“The hedge fund Standard General was the top bidder with $26.2 million for RadioShack’s brand name and customer data. The same firm bought out Radio Shack’s 1,700 store leases in March, as noted by Bloomberg,” Neil Hughes reports for AppleInsider. “But as the bidding process was underway in a Delaware bankruptcy court, Apple joined the proceedings with a filing of its own. Specifically, the iPhone maker argued that its agreements with RadioShack prevent customer data obtained from those buying Apple products from being resold.”
“Also joining was AT&T, who said that RadioShack ‘seemingly intends’ to sell information obtained during the sale of AT&T devices,” Hughes reports. “The judge overseeing the case must still approve Standard General’s bid for RadioShack, as well as the exchange of accompanying customer data, including some 67 million physical addresses and 8.5 million email addresses.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What a morass RadioShack was, is, and continues to be.
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RadioShack vows to auction off customers’ personal information in bankruptcy sale – March 26, 2015
Moribund RadioShack prepares to pull plug; NYSE suspends trading – February 3, 2015
Eulogy for RadioShack, the panicked and half-dead retail empire – December 1, 2014
Beleaguered RadioShack: Bankruptcy could be imminent – September 10, 2014
Apple’s retail market share grows as RadioShack and Best Buy shrink – March 7, 2014
Beleaguered RadioShack to close up to 1,100 U.S. stores – March 4, 2014
RadioShack cuts $20 off AT&T iPhone 5 models through December 15th – December 5, 2012
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RadioShack to sell Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS – November 7, 2009
RadioShack CEO: We’re selling all the Apple iPods we can get – October 21, 2005
So that’s why they always asked for my zipcode.
It was the most valuable part of their business : )
I never minded giving them my zipcode. I figure that’s a pretty big area. But I remember when they actually asked for more, address and phone number, I think. The first time I was asked, I kind of stuttered in confusion, “Why do you need to know that?” The cashier immediately just skipped that step and rang me up. Thereafter, when asked, I’d just say “no”.
But, y’know, the awkwardness of having to refuse to give out personal information at the register was a significant disincentive for me to shop there. I figure I can’t be the only one who felt that way.
MDN’s comment needs to remove 3 letters from “morass”.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Definition of MOR
: forest humus that forms a layer of largely organic matter distinct from the mineral soil beneath
🙂
in 1997, I paid $65 for a 6′ parallel cable for our plotter at RS at about 5:45pm because we needed to get some plots out that evening and to fed ex by 8:30pm and one of the pins had broken on our cable. I was glad they had one, but I was absolutely incensed at the price. I swore I’d never set foot in a RS again. I haven’t been in a RS since.
PS: we actually returned that cable about a week later after purchasing one for $18 at CompUSA. (someone else went down there to get the money back)
PSS: obviously, RS has improved their pricing and customer service since then. NOT. Sometimes, retailers don’t remember that customers have long memories.
You rarely got “deals” at Radio Shack. They were the True Value Hardware store of electronics. Jack of all electronic trades & master of none. I prefer the more mom ‘n pop electronic stores, if you can find them. Or Fry’s maybe or online mostly.
I’ve always called Radio Shack “The Adapter Store.” I’ll bet if I needed to connect a 300 baud acoustic coupling modem to a Thunderbolt port, they probably have an adapter for that.
And even then it’s only a rare trip. I have bought boatloads of adapters from them in the past but a lot of current technology doesn’t need nearly as much of that kind of stuff anymore. When I recently bought a bunch of XLR cables from Sweetwater to create a poor man’s Dolby 5.1 mixing room it was something I’d never consider buying from RS. I hate to tell you how many audio & computer cables I own (finally threw out the SCSI ones) and the wife would love me to throw out. Guess I’m a cable hoarder. 🙂 BUT, you never know when you might need another one…
I can’t believe the downvotes! Apparently Radio Shack has a fanclub…
——RM
Radio Shack has a BIG fan club. I bought the parts for my 6 tube radio for my high school electronics class there.
The problem is, the march of technology and back alley whore prices made Radio Shack a dinosaur.
At some point when I was about 16 years old and I realized that I knew more than the sales reps, my affinity for RadioShack bottomed out . . . . And that was 20 years ago.
Surprised there’s ANYTHING left to sell of that brand.
The most valuable company asset is customer data.
TRS-80:
Voice recognition.
Voice synthesizer.
Ability to control any ac (turn on tv, dim the lights)
Microsoft Basic: easy to program yourself. All in 1979 !
Best thing out there now is PureBasic..
I went to a local university…mac user group…
NOT ONE PERSON KNEW how to program !!!!!
Used to be, most EVERYONE did. That’s a shame.
10 REM
20 GOTO 10
30 Radio Shack RIP. Is there somewhere else now, to buy electronic parts?
To make homemade brainwave recognition? To use eye tracking instead of a mouse?
$26 million. How pathetic for a once thriving business.