4 ms·

Electronics hobby store? That’d be cool. It would probably only exist in high density locations and would have to have knowledgeable employees otherwise it’s no

Electronics hobby store? That’d be cool. It would probably only exist in high density locations and would have to have knowledgeable employees otherwise it’s not better than an online store where things could be cheaper. If you could go in and ask questions and get knowledgeable answers to technical things, it might be helpful. Like early radio shack, not like right before it died.

kazinator 7y ago
> have to have knowledgeable employees If it's a chain, it will never reliably have knowledgeable employees in all of its locations. Nobody with electronics knowledge is going to work for a dinky salary racking up capacitors on the cash register of some little store, unless they have life-long personality problems. It basically has to be a family business with a knowledgeable owner, who passed some of it on to the kids.
- jpindar 7y ago
  >Nobody with electronics knowledge is going to work for a dinky salary Unless they're a college student or a retiree.
hathawsh 7y ago
Instead of knowledgeable employees, I think it would be much cooler to have free wi-fi and QR code stickers next to most products so customers can get quick access to data sheets, project suggestions, calculators (especially applications of Ohm's law), and online forums. In today's world, electronics shops can't compete on price, but they can be faster than shipping and they can provide trustworthy online knowledge.
- kazinator 7y ago
  There is a downside to halfway knowledgeable staff: people come in with stupid questions and hold up the line at busy times. Grr; I know what I'm doing, and found the parts I need in three minutes. Can I pay now? Nope, some dolt is explaining some cockamamie project idea to the clerk, asking for suggestions that add up to half of the design. Guy behind him brought a toaster and wants to ask how to get it working again. Has zero troubleshooting skills.
  - mschuster91 7y ago
    > Grr; I know what I'm doing, and found the parts I need in three minutes. Can I pay now? Nope, some dolt is explaining some cockamamie project idea to the clerk, asking for suggestions that add up to half of the design. This could easily be solved with the McDonald's model: Provide self-service kiosks where you can order what you want and pay and have a "pickup" register which also serves as the hub for online orders. > Guy behind him brought a toaster and wants to ask how to get it working again. Has zero troubleshooting skills. That one can be solved by integrating a "maker space" into the store, with either volunteers or paid staff. Even better: combine this concept with an entirely automated warehouse so that online, in-person and "maker space" orders can be served basically 24/7. All electronic components, from tiny SMD resistors over huge electrolytic condensators to processors, are available on machine-feedable spools anyway for mass production... so it shouldn't be that hard to automate anyway with existing components! (Please, someone, please implement this idea!)
  - autoexec 7y ago
    We shouldn't need a sales person to check out anymore. Self checkout (perhaps with employee verification for expensive items) should be fine. That frees up people to talk shop and the rest of us can just scan our items and leave.
burfog 7y ago
The way to sell low-volume things like electronic parts might be to have regular scheduled deliveries of requested parts, perhaps every few hours, from warehouses to small storefronts or vending machines. 1. You order online. 2. The parts go in a delivery truck. 3. The truck drives for a few hours. 4. The parts get loaded into a vending machine. 5. You go there to get the parts. This makes it possible to supply a small city with parts that are always available within 4 to 6 hours. You only need to drive a mile or two.
- kyshoc 7y ago
  sounds like Amazon Locker
- jpindar 7y ago
  That's sort of how auto parts work. A lot of times they won't have something you order in the store, but they'll get it in their next daily delivery.
- i_am_proteus 7y ago
  Almost like a Snap-On truck for electronics hardware.
wil421 7y ago
Microcenter is like that except the employees are only knowledgeable about gaming rigs.
somehnguy 7y ago
Cost isn't the only issue, time is the bigger one in my opinion. When working on a project and I need capacitors or whatever, they're like $.10/piece online. But I want them now. Would gladly pay $1/piece to be able to drive over to the store and get them today. There is nowhere like that around me, its so frustrating. I don't really care how knowledgable the employees are, maybe some do though.
- bduerst 7y ago
  This is in part why Best Buy can charge $50 for an HDMI cable.
  - awad 7y ago
    Crazy enough, Monster is still getting away with charging an arm and a leg for their gold plated cables...https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Platinum-Ethernet-Performance-Indicators/dp/B00O3R1UO6/ https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Platinum-Ethernet-Performance...
- TallGuyShort 7y ago
  A lot of people in the retail space don't seem to realize this. I know several locally that maintain only their best sellers in stock (and only hire people willing to put in hours for the lower wages), and aren't even maximally using their shelf space despite having the capital to keep that much product on hand if they thought it was worth it. If I go into a store and they neither have what I'm looking for nor can answer any questions about their products, I just don't see any reason to stay there. They'll offer to order what I'm looking for for me, but if they don't have meaningful advice to offer about exactly what I should get, I don't see why I wouldn't walk out of the store while reading online reviews for a cheaper vendor. Maybe it really isn't worth it to keep more product in-store or pay for better qualified sales reps, I don't know. But if it's not worth it, then yeah: I don't see why I should buy from a brick & mortar store except just to keep them in business for when I do need them.
  - bluGill 7y ago
    Note that auto parts stores have exactly the business model you want. Thousands of obscure parts in stock. Not too far away is a large warehouse with tens of thousands more obscure parts which they can get in just a couple hours at no cost. Most of the time the people working know their products well and can give useful advice on your problem.
jpindar 7y ago
If anyone wants to do this in Boston, contact me.

kazinator 7y ago

> have to have knowledgeable employees If it's a chain, it will never reliably have knowledgeable employees in all of its locations. Nobody with electronics knowledge is going to work for a dinky salary racking up capacitors on the cash register of some little store, unless they have life-long personality problems. It basically has to be a family business with a knowledgeable owner, who passed some of it on to the kids.

jpindar 7y ago
>Nobody with electronics knowledge is going to work for a dinky salary Unless they're a college student or a retiree.

hathawsh 7y ago

Instead of knowledgeable employees, I think it would be much cooler to have free wi-fi and QR code stickers next to most products so customers can get quick access to data sheets, project suggestions, calculators (especially applications of Ohm's law), and online forums. In today's world, electronics shops can't compete on price, but they can be faster than shipping and they can provide trustworthy online knowledge.

kazinator 7y ago
There is a downside to halfway knowledgeable staff: people come in with stupid questions and hold up the line at busy times. Grr; I know what I'm doing, and found the parts I need in three minutes. Can I pay now? Nope, some dolt is explaining some cockamamie project idea to the clerk, asking for suggestions that add up to half of the design. Guy behind him brought a toaster and wants to ask how to get it working again. Has zero troubleshooting skills.
- mschuster91 7y ago
  > Grr; I know what I'm doing, and found the parts I need in three minutes. Can I pay now? Nope, some dolt is explaining some cockamamie project idea to the clerk, asking for suggestions that add up to half of the design. This could easily be solved with the McDonald's model: Provide self-service kiosks where you can order what you want and pay and have a "pickup" register which also serves as the hub for online orders. > Guy behind him brought a toaster and wants to ask how to get it working again. Has zero troubleshooting skills. That one can be solved by integrating a "maker space" into the store, with either volunteers or paid staff. Even better: combine this concept with an entirely automated warehouse so that online, in-person and "maker space" orders can be served basically 24/7. All electronic components, from tiny SMD resistors over huge electrolytic condensators to processors, are available on machine-feedable spools anyway for mass production... so it shouldn't be that hard to automate anyway with existing components! (Please, someone, please implement this idea!)
- autoexec 7y ago
  We shouldn't need a sales person to check out anymore. Self checkout (perhaps with employee verification for expensive items) should be fine. That frees up people to talk shop and the rest of us can just scan our items and leave.

burfog 7y ago

The way to sell low-volume things like electronic parts might be to have regular scheduled deliveries of requested parts, perhaps every few hours, from warehouses to small storefronts or vending machines. 1. You order online. 2. The parts go in a delivery truck. 3. The truck drives for a few hours. 4. The parts get loaded into a vending machine. 5. You go there to get the parts. This makes it possible to supply a small city with parts that are always available within 4 to 6 hours. You only need to drive a mile or two.

kyshoc 7y ago
sounds like Amazon Locker
jpindar 7y ago
That's sort of how auto parts work. A lot of times they won't have something you order in the store, but they'll get it in their next daily delivery.
i_am_proteus 7y ago
Almost like a Snap-On truck for electronics hardware.

wil421 7y ago

Microcenter is like that except the employees are only knowledgeable about gaming rigs.

somehnguy 7y ago

Cost isn't the only issue, time is the bigger one in my opinion. When working on a project and I need capacitors or whatever, they're like $.10/piece online. But I want them now. Would gladly pay $1/piece to be able to drive over to the store and get them today. There is nowhere like that around me, its so frustrating. I don't really care how knowledgable the employees are, maybe some do though.

bduerst 7y ago
This is in part why Best Buy can charge $50 for an HDMI cable.
- awad 7y ago
  Crazy enough, Monster is still getting away with charging an arm and a leg for their gold plated cables...https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Platinum-Ethernet-Performance-Indicators/dp/B00O3R1UO6/ https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Platinum-Ethernet-Performance...
TallGuyShort 7y ago
A lot of people in the retail space don't seem to realize this. I know several locally that maintain only their best sellers in stock (and only hire people willing to put in hours for the lower wages), and aren't even maximally using their shelf space despite having the capital to keep that much product on hand if they thought it was worth it. If I go into a store and they neither have what I'm looking for nor can answer any questions about their products, I just don't see any reason to stay there. They'll offer to order what I'm looking for for me, but if they don't have meaningful advice to offer about exactly what I should get, I don't see why I wouldn't walk out of the store while reading online reviews for a cheaper vendor. Maybe it really isn't worth it to keep more product in-store or pay for better qualified sales reps, I don't know. But if it's not worth it, then yeah: I don't see why I should buy from a brick & mortar store except just to keep them in business for when I do need them.
- bluGill 7y ago
  Note that auto parts stores have exactly the business model you want. Thousands of obscure parts in stock. Not too far away is a large warehouse with tens of thousands more obscure parts which they can get in just a couple hours at no cost. Most of the time the people working know their products well and can give useful advice on your problem.

jpindar 7y ago

If anyone wants to do this in Boston, contact me.