var json_comments = new Array("
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spanky
August 14, 2009 5:19 PM
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This is like that time I sent a companywide email telling everyone to call me \"Hot Rod\" from now on.

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3 replies
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scoosdad
August 14, 2009 6:03 PM
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@spanky: \"Ko-ko! Ko-ko!\"

\"No, it's T-BONE!\"

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RenRen
August 14, 2009 5:22 PM
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@spanky: Actually, I'm doing that right now... Except, I want everyone to call me \"Mr. Big Stuff\".

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Saboth
August 14, 2009 5:23 PM
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\"House of 1000 Junks\" is my choice.

\"We have more generic no-name electronics than any other retailer that isn't located in NYC and owned by Pakistanis\".

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3 replies
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Arc
August 15, 2009 10:57 AM
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@Saboth: I would totally go out of my way to shop at a store called \"House of 1000 Junks\". I mean, even if they didn't have the junk I came to buy, they'd have 999 other junks to browse!

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RandomZero
August 17, 2009 8:01 PM
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@Arc: Ah, but the sails will tear and the hull will spring a leak the moment their 30-day warranty expires, and you have to give them your address, SSN, and your firstborn child to even try to return it.

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RecordStoreToughGuy_starcommandseries.com
August 14, 2009 6:09 PM
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@Saboth: Heh, my mom would always find some neat little gadget or game there for an unasked-for Christmas gift for me when I was younger. They were never any brand I'd recognize but they were always fun. They were essentially glorified stocking stuffers, but I miss those.

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GMFish
August 14, 2009 5:27 PM
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\"Radio Shack's weird rebranding effort to get people to call it \"The Shack,\" even though it's not changing its name...\"

The first rule of nicknames is that no one gets to pick their own nickname.

People didn't start calling McDonalds Mickey-Ds because some marketing drone told them to.

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8 replies
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cuchanu
August 14, 2009 9:26 PM
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@GMFish: Radioshack is funny; they don't have enough money to re-brand their stores, so they are wasting money on a half assed nick-name. And, as you put it, it's lame to pick your own nickname. Unless your friends pick one that sucks.

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HogwartsAlum
August 14, 2009 8:46 PM
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@GMFish: I call it McDouchebags. Or McBarfBags.

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harvey_birdman
August 14, 2009 5:47 PM
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@GMFish: Are you sure about that? \"Mickey D's\" is trademarked, and I know of no adult human being who refers to McDonalds by that name. I'm pretty sure it's just a corporate snow job.


[learning-english-guide.com]

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verdantpine
August 17, 2009 6:13 PM
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@harvey_birdman: Is Mackers trademarked? That's what it's called in Australia.

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GMFish
August 17, 2009 1:54 PM
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@harvey_birdman: \"Mickey D's\" is trademarked

Sure, but it started out as street slang. In other words, customers came up with the knick-name, not a McDonalds marketing drone.

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ophmarketing
August 14, 2009 7:02 PM
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@harvey_birdman: Nobody calls it that any more, now that they've appropriated it for themselves. But people used to call it that. Same thing with White Castle trying to take ownership of calling their burger things \"sliders\" (sorry, \"Slyders\").

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GMFish
August 17, 2009 1:55 PM
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@ophmarketing: \"Nobody calls it that any more, now that they've appropriated it for themselves.\"

Exactly!

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mac-phisto
August 14, 2009 6:27 PM
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@harvey_birdman: i call it mickey-d's b/c my dad did.

@GMFish: the first rule stands. the problem is, the kid on this playground didn't like the nicknames it's been given already:
-the shit shack
-the rat shack
-radio shit
-hell

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Telekinesis123
August 14, 2009 5:27 PM
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The Radio Shack > The Shack > The Shanty > The Pile of Debris

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4 replies
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zoompooky
August 14, 2009 7:04 PM
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@Telekinesis123: I usually call it \"That place that I try to avoid and only go to if I really have no other option because the guys there are annoying and always want all my information to buy a 99 cent adapter or something and...\"

But I think that's too long for marketing or promotional materials.

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chrylis
August 14, 2009 8:38 PM
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@zoompooky: Not to mention that the 99¢ adapters are a few bucks now.

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jook
August 17, 2009 9:16 PM
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@chrylis: I paid 15$ for an HDMI --> VGA adaptor. At least they didn't ask for my peronal data that time.
Other times, sure. When I was maybe being slightly less ripped off.

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shepd
August 14, 2009 5:27 PM
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Hey, look, \"The Shack\" beats the pants off what they became in Canada:

\"THE SOURCE by circuit city, a division of Bell Canada\"

Yup.

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4 replies
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lihtox
August 15, 2009 12:24 AM
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@shepd: I like the Source better than The Shack, but the former does remind me of this:

[en.wikipedia.org]

Perhaps they could rename themselves to \"Compuserve\" instead? :)

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cowboy_k
August 14, 2009 5:45 PM
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@shepd: That rebranding was due to a contract dispute between RadioShack and InterTAN/Circuit City: [en.wikipedia.org]

Funny thing is that I still often call it RadioShack, even 4 years after the name change - some habits die hard, I guess. Not much chance that I'll accidentally call it The Shack, though.

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shepd
August 14, 2009 6:52 PM
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@cowboy_k:

Yes, that's part of it. The other part of it is that Circuit City is stupid. They wanted to have \"real\" Circuit City box stores in Canada someday, so they didn't want to call it Circuit City.

But, the idiot execs wanted to \"associate\" the store with the Circuit City brand. Hence giving the store the stupid name \"The Source By Circuit City\" rather than just \"The Source\" (as it appears Bell has renamed it, again) or, better yet, \"InterTAN\" or \"Tandy\" (Which is what they *should* have called them).

The \"Tandy\" name does work for RS stores, because that's what Radio Shack is called in Europe.

Heck, they could have even used the name \"Battery Plus\" (which InterTAN owns) instead of \"The Source by CC\". Anything is better than that stupid name. :)

Another fun fact: InterTAN tried to divest themselves of the \"Radio Shack\" name well before they sold out. In the early 90s they changed the name of some stores to \"Genexxa\" for a short while. It was about as successful as McPizza.

Why do I know so much about this stupid company? I don't know, it's been about 10 years since Radio Shack sold anything you remotely repair a radio with, never mind anything else electronics related.

People from the US: If you're ever in Canada and extremely bored, check out a \"The Source\". They haven't changed much from what Radio Shack always was in Canada. And then ask yourself why they suck so much more than a US \"Shack\", and why my city has about 1 store per 25,000 people.

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Preyfar
August 14, 2009 5:33 PM
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@shepd: I'd rather buy things at \"The Source\" than from a place called \"The Shack\". The Source has a good ring to it, and it can tie into a lot of marketing slogans and phrases. Shacks are pretty much only associated with poverty or as a place to stash the lawn mower. What part of that is cool?

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pecan 3.14159265
August 14, 2009 5:27 PM
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Anything with \"Emporium\" in the name gets my vote. Gadget Emporium and Electronics Emporium would be adequate. Electronics Emporium is too long to pronounce, but imagine the allterative logos!

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4 replies
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varro
August 14, 2009 10:16 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: There was \"The Emporium\" in Oregon, but they went out of business several years ago.

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YotaLoLux
August 14, 2009 8:10 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: In Greensboro, NC there was a Drug Emporium, thus adhering to emporium making a cooler sounding name... in this case, a gigantic RevCo.

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JustinSane07
August 14, 2009 5:31 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: You should look up a man named Ted Sheckler.

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Preyfar
August 14, 2009 5:28 PM
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The trend to appeal to the \"texting\" generation leaves me frazzled, though I don't know why exactly. First it was Kentucky Fried Chicken folding into \"KFC\" years ago, but that made sense at least. Nowadays, we've got \"MTN Dew\". Everybody I know mispronounces it as \"mitten\" or \"mutton\" as a bad joke. \"The Hut\" and \"The Shack\" changed their name to reflect their \"nicknames\" (of which I've never heard anyone refer to them by). What's next? I mean, really?

Companies seem to be abandoning their traditions to appeal to a bunch of kids with cellphones. Not that change is bad, but this seems like change straight out of the movie Idiocracy.

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8 replies
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amuro98
August 17, 2009 7:17 PM
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@Preyfar:
Who refers to Pizza Hut as \"the hut\"? If anything, we always called it \"pizza slut\" when I was a more immature age.

It would be amusing if more companies renamed themselves based on what people actually call them. For instance, Circuit City would have become Circuit S***ty. Best Buy would be called Worst Buy. Linen's & Things would be called Bed Bath and Beyond...

This who thing is rather stupid though if you ask me. Boston Chicken is now \"Boston Market\". Um. So...now I know where to go if I need a really good Boston? At least \"Baskin & Robbin's 31 Flavors\" getting shortened to BR sort of makes sense but everyone still calls it \"31 flavors\". But how do you go from \"Radio Shack\" to just \"Shack\" or \"Pizza Hut\" to just \"Hut\"? they're dropping their main identity in a horrible attempt to look cool, which just makes them lamer than ever.

What's next? Burger King to be renamed \"King\"? (probably will officially change its name to \"BK\") Or, I know, rename the Big Mac to \"Big\" or better yet \"BM\". Yeah, the McDonald's BM. You know you want one! Located between Hut and Shack on the corner of Street and Road.

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Rachacha
August 14, 2009 7:58 PM
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@Preyfar: \"\"The Hut\" and \"The Shack\" changed their name to reflect their \"nicknames\" (of which I've never heard anyone refer to them by)\"


At my old employer, we used to refer to Radio Shack as \"The Shack\", but we were a bunch of electrical engineers and we were running to Radio Shack every other week to puck up cables or components or connectors for whatever strange project we were working on at the time. That said, I have never refered to Radio Shack as The Shack outside of any conversations I had at work with that employer.

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
August 14, 2009 7:27 PM
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@Preyfar: I noticed recently that the Scifi channel changed it's name to SyFy.. which is just.. weird.

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brianary
August 17, 2009 3:16 PM
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@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: But it really synergizes with their new \"syphillus\" brand identity!

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Nicole
August 14, 2009 8:00 PM
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@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: I heard about that change a while ago and just noticed it had been implemented. I HATE it so much. Not only does it sound stupid, but it looks stupid too. I think they're trying to re-brand themselves as less dorky or something. *shrug*

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Kimaroo - 100% Pure Natural Kitteh
August 18, 2009 3:28 AM
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@Nicole: To me it makes it more dorky. The nerd in me is angry about it.. but the \"normal female\" side doesn't watch that stupid channel anyway.


I mostly watch it because my husband insists at times.. I think that insistance will become less and less.

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Daveinva
August 14, 2009 7:37 PM
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@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: That SyFy thing is very, very stupid. . . yet simultaneously genius.

They did it because they couldn't trademark \"SciFi,\" thus they couldn't make any money off the name. With SyFy, they can.

Still-- how very stupid (and insulting).

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Chris Walters
August 14, 2009 5:32 PM
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@Preyfar: I would think, if young'ns had any reason to text about Radio Shack--which they do not and never will--they'd go with RS instead of \"radio shack\" or \"shack\" or \"that lame ass electronic store.\" So even on that front, the \"shack\" rebranding fails.

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Preyfar
August 14, 2009 5:36 PM
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@Chris Walters: If you want even more branding fail just go to Google Images and type in the word \"shacks\". If a picture's worth a thousand words then the word \"shack\" must have gone bankrupt.

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XianZomby
August 14, 2009 5:32 PM
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Well, I still listen to the radio every day.


But \"The Shack?\" That's modern? What \"The Shack\" (and also, that pizza place's \"The Hut\") conveys to me is: a place where 1960's era college kids would go to eat hamburgers and listen to beatniks read poetry and play the bongos. Or where a clean-cut young lady just out of the suburbs might have gone and discovered for the first time that she wanted to smoke dope, stop taking a shower, and become a hippy.


When you say \"The Shack,\" I think about a place my mom with her long black wig and my dad just back from Vietnam might have gone to in \"the Fan\" in Richmond, Va., while he attended school at VCU.


I think of the B-52s.


I think of the basketball player referring to himself in the same way Donald Trump calls himself \"the Donald.\"


There's absolutely nothing hip or modern about \"The Shack.\"

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3 replies
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gStein_*|bringing starpipe back|*
August 15, 2009 7:57 AM
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@XianZomby: just wait until the country is completely bankrupt.
then shacks will make a big comeback

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ophmarketing
August 14, 2009 7:04 PM
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@XianZomby: I think of a place in Appalachia where bad things happen to your ass with a switch.

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Greasy Thumb Guzik
August 14, 2009 6:02 PM
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@XianZomby:
To me: The Shack = Ted Kaczynski!

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kathyl
August 14, 2009 5:32 PM
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How about \"That Place You Go Only When Your Kid Needs a Piezoelectric Transducer for the Science Fair\"?

What? Too long?

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7 replies
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wheresmymind
August 17, 2009 5:59 PM
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@kathyl: Haha! A while ago I had an interest in making a crystal radio receiver. You can buy galena crystals (the crystal in \"crystal radio\") online, but I wanted instant gratification so I went down to RS on the off chance they might actually have something used to make radios. To my surprise, the woman at the store actually knew what I was talking about. Predictably they didn't have any (although she did say they sometimes carried a radio-making kit that contained a galena crystal detector).

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chrylis
August 14, 2009 8:40 PM
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@kathyl: I think you have Radio Shack confused with Fry's (the only chain I know of that actually carries such things these days)...

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Megalomania
August 14, 2009 7:48 PM
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@kathyl: The Place You Go When You Need Cables, But Not Like, You Know, Regular Cables Like They Sell at Best Buy, But Maybe Uncrimped Coaxial Cabling, Or Speaker Wire. People Still Buy Speaker Wire From Retail Stores, Right? Or Maybe It's Your Kid's Birthday And You Need a Cheap RC Car And You Have No Idea Where They Sell Them Now That It's No Longer 1988 And You Apparently Don't Know How To Use The Internet

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Orv
August 14, 2009 6:39 PM
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@kathyl: They don't sell a lot of that stuff anymore, either. Their electronic components section has been reduced to a sad little cabinet of drawers, with stocking choices that make no sense. (e.g., they carry PL-259 connectors, but not the adapters needed to actually attach them to most sizes of coaxial cable.)

Nowadays they're just another cell phone store. You don't even really want to go there to buy batteries, because you'll end up stuck behind someone having a cell phone contract explained to them.

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mac-phisto
August 14, 2009 6:59 PM
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@Orv: i still go there for batteries: $10/40AA this past weekend. try beating that.

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shepd
August 14, 2009 11:50 PM
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@mac-phisto:

(All $CDN)

4 D cells (Alkaline) were $0.49 at Future Shop after price matching the same package on sale @ $0.99 from Best Buy last month.

Also, 8 packs of AA cells (Alkaline again) for $0.99 at Best Buy the month before.

I, of course, bought 10 packages.

HA! :^) RedFlagDeals in Canada FTW!

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MostlyHarmless
August 14, 2009 5:39 PM
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@kathyl: I thought the whole \"truth in advertising\" movement died out decades ago...

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mac-phisto
August 14, 2009 6:22 PM
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@MostlyHarmless: who wants to be a firetruck?

OOH! OOH! OOH!

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Silica
August 14, 2009 5:33 PM
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Radio Shack has been around for a lot of years. Unlike a lot of other companies, they are still in business. Perhaps they are not burning up the charts with earnings, but they haven't closed their doors. I'm not particularly pleased with the name change, but I don't think the change forms a basis for derision of the brand. I've been in my local Radio Shack many nights when I needed that little plug or adapter for some DIY project. Prior to the world wide web, RS was often the only place to find parts. I often wonder how many of the folks who are quick to tell a company how to run their business have actually ran a successful business of their own, or they \"armchair quarterbacks\"?

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3 replies
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Preyfar
August 14, 2009 5:46 PM
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@Silica: [blog.tmcnet.com]

They haven't closed their doors, only about 700 stores. Radioshack specializes in selling low end RC cars, stereos, phones and highly overpriced connectors and electronics parts. Their inventory has a very limited amount of appeal to a number of people, though some of it *is* valuable. As an untrained professional with no business knowledge, it's my professional opinion that the only thing that kept Radio Shack afloat was their cellphone sales. I know of nobody who goes there except for phone issues.

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gaywolverine
August 15, 2009 2:00 PM
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@Preyfar: And since YOU know of nobody, that means nobody must go there. It must be one person in the entire world that has allowed them to post just under 1 billion dollars in sales in the seconnd quarter of 2009 with an operating profit of close to 90 million.
[ir.radioshackcorporation.com]

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TheFlamingoKing
August 14, 2009 5:47 PM
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All twitterers know there's only one THE_REAL_SHAQ!

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2 replies
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Rachacha
August 14, 2009 8:10 PM
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@TheFlamingoKing: Now if \"The Shack\" could get \"THE_REAL_SHAQ\" to be its spokesperson you might be successful at rebranding.


Picture The Shaq walking out on to a white background (ala an Apple Commercial):
Hi, This is The Shaq for The Shack here to tell you that if you need a cell phone you should talk to The Shack, no, not The Shaq, The Shack
As he speaks, brightly colored graphics and the RS logo pop up on the screen. Cut to the announcer telling the viewer about the latest sales or deals. Cut to The Shaq who says the tag line \"Only at The Shack\"


Radio Shack, if you want to take this idea, feel freee to do so, I simply want to get free lifetime batteries and be able to buy Audio/Video cables at cost.

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TheFlamingoKing
August 14, 2009 9:11 PM
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@Rachacha: Shaq already did commercials years ago for Radio Shack (I refuse to call it anything else...)

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friendlynerd
August 14, 2009 5:47 PM
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I fail to see how a massive (expensive) rebranding hopes to stimulate anything but the companies hired to put up new signs.

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2 replies
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mac-phisto
August 14, 2009 6:37 PM
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@friendlynerd: RS spends enormous amounts of money on marketing - it's probably the only thing they spend lots of money on (aside from a corporate HQ they later sold at a loss & then leased back, of course). they certainly don't spend it on employees (commissions are all but gone & the manager bonus structure has evaporated. also, research the class-actions filed by managers across the country).

their ultimate goal is to sell the same crap but in a different box (meant both literally & figuratively) to make the shopping experience \"fresh\" for their customers. if you think about it, it's an ingenious idea - it allows the store to save money by revitalizing tired production lines instead of spending money on new product purchases.

too bad they really have no idea how to run that company. it has a lot of potential (imo), but they squander it at every turn. throwing out (arguably) the most well-known brand name in CE is a perfect example of that mismanagement.

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gaywolverine
August 15, 2009 2:03 PM
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@mac-phisto:
Bitter much. How about you look at the facts. The company makes money.

[ir.radioshackcorporation.com]

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mac-phisto
August 15, 2009 4:20 PM
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@gaywolverine: i didn't say they didn't make money - they actually make buttloads of it, but at the expense of their brand. the chief problem as i see it is a corporate culture that embraces the easy road at every turn. this rebranding is a perfect example - instead of making adjustments to the way they do business, they'd rather just slap on a new coat of paint.

i'm not bitter - i just get frustrated seeing a company miss the mark. think about it: there's a RS in virtually every town in america. 4600 stores vs. best buy's 1400 (& that's not counting the kiosks & dealers). despite that, their brand image results in people driving past one (or two or three) radioshacks to shop at a best buy instead.

i don't really have any problem with their sales model, but they do have some serious issues with inventory management, product purchasing, transportation management, product development, store support & sales marketing. i can elaborate on any one or all of these areas if you're really interested. revamping some or all of them could save the company millions & increase revenue substantially, but it would involve investing some time & a bit of money - significantly less than this b.s. campaign (which i'm guessing will set them back $5-10 million).

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ExtraCelestial
August 14, 2009 5:49 PM
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I'd maybe take their advice a little more seriously if Slate hadn't named it's female-centric spin off \"double X\". That comes with it's own heaping of WTF.

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3 replies
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pecan 3.14159265
August 14, 2009 5:59 PM
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@TinkishDelight: Why? Chromosomes determine gender. Two X chromosomes determine the female gender.

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MostlyHarmless
August 14, 2009 6:26 PM
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@pecan 3.14159265: LOL, I'd never read Slate, but thats certainly not the first thing that I thought of when I read TrinkishDelight's comment.

But then, the thought process was probably warped into a certain context by the comment itself.

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sljepi
August 14, 2009 5:49 PM
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Once I went to \"The Shack\" to get some rechargeable batteries. Salesman showed me \"The Shack\" brand as the only rechargeable batteries they carried. I asked if they had Energizer and the guy said with straight face that \"Energizer doesn't make rechargeable batteries\". I laughed and left the store....

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BFE2412
August 14, 2009 10:25 PM
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Doesn't surprise me that the sales person didn't know. They've gotten rid of anyone who knows anything about stuff other than cell phones. If it ain't a phone, they're dumb as wood posts. The company doesn't want anyone knowing anything other than phones now. Gotta figure that the CEO came over from KMART/SEARS and he brought some of his buddies. The rest came from Blockbuster. We ALL know how those 2 companies are doing. Stands to reason that Shack won't be around much longer with the stupidity in FW now.@sljepi:

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Telekinesis123
August 14, 2009 7:36 PM
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@sljepi:

Just bought some on Monday at Home Depot.

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Segador
August 14, 2009 5:59 PM
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And begin to exclusively sell the Jitterbug.

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crackblind
August 14, 2009 6:17 PM
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Cut Man!

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mac-phisto
August 14, 2009 6:22 PM
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video killed the radio shack.

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halcyondays
August 14, 2009 6:33 PM
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I personally prefer 'Max Power' as a rebranding name.

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1 replies
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GinaLouise
August 14, 2009 10:57 PM
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@halcyondays: It's the name you'd love to touch (but you musn't touch)!

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EdK
August 14, 2009 6:41 PM
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\"You've got questions, we've got batteries.\"

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Rey
August 14, 2009 6:48 PM
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TIN ROOF!
Rusted!

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AnxiousDemographic
August 14, 2009 7:45 PM
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Wouldn't it be neat if they embraced their most common nickname:

S**T SHACK

Good news is the nickname still fits the re-branding name.

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Onion_Volcano
August 14, 2009 7:58 PM
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If they called themselves Vanderlay Industries, I would shop there.

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RobertBaron
August 14, 2009 8:35 PM
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They ought to just save the money on the re-branding by skipping a step and calling themselves Out of Business Shack.

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PLATTWORX
August 14, 2009 8:57 PM
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I see the marketing gurus at Circuit City have been hired by Radio Shack and are working their brand distroying magic there too.


Radio Shack would be smart to fire their marketing department and sue their agency for taking a damaged retail chain and almost certainly sentencing it to slow death.

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icezod
August 14, 2009 10:09 PM
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How About Whore Shack? That will get the customers to flock in!

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Persistence - Long viv revolisyon an konsomatè yo!
August 15, 2009 3:41 AM
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The Radio Shack should have, instead of shortening it's name, either completely changed it to something non-radio related, or gone back to their roots and begun carrying computer parts or somesuch, rebranding as \"The Computer Bench\" or \"Network Central\" or \"Our Shitty Customer Service is Only Ignored Because We Can't Compete on Scale with Best Buy!\"

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Grrrrrrr, now with two buns made of bacon.
August 15, 2009 4:01 AM
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Crap Shack

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pvaras
August 15, 2009 4:13 AM
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I worked for Radio Shack many years ago. Employees have been calling it \"The Shack\" since day one.

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parabola101
August 15, 2009 9:34 PM
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more like the shaft...

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radiochief
August 16, 2009 1:59 AM
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No... The best \"You got questions...\" anecdote was from Pud at fuckedcompany.com.

Radio Shack: You've got questions, we've got shrugs!

You know I am indignant about the name change in many ways. But the downfall of Radio Shack is a microcosm of America's shift in technology in the past 25-30 years.

We've gone from a country of consumers, builders and innovators to a country of just consumers. I am not against the tech changes themselves. But just that it was something uniquely American in execution. You could go to the local Radio Shack and get their electronics kits, or build your own speakers... Buy your own breadboards and components and learn or do something as a foundation of learning. I'm kinda sad to see that go.

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PresidentBeeblebrox
August 18, 2009 4:07 AM
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My ham radio buddies and I always called it \"Sh*t Shack\" since their electronics were for sh*t. Good place to get weird parts like diodes, resistors, capacitators, and wire-type things, but eech...

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Dave-Farquhar
August 18, 2009 6:14 PM
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If they think \"Radio Shack\" sounds too retro or whatever, why not change their name to something like \"Tandy Electronics\"? Or, simply, \"Tandy\"? Then they at least can leverage an existing brand.


Not that there's much confusion over what Radio Shack actually sells anyway. Their name isn't the problem. The problem is their service and what they carry. They used to carry lots of offbeat stuff, but these days there's very little they sell that I can't buy at Kmart for less money and less hassle. Changing their name isn't going to change that.


Kind of like a couple of IT departments I used to work for. They had bad reputations, so they changed their names. The upper management kept on screwing people though, so if anything, the reputation only got worse. The change just made the place look even more sleazy.

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