Microcenter does pretty well for itself. I’ve started checking them before I buy from newegg/amazon, and I’d say it’s about a 50% chance they are cheaper, and if they aren’t they price match.
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I had a fantastic experience buying everything for my new workstation from Microcenter (save for the monitor). Great prices and the security of will call vs 'Zon Logistics chucking your package nearly from the street at random hours.
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The Corporate Headquarters for the Microstore is near Columbus, Ohio. Their store in Columbus is about 4 times larger than the Richardson store. Boy can you get lost in that store! Of course they also carry a lot more product. They have one whole aisle dedicated to the new items only. Been there, it’s a great visit if you are ever in the neighborhood.
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I don’t let anyone check my receipt unless I actively agreed to do so. Fry’s, Wal-Mart, whatever, I just walk past them. I’m always tempted to say something like “This receipt doesn’t show all the items I stuffed down my pants, so I’m good,” but then I think better of it.
My favorite thing is when they’re checking things (like groceries) that i’m 100% sure that I’ll never be returning. They put their hand out for the receipt, I hand it off to them and don’t break stride on my way out the door. It’s their trash to throw in the garbage now!
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I like shopping their clearance items when I’m in a different city. It’s a game to see what I can find that I can use, but find cheaply.
I picked up four of these in San Jose yesterday before flying home. I had to check that bag at the airport. 
$12.15 each.
They have some at the local stores too… I just didn’t realize it before my trip. These are going to go to the ranch and hang in the storage container until needed.
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I worked at the store in Arlington (and Tempe, AZ). It was bad way before this year’s decline. I guarantee it’s something shady the home office is doing. I don’t know why they aren’t running a store closing clearance and hemorrhaging money trying to keep the dead stores open. Good riddens, I’ll just drive a little farther to Microcenter.
I’ve been to that store.
Back when I used to travel frequently, I enjoyed visiting different Fry’s stores. Each one is decorated differently. The one in Las Vegas looks like a huge slot machine and the one in Burbank California has a giant flying saucer embedded in it.
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I just saw this follow up story. They are claiming the thin stock is just preparations for switching over all inventory to a consignment model. It will be interesting to see how it goes:
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I went to Fry’s on Black Friday, which has been a normal stop for me every Black Friday for at least a decade. The store was virtually empty at 4 pm. There were more salespeople than customers, and there weren’t many of either of them. Some shelves were partially filled. When I asked the clerk about it, he pointed me to a sign that explained how they were switching over to a consignment system and weren’t going out of business. I guess I should have predicted this from this Talk thread and from the fact that their Black Friday specials in the online flyer didn’t look so special.
My brother lives in Chicago area. Frys stores in his area are also poorly stocked and seem empty - and have been that way for about a year.
Back on th Microcenter topic, their warranties are amazing. Bought some Logitech headphones that bricked themselves a year later when I stupidly said “Yes” to the firmware update. I had bought the 2 year replacement warranty for really cheap (like $25). Before I even got th explanation out of my mouth as to what the problem was, the clerk scanned a gift card for the full cost I paid for them and handed it over saying I could go pick out something else.
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Per Wikipedia
Ausaf Umar Siddiqui (born 1966) also known as Omar Siddiqui is a Pakistani former corporate executive and former vice president of Fry’s Electronics. He is known to have gambled over $162 million in Las Vegas from 2005 to 2008 after embezzling money from his employer through money-laundering and wire fraud. He plead guilty and declared bankruptcy in 2011 after remaining listed as $137 million in debt.[1][2][3]
Business background[edit]
Siddiqui was hired by Fry’s Electronics in 1988.[4] Omar was promoted to vice president of the company. He received an annual salary of $225,000. Siddiqui negotiated with suppliers to pay higher prices in exchange for kickbacks which amounted to as much as 31%. He set up a shell company PC International,[1] which hid the $65.6 million in kickbacks.[2]
Gambling[edit]
Siddiqui reportedly wire transferred $70.4 million to The Venetian between 2005 and 2008. He was known by casinos as a “blackjack machine”, according to one casino industry veteran “you couldn’t deal fast enough”. Siddiqui gambled so fast he would “red line the house limit”. Siddiqui was also known as a lavish spender who enjoyed fast cars, bottles of Dom Perignon Rose and bowls of Glitterati Mentissimo peppermints.[5]
According to IRS Agent Andres Gonzalez, Siddiqui spent $162 million at MGM Grand Las Vegas and Las Vegas Sands casinos. Suspicion began in 2005, when an employee saw “confidential spreadsheets, letters and extraordinarily high commission amounts on Siddiqui’s desk”. Siddiqui had claim he was a co-owner of the company. One company, Phoebe Micro of Fremont, claimed it was the victim of Siddiqui. General manager, Peter Liu said Siddiqui asked to pay a “high marketing fee so Fry’s would prominently display Phoebe’s products”.[1]
Siddiqui is considered among to largest losers in casino gambling history.[6] He was sentenced to six years in prison for his crimes after he plead guilty to “one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering” in a plea deal where the government agreed to drop seven other felonies.[4]
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And they check OUR receipts…
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https://mondaynote.com/the-frys-era-8709a7e602eb – good writeup on Fry’s, written shortly before this thread started.
Last time I went to a Fry’s was about three years ago, I needed a wad of cat5/cat6 cables “now.” I think it was the one in Atlanta off of I-85.
I wish MC would move further north. South Richardson is a hike for me, especially now that I’ve moved close to Van Alstyne.
I don’t know how they’re going to switch to a consignment business model when they’ve already screwed their vendors. I don’t know how they can afford to keep the lights on at their stores, they would be better off cutting their losses by selling the buildings and the executives running away with their bonuses.
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Rest in Peace
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For anyone keeping score, we are now at one year since they folded. I haven’t missed them any more than the previous years, except as a big empty building I could walk through if I wanted to.
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You can always walk through Microcenter. If you walk too far you might bump into a knowledgeable employee though.
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I knew they were going out of business a few months before they folded because I got my “401K” check of $700 from when I worked there for 2 years. Their buildings are still abandoned (Arlington and Irving stores look like post apocalypse ruins)
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