With the constant 20% off coupons, and bare shelves, Fry's has to be circling the drain. The number of computer and monitors has been decreased so much, that one can only wonder why. Their creditors must not be extending them credit. Maybe all of their sales now are purely a cash grab.
I really wish I was wrong about this, but the writing has to be on the walls.
Worked there in the past.. was paid decently well.. 20 to 30 a hr as a salesman and 30 to 40 as a supervisor... used to love working there... glad I got out though
I went today off 635 in Coppell/Irving. It's all due to China buying them. So sad, been going between Fry's and MicroCenter. Another America fail. We don't even own our roads any more.
FRYS IN WOODLAND HILLS NO ONE TO HELP , 1 EMPLOYEE IN COMPUTER DEPARTMENT NO EMPLOYEES IN COMPONENTS , NO INVENTORY... NO STAFF... .
Was just at Fry's Roseville CA location... Saaad.. rows and rows of empty.. rows (not just shelves) granted it was about 5 years ago I realized how bad they been ripping me off. I'm in IT and use to spend a ton at Fry's. But due to the prices. The poor response to price-matching, and I don't appreciate being followed into the bathroom by sales associates when I was shopping there 2-3 times a week. I don't want to say they deserve this, because there are many employees and families that rely on the business. But I will say they choose this. There really wasn't a reason for it.
They have no one to blame but themselves. Their approach to their customers became as unfriendly as any I have ever personally experienced, especially their returns area. Darn shame, two of the best items I have every purchased were at Fry's. What they originally were is going to be missed. Back then, first item I purchased was a pair of 32 MB SIMMs (yes, MB).
Like most on here I have shopped at Fry's and purchased my components to build my gaming PC rigs over the years. Back in April 2019 I was looking for a 2TB Samsung SSD so I went to my local Fry's (San Marcos). Salesman stated, we are waiting on out shipments. Hardly any SSD's to be found. I did pick up a 6TB external drive for my music.
This past Saturday (8/31/19) I decided to go back to Fry's and they only had two motherboards on the shelves. Rows and rows of empty shelves. It was sad. I was looking for new GPU and I was surprised they had a EVGA 2080Ti FTW3 Ultra in stock. However the salesman said no returns for the GPU once opened and if there is a problem you need to send it back to EVGA. I decided to pass and went to Microcenter in Tustin and purchased it for $100 cheaper and also a $100 mail in rebate.
I would like to see them regain there days of glory but it is not looking good. The stocking area of the store has nothing on the shelves.
As a follow up, I will bet that some of the Calif. locations have real estate worth more than the value of the store that sits on the land.
A second confirmation that the Duluth, GA store was a "ghost town" on August 31. Now that I know that even the stores on Fry's home turf in California are in the same state of low stock, I think they are "circling the drain" as a company.
Every dog has its day, so the old saying goes. Fry's appears to have past its prime.
Also to add... I wish Fry's would ask what people want, or do better analytics to see what to buy, what to stock. Their stores don't need to be supermarket sized. They don't need to sell perfume, magazines, and "as seen on TV" garbage. They didn't need 900 parking spaces and 90 registers. They needed to be pickier about what amazing deals they picked up from suppliers and stuffed the shelves with. And their site needed to be less of an absolute nightmare to search and browse! Then maybe this wouldn't be happening.
There's now a Fry's size hole in the world, waiting for someone to fill the need for local specialized geek stuff.
I'm sitting in my car outside Fry's Sunnyvale right now, plugged in at a ChargePoint station that they set the minimum price at $3/session, having plugged in at that price out of sheer charity.
I went in looking for a bog standard 12v/9ah (or 7ah) lead UPS battery. Something they used to commonly stock. Instead, the aisles were bare. A "going out of business sale" without the signs, or the sale. A few things I saw and said, no way I'm paying that much for that!
I'm seriously bothered that Fry's is going down the drain like this. In Silicon Valley, Fry's is the only place left to still buy silicon. WeirdStuff, gone. HSC, dead or dying (their pricing policy asked for it, though). Fry's too? When will Amazon get its neck on the line for literally becoming a monopoly?
I hope a Micro Center opens up in the San Fernando Valley in California.
When Fry's Burbank and Woodland Hills close their doors, there is no other tech geek stores within 50 miles.
Fry's Burbank is a tomb. When I have PC hardware parts need, I'd like to go to a retail store and give them my money. Since Fry's s—s, I'm forced to buy Amazon. Newegg's return policy is atrocious.
Micro Center in Tustin is the closest to where I live. I'm not willing to drive 55 miles each way on the 5 freeway! That's 1.5 hours each way with traffic.
If Fry's was a ham, its ready to slice. They are so done. I spent my techie years in Fry's and now the shelves are empty. There is nothing to spend a Saturday afternoon gawking at. The staff is a skeleton crew and they will be gone after Christmas 2019. Trying to hold on to sell existing inventory. Reminds me of Kmart when they were getting small.
Wonder if Microcenter would consider taking over some of Fry's warehouses (in various locations) - where they do not have a presence yet
Woodland Hills Ca Fry's is drained bought lost of Xmas gifts in Dec 2018– just went to store mid-July OMG so empty-"WE ARE CHANGING NEW VENDORS " Will have more stock in a few weeks.
from reading above don't think so.
Regarding the San Marcos store, it is definitely going down. I know. I work there. At least I think I do...Fry's rarely fires anybody. They just don't give any hours to the people they don't need anymore. They're just hoping we'll all kind of drift away.
But no, to see what's happened to Fry's, to have lived it day by day watching the spaces on the shelves slowly grow in size until they connect up with the other spaces, to have looked into the defeated eyes of my fellow associates and friends as we roam the empty aisles together has been sad only...sad truly... Nobody wanted to see this happen. I heard from a lot of customers who said Fry's was like an institution in their lives. They LOVED to come in and just walk around, checking out ALL the crazy stuff we sold. One man told me that he had a brother-in-law who lived out of state and whenever they came on vacation, a visit to Fry's was always at the top of the list of what he wanted to do while in San Diego. I really loved working at Fry's and I'll tell you why. It was because of the other associates. And I'm not the only one who felt that way. I've heard so many say exactly the same thing. I've never worked anywhere before where so many people from such diverse backgrounds got along so well. We all genuinely seemed to like one another for the most part. And we all worked so hard to make Fry's a truly unique shopping experience for our customers. I can tell you what did us in, in case you haven't figured it out yet. Amazon.com. But I'm not harboring ill will toward Amazon. I think it was inevitable. Kind of like when the white man came to America and took it from the Indians. If we hadn't done it, someone else would have. It was inevitable. What could we do? You can't expect people to pay more for something when they can get it for less. It's math, not magic.
Here's the last thing I want to say.
Since we entered the tech age some 70 odd years ago, society has undergone the most profound and revolutionary changes the world has ever known. And I am proud to say that Fry's Electronics has reigned as a leader in an industry that has come to the forefront and stood on the cutting edge of mankind's most rapidly evolving culture ever realized and we held that place for 34 wondrous years. Everything has its time in the sun and boy did we have ours.
At long last and with heavy heart it is time to say...
The King is dead...
Long live the King.
Just came from Fry’s in Renton, WA. We walked around for 15 minutes in a state of disbelief. The place is notorious for empty shelves in some sections, but PC components were always plentiful until about January 2019.
Today, we saw: 1 motherboard, 3 computer cases, 6 Switch games, 8 Xbox One games.
The repair shop looked like it’s been empty for months.
Furniture, appliances, and gym equipment have all been moved together into a single section - no new stock, almost everything is floor models.
The computer section is now filled with refurb units, and all but 1 row of display tables are empty. There were 6 monitors on display - only 3 had stock.
The stock room was EMPTY, and shelves that once had cases of extra motherboards and computer components had been removed.
The only products they seem to have left are “as seen on TV,” off-brand or obsolete Flash drives, and a TON of Thermaltake cooling components.
What a sad end to a place that was paradise for a tech geek.
Yes the Fry's that was right off Lawrence is gone and has been since 2007 when they moved down the street to there currently location on Arques and Santa Trinita Ave which is open though why is beyond me as they have no stock. Obvious the last poster hadn't been to their Sunnyvale location for around 12 years. The Palo Alto location is currently the only store confirmed to be closing but that is due to their lease expiring and the City wanting to redevelop the land. Sadly I think Fry's is a lost cause as I don't think even if they condensed all the SF Bay Area locations into one store it would have much stock.
I just (8/31) went to the store of off Lawerence Expressway and found it gone. It looks like it was sold for the property value, I then went to the store in Campbell and it was nearly empty. I had to ask an employee where the batteries were, because I did not see any when I walked by where they use to be. They were still there, but the had only a few, most of the hooks were empty. Another employee said they'll get more in a few weeks (yea sure), I went to Best Buy instead. I too remember when the Campbell store was really busy, now it's like a ghost town.
Fry's Duluth and Alpharetta, GA like a ghost town. NO stock on the shelves and the inventory storage area looked really sparse too.
Hi the Fry’s Electronics Store in Concord looking just as empty barley anything there, they will be closing down like another stores, like Palo Alto, Fremont and Milpitas.
Went to the San Marcos, CA location twice in the last couple weeks and again today; used to always hang out there and buy movies and computers/computer parts when I was in college. Can confirm, it's empty; in fact it's noticeably emptier every time I've been there. The entire DVD/Blu-ray/4k section has been reduced a single row and none of the stock is being replaced. The racks that create the rows themselves are disappearing, creating wide open spaces in the middle of the store. Limited number of employees, one cash register open out of 40+. 6 months ago there were still decent sized lines with multiple registers open but now maybe 7 customers in the ENTIRE store. It's just so damn SAD; that place is beautiful, especially with the live fish tanks, the Atlantis theme and the Jacob's ladders and has always been my go to for electronics issues but in the last 6 months it's like it has some sort of terminal cancer eating itself away on the inside and it feels like it's speeding up and any week now it's all going to disappear forever!
Can echo the same others are saying, but about the South Houston location. Been going there since just after they opened, but lately miles of empty shelves (unless you want as-seen-on-tv c-ap, knockoff perfume (wtf) or a mattress.) They haven't had any soldering equipment for a couple of months. Still have tons of microusb cables, though.
More than worth the extra 30-40 minutes each way to go to Micro Center instead.
Pretty sure that the line about it being because of the tariffs is total BS because Best Buy and Micro center are both fully stocked.
ALSO: Friendly reminder that EPO/Electronic Parts Outlet on Fondren is still around and is still the amazing electronics candy store that it's always been.
Was at frys san diego/mission valley Aug 2019... Best description is 'GHOST TOWN' parking lot nearly empty, no employees walking around to help... I saw about 6 employyes total, no help, I asked one are they planning to close for good and the reply was "we are not told anything" ... Well that didn't sound very reassuring... It was a waste of my time
, they were out of most basic items, shelves 80% empty, few choices left...
I was at Frye's in Vegas today, and same situation as described below – old, tired inventory and numerous empty shelves.
I asked the cashier "when are you closing" and he responded "they haven't told us yet".
In Frys Wilsonville Store about half the shelfs are empty. The place has only old inventory. This place will be closed soon.
I went today i was in need of rj45 cat 5e connwctors they said they had no stock and were waiting for big shipment in a few weeks ... A Few WEEKS! The guy i finally found after not finding anything said its been months and the business has been really slow . They didnt even have cat5 cable ! So disappointed this seems like simple mismanagement. Trade war hasnt even hit yet . This was in Anaheim CA
Went to Fountain Valley store today. Maybe 10 employees in the whole place. No stock. Prices not dropping. Sad but inevitable. Guess I’ll wait for the fire sale.
Online sales,new egg,amazon etc has k–led fry's. I mean let's be honest here,even Costco has better TV prices. There is no trade war, only negotiations as of yet.
I used to love fry's. Could hang out there all day.
I hate Best Buy.
I prefer buying computer parts in store where I could see and touch the items before buying. Looks like Best Buy will be my go to place. Not too thrilled.
I used to work at Fry’s Fremont from 2000-2004 and it was always so busy! I was making good commission back then too. I visited the Campbell Store a week ago and the parking lot was emptier than usual. When I went into the store everything was out of place, and the shelves were empty. I wanted to get a Bluetooth keyboard but they didn’t have any! One woman was at front check out. It’s insane get pics of these stores while you can they won’t be around much longer!
The Las Vegas store has been going down for months. The empty shelves are being filled with the big cardboard box items from the store rooms in back. If you look through the storeroom doors you will see the shelves almost completely empty of stock, Need a processor for your computer? There are only six options still available. Their huge board of options has been decimated. They no longer build computers...that service disappeared months ago. The appliances are down to a small portion of the previous amount of floor stock. They seem to be selling everything they can at full price before officially pulling the plug. My son the computer builder is in mourning. I'm sorry to see them go but at this time I can't see any other option.
As a vendor Fry's is the worst customer we have ever had and every other vendor we have talked to says the same. Very sleezy company to work with. For example, lets say you have terms of 1% net 30. They will cut the check on day 28 or 29 but just never mail it. This so that they money doesn't actually go out but continues to be able to be used to earn interest, fudge the books, etc. It would normally take 4 to 6 monts to actually get the payment with us constantly hounding them. This isn't a recent problem but how they have done business for the 15+ years we have been a "partner" with them. Its not surprising they are having problems when this is how you treat "partners".
Went to Frys today 8-27-2019 to get a 2TB 5400RPM hard drive. Left with a 3TB 7200RPM drive because it was the absolute last Hard Drive on the shelf! Doesn't look good to me! They said it was due to the trade war. Went to Office Depot and the hard drive shelf was full.
We are at the Renton store and asked why do bare. They told us it was due to the China trade war!
Arlington, Tx store is the same way. Just bare shelves everywhere. I went looking for a video card and couldn’t find one in the store.
I went to the Renton, WA store last Friday and walked out 3 minutes later. One lap around the store told me all I needed to know...... They are going away. Very sad....
Any employees on this board? If yes, any of you interested in having separate topics on this board? I see a ton of views, we may use this to talk internally while being anonymous
This is the response I received..
"We are reorganizing inventory. Stay tuned for a couple of weeks. You now can order from any store, and it will be shipped to you directly"
Sounds like they will try to survive via online sales. Seriously doubting they will restock.
Fry’s refurbished was always a lie. They just re-boxed returns without any repair or testing. A business that dishonest never lasts.
yeap, I think you are correct... just came from the Concord CA store, bare shelves, even TV section (their highest margin sales) gone... I'm afraid the handwriting is on the wall...
when asked, the salesperson said, "they are looking for another supplier", hand full of BS...
RIP Incredible Universe, WIZ, Radio Shack... now Fry's .... bye bye...