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The Emerging RadioShack/Netflix Debacle
New submitter DigitalParc writes "RadioShack recently launched a promotion for 6 months of free Netflix service with the purchase of a laptop, tablet, or phone. This ended up being a fantastic deal, until the shoddy redemption site they were using for the Netflix code redemption was exploited and many of the codes were stolen. 'Users on slickdeals, a deal-finding and sometimes deal-exploiting website, found that the URL of the redemption website could be changed upon trying to enter a code, resulting in a valid Netflix subscription code being generated. Within hours, many of Netflix codes that were allocated to this promotion were stolen and some were redeemed or put up for sale on eBay.'"
I'm surprised Netflix would agree to a partnership like this and not be in control of how the codes were handed out.
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why not tie to phone numbers that RS asks for even when you are just buying batteries
In / on a US market, you are fully liable not only for what you do, but also for the consequences, even if and when unintended or unforeseen, of what you do. Or say.
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We've talked before about commercial web site glitches and the ramifications on consumers, but it seems to me that the same thing would apply in this case, with RadioShack being completely culpable. One other thing: TFA doesn't indicate any sort of Netflix legal action at this point, so maybe this supposed "debacle" isn't all that important to them.
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I hate it when people have the impression that they are entitled to steal from others. I use the SlickDeals website and a lot of time they have some great deals, but if you dig deeper into the forums on that site, there is a dark side. This is my opinion, if you took a code and used it for yourself, you are stealing, but maybe the temptation was a bit too great. It is like finding a 20 dollar bill on the floor and keeping it. You know it isn't yours, but the person of irresponsible enough to lose 20 dollars so they kind of deserve it. If, on the other, you generated hundreds of codes and start selling them on Ebay, you are stealing and being a complete dick. That is like watching someone drop their wallet, pretending not to notice, picking it up when the person is out of sight, cleaning out all of the cash, and then tossing the wallet in the dumpster outside.
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The 80's called - they want their web technology back.
Seems like a first-world pebble in the road to me.
Honest question: 7-11 sells random audio adapters, cheap soldering equipment, and wiring?
If you can't convince them, convict them.
With the high profile issues lately such as the healthcare.gov, radioshack, mtGox... you have to wonder.
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You've got questions?
We've got stupid looks.
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You mean you can actually still buy that at Radio Shack?
Las Cruces (At least when I was there) had 2. One for RC cars, cell phones, etc. Another one for EE students to buy components that most RS customers would look at and think, "Why would somebody want a metal toothpick? Especially one that flimsy?"
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
yes speaking as one of the Sales Support folks that Corporate decided was "not needed" yes the service is middling to Ghastly.
(hint for the SMs if somebody comes in and tells you they need 3 640-2373 a 640-2184 any Salesmaker on the floor had better come up with a few things in the 27? series to suggestive sell BEFORE you even breath anything about cell phones)
the Name of the Store has been RadioShack for over a decade.
and the guy that greenlit this should be shot out of a cannon at the nearest Unemployment center.
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Radio Shack has to honor the deal, they have to provide what they said they would.
Last time I was there I picked up an LM7505 voltage regulator and a 24 V center tapped transformer. I mean yah, I would normally order that from mouser or someone else; or drive 45 minutes to the good hobby electronics store, but for just a couple of basic things, RS is not so bad.
Where does 7-11 keep those? Is it near the slurpees?
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
Radio Shack can't pay for good IT people and they lost the tech guys when dropped that stuff they used to sell and became a shitey cell phone store
They want to end users to be the testers for free.
useless bitches got rid of the tube testers ages ago.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"Gaming" the rules is the same as following them.
To the autistic, with no understanding of (or regard to) ethics or morality, you're 100% correct.
Or Wall street. Or the boardroom. Or Congress.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
A few days ago I went to radio shack to buy some capacitors. They also carry things like resistors, LEDs, breadboards, etc. They also have a lot of the MAKE electronics books and kits to learn electronics. I've also bought things like relays, soldering supplies, etc.
Nothing close to what they had 15 years ago, though. Sad.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Same here, that's the only reason I got by RS now.
I might pay an inflated price, but it's still only $1 in store compared to $0.25 online; so no big deal.
Their less techinal stuff, like an audio exten cable, are just bullshit though; $20 for a 3' stereo cable, not even a Monster, it was RS's store brand.
the problem.
Seriously, theres enough info in any default apache or IIS log to find the majority of the bullshit codes generated/stolen. Find anything that looks fake and kill it, anyone entering a killed code, have them call in to activate/get a new code, all these people who steal codes over the Internet generally aren't ballsy enough to make the phone call repeatedly, make sure the call comes from a good solid landline, no VoIP crap, sorry if it effects all 8 of you legitimate users of radioshack and netflix.
This is (just) a shitty long day for some sys admin somewhere who has to make up for some shitty developers mistake. This is pretty much the status quo is it not? Most if not all of the bad codes will be found out ... if they want to, it may be well worth it for them to have the accounts active anyway for the books or just for possible retention values.
This is a great example of the no press is bad press mantra. Both RadioShack and Netflix will see increased customer counts for people trying to scam it, slam dunk marketing.
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If the larger store I went to recently is an indicator they have started carrying quite a bit more like the old days....
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I think many of the stores might sell real stuff somewhere in the back... but the last 2 I went to had nothing more than cellphones and headphones, nothing else.
The one near my house as a bunch of arduino boards, as well as electronic components.
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It is awesome that your radio shack is still a radio shack. Mine is not. You know those drawers full of switches and other breadboard components? Yeah those are gone, 'cause of some superbowl rebranding, or something.
Last I went to one (it's been years), they had no components. They recommended Home Depot, who did carry solder irons and solder. Radio Shack sold phones, toys, and not much else.
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No. its better the 15 years ago. Nothing compared to 25 years ago.
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When I last went to a Radio Shack (close to 12 years ago now) it was for speaker cable. They only sold the packages like you describe. I went to the same one 5 years before that and they had it by the foot on rolls. And electronic components. But in 2001, last I was in one, there was nothing like that at all. I guess they tried making a come back. But now, I'm nowhere near one, so I can't check again. Like the solder and iron I mentioned elsewhere, Home Depot was a better electronics store than Radio Shack (solder, and piles of speaker wire, though they call it electrical wire there).
Learn to love Alaska
Depends on the location. The one nearest my hometown is basically just cell phones and RC cars. The one near where I live now has a pretty decent selection of electronic components. The former one is in a mall, the latter has its own store in a shopping plaza, so that might be part of the difference.
I haven't seen a single Radio Shack in the Portland area that doesn't have a cabinet of components. Not one.
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I'm old enough to remember real Radio Shack: discrete ham radio components hanging from the ceiling like bats in a cave. Big tubs of resistors and capacitors you could root around in. Racks of tubes. And...customers! I swear I'm not making this part up RS stores had customers in those days!
Those were the days when ham radio fans had hair, and did not have oxygen tanks.
Dude, I'm not 12 :) I just happen to have worked there 15 years ago, so that's what I used as a point of reference. I was raised by a robotics engineer; I grew up in that fucking place... Seeing what it's become today almost makes me shed a tear... almost.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Fifteen years ago? I was talking specifically about 1956, in the early Toronto suburbs, when my ham uncle took me to a Real Radio Shack for the first time. Now that was Stuff That Mattered.
So you grabbed whatever was in their little geek bins in the back that worked for you and told us the details. Sure ok.
You could open a Pinball themed shop selling pinball machine parts too. But the front 98% of it better be a brew pub with working pinball machines, good food, and hot waitresses.
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So you've got a few years on me. You still missed the part where I said I *worked there* 15 years ago, but surely that must have been after i practically *grew up* in the place; you don't have nearly the head start you think you do. At any rate, it seems we're both in agreement that RS has become a much lesser store than either of us remember it to be; I'll go ahead and get off your lawn now, so our pissing match of just how far they've fallen doesn't leavy any browns spots.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
Wow... and this is why I don't post late-night as I'm heading to bed... That should read "I'll go ahead and get off your lawn now, so our pissing match over just how far they've fallen doesn't leave any browns spots". Also, sorry about the footprints; it should spring back in a few hours.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
If the larger store I went to recently is an indicator they have started carrying quite a bit more like the old days....
Rumor has it that they decided that they were getting trounced on the consumer electronics front and have retreated to some of their more traditional offerings. Not much chance that Wal-Mart's going to be stocking 50 mf capacitors.
It's also helping (I think) that there are now ways of doing things with electronics that don't involve ultraspecialized chips that have to be wave-soldered onto a multi-layer circuit board. The Arduino and Raspberry Pi provide a lot of power, but they are good matches for simple custom interface circuits, buildable from Radio Shack components.
Plus, the Shack is selling the Arduino and Pi alongside them.