soundbar for my TV. Good memories.
One of the last things I bought from Fry's was a pair of pretty good sports sunglasses, the pricetag said $25 but they were on sale for $10. I wear them every time I go mountain biking, they're holding up great.
*edit* They also mention Incredible Universe in the "Decline of Fry's" video, that was an awesome place. There was one here in Dallas which later became a Fry's when they were bought out, but Incredible Universe had 2 floors and a McDonald's inside. When Fry's took over, they closed the 2nd floor off and either got rid of the McDonald's, or maybe it had already been removed at that point.
|
|
|
|
Post by Coolverine on Mar 25, 2023 20:26:47 GMT -5
Was watching Nope and they actually featured Fry's Electronics in it, pretty sure the location they showed was in California but it looked exactly the way I remember the ones here looked. The movie was released the year after Fry's went out of business.
Kinda made me a little sad, that place was like an electronics wonderland.
I remember they also featured Fry's Electronics and Microcenter in Mr Robot.
|
|
|
|
Post by ForRealTho on Mar 27, 2023 10:38:09 GMT -5
This thread reminded me of something that happened this last week. I went to Best Buy to see what adapters they have and there is a HUGE sign outside that said "We are hiring, $15 an hour starting".
When I was a teen I used to fantasize about working for CompUSA. I asked and they said you had to be at least 16 to work there. I turned 16 I applied at CompUSA, this was before online applications. The fact that under bad traffic it could take 45 minutes to get there in the 1990s didn't cross my mind. I just wanted to work there. I called a week later and said I had applied and I was very interested. I never heard back. A year later I applied again. Same thing. I even dropped by and talked to a manager and said I was interested in working there. The manager looked bored talking to this 17 year old saying he wanted a job. Again never heard back. I graduated High School and went off to college. Never got to "live the dream" of working at CompUSA.
When I was at the counter at Best Buy and told the guy "When I was a teen I used to fantasize about working at the computer store" and he said "Me too and I am still here 20 years later". Wonder what would happen if I got the job? Obviously CompUSA went out of business so I wouldn't be working there forever but I might have ended up at Best Buy for life.
|
|
|
|
Post by Coolverine on Mar 27, 2023 10:49:22 GMT -5
I've thought about applying for a job at Microcenter in the repair department but never got around to it. That place is a half-hour drive for me if traffic's not bad.
Traffic in DFW sucks, I got fired from a job once for being 2 hours late (normally would've been a *20-30 minute drive) but the boss was kind of a prick who didn't like me anyway and wouldn't even let me explain why I was late, so I didn't really care. Apparently there was some kind of accident that required them to close off the entire highway, this would've been back in the early 00's. I think I was still making $5.15 an hour, kids these days have no idea how good they have it with a $15/hr starting wage.
|
|
|
|
Post by ForRealTho on Mar 27, 2023 11:01:05 GMT -5
I've thought about applying for a job at Microcenter in the repair department but never got around to it. That place is a half-hour drive for me if traffic's not bad. Traffic in DFW sucks, I got fired from a job once for being 2 hours late (normally would've been a 2-3 hour drive) but the boss was kind of a prick who didn't like me anyway and wouldn't even let me explain why I was late, so I didn't really care. Apparently there was some kind of accident that required them to close off the entire highway, this would've been back in the early 00's. I think I was still making $5.15 an hour, kids these days have no idea how good they have it with a $15/hr starting wage. My first job was 15 when I worked at McDonalds. $5.65 an hour starting. I tried repeatedly to get a job at the movie theater and they wouldn't take me. Worked at McDonalds for years. We got $4 of food daily. In 2023 that won't buy very much. We still had the 79cent cheeseburger Sundays then. I just checked where that CompUSA was and its still 30-35 minutes during rush hour to get there, much better then in the 1990s but still a lot of gas for a teen. Back then to get to one side of Anchorage Alaska to the other you had to go through one intersection. It was so asinine. If there was a bad accident it basically shut the whole city down, it was hard to believe a city could make itself dependent on one intersection. If you looked at a map from a top down perspective there was a clear solution to this problem, you needed a road that would connect the South side/West side where many businesses were and the East side where a lot of people lived and the military bases were. If you looked at a map you would be like "why don't they just put a road here? its such a tiny distance you could practically throw a football and connect those side of town". However there was a wetland in the way and they needed to do extensive environmental studies and such. I was constantly in my car in college, bring forced to drive though that one intersection to get from the East side to the South side. It was so tedious. Anyway they finally put in that road connecting the East and the South, plus they greatly improved the one intersection everyone was force to use and the highway. It opened one year after I finished college and wasn't driving so much. I'm still kinda bitter it took so long but at least they finally fixed the fucking road. |
|
|
|
Post by Coolverine on Mar 27, 2023 12:08:16 GMT -5
I just realized in the parentheses, I meant to say 20-30 minute drive. Not sure how I ended up with 2-3 hour.
|
|
|
|
Post by sj on Mar 27, 2023 14:47:51 GMT -5
I've thought about applying for a job at Microcenter in the repair department but never got around to it. That place is a half-hour drive for me if traffic's not bad. Traffic in DFW sucks, I got fired from a job once for being 2 hours late (normally would've been a 2-3 hour drive) but the boss was kind of a prick who didn't like me anyway and wouldn't even let me explain why I was late, so I didn't really care. Apparently there was some kind of accident that required them to close off the entire highway, this would've been back in the early 00's. I think I was still making $5.15 an hour, kids these days have no idea how good they have it with a $15/hr starting wage. My first job was 15 when I worked at McDonalds. $5.65 an hour starting. I tried repeatedly to get a job at the movie theater and they wouldn't take me. Worked at McDonalds for years. We got $4 of food daily. In 2023 that won't buy very much. We still had the 79cent cheeseburger Sundays then. I just checked where that CompUSA was and its still 30-35 minutes during rush hour to get there, much better then in the 1990s but still a lot of gas for a teen. Back then to get to one side of Anchorage Alaska to the other you had to go through one intersection. It was so asinine. If there was a bad accident it basically shut the whole city down, it was hard to believe a city could make itself dependent on one intersection. If you looked at a map from a top down perspective there was a clear solution to this problem, you needed a road that would connect the South side/West side where many businesses were and the East side where a lot of people lived and the military bases were. If you looked at a map you would be like "why don't they just put a road here? its such a tiny distance you could practically throw a football and connect those side of town". However there was a wetland in the way and they needed to do extensive environmental studies and such. I was constantly in my car in college, bring forced to drive though that one intersection to get from the East side to the South side. It was so tedious. Anyway they finally put in that road connecting the East and the South, plus they greatly improved the one intersection everyone was force to use and the highway. It opened one year after I finished college and wasn't driving so much. I'm still kinda bitter it took so long but at least they finally fixed the fucking road. I'm from DFW originally. Texas desperately needs high speed rail both within and connecting its major cities. Corrupt politicians are too busy appeasing corporate interests to care. Dallas has some rail, but it doesn't extend much to surrounding medium sized cities. My first real job was in fast food too (Popeyes Chicken), one summer (16 yo and still in high school). I was a cook and dishwasher. Although, I worked mowing lawns, painting things (decks, sheds), some summers even before that. Brought $100 to class one time in the 5th grade and a kid asked me if I was rich. Wasn't rich of course, but obsessed with video games and willing to work for it. |
|
