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Photos: New Phoenix Microcenter is a 'tech-heaven' for geeks
- coffee-- 11mo agoStep in and replace the loss of our Frys Electronics stores[0], yay! [0] https://www.kjzz.org/business/2025-08-27/fans-of-phoenix-frys-electronics-say-goodbye-as-city-plans-demolition-for-new-police-precinct https://www.kjzz.org/business/2025-08-27/fans-of-phoenix-fry...
- kulahan 11mo agoHuh. I've never been in a Frys before, but boy is that a strange decor choice. Aztec stylings to sell brand new tech? I guess I see the juxtaposition, but still...
- dylan604 11mo agoThey tend to be themed. The store in Cambridge/Boston area is probably more to your expectations.
- OkayPhysicist 11mo agoThe one in Fremont had a bunch of Tesla coils, Jacob's ladders, and other high-voltage amusements. As a kid, it was the coolest thing.
- stevenwoo 11mo agoI thought all the ones I got to visit were cool as an adult, fascinating combination of stuff for sale.
- macintux 11mo agoHuh. If the Indianapolis Frys had a theme, it completely escaped my notice.
- dylan604 11mo agoThe Frys in San Diego was done with lots of aquariums, the one in Burbank was done with 50s sci-fi movie tropes, one of them in DFW was done all cowboy themed another had a different theme that escapes me.
- macintux 11mo agoIt's possible, albeit very unlikely, that we had a theme. My observational skills have been found wanting before. Sadly the only theme I remember from its waning days were the many buckets to capture rainwater; clearly they were struggling to afford to stay open.
- yencabulator 11mo ago> With the opening of the Fishers, Indiana, store, Fry's made a "race track" theme with various hanging displays, including "stop" and "go" signs. https://www.liquisearch.com/frys_electronics/history/store_themes https://www.liquisearch.com/frys_electronics/history/store_t... The Burbank Fry's UFO was definitely noticable. https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/to-all-the-frys-i-loved-before-an-elegy-for-the-best-electronics-chain https://www.pcmag.com/opinions/to-all-the-frys-i-loved-befor...
- rewgs 11mo agoThe one in Burbank was Area 51 themed. Huge UFO crashed into the front, aliens everywhere, etc. It was great and is sorely missed.
- dylan604 11mo agoThe death of Frys was one of those that took so much longer than it should. The last time I went into a Frys was a fluke as I had thought it was already out of business. Walking around inside was surreal as the inventory was sad with the vast majority of shelves empty. I remember taking pics at the time of just how much a shadow itself it really was. I just couldn't fathom why someone had allowed the stores to stay open that long.
- toast0 11mo agoBecause it wasn't private equity and leveraged to the moon, it was able to shamble into bankruptcy, inlike say circuit city that had a step change bankruptcy.
- pureagave 11mo agoI went to the Renton, WA one during the death days. It was so odd. Mostly empty shelves and what few products were there had the famous Fry's return labels on them. I'm assuming Amazon killed them.
- dylan604 11mo agoThe store I was in had a lot of open box appliances all lined up like a close out store. The products that were new had the famous layer of Frys dust covering them.
- fghorow 11mo agoI miss Frys...
- kaladin-jasnah 11mo agoThe Charlotte Micro Center opening was great, and was perfect timing since I was able to get some adapters I needed urgently without ordering online. Got the free mug out of it too! I wonder if the mugs will become valuable collectibles in the future.
- jakedata 11mo agoThe Microcenter in Cambridge (MA) finally updated their sign to modernize the rainbow Apple logo a few years ago. I hope it's stashed somewhere, to me it's more iconic than the Citgo sign a few miles away. They have added some components and kits but it doesn't fill the yawning void left by You-Do-It Electronics shutting down a year ago, or Radio Shack's slow motion demise.
- assimpleaspossi 11mo ago>>it doesn't fill the yawning void left by Or Gateway Electronics in St Louis
- bitwize 11mo agoThere needs to be one on the Gulf Coast. I don't care much for having to go to Bezoscorp for my gear.
- ranger_danger 11mo agoFlorida and Texas both have locations.
- readthenotes1 11mo agoThere's one in Houston, TX, IIRC. The biggest Gulf of the continent is pretty big though, so that might not help you much
- bitwize 11mo agoYeah, I'd settle for one between NOLA and the Florida panhandle.
- nosduco 11mo agoI live in Columbus near the original Microcenter. Still the GOAT store, it's not even close. Happy to see them expand more!
- et1337 11mo agoMy favorite place as a kid XD I still get excited thinking about it haha
- bschwindHN 11mo agoI always wondered why my Ohio hometown had a Microcenter (grew up near Cincinnati), now it makes sense! I had no idea they started in Ohio.
- nickthegreek 11mo agotheir headquarters is here as well.
- iFred 11mo agoI keep hoping for a Microcenter in either Portland or Seattle but alas, I get the "we're always looking for new locations" email from their team and a "why not just order it from Amazon" from nearly everyone else.
- JCM9 11mo agoMicrocenter feels like going back in time (in a good way). It has a very 90s vibe to it. The staff wear khakis and blue collared shirts. Even the signage uses serif fonts in a way that looks, comfortably, dated. I hope they don’t change.
- bob1029 11mo agoThe old Frys in Austin is turning into a Microcenter next year: https://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/austin.aspx https://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/austin.aspx
- ericmay 11mo agoI love Microcenter, though I haven't purchased anything from one in quite some time - I don't buy a lot of new electronics. I remember as a teenager we would go on "road trips" to Microcenter - 25 minute drive tops and since none of us had any money we would just try and get someone to spend their paycheck on a new GPU or something so we could get second hand excitement from a purchase. It was also the first and only place I've ever seen BAWLS energy drinks.
- caycep 11mo agothe American Akihabara, land of the khaki otakus
- redwall_hp 11mo agoYodobashi Camera is on my list of places I'd have to visit on a future Japan trip. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodobashi_Camera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodobashi_Camera
- ericmay 11mo agoI’ve been to the one in Hiroshima. The volume and variety of products is jaw-dropping and fun. Though I was disappointed, although admittedly wasn’t looking to hard, to see the prices were comparable to American prices for the same products - at least for new lenses. It was also great that it was basically attached to the rail line. Such a better development pattern for business and moving people than airlines and airports.
- etrautmann 11mo agoYep, I was in Tokyo last year and scoured the earth looking for decent deals on used film cameras. If anything they were selling at a significant premium to US prices. It was quite disappointing.
- caycep 11mo agocan you buy a 5090 FE there though?
- LTL_FTC 11mo ago5090's, yes. The one in Santa Clara has had them in stock for months. FE, no. Not sure if those are even produced anymore.
- mrbluecoat 11mo agoBest Buy meets Costco - a place you can look at things you'll buy later online.
- LgWoodenBadger 11mo agoMicrocenter costs are often competitive, plus you don’t have to worry about counterfeits. Where else would you be buying equivalents online anyway?
- mouth 11mo agoI only by SD cards and USB thumb drives at Micro Center after being burned multiple times with counterfeits from Amazon.
- zamadatix 11mo agoI thought the same, then I ended up spending >$10k there this year because the pricing was great and I didn't have to wait for shipping. It really is a great place. It's also great for items likely to be scalped. It doesn't guarantee they'll have stock, but it sure is easier to beat scalpers to checking the store that day than bots to an online cart. I even got a Switch 2 bundle the day after launch at MSRP while there for something else. Edit: shit, prices are worse all around now. Glad I didn't wait :D.
- taude 11mo agoWaiting for one in RTP. Miss going to the Cambridge one. So much stuff there you don't know you need!
- peteforde 11mo agoCan someone offer an explanation of why this is popular? I don't mean this in a crass way, I'm actually genuinely baffled to see geeks lining up for a Costco-like experience to get stuff that you can easily get online without needing to get into a car. For me, big box stores just mean markups + staff that know less than most tech reviewers on YouTube. All in an introvert's nightmare. What's the upside?
- bluedays 11mo agoIt’s okay for you to not get everything. This one is simple, it’s just not for you. You don’t get it because it wasn’t built for you.
- scubbo 11mo ago> Can someone offer an explanation...? I don't mean this in a crass way [...] What's the upside? They weren't saying that it wasn't OK - they were just asking for an explanation from someone for whom it _was_ built
- jedbrooke 11mo agohave you heard of the phase “like a kid in a candy store”? there’s just something about the in store experience that’s different than online. Microcenter is also known for having better prices than online retailers, but they don’t ship for many items
- theturtle 11mo ago[dead]