I needed a new MicroUSB cable to charge my phone the other day. I walked into radio shack and the cheapest one they had was $20. For a stupid cheap MicroUSB cable. The local convenience stores have cables for $7. It has MiniUSB, MicroUSB, and the 30 pin apple connector on the same cable so it will charge nearly every device. And RS wonders why they're failing. It is a sad day when a convenience store, known to have high markups because of the convenience factor, has a better price than the place that should have be best deals because it is their specialty.
When I was growing up, Radio Shack had an entire wall dedicated to electronics components, kits, 300 in One educational kits, etc. Tons of RC cars, walkie-talkies, scanners, even a few pieces of ham radio gear. Lots of good stereo equipment too. Most of the employees were ham radio operators who knew electronics and could answer any question you had, or point you to a buddy that was an electronics engineer somewhere that could. I used to love picking up a couple copies of their catalog every year, and would drool over things in it all year long.
They talked about getting "back to the roots" but they've not done anything to actually do that. Sure they added some Make kits, but that's about it. If they want to be marketable they need to add not only the make kits, but the components needed to actually do something with them. I can walk in and get a Raspberry Pi starter kit for $130, but no servos, no OneWire temperature sensors, no addressable LEDs, etc. They used to have project enclosures of all shapes and sizes, but now they have 1 or 2 and that is it.
Sadly Radio Shack today is nothing but an oversize cell phone kiosk. You walk in to buy a cable, and all they want to do is get your cell phone number so they can "check your account for available upgrades." They need to go back and actually serve the hobbyists as they have, or they need to close. As much as I'd hate to see a chunk of my past go away, it is better than watching it suffer.