I Think My Local Fry’s is Closing (Total Speculation)

UF_C · Jul 23, 2019

I'm about 3 months away from upgrading my monitor so I walked into Fry's to see what was available. To my surprise the computer selection there was pretty much non-existent. They had maybe 9 motherboards on the floor, 1/3 of the cases they normally have, and hardly any monitors (maybe 8) on display. The best gpu available was the GTX1030. I spoke to one of the salesman asking what was going on and evidently Fry's have moved all salespeople to part time and he could neither "confirm or deny" if the store was going to refresh their stock anytime soon.

I left the store horribly depressed. I love being able to walk the aisles and actually see the product. Online reviews are great but they are nothing compared to actually seeing the product, feeling its weight, and understanding the dimension in comparison to another product. I think this is just another example of how my favorite hobby is leaving me behind. Loot boxes, money hats, toxic communities, gamergate. Now this.

Fry's. Please don't die. We old heads still need your gigantic selection and a place where other nerds/DYI builders can hang out and chat. For those of you that have the pleasure of having a Microcenter near, hold on to it, hug it, and keep it close. It may very well be the last vestige of a simpler, better time.

nsilvias · Jul 23, 2019

i remember when tiger direct closed. they were overpriced but it was nice having them around.
still have microcenter and frys near me

Th3BranMan · Jul 23, 2019

I can't imagine those stores are doing too hot in the current market. A real shame, kids these days won't know the pleasures of "try before you buy", and will only have YouTube internet personalities telling them what to think about things they don't need.

BasilZero · Jul 23, 2019

Online shopping is killing all the brick and mortar stores.

Anyways, Frys was my first job place years ago.

I loved to go shopping there...but yeesh working there was hell.

Anyways, which frys is closing OP?

If its one of their largest stores or close to their headquarters - you would be right to worry.

Anyways, I go to my local Microcenter for all my PC needs nowadays.

JigglesBunny · Jul 23, 2019

I haven't had a Fry's near me in... well, ever. I'm totally at the mercy of low quality non-specialty stores like Best Buy, mom and pop shops or online shopping.

JohnnyMoses · Jul 23, 2019

I've never been to a Fry's. Is it similar to Best Buy? Yeah. I agree though. I like seeing the products too. Especially things like monitors and TVs.

TimPV3 · Jul 23, 2019

Last time I went to the Phoenix store, the console games and accessories were pretty barren too. I thought that was a bad sign since at Circuit City, Kmart and Toys R Us, video games were the first things to get cut off.

nsilvias · Jul 23, 2019

JohnnyMoses said:
I've never been to a Fry's. Is it similar to Best Buy? Yeah. I agree though. I like seeing the products too. Especially things like monitors and TVs.

Frys is basiclaly super sized bestbuy. they sell literally anything anyone would ever need for computers and electronics.

UF_C · Jul 23, 2019

BasilZero said:
Online shopping is killing all the brick and mortar stores.

Anyways, Frys was my first job place years ago.

I loved to go shopping there...but yeesh working there was hell.

Anyways, which frys is closing OP?

If its one of their largest stores or close to their headquarters - you would be right to worry.

Anyways, I go to my local Microcenter for all my PC needs nowadays.

Vegas. Again, I don't know if it actually is closing but the entire atmosphere in the store was very depressing.

NeoChaos · Jul 23, 2019

I was just discussing this with friends the other day. Best case scenario is Fry's is consolidating into a handful of stores (a couple of stores in the Bay Area are well stocked, while another is looking pretty barren), worst case is the whole chain going belly up.

If you have one nearby, get your PC parts and video games from there when you can ASAP.

cacophony · Jul 23, 2019

JohnnyMoses said:
I've never been to a Fry's. Is it similar to Best Buy? Yeah. I agree though. I like seeing the products too. Especially things like monitors and TVs.

Think Best Buy with a large Radio Shack influence

Fallen92 · Jul 23, 2019

I wouldn't be surprised if they're thinking of closing down some of their less profitable locations. Luckily the Fry's near me, City of Industry in CA, is always well stocked when I go there and they seem to be doing pretty well. Have gotten a lot of my PC parts from there so it would suck if they suddenly closed down.

BasilZero · Jul 23, 2019

UF_C said:
Vegas. Again, I don't know if it actually is closing but the entire atmosphere in the store was very depressing.

Hmm not familiar with that one.

But my local frys I go to (back when I did years ago) , was usually dead too unless its a holiday or the weekend.

Sei · Jul 23, 2019

Every time I have gone into a Frys looking for something, they never have it.

Maybe that's the problem.

Fadewise · Jul 23, 2019

Fry's really does need to double down on the one real advantage that brick-and-mortar stores still have over online shopping, which is the ability to give a compelling in-person demo. I have had multiple experiences with salespeople at Fry's over the years where I've endeavored to get a compelling demo of a TV, monitor, or other AV equipment where they were just not willing to let me demo stuff in ideal lighting and with interesting source. If they took the oppnortunity to provide single-sourced TVs and monitors hooked up to gaming PCs for demos instead of just the multiplexed nonsense running a demo reel i'd actually see some value into going out there. But if they're just going to present me with a torch mode display that I can't evaluate using real-world content then what's the real advantage over me just ordering that stuff on Amazon based on reviews.

UF_C · Jul 23, 2019

Sei said:
Every time I have gone into a Frys looking for something, they never have it.

Maybe that's the problem.

Hey hey. Let's not speak ill of the dead!

Lately that's been my experience as well. ☹

Quinton · Jul 23, 2019

TimPV3 said:
Last time I went to the Phoenix store, the console games and accessories were pretty barren too. I thought that was a bad sign since at Circuit City, Kmart and Toys R Us, video games were the first things to get cut off.

I went there last year while visiting the area for the first time in a decade and yeah. Same.

ChristianH94 · Jul 23, 2019

I've never actually been inside a Fry's but I hear they're amazing. I shall totally keep on buying all sorts of junk from my local Microcenter though.

Vark · Jul 23, 2019

The one in Austin has started to become increasingly shelf bare. I've been wondering the same thing lately.

jediyoshi · Jul 23, 2019

Th3BranMan said:
I can't imagine those stores are doing too hot in the current market. A real shame, kids these days won't know the pleasures of "try before you buy", and will only have YouTube internet personalities telling them what to think about things they don't need.

"Trying" a ton of electronic things is pretty meaningless if you're doing it at store. Most phones are just metal/glass rectangles when you only play around with them for 5 minutes.

ZugZug123 · Jul 23, 2019

nsilvias said:
i remember when tiger direct closed. they were overpriced but it was nice having them around.
still have microcenter and frys near me

My local Microcenter closed several years ago, miss them so much. I went thenre to build my PC (2 builds ago) and the slaesperson realized I was just buying some of the parts there and asked me about the build. He price matched the parts I was planning on getting from NewEgg so I walked out of the shop with my full build on hand. And even though the video card I bought did not qualify for it he threw in the code for a game :)

Tunic · Jul 23, 2019

Sounds very similar to the one in Renton, WA. Tried to get some parts for the PC I built in December and it was a barren wasteland.

Velocity:Design:Comfort · Jul 23, 2019

Is having one less place to shop for stuff really the same or as bad as exploitative MTX, toxicity or gamer gate?

CSX · Jul 23, 2019

Blessed to be in Houston that still has a microcenter and Fry's. Both are 20-30 mins away. My closest Best Buy is 5 minutes away as well.

Best Buy - GCU and weekly sales
Microcenter - PC stuff and their amazing warranty service
Fry's - Discounted gift cards and miscellaneous items

UF_C · Jul 23, 2019

Velocity:Design:Comfort said:
Is having one less place to shop for stuff really the same or as bad as exploitative MTX, toxicity or gamer gate?

It's just as bad, to me. I love building computers and part of the experience is picking out the parts and bullshitting with the salesperson and other customers. Maybe I'm a little nuts but I thoroughly enjoy that aspect of gaming.

MrConbon210 · Jul 23, 2019

I think I'm thinking of the wrong store. What's the name of the place that has tons of movies? It also has video games and CD's I think but it's mainly all movies. Fye?

Supercrap · Jul 23, 2019

Their website looks like it's from 1998 they need to catch up big time if they want to stay around

Dynamite Cop · Jul 23, 2019

I live in an area with at least 4 Frys and they've devolved into a combination of an As Seen On TV store and Aliexpress selling a bunch of shitty chinese knockoff products, perfume, and useless knick knacks. They don't even have any new Apple products on display to demo like they used to. They'll be gone in 5 years, probably less.

Damaniel · Jul 23, 2019

I'm not sure where your Fry's is, but the one close to me (Wilsonville, OR) has been a barren wasteland for a couple years now. They never have any video cards of any kind (or any PC hardware, really), all of their pre-built PCs were display model only when I asked (so no actual stock), and a shockingly large amount of the store space was devoted to fake/off-brand perfume/colognes and As Seen on TV stuff.

I used to make the trip there all the time, but I'm guessing the next time I go will be as part of their inevitable liquidation sale.

TheChrisGlass · Jul 23, 2019

I stopped going to Fry's because their deals online were always requiring a code which meant signing up for the spammiest newsletter on the planet.
Plus, they were always PACKED with old merch, like the Manhattan Beach location, and always at laughable prices. The best times I had at Fry's were when I was buying import PSP titles. So that might date me a little.

And I still recount the TWO (non-consecutive) years on Black Friday at the City of Industry one where they mismanaged it in the EXACT same way that lead to the metal shopping carts being torn apart.

Blaming "online" for killing stores is never the story. Mismanagement always is. Look at Monoprice. They're doing fine competing. Best Buy isn't going under like people have said for the last two decades.

nextgeneration · Jul 23, 2019

Here's a cool Fry's video. They even have footage of this Fry's location from 1994.

MegaRockEXE · Jul 23, 2019

I went to my local Fry's a few weeks ago and it was looking a bit more sparse. They've also shortened the checkout lanes since they were always much longer than necessary.
Makes me think things aren't going too well. I still like visiting the store from time to time to see what's going on with computer products. I bought my first computer there.

MadeULook · Jul 23, 2019

My local Fry's seems to be more and more sparse everytime I go there nowadays. I still get the occasional part or cable if I need it ASAP. That and the occasional Blu-ray, which is a leap of faith.

piratethingy · Jul 23, 2019

Vark said:
The one in Austin has started to become increasingly shelf bare. I've been wondering the same thing lately.

Noooooo

tokyostomp · Jul 23, 2019

Fallen92 said:
I wouldn't be surprised if they're thinking of closing down some of their less profitable locations. Luckily the Fry's near me, City of Industry in CA, is always well stocked when I go there and they seem to be doing pretty well. Have gotten a lot of my PC parts from there so it would suck if they suddenly closed down.

I was there a few days ago and it was barren af.

Fallen92 · Jul 23, 2019

tokyostomp said:
I was there a few days ago and it was barren af.

Really? granted I last went there a couple of months ago so it has been a while but not that long. I guess there just letting whatever stock they had left run out. They certainly haven't had as many customers going to their stores like they used to when I went as a kid but it would suck to lose them. Specially since the only other tech store near me is Mircrocenter but it's in Tustin,CA which is an hour away from me.

yap · Jul 23, 2019

What a trip. My local Fry's was also barren when I went last week. No art tablets, few gpus, all the gamer chairs were gone and they didn't even have the monitors on display. Just the boxes on the stands.

I was pretty sad. They never had the best prices, but they've saved my ass when I found myself in a computer emergency last year. Even then, it was fun being able to browse such wide variety of computer parts right in front of you.

Plano, Texas btw.

iareharSon · Jul 23, 2019

The three in San Jose / Santa Clara seem fine to me

mute · Jul 23, 2019

I've only been to one in Vegas, none in my neck of the woods. The facade looked like a big slot machine which I thought was neat, but the inside had this typical slow retail death feel to it. Was about 8 years ago too.

I did appreciate the more discrete electronic components/radio shack type stuff though. Other than that I didn't find it too different from a Comp USA/Tiger Direct/etc.

CeramicDragon · Jul 23, 2019

Fountain Valley, CA fry's is depressing. I go to microcenter now for my PC parts. I don't have to look to see if the item is a return or not.

Lactose_Intolerant · Jul 23, 2019

nextgeneration said:
Here's a cool Fry's video. They even have footage of this Fry's location from 1994.

This is the store I shop at. It has tons of crap but the pc parts selection has always been ok for me.

I usually go there when I need a cable or part immediately.

edit: this dude does a lot of arizona malls and stuff, pretty interesting for me.

scitek · Jul 24, 2019

Tunic said:
Sounds very similar to the one in Renton, WA. Tried to get some parts for the PC I built in December and it was a barren wasteland.

:( I used to visit that one a lot. I live in FL now where there isn't a Fry's or Microcenter in the whole state. Having to order everything online sucks. I hope these stores don't disappear. There weren't many of either to begin with.

Arkaign · Jul 24, 2019

yap said:
What a trip. My local Fry's was also barren when I went last week. No art tablets, few gpus, all the gamer chairs were gone and they didn't even have the monitors on display. Just the boxes on the stands.

I was pretty sad. They never had the best prices, but they've saved my ass when I found myself in a computer emergency last year. Even then, it was fun being able to browse such wide variety of computer parts right in front of you.

Plano, Texas btw.

Yep :( I noticed the same thing with the monitors. I also went there to find an SSD, nearly zero available beyond some weirdly overpriced stuff, 90% of the shelf was just empty. That was after another recent visit to get a Mini USB cable for a keyboard I have, and they didn't have that either, loads of empty pegs where cables once were. Driving ten minutes up the freeway and everything I was looking for was at micro center. Even buying a stick of ram there was tough, guy was sure they would be out of stock on it, so I turned around, and then he surprised both of us by saying they had dozens.

I think their overhead is overkill. Absolutely gigantic stores that are difficult and expensive to staff is tough. I noticed the register staff is a skeleton crew as well even at 'peak' hours like 6-8pm. As opposed to the constant green lights and bunches of cashiers in the past.

TAJ · Jul 24, 2019

I've been to the store in that video many times over the last few decades.
The other store in the San Diego area is also well on its way to dying.

Lactose_Intolerant · Jul 24, 2019

Arkaign said:
As opposed to the constant green lights and bunches of cashiers in the past.

Yeah, they use to have like 10 cashiers, now they have like 3.

TheMadTitan · Jul 24, 2019

Fry's in Vegas is looking pretty barren, too. Always thought the store was too big, even before the Amazon thing. Physical stores of that size don't need to exist anymore, but physical spaces will always have a place in the market since every little thing is not worth a wait. If I need specific cables or fuses, that's something I'd much rather run out into the town to get and bring back home with me the same day rather than waiting on shipping since I probably need it right now. Beds, car elaborate home theater set ups, and so on, you can do with having a few on hand and opt for everything else to be shipped and installed. Fry's can survive with an increased online presence and smaller physical stores.

They lack the advantage Best Buy has of essentially having its store be a warehouse hub since there's maybe one on average in each town.

I went to one Fry's in LA that was maybe a fourth the size of an average store; that's something they could do well with.

MaverickHunterX · Jul 24, 2019

Frys used to have a ton of hidden clearances. But to be honest, I've held a grudge since the time I waited out in the cold for nearly 8 hours for the limited edition of Majoras Mask 3D, only for the fucking employees to buy them up before the store opened.

So, while I do feel for the good people that work there, to the individuals that had me go back to my gf empty handed on Valentine's Day:

shark97 · Jul 24, 2019

TheMadTitan said:
Fry's in Vegas is looking pretty barren, too. Always thought the store was too big, even before the Amazon thing. Physical stores of that size don't need to exist anymore, but physical spaces will always have a place in the market since every little thing is not worth a wait. If I need specific cables or fuses, that's something I'd much rather run out into the town to get and bring back home with me the same day rather than waiting on shipping since I probably need it right now. Beds, car elaborate home theater set ups, and so on, you can do with having a few on hand and opt for everything else to be shipped and installed. Fry's can survive with an increased online presence and smaller physical stores.

They lack the advantage Best Buy has of essentially having its store be a warehouse hub since there's maybe one on average in each town.

I went to one Fry's in LA that was maybe a fourth the size of an average store; that's something they could do well with.

Its getting close. Small dollar cables cant support a store, and amazon shipping gets faster every day. Next day and now even same day

wild_one · Jul 24, 2019

yap said:
What a trip. My local Fry's was also barren when I went last week. No art tablets, few gpus, all the gamer chairs were gone and they didn't even have the monitors on display. Just the boxes on the stands.

I was pretty sad. They never had the best prices, but they've saved my ass when I found myself in a computer emergency last year. Even then, it was fun being able to browse such wide variety of computer parts right in front of you.

Plano, Texas btw.

I haven't been to a Fry's in probably a few months, but to hear that the Plano location is as you describe just confuses me, since it shares design with the Irving location. I may just have to stop by to see how things are.

TheMadTitan · Jul 24, 2019

shark97 said:
Its getting close. Small dollar cables cant support a store, and amazon shipping gets faster every day. Next day and now even same day

It's not next day and same day everywhere, though. Or even in most places. Hell, if the Fry's in Vegas were in a more centralized part of town, I'd literally be able to go there and come home with items that same day shipping wouldn't have even gotten to my house yet. Coupled with things you need to see in person like TV's, laptops, and cell phones, physical retail has a place. It's also why Amazon is opening small stores. Small footprints backed by huge online presences would do wonders for everyone.

Imagine if every closed Radioshack was backed by Amazon or eBay for online orders and those sites were backed by Radioshack as small warehouse hubs for shipping and online pickup.

I Think My Local Fry’s is Closing (Total Speculation)

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