|
No wonder Amazon ...
.... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. |
No wonder Amazon ...
Mr. Luddite wrote:
... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up email and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 03:10:14 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up email and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. The ironic thing is that they used to be the king of mail order and just about the time when internet sales were starting to gain a little traction, they went solid brick and mortar abandoning ther catalog operation. (90s) It s a classic case of losing your imagination and not looking at where the world is headed. With their infrastructure, experience and their product line they had the opportunity to dominate the online marketplace. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On 10/16/2017 11:10 PM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up email and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. We used to have two or three Sears stores around here. They have all closed. |
No wonder Amazon ...
|
No wonder Amazon ...
|
No wonder Amazon ...
|
No wonder Amazon ...
On 10/17/2017 7:51 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 10/17/17 7:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable.* Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2.* I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts.* Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it.* Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package.* Yup.* $29.09. Told her I changed my mind.* I'll wait until Wednesday.* That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing.* The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time.* Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. What? The RS on Crown Street in New Haven is closed?** :) I used to get all my little electronics kits and parts there, out of the bins. I just looked up the list of remaining Radio Shack stores that are open. As of May 31, 2017 only 70 company owned stores remain. None listed as open in CT although there may be some that are privately owned franchises that are still open. They do have an online sales only that remains in operation. At one time there were over 7300 stores nationwide. The founders started it to support Ham Radio enthusiasts in the 20's. The original Radio Shack was in downtown Boston and I visited that store with my dad back in the 1950's when "HiFi" was beginning to become popular. The two founders (brothers) eventually sold Radio Shack to the Tandy Corporation but is now owned by General Wireless. |
No wonder Amazon ...
|
No wonder Amazon ...
On 10/17/2017 9:20 AM, John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 07:08:15 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On 10/17/2017 12:21 AM, wrote: On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 03:10:14 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up email and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. The ironic thing is that they used to be the king of mail order and just about the time when internet sales were starting to gain a little traction, they went solid brick and mortar abandoning ther catalog operation. (90s) It s a classic case of losing your imagination and not looking at where the world is headed. With their infrastructure, experience and their product line they had the opportunity to dominate the online marketplace. Yup. When I was a kid I'd spend hours going through that massive Sears catalog. But as we all remember, the girls in the Penny's lingerie section were much better than Sears' girls! I was going to mention the lingerie sections in the Sears catalog but now-a-days you would be considered a 10 year old pervert. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On 10/17/17 8:17 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/17/2017 7:51 AM, Keyser Soze wrote: On 10/17/17 7:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable.* Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2.* I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts.* Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it.* Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package.* Yup.* $29.09. Told her I changed my mind.* I'll wait until Wednesday.* That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing.* The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time.* Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. What? The RS on Crown Street in New Haven is closed?** :) I used to get all my little electronics kits and parts there, out of the bins. I just looked up the list of remaining Radio Shack stores that are open. *As of May 31, 2017 only 70 company owned stores remain.* None listed as open in CT although there may be some that are privately owned franchises that are still open. They do have an online sales only that remains in operation. At one time there were over 7300 stores nationwide.* The founders started it to support Ham Radio enthusiasts in the 20's.* The original Radio Shack was in downtown Boston and I visited that store with my dad back in the 1950's when "HiFi" was beginning to become popular.* The two founders (brothers) eventually sold Radio Shack to the Tandy Corporation but is now owned by General Wireless. We have a local franchise store that is still open, but it has never been what I would call a really successful retail operation. The old Radio Shack in downtown New Haven was a real magnet for kids fooling around with building stuff from scratch and from kits. I bought an amp to take to college, and a pair of speaker kits in the early 1960s. |
No wonder Amazon ...
Keyser Soze Wrote in message:
On 10/17/17 8:17 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 7:51 AM, Keyser Soze wrote: On 10/17/17 7:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing. The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time. Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. What? The RS on Crown Street in New Haven is closed? :) I used to get all my little electronics kits and parts there, out of the bins. I just looked up the list of remaining Radio Shack stores that are open. As of May 31, 2017 only 70 company owned stores remain. None listed as open in CT although there may be some that are privately owned franchises that are still open. They do have an online sales only that remains in operation. At one time there were over 7300 stores nationwide. The founders started it to support Ham Radio enthusiasts in the 20's. The original Radio Shack was in downtown Boston and I visited that store with my dad back in the 1950's when "HiFi" was beginning to become popular. The two founders (brothers) eventually sold Radio Shack to the Tandy Corporation but is now owned by General Wireless. We have a local franchise store that is still open, but it has never been what I would call a really successful retail operation. The old Radio Shack in downtown New Haven was a real magnet for kids fooling around with building stuff from scratch and from kits. I bought an amp to take to college, and a pair of speaker kits in the early 1960s. What on earth did you plan to do with an amp and two speaker kits? Assemble your first megaphone? -- x ----Android NewsGroup Reader---- http://usenet.sinaapp.com/ |
No wonder Amazon ...
On 10/17/17 11:08 AM, justan wrote:
Keyser Soze Wrote in message: On 10/17/17 8:17 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 7:51 AM, Keyser Soze wrote: On 10/17/17 7:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing. The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time. Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. What? The RS on Crown Street in New Haven is closed? :) I used to get all my little electronics kits and parts there, out of the bins. I just looked up the list of remaining Radio Shack stores that are open. As of May 31, 2017 only 70 company owned stores remain. None listed as open in CT although there may be some that are privately owned franchises that are still open. They do have an online sales only that remains in operation. At one time there were over 7300 stores nationwide. The founders started it to support Ham Radio enthusiasts in the 20's. The original Radio Shack was in downtown Boston and I visited that store with my dad back in the 1950's when "HiFi" was beginning to become popular. The two founders (brothers) eventually sold Radio Shack to the Tandy Corporation but is now owned by General Wireless. We have a local franchise store that is still open, but it has never been what I would call a really successful retail operation. The old Radio Shack in downtown New Haven was a real magnet for kids fooling around with building stuff from scratch and from kits. I bought an amp to take to college, and a pair of speaker kits in the early 1960s. What on earth did you plan to do with an amp and two speaker kits? Assemble your first megaphone? Made a stereo set on the cheap, **** for brains. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 07:12:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing. The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time. Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. Radio Shack sucked for getting components by the 80s. Fortunately we had one real electronics store here until around 96-97 that served the hams and what few electronics repair guys who were still around but it was on life support for years before it closed and pretty expensive. If I could wait, I used MCM. (and still do on some stuff). Now I look at Ebay first. My collection of common components like resistors capacitors and general use transistors is actually growing again since the Ebay guys usually sell in lots of at least 10 for pennies a unit. One thing I have built a lot of recently is a LM317 based pass regulator in 3VDC, trying to eliminate a bunch of AA battery use for things that don't really move. The 5v stuff is easy. The good old LM309K is still around for about a dime each. I am starting to think Edison may have been on to something with his DC power distribution but these days it would be 12v and 5v, using the 5.5mm coax and USB A socket. Unfortunately in a whole house system you might need 10 or 8 ga wire to keep the voltage drop reasonable. Even then you would want the power supply centrally located and star wired from there. Then the question is whether one big switcher supply is more efficient than few dozen wall warts plugged in around the house that are unused most of the time. That might be another "science fair" project for me, comparing a bunch of wall warts to a PC supply, unloaded and loaded with a given load. A "Kill a watt" would be the right tool I suppose. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On 10/17/2017 10:46 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
On 10/17/17 8:17 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 7:51 AM, Keyser Soze wrote: On 10/17/17 7:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable.* Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2.* I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts.* Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it.* Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package.* Yup.* $29.09. Told her I changed my mind.* I'll wait until Wednesday.* That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing.* The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time.* Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. What? The RS on Crown Street in New Haven is closed?** :) I used to get all my little electronics kits and parts there, out of the bins. I just looked up the list of remaining Radio Shack stores that are open. **As of May 31, 2017 only 70 company owned stores remain.* None listed as open in CT although there may be some that are privately owned franchises that are still open. They do have an online sales only that remains in operation. At one time there were over 7300 stores nationwide.* The founders started it to support Ham Radio enthusiasts in the 20's.* The original Radio Shack was in downtown Boston and I visited that store with my dad back in the 1950's when "HiFi" was beginning to become popular. The two founders (brothers) eventually sold Radio Shack to the Tandy Corporation but is now owned by General Wireless. We have a local franchise store that is still open, but it has never been what I would call a really successful retail operation. The old Radio Shack in downtown New Haven was a real magnet for kids fooling around with building stuff from scratch and from kits. I bought an amp to take to college, and a pair of speaker kits in the early 1960s. We have a place on the north shore (Needham) called “You-Do-It” Electronics Center. As Radio Shack declined, it became the go-to place for electronic components for both hobbyists and for businesses. It's a bit of a drive for me from the south shore and I haven't been there for a long time. As a kid you could usually find me at Radio Shack in New Haven or at Lafayette Radio. There was a Lafayette on the north side of the West Rock Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway. I recently heard that the tunnel was renamed, "Hero's Tunnel" a few years ago. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On 10/17/2017 11:24 AM, wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 07:12:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing. The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time. Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. Radio Shack sucked for getting components by the 80s. Fortunately we had one real electronics store here until around 96-97 that served the hams and what few electronics repair guys who were still around but it was on life support for years before it closed and pretty expensive. If I could wait, I used MCM. (and still do on some stuff). Now I look at Ebay first. My collection of common components like resistors capacitors and general use transistors is actually growing again since the Ebay guys usually sell in lots of at least 10 for pennies a unit. One thing I have built a lot of recently is a LM317 based pass regulator in 3VDC, trying to eliminate a bunch of AA battery use for things that don't really move. The 5v stuff is easy. The good old LM309K is still around for about a dime each. I am starting to think Edison may have been on to something with his DC power distribution but these days it would be 12v and 5v, using the 5.5mm coax and USB A socket. Unfortunately in a whole house system you might need 10 or 8 ga wire to keep the voltage drop reasonable. Even then you would want the power supply centrally located and star wired from there. Then the question is whether one big switcher supply is more efficient than few dozen wall warts plugged in around the house that are unused most of the time. That might be another "science fair" project for me, comparing a bunch of wall warts to a PC supply, unloaded and loaded with a given load. A "Kill a watt" would be the right tool I suppose. I bought a "Kill-a-watt" a few years ago and use it often. Great tool. |
No wonder Amazon ...
Keyser Soze Wrote in message:
On 10/17/17 11:08 AM, justan wrote: Keyser Soze Wrote in message: On 10/17/17 8:17 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 7:51 AM, Keyser Soze wrote: On 10/17/17 7:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing. The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time. Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. What? The RS on Crown Street in New Haven is closed? :) I used to get all my little electronics kits and parts there, out of the bins. I just looked up the list of remaining Radio Shack stores that are open. As of May 31, 2017 only 70 company owned stores remain. None listed as open in CT although there may be some that are privately owned franchises that are still open. They do have an online sales only that remains in operation. At one time there were over 7300 stores nationwide. The founders started it to support Ham Radio enthusiasts in the 20's. The original Radio Shack was in downtown Boston and I visited that store with my dad back in the 1950's when "HiFi" was beginning to become popular. The two founders (brothers) eventually sold Radio Shack to the Tandy Corporation but is now owned by General Wireless. We have a local franchise store that is still open, but it has never been what I would call a really successful retail operation. The old Radio Shack in downtown New Haven was a real magnet for kids fooling around with building stuff from scratch and from kits. I bought an amp to take to college, and a pair of speaker kits in the early 1960s. What on earth did you plan to do with an amp and two speaker kits? Assemble your first megaphone? Made a stereo set on the cheap, **** for brains. Bet you had to call 911 to get someone to put it together. We got a guy like you in the neighborhood. He can't do anything but brag about when he was an airline pilot. He's useless around the house. -- x ----Android NewsGroup Reader---- http://usenet.sinaapp.com/ |
No wonder Amazon ...
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 10/17/2017 10:46 AM, Keyser Soze wrote: On 10/17/17 8:17 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 7:51 AM, Keyser Soze wrote: On 10/17/17 7:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing. The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time. Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. What? The RS on Crown Street in New Haven is closed? :) I used to get all my little electronics kits and parts there, out of the bins. I just looked up the list of remaining Radio Shack stores that are open. As of May 31, 2017 only 70 company owned stores remain. None listed as open in CT although there may be some that are privately owned franchises that are still open. They do have an online sales only that remains in operation. At one time there were over 7300 stores nationwide. The founders started it to support Ham Radio enthusiasts in the 20's. The original Radio Shack was in downtown Boston and I visited that store with my dad back in the 1950's when "HiFi" was beginning to become popular. The two founders (brothers) eventually sold Radio Shack to the Tandy Corporation but is now owned by General Wireless. We have a local franchise store that is still open, but it has never been what I would call a really successful retail operation. The old Radio Shack in downtown New Haven was a real magnet for kids fooling around with building stuff from scratch and from kits. I bought an amp to take to college, and a pair of speaker kits in the early 1960s. We have a place on the north shore (Needham) called You-Do-It Electronics Center. As Radio Shack declined, it became the go-to place for electronic components for both hobbyists and for businesses. It's a bit of a drive for me from the south shore and I haven't been there for a long time. As a kid you could usually find me at Radio Shack in New Haven or at Lafayette Radio. There was a Lafayette on the north side of the West Rock Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway. I recently heard that the tunnel was renamed, "Hero's Tunnel" a few years ago. Finally, a roadway feature named after Harry. Snerk! -- x ----Android NewsGroup Reader---- http://usenet.sinaapp.com/ |
No wonder Amazon ...
wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 07:12:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On 10/16/2017 11:55 PM, wrote: On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 20:04:39 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Those electronics stores are all living on life support. Ebay has become the new Radio Shack except much better, even when Radio Shack actually sold electronics parts. If you want small lots of components (anything from resistors to ICs) check out Ebay. They are buying this stuff in big lots and breaking it up into small lots. Since most of this stuff will ship with a 1st class stamp, shipping is free and fast. Before they finally closed their doors for good I occasionally visited Radio Shack to pick up some electronic components for a guitar amp or something I was repairing. The selection of components rated for vacuum tube devices was pretty bare and what they had you could tell had been there for a long time. Hard to even find a resistor in anything more than an eighth watt. Radio Shack sucked for getting components by the 80s. Fortunately we had one real electronics store here until around 96-97 that served the hams and what few electronics repair guys who were still around but it was on life support for years before it closed and pretty expensive. If I could wait, I used MCM. (and still do on some stuff). Now I look at Ebay first. My collection of common components like resistors capacitors and general use transistors is actually growing again since the Ebay guys usually sell in lots of at least 10 for pennies a unit. One thing I have built a lot of recently is a LM317 based pass regulator in 3VDC, trying to eliminate a bunch of AA battery use for things that don't really move. The 5v stuff is easy. The good old LM309K is still around for about a dime each. I am starting to think Edison may have been on to something with his DC power distribution but these days it would be 12v and 5v, using the 5.5mm coax and USB A socket. Unfortunately in a whole house system you might need 10 or 8 ga wire to keep the voltage drop reasonable. Even then you would want the power supply centrally located and star wired from there. Then the question is whether one big switcher supply is more efficient than few dozen wall warts plugged in around the house that are unused most of the time. That might be another "science fair" project for me, comparing a bunch of wall warts to a PC supply, unloaded and loaded with a given load. A "Kill a watt" would be the right tool I suppose. Got a couple outlets that have a duplex receptacle, and dual 2 amp USB charge ports. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:02:38 -0000 (UTC), Bill
wrote: Got a couple outlets that have a duplex receptacle, and dual 2 amp USB charge ports. I have one of them too. It ends up not being enough ports for all the stuff we end up charging. I may end up cutting in a bigger box and installing another one there. |
No wonder Amazon ...
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/17/2017 12:21 AM, wrote: On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 03:10:14 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. The ironic thing is that they used to be the king of mail order and just about the time when internet sales were starting to gain a little traction, they went solid brick and mortar abandoning ther catalog operation. (90s) It s a classic case of losing your imagination and not looking at where the world is headed. With their infrastructure, experience and their product line they had the opportunity to dominate the online marketplace. Yup. When I was a kid I'd spend hours going through that massive Sears catalog. When I was a kid I was *in* the Sears catalog. We had a neighbor who was a photographer. His "model" was unavailable so he called my Mom. It was for one of those portable basketball hoops. They showed up with the hoop, some clothes from Sears, and a basketball with a Sears logo on it. After a few shots of me shooting a layup, our neighbor said the ball might be blurry (no digital back then). They partially deflated the ball, set it on the back of the hoop against the backboard (with the Sears logo facing the camera) and all I had to do was jump like I was making a shot. That was what they used. I still have copies of the photos they didn't use and the ball was blurry. The minimum rate back then was $60 per hour. I was paid $60 for the one hour but 10% was taken out for an agency fee so I netted $54. I never met my "agent". Not bad for a high school kid in the early 80's. That photo ended up in one catalog, the Christmas "Wishbook" and a smaller flyer they mailed to the house. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:01:05 -0400, Alex wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 12:21 AM, wrote: On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 03:10:14 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. The ironic thing is that they used to be the king of mail order and just about the time when internet sales were starting to gain a little traction, they went solid brick and mortar abandoning ther catalog operation. (90s) It s a classic case of losing your imagination and not looking at where the world is headed. With their infrastructure, experience and their product line they had the opportunity to dominate the online marketplace. Yup. When I was a kid I'd spend hours going through that massive Sears catalog. When I was a kid I was *in* the Sears catalog. We had a neighbor who was a photographer. His "model" was unavailable so he called my Mom. It was for one of those portable basketball hoops. They showed up with the hoop, some clothes from Sears, and a basketball with a Sears logo on it. After a few shots of me shooting a layup, our neighbor said the ball might be blurry (no digital back then). They partially deflated the ball, set it on the back of the hoop against the backboard (with the Sears logo facing the camera) and all I had to do was jump like I was making a shot. That was what they used. I still have copies of the photos they didn't use and the ball was blurry. The minimum rate back then was $60 per hour. I was paid $60 for the one hour but 10% was taken out for an agency fee so I netted $54. I never met my "agent". Not bad for a high school kid in the early 80's. That photo ended up in one catalog, the Christmas "Wishbook" and a smaller flyer they mailed to the house. I thought you were going to say you were the guy with his dick showing. |
No wonder Amazon ...
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:01:05 -0400, Alex wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 12:21 AM, wrote: On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 03:10:14 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. The ironic thing is that they used to be the king of mail order and just about the time when internet sales were starting to gain a little traction, they went solid brick and mortar abandoning ther catalog operation. (90s) It s a classic case of losing your imagination and not looking at where the world is headed. With their infrastructure, experience and their product line they had the opportunity to dominate the online marketplace. Yup. When I was a kid I'd spend hours going through that massive Sears catalog. When I was a kid I was *in* the Sears catalog. We had a neighbor who was a photographer. His "model" was unavailable so he called my Mom. It was for one of those portable basketball hoops. They showed up with the hoop, some clothes from Sears, and a basketball with a Sears logo on it. After a few shots of me shooting a layup, our neighbor said the ball might be blurry (no digital back then). They partially deflated the ball, set it on the back of the hoop against the backboard (with the Sears logo facing the camera) and all I had to do was jump like I was making a shot. That was what they used. I still have copies of the photos they didn't use and the ball was blurry. The minimum rate back then was $60 per hour. I was paid $60 for the one hour but 10% was taken out for an agency fee so I netted $54. I never met my "agent". Not bad for a high school kid in the early 80's. That photo ended up in one catalog, the Christmas "Wishbook" and a smaller flyer they mailed to the house. After some heavy searching I found that shot. Page 454: http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1983_Sears_Wishbook/#454 That was good money. Hope you didn't waste it on frivolities, but bought something useful...like a gun. |
No wonder Amazon ...
wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:01:05 -0400, Alex wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 12:21 AM, wrote: On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 03:10:14 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. The ironic thing is that they used to be the king of mail order and just about the time when internet sales were starting to gain a little traction, they went solid brick and mortar abandoning ther catalog operation. (90s) It s a classic case of losing your imagination and not looking at where the world is headed. With their infrastructure, experience and their product line they had the opportunity to dominate the online marketplace. Yup. When I was a kid I'd spend hours going through that massive Sears catalog. When I was a kid I was *in* the Sears catalog. We had a neighbor who was a photographer. His "model" was unavailable so he called my Mom. It was for one of those portable basketball hoops. They showed up with the hoop, some clothes from Sears, and a basketball with a Sears logo on it. After a few shots of me shooting a layup, our neighbor said the ball might be blurry (no digital back then). They partially deflated the ball, set it on the back of the hoop against the backboard (with the Sears logo facing the camera) and all I had to do was jump like I was making a shot. That was what they used. I still have copies of the photos they didn't use and the ball was blurry. The minimum rate back then was $60 per hour. I was paid $60 for the one hour but 10% was taken out for an agency fee so I netted $54. I never met my "agent". Not bad for a high school kid in the early 80's. That photo ended up in one catalog, the Christmas "Wishbook" and a smaller flyer they mailed to the house. I thought you were going to say you were the guy with his dick showing. Did that happen? |
No wonder Amazon ...
John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:01:05 -0400, Alex wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: On 10/17/2017 12:21 AM, wrote: On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 03:10:14 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote: Mr. Luddite wrote: ... is causing the brick and mortar stores to close their doors. I needed a HDMI coupler to extend a HDMI cable. Went on Amazon and they had several, some for under $2. I opted for one that was a little more expensive at $3.45 because it had gold plated contacts. Submitted the order and it will be here in two days. Then, I happened to be out running an errand and stopped in at a Best Buy, deciding that since the couplers are so cheap, I'll pick one up there so I could finish the project I am working on today rather than having to wait for two days. Found the coupler but the package had no price on it. Took it up to the register thinking it was probably 5 or 6 bucks, tops. Girl scans it and the price was $29.09. I told her that must be a mistake, so she manually entered the number on the package. Yup. $29.09. Told her I changed my mind. I'll wait until Wednesday. That's absurd. Or the are like Sears. A few years ago, I needed a 3/4 drive breaker bar to change the water pump on my diesel. $45 at Sears, but sign up and order online for pickup. $21 and Sears is only a couple miles from me in the shopping center. I think that is the last purchase there. So last week, get an email that I have $20 free cash to spend on home fashions. So wife and I buy $20 of towels for the fire victims. 2 days later I get an email I got $25 of more free cash. Bigger selection this time. I have been looking at metric ratcheting box end wrenches. So go online for store pickup. They bring to car. $79 set, on sale, $50 off. So for $5.45 with tax I get a really nice set. No wonder they are bankrupt. The ironic thing is that they used to be the king of mail order and just about the time when internet sales were starting to gain a little traction, they went solid brick and mortar abandoning ther catalog operation. (90s) It s a classic case of losing your imagination and not looking at where the world is headed. With their infrastructure, experience and their product line they had the opportunity to dominate the online marketplace. Yup. When I was a kid I'd spend hours going through that massive Sears catalog. When I was a kid I was *in* the Sears catalog. We had a neighbor who was a photographer. His "model" was unavailable so he called my Mom. It was for one of those portable basketball hoops. They showed up with the hoop, some clothes from Sears, and a basketball with a Sears logo on it. After a few shots of me shooting a layup, our neighbor said the ball might be blurry (no digital back then). They partially deflated the ball, set it on the back of the hoop against the backboard (with the Sears logo facing the camera) and all I had to do was jump like I was making a shot. That was what they used. I still have copies of the photos they didn't use and the ball was blurry. The minimum rate back then was $60 per hour. I was paid $60 for the one hour but 10% was taken out for an agency fee so I netted $54. I never met my "agent". Not bad for a high school kid in the early 80's. That photo ended up in one catalog, the Christmas "Wishbook" and a smaller flyer they mailed to the house. After some heavy searching I found that shot. Page 454: http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1983_Sears_Wishbook/#454 That was good money. Hope you didn't waste it on frivolities, but bought something useful...like a gun. That's it. The photo they used in the regular catalog had our house in the background. Same photo but without the background removed. You could see the neighbors house too. They go a kick out of that. |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:47 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright 2004 - 2014 BoatBanter.com