Another radio store closes its doors.

[myteaquinn]

Ham Radio Outlet: San Diego, CA
San Diego Events
Ham Radio Outlet San Diego will be closing. Our last day of operations will be on Saturday, February 25, 2023. It is with great sadness that we are closing the San Diego Location.

In late 2022, Ham Radio Outlet was notified by the building owner that they would not renew our lease. Since that time, we have been searching the surrounding area for a new location. However, recent extreme increases in rent and non-business friendly policies by the state, county and city governments have made locating and affording a viable location all but impossible.

We wish to thank all of our loyal customers throughout the years that made Ham Radio Outlet San Diego a premier location for amateur radio operators. Please remember that our website www.hamradio.com is available 24/7/365 to serve you and our Anaheim location is just a few hours’ drive away.

Sincerely,


Ham Radio Outlet


https://www.hamradio.com/locations.cfm?storeid=4

[Rob.]

"non-business friendly policies by the state, county and city governments"

That says a lot right there.

[Charlie_Dont_Surf]

"non-business friendly policies by the state, county and city governments"

That says a lot right there.

The last time I was in SD, things looked to be thriving.

Here is the listing of new businesses registered in San Diego just last month alone, with sixty-three pages of apparently duped new businesses    : https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/tr_recent.pdf

I guess HRO is too cheap to hire this guy: https://www.amerilawyer.com/blog/san-diego-business-license/

Also, they make it seem like it's a big deal to go to Anaheim. In the west, people are accustomed to car drives. It's 90 miles away. People commute from SD to Orange County (Anaheim, Irvine, Mission Viejo, etc.) and vice-versa. Anaheim is more like 90 minutes, maybe 2 hours with bad traffic, but "a few hours away"? Ummm, no.

Who writes this shit?

[Polar Bear]

The problem is not the cost of the lease, but the internet and the cheap hams has killed the brick and mortar stores.

I have bought all of my radio equipment from HRO and have had nothing but good experiences.

The problem is - the new millennials has the mindset that they want everything as cheap as possible and will shoot themselves in the foot to save $5

I predicted this 12 years ago on QRZ dot com and everyone told me to shut up!

[Molvania Poacher]

A long-brewing trend...

https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/24/sunnyvale-ham-radio-outlet-closes-after-26-years/

[Charlie_Dont_Surf]

The problem is - the new millennials has the mindset that they want everything as cheap as possible and will shoot themselves in the foot to save $5

First of all, what you are describing is the effect that the Amazon way of doing things has had on retail capitalism.
Second, it's not just Ham Radio that has had this happen. Other hobbies that I am involved in have seen a hollowing out of the brick and mortar retail store - that was often the gathering point of local enthusiasts - at the expense of online business.
Third, it's not just millennials. As one data point, the median age of US hams is somewhat older than the median age of the general population. Think about the implications of that.

[BoomboxDX]

Inflation is a thing. In fact, it's a very real thing. That applies to gasoline for vehicles as well as nearly everything else that has gone up in price. It's undoubtedly affecting a lot of discretionary spending, regardless of demographic.

Regardless of the exact causes or validity of the reasons this particular store closed, it's sad to see the ham stores, and other electronics stores, fold.

[MDK2]

"non-business friendly policies by the state, county and city governments"

That says a lot right there.

It says very little. I don't tend to put a lot of stock in excuses given when people fail. When they're struggling but still in the game, sure, but people are liable to give any excuse not to look like failures when they do in fact fail. Nobody deserves to have their claims taken at face value. Tell us exactly which policies and how they affected you.

[Charlie_Dont_Surf]

It says very little. ... Tell us exactly which policies and how they affected you.

I took it to mean that it tells me a lot about the people that wrote it and their proclivity to blame other people for their issues, without feeling the need to be specific.

[Pigmeat]

Why be specific, when you can half-ass it with no research and no facts? Specific's are hard.