Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shares a link to this RadioShack auction:
UBid Estate & Auction Services LLC
ICONIC RADIOSHACK MEMORABILIA AUCTION
From humble beginnings in Boston in 1921, over the past 95 years RadioShack established itself as a globally recognized leader and the go to retailer for consumer electronics. RadioShack has always been known as the place for answers to the American public’s technology and electronics questions. “You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.”Over the years, RadioShack introduced consumers to exciting and affordable gadgets and electronics that have become household items. As we cleaned out our historic archives in Fort Worth, Texas, we uncovered a cache of iconic memorabilia in 12 huge safes, including: unused original TRS-80 Microcomputers, Realistic Transistor Radios, Tandy computer software games, original brick cell phones and so much more. We all remember coming into RadioShack whether it was for the battery-of-the-month, new walkie-talkies, or to check out the newest RC toy cars. Now we reintroduce many of those nostalgic items and more with our rolling online memorabilia auction.
Allied Shortwave Receiver
I must admit, it would be fun to own a few of these new-in-box/unused RS items. Besides the shortwave radio offerings, I used to drool over the TRS-80 systems.
I still own my original Tandy Color Computer 2 (the “Co Co 2”). Someday, I plan to hook it up and show my kids what a proper volatile memory meant–turn it off and the memory is wiped clean! I remember how revolutionary the cassette tape was–it changed my world!
No doubt, these RS offerings will fetch top dollar. Even though it’s still early in the auction, many items already have a rather high price and all of them have a soft closing:
“The closing time of this lot will be extended by 2 minutes if a bid is placed on this lot in the last 2 minutes.”
Most, if not all, of these auctions end on July 3, 2017. I doubt I’ll bid on anything…still…I’m enjoying the stroll down memory lane.
What will Christmas be without a visit to Radio Shack? Guess our local RS location will be replaced with another nails salon, karate school, or day spa, hi hi.
No kidding! I used to get incredibly excited when the RS Christmas flyer would arrive in the mail. I’m from a small town, so RS was my link to the wider tech world. 🙂 And back then, they were a leader in electronics retailing. My whole Christmas wishlist came from that place. 🙂
Me too but my preference was for the Lafayette Radio flyer and annual catalog. Add in Heathkit
Add Pilates, hair dressers and, froyo
I found a RS catalogue from the ’80s that was pretty interesting.
Browse an online archive of RS catalogs at http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com
Isn’t the internet amazing?
Had the AX-190 as my novice station receiver. Miss it. like the styling of it and the SX-190.
I’m surprised to see the number of Tandy 100 computers up for auction. That was a crackerjack computer in its day and it still has a cult following. It was one of the first true portable computers that came with a really good 3 or 4-line text editor and a full sized keyboard. It was real popular with journalists and writers who needed to compose on the go.
I remember reading a story in one of the computer magazines back in the 80’s about a writer who was bicycling across country and was writing about his adventure (think of him as an early ‘blogger’) using a Tandy 100. Every few days he’d find a pay phone, call the home office collect, hook up one of those old acoustic modems to the Tandy 100 and transfer a couple of days worth of journal files.
And you kids thought you invented teleworking. Hah!
Imagine that, selling trash. What a nostalgia trip. “You got questions, we got answers” somehow turned into “You got questions, we got apologies”. They never had what I wanted in stock despite the catalog even though my favorite store was the flagship store on comm ave in Boston. I liked Lafayette Radio better.
My file cabinet with radio shack catalogs booked marked with stuff out of stock must have some value.
This seems sadder than the stores closing. No longer anyone there that cares about the history, so instead of trying to place the items in a museum, they are just another revenue stream. The chain became less interesting in recent times, but it’s been around for a long time, and there is a lot of history there.
That said, a glance suggests these aren’t so historical, just regular production set aside. A prototype for the Color Computer or Model 100 laptop would be much more interesting. Thing that we never saw because they were prototypes that evolved or never gone to production would be real treats. Though with previous gutting, they may have gone before. I gather that when Radio Shack sold off its computer division, a lot was shovelled out then, no consideration to history.
Michael
What museum would take them? Going through the list the realty is none of these items have any historical value.
Now that is a subjective statement! You only need to look at the prices these items are fetching so early in the auction to see that the market disagrees with you, Keith.
There is no market value. Auctions are always known for their over inflated prices. None of the items have any museum value. Now like lets say Braun designs from Dieter Rams, SONY products from between 1955 and 1979 that were innovating, original RCA, Philips pre-1990, Telefunken, and so on.
The prices are like that of eBay. You bring any of these items to any museum curator and they will tell these have no historical value. Don’t forget the vast majority of products sold under the radio Shack brand were nothing more than products made by OEMs.
Actually auctions help determine market value for an item.
I understand you are not personally interested in Radio Shack products…that’s why your argument is subjective. You mention other brands that are more desirable to you…also subjective and I agree with you as I personally prefer those makes too.
Objectively speaking, however, these items have value and the market decides that value. Auctions are a part of that market mechanism whether you chose to believe it or not.
As my grandmother used to say…”It is what it is”.