Fry’s was *the* go-to place for internal PC components for many years for techies like myself. It was one of the few places where you could walk in, find what you needed, pay and walk out. No rushed overnight shipping from Amazon/NewEgg needed. Everything was reasonably priced and they occasionally had some amazing sale prices. They also carried large and small appliances, TVs, Kitchen utensils, cooking implements, toys, gadgets, books and software. But these items could easily be found at many other retailers.
Shopping there was an experience as most of their stores had a theme. Huge exhibits, displays and features would be littered around the store based on a theme, and sometimes the store itself would be shaped to match the theme like the pyramid shaped store in Campbell that had an Egyptian theme. Other themes included the Tiki/Beach theme in Manhattan Beach, Alice in Wonderland in Woodland Hills, Cowboy/Western theme in Palo Alto, and the Machinery/Giant Cogs in the City of Industry.
Most people in Los Angeles will remember the Burbank store. Being so close to Hollywood, the theme couldn’t be anything other than a “1950’s B-Movie” or “Alien Invasion Movie”.
There was one drawback to shopping there – and it was a big one. Returns. They tried to make returns difficult. They could only be done at the customer service window and there were frequently long lines.
Fry’s had this bad habit of taking the returns, taping them up and putting them back on the shelf for sale. You could usually tell as they used these return decals, so people would avoid buying those with the stickers. Then they stopped using the decals and it was harder to tell. I remember once going to buy a specific model CD burner. I managed to find a new, factory sealed one. The last one in the store, but had to dig behind 25 or so returns. Some had decals with complaints of CD not working or missing cables. None of these problems had been addressed.
Then there was the problem of getting your money back. If you paid by check, you could expect your money in 4-6 weeks! Credit card orders took 2 weeks, if I remember correctly. If you were a poor starving student in the early 90’s like I was, this was a huge problem. Especially when other retailers would process their returns much quicker.
In recent years, competition from online dealers dealt a heavy blow and Fry’s, with so much in brick-and-mortar expenses, couldn’t compete. Covid was just the final nail in the coffin. I haven’t lived near a Fry’s store for the last ten years so I missed their decline. I chose to fondly remember them and the quirky but fun shopping experience there.