Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K 7-Channel A/V Receiver (Black)
If you remember the chain of electronic stores called Incredible Universe you either have a great memory, you are a diehard geek or perhaps both. Since I still remember my first visit I think you can safely say I’m a geek. Especially since I’m far too old to have a great memory.
When they first opened there were lines of people waiting to get in much like the opening weekend of a Star Wars movie. Since I have never cared for Star Wars it was even more entertaining with shows performing continually on several stages. Yes it was much more than several football fields of electronics and to some degree a hint of future retailing which still hasn’t landed. The stores averaged 185,000 square feet and stocked over 85,000 items!
This was at a time when businesses were growing bigger and bigger and if you weren’t growing like weeds you were sure to die a sudden death. Their parent company was Tandy (Radio Shack) and much like the parent company they didn’t focus on pricing rather their philosophy was to sell everything ever produced. Unfortunately the entertainment value they threw in only increased their overhead and decreased your ability run in and run out with the latest gadget. Based on the sheer volume of their buildings and unworldly inventory they didn’t stand a chance.
Before long Tandy was so concerned with their cost the stores were closed and because of their massive size they were forced to sell them for pennies on the dollar. Which brings us to the topic of this post Fry’s.
If you haven’t been to Fry’s it’s hard to comprehend what you’ll find. They combine Incredible Universe, Best Buy, Heathkit and Starbucks into one gigantic location with a larger variety of merchandise than the others could ever hope to carry. Looking for a computer case? My guess is I saw four dozen the last time I looked. Need a power supply for it? I think they have more of them than cases.
Selection wise their home audio and video departments aren’t as inclusive as their computer related departments although I think it’s more from the fact those markets simple don’t have the same depth of products. They tend to carry almost every brand with a few exceptions such as Pioneer receivers or Blu-ray players.
As an example you can actually find a fairly priced HDMI cable for around $10 and if you’d like to spent more there will be at least a dozen other brands. Pricing is something they do very well. You’ll never find them higher than Best Buy and often you’ll find them considerably lower. Just yesterday I saw the new LG Blu-ray players regularly priced $50 less than at Best Buy. With the BD390 still being brand new. The new Sony BDP-S360 was $239 which comes in at $60 less than Best Buy and it’s not even on sale!
I tend to think of them as Walmart. Sure they have weekly sales and great ones at that however if you are looking for something and they have it you know you’ll be paying a reasonable price. Also the odds are pretty good they will have it on sale within 30-days so you’ll end up paying even less.
One area you certainly don’t want to miss is their Blu-ray disc department. Again their everyday pricing is lower than other retail locations and they compete with Amazon rather nicely but come Friday’s ad their prices get even better. In the last few weeks I have picked up Dark City
, Tears of the Sun
and From Hell
for $9.99 each.
They also tend to offer great prices on close-out models especially TVs long before the other retailers. Of course there are a few things I wouldn’t mind seeing changed but overall all I can hope for is they continue to be successful. With so few retailers left we geeks need a place to shop and even if we have a Premier Reward Zone card from Best Buy it’s far too mainstream to really get lost in.
when you purchase a 
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