I do agree some of your suggestions would bring a bit more modernization to the hobby - and that wouldn't be a bad thing, but at the same time EPO feels like my basement and I enjoy the atmosphere.

Their website needs work too. If the place is all that, then their web presence should be better.

 

My parents live about 5 miles from there... I love that place... one of the biggest electronics places I've seen. There's always something there to get the creative juices flowing at a reasonable price point. My dad and I will usually go there when I'm in town and spend about 3 hours or so just looking around. They get a lot of Johnson Space Center's surplus too, which makes for interesting gadgets to discover.

IDK... I really like the place... sure, it's an older place, and you do have to do some digging, but that's part of the fun for me. It feels like home... how much digging around in parts bins do we all do at home?

I do agree some of your suggestions would bring a bit more modernization to the hobby - and that wouldn't be a bad thing, but at the same time EPO feels like my basement and I enjoy the atmosphere.

Yeah it's fun to browse if you're already geeked out, but it won't appeal to anybody who isn't. Call me naive, but I think it's possible to gain converts. If you make things look cool enough, I bet you could attract customers that would never have been interested otherwise.

 

Their website needs work too. If the place is all that, then their web presence should be better.

Meh - They aren't trying to sell on the web - enough people do that... and the logistics of shipping can be a nightmare. With 6 million potential customers and one of the highest tech areas in the nation (big oil, NASA, med centers, chemical plants, etc) they are bound to have a strong enough following if they keep their overhead low... which they do. They don't need a strong web presence.

I went there two or three times when I was trying to complete my senior project to grab last second parts.

I feel like they have a smart business model... buy low (mostly second-hand), sell high but reasonable, and keep overhead low. That's what keeps a place open, and RS has failed to see this type of business model since the 80's and early 90's.

Any nerd in Houston worth his weight in fecal matter knows to drive past RS on the way to EPO around there.

Also, the EPO that I go to is the one in webster - on the other side of town, near NASA. They don't even mention it on their website - maybe it too closed down... I hope not... it's been a couple years now since I've been back.

Regarding radioshack... ugh... I can't stand to go in that place...

 

Staples has announced closing of stores ,that guy that has been giving March

dooms day warning may be on to something. Remember when gold was at $1800.00 ,

what did it close at today. Neb ,Oakla residents are digging in. I think Staples just bought

another company ,leaving Office Depot to fight it out with Amazon. I don't know if you receive

a lot of packages , Amazon ships a lot of stuff ,did you see there operation on Sixty Minutes .

 

Meh - They aren't trying to sell on the web - enough people do that... and the logistics of shipping can be a nightmare. With 6 million potential customers and one of the highest tech areas in the nation (big oil, NASA, med centers, chemical plants, etc) they are bound to have a strong enough following if they keep their overhead low... which they do. They don't need a strong web presence

Even the smallest mom and pop shops have decent websites. It's the best way to showcase your business and bring customers to your front door. Skycraft, shown earlier, is a small shop in Orlando, but they have almost their entire inventory displayed online. That's a big deal in keeping the customers coming.

 

Yes, I agree. I sent a scathing e-mail to them last year and didn't hear back from them...
I told the idiots that I could get a cell phone anywhere, even at Wal-Mart.