4 ms·

Now, instead of purchasing a single $3 yarn skein in the color you need at Joann, you can purchase a rainbow of 62 yarns skeins for $35 from Amazon! sigh I rem

Now, instead of purchasing a single $3 yarn skein in the color you need at Joann, you can purchase a rainbow of 62 yarns skeins for $35 from Amazon! sigh I remember when this happened to RadioShack. I went from being able to purchase just the resistor I needed to a $15 pack of 1,000 resistors I'll never use. I'm not religious, but if Pope Francis survives, then perhaps we can convince him to add profligacy to the list of deadly sins.

acheron 2y ago
There are usually independent yarn shops around. More likely than independent resistor shops, anyway.
- saguntum 2y ago
  My husband crochets, and the problem with most of the local yarn stores is that a lot of them cater to more "boutique" yarn. It's hard to find cheap, standard yarn in a variety of colors for him.
  - shitecoin 2y ago
    [flagged]
- anarchonurzox 2y ago
  I live in a midwestern city of 50k. The only alternative we have is Hobby Lobby. I can't say I loved the selection available at Joann's, but at least we had something. Unfortunately not all of us live in dense urban centers that can support boutique craft stores.
busterarm 2y ago
My memories of RatShack are less fond. #1 place to go to buy batteries that were already dead in the package. Even in the '80s.
josefresco 2y ago
We're an "Amazon family" as much as the next and my wife still went/goes to Joann on a regular basis to purchase material for various craft/sewing projects. I can't imagine buying fabric online considering how "feel' is an important characteristic. Update: I told her this news and she basically said that every time she was in there, it was a ghost town. I guess we're the outliers ¯\(ツ)/¯
- macintux 2y ago
  I really miss our local Fry's: my electronics knowledge is basically zero, and it was educational to explore the hardware aisles and look at the individual components.
- JKCalhoun 2y ago
  A lot of places online you can order "samples" for a few bucks. If you like the sample, order a few yards. But just in general, this suggests to me more of a sign of the public increasingly turning toward passive or, if you will, packaged entertainment. Does anyone still build plastic models, fly RC airplanes, get together for card games, or bowl? Maybe though someone in my neighborhood will start up a doom-scrolling league that the wife and I can join. And there's always the watercooler where we can suggest to others that they watch some streaming shows we saw that they've never heard of.
  - Reubachi 2y ago
    As a matter of fact, more people now than ever before can be fit into the groups "Model Hobbyist" or "card/board game hobbyist". Twice a week I play board/tabletop card games with two seperate groups in two seprate states. Currently surrounded by kit cars I bought from/with a group of colleagues. "do kids still bowl", I can't help you much there. Kids are currently socialising both online and in person in ways you and I can't even conceputailize. TLDR it's not all doom and gloom, HN comments isn't the best for this.
  - mcphage 2y ago
    > Does anyone still build plastic models, fly RC airplanes, get together for card games, or bowl? Board games are more popular than ever before. I would guess a lot of RC airplane use has been replaced with drones. Model building, that I'm not so sure about. Or engineering toys in general. Lego is bigger than it ever was before, but that's not quite the same thing. Not sure if it's sucking all of the air out of the market. Miniature dollhouse kits are getting more popular, thanks to Chinese manufacturers like Rolife and Cutebee. But beyond that, it's something I wonder about a lot, and I don't know how to answer that.
H1Supreme 2y ago
> I went from being able to purchase just the resistor I needed to a $15 pack of 1,000 resistors I'll never use The last time I bought resistors from Radio Shack, which was well over a decade ago, they were $1 a piece. A piece! While I get your sentiment, you can buy resistors in packs of 100 for roughly the same price you used to get 5 for.
- ryandrake 2y ago
  But what if you don't need 100 resistors? If I want an oddball resistor size, it may be for just one project/experiment. Now I have to store the remaining 99 somewhere or throw them away. I'd rather pay $1 for one resistor than $15 for 100.
  - Blackthorn 2y ago
    Best bet for an electronic anything right now is Tayda. They sell in hobbyist sizes. You'll still need to buy 10 resistors, but that's kind of reasonable.
s1artibartfast 2y ago
One of the reasons cited in their bankruptcy is that they weren't able to keep yarn and hobby materials in stock, diminishing their utility as a one stop physical stock for hobbyists. My wife was bummed when I told her about it, but I also recall going several times where they were stocked out of many items, so I kind of get it. Hard to justify a 30/60 minute trip if there is a good chance you wind up empty handeded
- jordanb 2y ago
  Joann was owned (and killed) by private equity. Going on a rampage against in-store inventory is a classic PE retail move. In-store inventory is expensive, subject to shrinkage, etc. So by the spreadsheet, less inventory looks good. But of course, if it's not in-stock when your customer shows up, that's a wasted trip. Only has to happen a few times before your customers quit showing up altogether.
massysett 2y ago
DigiKey for electronic parts. Get whatever quantity you want. Amazon is rotten for this kind of thing, practically no search or browse capability.
- giantg2 2y ago
  Yes, please charge me $6 shipping for my 10 cent resistor.
  - Blackthorn 2y ago
    Yeah that's ultimately the downside with online stores. You have to pay the actual price of shipping, or they subsidize it a little bit but not very much. Rip radio shack, but there's probably not enough electronic hobbyists to support that anymore.
    - s1artibartfast 2y ago
      I guess there's more electronics hobbyists than ever. The real problem is that Selling a 10-cent resistor was always a loss leader for a radio shack. When the majority of bigger ticket purchases moved online, the revenue dried up
  - Reubachi 2y ago
    this is the conundrum and isn't the fault of the vendor. It costs that much to ship a part. Amazon has, does, and will always subsidize shipping. What's your idea of a solution? If you need the resistor, and there's no service/parts shop, what do you do? I think the answer of "Pay more for the part in bulk via an online vendor" is ideal. BEcause that online vendor can also send soap, car parts, clothes, and books at the same time.
    - giantg2 2y ago
      Eh, you could ship it in an envelope to reduce carrier costs.
s1artibartfast 2y ago
Regarding RadioShack, there are a wide number of non-amazon alternatives if you are willing to move away from prime. I find that professional websites like McMaster, Grainger, and Digikey do everything I've wanted amazon to do for years. They have excellent search, organized part catalogs, spec sheets, CAD, and no counterfeits. I checked and Digikey sells most individual resistors singles for $0.10ea, and $0.004ea for 5,000 ($20).
jolt42 2y ago
Maybe if you find the right local group, you can barter with your left overs?
tmaly 2y ago
I miss RadioShack and the electronics section. I sometimes go to Micro Center but it is not the same. Digikey has been my catalog option since the 90s.

acheron 2y ago

There are usually independent yarn shops around. More likely than independent resistor shops, anyway.

saguntum 2y ago
My husband crochets, and the problem with most of the local yarn stores is that a lot of them cater to more "boutique" yarn. It's hard to find cheap, standard yarn in a variety of colors for him.
- shitecoin 2y ago
  [flagged]
anarchonurzox 2y ago
I live in a midwestern city of 50k. The only alternative we have is Hobby Lobby. I can't say I loved the selection available at Joann's, but at least we had something. Unfortunately not all of us live in dense urban centers that can support boutique craft stores.

busterarm 2y ago

My memories of RatShack are less fond. #1 place to go to buy batteries that were already dead in the package. Even in the '80s.

josefresco 2y ago

We're an "Amazon family" as much as the next and my wife still went/goes to Joann on a regular basis to purchase material for various craft/sewing projects. I can't imagine buying fabric online considering how "feel' is an important characteristic. Update: I told her this news and she basically said that every time she was in there, it was a ghost town. I guess we're the outliers ¯\(ツ)/¯

macintux 2y ago
I really miss our local Fry's: my electronics knowledge is basically zero, and it was educational to explore the hardware aisles and look at the individual components.
JKCalhoun 2y ago
A lot of places online you can order "samples" for a few bucks. If you like the sample, order a few yards. But just in general, this suggests to me more of a sign of the public increasingly turning toward passive or, if you will, packaged entertainment. Does anyone still build plastic models, fly RC airplanes, get together for card games, or bowl? Maybe though someone in my neighborhood will start up a doom-scrolling league that the wife and I can join. And there's always the watercooler where we can suggest to others that they watch some streaming shows we saw that they've never heard of.
- Reubachi 2y ago
  As a matter of fact, more people now than ever before can be fit into the groups "Model Hobbyist" or "card/board game hobbyist". Twice a week I play board/tabletop card games with two seperate groups in two seprate states. Currently surrounded by kit cars I bought from/with a group of colleagues. "do kids still bowl", I can't help you much there. Kids are currently socialising both online and in person in ways you and I can't even conceputailize. TLDR it's not all doom and gloom, HN comments isn't the best for this.
- mcphage 2y ago
  > Does anyone still build plastic models, fly RC airplanes, get together for card games, or bowl? Board games are more popular than ever before. I would guess a lot of RC airplane use has been replaced with drones. Model building, that I'm not so sure about. Or engineering toys in general. Lego is bigger than it ever was before, but that's not quite the same thing. Not sure if it's sucking all of the air out of the market. Miniature dollhouse kits are getting more popular, thanks to Chinese manufacturers like Rolife and Cutebee. But beyond that, it's something I wonder about a lot, and I don't know how to answer that.

H1Supreme 2y ago

> I went from being able to purchase just the resistor I needed to a $15 pack of 1,000 resistors I'll never use The last time I bought resistors from Radio Shack, which was well over a decade ago, they were $1 a piece. A piece! While I get your sentiment, you can buy resistors in packs of 100 for roughly the same price you used to get 5 for.

ryandrake 2y ago
But what if you don't need 100 resistors? If I want an oddball resistor size, it may be for just one project/experiment. Now I have to store the remaining 99 somewhere or throw them away. I'd rather pay $1 for one resistor than $15 for 100.
- Blackthorn 2y ago
  Best bet for an electronic anything right now is Tayda. They sell in hobbyist sizes. You'll still need to buy 10 resistors, but that's kind of reasonable.

s1artibartfast 2y ago

One of the reasons cited in their bankruptcy is that they weren't able to keep yarn and hobby materials in stock, diminishing their utility as a one stop physical stock for hobbyists. My wife was bummed when I told her about it, but I also recall going several times where they were stocked out of many items, so I kind of get it. Hard to justify a 30/60 minute trip if there is a good chance you wind up empty handeded

jordanb 2y ago
Joann was owned (and killed) by private equity. Going on a rampage against in-store inventory is a classic PE retail move. In-store inventory is expensive, subject to shrinkage, etc. So by the spreadsheet, less inventory looks good. But of course, if it's not in-stock when your customer shows up, that's a wasted trip. Only has to happen a few times before your customers quit showing up altogether.

massysett 2y ago

DigiKey for electronic parts. Get whatever quantity you want. Amazon is rotten for this kind of thing, practically no search or browse capability.

giantg2 2y ago
Yes, please charge me $6 shipping for my 10 cent resistor.
- Blackthorn 2y ago
  Yeah that's ultimately the downside with online stores. You have to pay the actual price of shipping, or they subsidize it a little bit but not very much. Rip radio shack, but there's probably not enough electronic hobbyists to support that anymore.
  - s1artibartfast 2y ago
    I guess there's more electronics hobbyists than ever. The real problem is that Selling a 10-cent resistor was always a loss leader for a radio shack. When the majority of bigger ticket purchases moved online, the revenue dried up
- Reubachi 2y ago
  this is the conundrum and isn't the fault of the vendor. It costs that much to ship a part. Amazon has, does, and will always subsidize shipping. What's your idea of a solution? If you need the resistor, and there's no service/parts shop, what do you do? I think the answer of "Pay more for the part in bulk via an online vendor" is ideal. BEcause that online vendor can also send soap, car parts, clothes, and books at the same time.
  - giantg2 2y ago
    Eh, you could ship it in an envelope to reduce carrier costs.

s1artibartfast 2y ago

Regarding RadioShack, there are a wide number of non-amazon alternatives if you are willing to move away from prime. I find that professional websites like McMaster, Grainger, and Digikey do everything I've wanted amazon to do for years. They have excellent search, organized part catalogs, spec sheets, CAD, and no counterfeits. I checked and Digikey sells most individual resistors singles for $0.10ea, and $0.004ea for 5,000 ($20).

jolt42 2y ago

Maybe if you find the right local group, you can barter with your left overs?

tmaly 2y ago

I miss RadioShack and the electronics section. I sometimes go to Micro Center but it is not the same. Digikey has been my catalog option since the 90s.