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A Radio Shack Surprise — Parallax Forums

A Radio Shack Surprise

Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
edited 2011-11-15 17:24 in General Discussion
Got this in the mail today.
Read no meaning into my posting it here, just thought it was interesting.

Attachment not found.Attachment not found.

Comments

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2011-11-15 12:41
    The Shack is a-two-timin' on us !!!
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2011-11-15 13:07
    Yep, that's the stuff. I shouldn't admit this, but when I was asking one of my local Shacks about the new Parallax items, the clerk brought out the Make: Getting started with Arduino and Make: Ultimate Microcontroller Pack w/ Arduino Kits. So being me, I bought them too.

    Now before the flames start - what kind of Parallax fanboy would I be if I didn't check out the competition?

    Paul
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2011-11-15 13:31
    The point is that RS is -- by whatever means -- attracting new DIYers. That will help everyone in the biz, including Parallax. Besides, it's better to have the Arduinos in RadioShack than in Walmart. At least when folks go to RS to buy their Arduinos, they'll get some exposure to Parallax stuff, too, and that certainly can't hurt.

    As Mr. Burns says, "I like to keep my friends close and my enemies closer!" :)

    -Phil
  • Martin HodgeMartin Hodge Posts: 1,246
    edited 2011-11-15 14:13
    I agree with Phil. This kind of thing is good for everybody.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,259
    edited 2011-11-15 14:27
    Phew. So I shouldn't feel bad that I recently bought my first Arduino Uno off Ebay China?

    If it's any consolation to Parallax, it will probably sit on my shelf next to my C-Stamp, Basic Atom, and TI Launchpad for a long while. :)
  • GordonMcCombGordonMcComb Posts: 3,366
    edited 2011-11-15 15:32
    erco wrote: »
    Phew. So I shouldn't feel bad that I recently bought my first Arduino Uno off Ebay China?

    Rarely are these real Arduino boards, especially since they're sold for far less than distributor cost. You bought a black-market knockoff that's trading on the Arduino name. They can copy the board exactly, but they put the Arduino brand on it. But of course they do, to make people think they're buying a real Arduino board, with the same quality control.

    I know you didn't post to get beat up about it, but we shouldn't be supporting these sellers who are stealing intellectual property, even if it is open source. They can just as easily make an Arduino-compatible board for the $18-20 they're selling these for, and call it something else so people know what they're getting.

    -- Gordon
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-11-15 15:43
    ...to make people think they're buying a real Arduino board, with the same quality control.

    Oh no.
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-11-15 17:01
    This was the scene at the Massillon Radio Shack (One of the 500) Tonight.

    I used the $5.00 Arduino coupon to buy something for my Propeller. (Serial LCD)

    OBC
    Radio Shack.jpg
    1024 x 1365 - 208K
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2011-11-15 17:24
    I can see the future at RS marketing:

    "...and here we see the increase in Parallax sales line tracks very closely to the Arduino coupon use rate! Smithers! Get in here!"
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