Offer more stuff at Radio Shack..
Ravenkallen
Posts: 1,057
I am not sure who makes these deals, if it is you guys or it is Radio Shack. But i think you guys should sell more stuff through them. i love to be able to walk into a store and BUY Parallax stuff!!! That is where i got my first PING sensor and RFID module. I would be even willing to pay a little more for the convenience factor... It would be be so cool if they started selling the Propeller demo boards and maybe even BOE-BOTS and stuff.. this might be the big boost Radio Shack needs to get back in business...That is something that Arduino doesn't have on you guys and probably never will...
Comments
and they are not that big to store .
same goes for the Prop too..
Being part of change in RadioShack is not for those with a short attention span. Each product in their stores took a year or several of planning. Right now we're in the middle of another increase in the Parallax selection.
I'm interested in hearing about what kinds of products you may like to buy from them.
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc.
We're funny consumers as we tend to wait for sales that Radio Shack or other stores might have and I at least compare them to what I can get online. The mall stores have to pay rent and I once inquired about opening a Kiosk. They have a fine if you open your store late, they have a fine if you leave early. Lets say that it is a $1,000 a month they wanted in rent and they want a share of the profits. Around holidays, they want double the rent. They made a pet store move three times and the pet store went out of business not because they weren't making the money because they were... but because they couldn't afford to move three times. Construction and remodeling can exceed monthly income. Another store closed and declared in the paper they made less than $100 in profit because your profits go to the mall so it is a very hard business to be in and a lot of owners are scared.
As far as products go, I would probably go with beginner products and items that are building blocks to your next product. I think you might want to look at the products some of your resellers stock because they know what they can sell. You might want them to stock the Boe-Bot or Scribbler because someone will see the Robot and want to tackle that.
While I was there, I bought all their Parallax "Light to Frequency converters" and "RFID Reader with tags" which were on clearance because they were not selling? I got these for about 1/5 the normal price.
The store I was at (small town) has a large cell phone section. Every time I go in, there are other customers there looking at cell phones and cell phone accessories...
With that said, I think something cell phone related would get "their" attention!
And younger people in my area are impatient and don't want to do a lot of reading. Large instruction manuals are out. They don't even read short instruction manuals.
They don't want to learn how to do something, rather they want someone to tell them what to do or how to do something. One young person I know (22) has read only one whole book in her entire life. They don't read books. And she has a high school diploma.
Perhaps a video instruction manual would go over better than a "book"? Or a video which would play on their cell phone?
So EZ to connect and EZ to get working would be a BIG plus.
Then the younger people like blinking LEDs and want to "do things" with their cell phones.
One young person said he wanted his Android phone to start his car.
However Android phones at the Radio Shack near me are around $400 now. That is out of reach for most people in my area. I would expect the price of these to go down?
Note a younger friend of mine is always telling me what he can do with his cell phone "apps". That is his life. Cell phone, Playstation, and TV.
What's really important for all of us to know about the value of RadioShack is the exposure. RadioShack is the only retailer with 5,000 stores, accessible to 95% off all Americans within a five-mile drive.
Even though we've all got our jokes about their stores, this very important fact remains: many, many first-time microcontroller users found their BASIC Stamp at RadioShack while browsing around, looking for "cool stuff" that might inspire them to build some kind of project. We regularly receive e-mails from customers who tell us "I just wandered into RadioShack, found the BASIC Stamp Activity Kit, and was able to develop an interest I had always thought about but didn't know where to start".
This isn't about profit, but marketing. Bringing exposure to this industry is good for all of us. Access spurs inventions and entrepreneurs and more interesting opportunities for us(/1/). If small business is responsible for post-recession recovery, if robotics and electronics is part of America's future business success, then RadioShack needs to be there alongside e-retailers.
Ken Gracey
Parallax Inc
/1/ To those outside of the USA - and you probably already know this - most all Americans on this discussion forum (especially those over the age of 30-40 or so) grew up buying parts at RadioShack. The Mimms books, 300-1 kits, speakers, 8-track players, strobe lights, CB radios, electronic kits and components provided us with much inspiration that inevitably contributed to our interests today.
I wouldn't worry about all the people out there who don't like to read, to enjoy this stuff you have to be self motivated. I think those are the people that you're trying to reach. You just want those people to find/ think Parallax first while they try and create their projects. That's why I choose Parallax. I didn't have any real electronic experience so I needed something that had a very low barrier. I didn't want to do the NXT or FIRST systems because I wanted something that wasn't a closed system and something that was "real electronics." I found this with the Boe-Bot and I haven't stopped since! I just wish that I had found Parallax before I graduated from collage.
Today there are two rs stores within about a 15min drive from where I live, a third rs is a about five minute walk from where I work. It's the one with a decent selection of parts and Parallax products.
another thought since Android is all the rage these days, How about a "Master controller" board the size of BOE board that could be added to a boe bot,scribbler, or stingray to handle large amounts data storage or long distance communication or whatever one can dream up.
-dan
A couple months ago, Radio Shack discounted a bunch of RFID Parallax parts. (Apparently from a double order of some kind.) I commented to the manager that the price was fantastic, when I was buying some other items, but being that I already had a couple of that item, I didn't purchase it.
The manager asked me what on earth these parts would be used for. So I took a few minutes to explain RFID and how the sensors worked, and encouraged him to buy one of the BASIC stamp kits. (I would have steered him toward Propeller, except Radio Shack doesn't carry it.) and left the store.
A couple days later I returned to purchase something I forgot and found that all of those parts were gone. Questioning the guy at the counter, I was told that the manager bought all of them, hoping to come up with some project. Except that he didn't purchase the stamp kit, and had no idea where to start out, other than they looked cool in concept.
I'm wondering if they wound up on Ebay.
I haven't had a chance to catch up with him to ask what he did.
OBC
Once people get started they can go online for additional parts, projects, etc.
Robert
Ravenkallen, have you been reading my e-mail? You bet we're working with them! Just today we agreed to schedule another meeting so I'll be going to Fort Worth very soon. If you haven't been there it's a really nice place in many ways: a comfy downtown, the most friendly people (next to the Carolinas), great BBQ, and . . .but you mentioned our parts in their stores. That's the objective for both companies. These kinds of changes can be very slow and they're not for somebody in my position who wants it now - RadioShack is a fairly conservative place and they're in a long-term relationship with Parallax. It is very important to put the right products in their queue, at the right prices, in the right place. There is no room for bad suggestions or poor research. Serious stuff!
Ken Gracey
Stingray and/or BOE-bots in the window at the mall during Christmas! I'm telling you, you will sell out!