Yes, I’m on a Radio Shack writing binge this week. Radio Shack’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy and subsequent closing of nearly 1,800 stores is a big deal. We’re talking about a company that has been around for more than 80 years. The silver lining in this cloud for us radio geeks of course are those glorious Radio Shack clearance sales!
Don’t expect the deals to be as good as they were 9 years ago when Radio Shack held their first round of store closings. In 2006, the company closed several underperforming stores in multiple states. I was able to purchase scanners, ham radios, antennas, rotors, masts, tripods, and several other items for as low as 20 cents on the dollar! This time, there is not nearly as much clearance merchandise to choose from. The reason is that Radio Shack does not carry nearly as many items as they used to. Over the years, they have been cutting back their inventory of radio equipment, focusing instead on cell phones/smartphones and accessories. Also, I’ve heard that many of the high dollar items are being shipped to stores that will remain open instead of being sold on clearance. Still, it’s worth your time to check stores in your area which are going out of business. At my local store, everything in the store is being sold at 60-80% off the original retail price. I was in yesterday and found a telescoping scanner antenna (the “good” one with the low VHF coil in the middle) for $6.00! There were also several rechargeable batteries/chargers, some cell phone accessories (no phones), plus a decent selection of clearance antenna mounting kits (tripods, chimney straps, etc.)
There are some deals to be found out there. A friend in Minnesota grabbed a Uniden Bearcat BCD396XLT for $100, brand new in the box! I’ve also heard of Grundig shortwave receivers being found at clearance prices. As always, the “good stuff” goes quickly, so get to Radio Shack and take advantage of their 2015 store closing clearance sales!