Big VEX sale at RadioShack

[Madison]

I stopped by Radio Shack on my way back from work today.

$310 later, I have a starter kit and bag full of other stuff. I'm not really sure what I got -- I took practically everything that was left on the shelves.

I may not keep it all; or any of it. I honestly don't expect that I'll use it as, similarly to Lego, I find it too limiting.

If I decide not to keep it, I'll perhaps make a list of what I have here. Better to sell it to someone who'll make good use of it than return it to the store, I guess.

Edit:
I bought... (this is the quantity of packages, not items within packages)

1 Starter Kit
1 Wheel Kit
1 Hardware Kit
2 Omni Directional Wheels
2 Limit Switches
1 Motor
1 Servo
1 Gear Set

[Dillon Compton]

If I had _any_ spare funds right now, I'd be all over this.

Time to get someone to front me $500 by april 1st!

[ForgottenSalad]

Well, for $450... ( Had initally told myself to stop at $350 but I didnt stop till I cleared the shelf...)

Starter Kit
Gear Kit
Limit Switch Kit
Bumper Switch kit
Power Pack
Programming Kit
Servo Kit
Optical Shaft Encoder Kit
Motor Kit (2)
Omni Wheel Kit (2)
Tank Tread Kit
Wheel Kit
Hardware and Metal Kit (2)

Also, I had a chat with store manager, said he hasn't heard anything about them getting discontinued, though he hasn't received restock on out-of-stock products. He also mentioned that items that are/are going to be discontinued are priced with a $xx.97 price point... None of which VEX is. He also said he hasn't heard anything from radio shack corporate about them being discontinued. He said he beleives they're just trying to move stock. Either way this was an amazing deal.

[jeffmorris]

Last night, I checked Radio Shack's website to see which stores have Light Sensor Kit, Optical Shaft Encoder Kit, and Ultrasonic Range Finder Kit, and found out that a store in Staten Island Mall has them. I told my mother to call them before going there. She got all three sensor kits at half-price and two movies on DVDs at another store today.

[Barry Bonzack]

I told a parent of one of the students on 1604 about Vex and the sale. The student received a Vex kit that night. I plan to go splurge a bit later on.

I posted some official word about RS getting out of the Vex business here

[skimoose]

After checking three different local stores it seems the chain & sprocket kits are getting very hard to find. If you haven't checked lately, now the battery kits are 50% off too!

[ManicMechanic]

We got the enviable job of outfitting a start-up high school program for next year. All this cost less than $580, including tax. Two starter kits, the programming platform, two hardware kits, two battery packs, two line-following modules, and four omni-wheels.

[Bill Hornung]

You mentioned Erector set, I pulled out my old erector set from 40 yrs ago and found some great girders and parts for use with my vex starter kit. Saved me some money in parts. I might suggest some people do the same. Erector sets are on Ebay all time.

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Normally, RadioShack only does a big discount on items that are being discontinued. This is an unusual product line, though, and it's hard to tell what their plans are without talking to the product manager. There are a few reasonable scenarios.

1. Summer is the slow season in electronics. They might be dumping inventory as a seasonal reduction.

2. The product line is being discontinued due to slow sales. Two local stores report that sales have never been that great and that buyers are turned off by a "$300 Erector Set." Without a lot of marketing, this has been and will continue to be a niche product and may not need national distribution in 7,000 stores.

3. The current products are being replaced by new models. The shelf life for a consumer elctronics product used to be 12-18 months. I don't think it's more than six months these days. We might see a new VEX kit at a lower price point with a different set of electronics.

4. RadioShack may still be testing price levels. If they find a price point at $150 but not $300, they might retune the product, or just reduce the price permanently.

5. RS may have decided that VEX is not a mass-market product, but is still worth handling in a limited way. You might only find it on their Website, or in the largest stores, but not everywhere. If RS is planning to make money on VEX, I wouldn't care much for this possibility. If they can't sell 20,000 kits a year (as a guess), the product probably doesn't have a future with RadioShack. If they view it in part as a promotional item, they might still carry it.

My personal best guess is that VEX will get sold off to a smaller reseller that can stick with it despite its small (for RadioShack) sales volume.

All in all, if you want VEX stuff, I'd buy it now. Most of the possible reasons for the sale are not good for us robot people.

[BHS_STopping]

When exactly does this sale end? I've heard that it ends on June 3, while other times I've heard April 2, even though that infromationwas gotten off of a price tag.

[MarsBOtkid]

I though that it was april2nd but when i went there on aprile secon (buying out the store on last day of sale" he told me it was extended till june 2nd.

SO JUNE 2ND

[rufu5]

[shameless, yet relevent, plug]

For everyone buying Vex parts now, I thought you might like to know that this summer at the Indiana Robotics Invitational, we will be holding the 2nd Annual Vex Challenge. We created a brand new Vex game and invited teams to compete last year and had teams from California to Connecticut. This year's IRI is July 21 and 22 at Lawrence North High School (same location). The game and rules are set for the use of only one Vex kit to make your robot, so all you need is a Vex starter kit and you are on an equal playing field with everyone else competing (no giant budget issues). The neat thing too is that the competition is open to anyone of any age, so if your a college student or adult who wants to compete, just grab your Vex kit and rock out!

If you are interested in the Vex competition, feel free to e-mail us at 447.FIRST@gmail.com (we are trying to get a feel for how many teams are interested in competing).

Cheap Vex Kits! Awesome Vex Game! You Can't Loose!

[Ryan Dognaux]

Just so everyone knows, it looks like the radioshack sale now applies online - I know the stores in the Purdue area stopped recently (I nabbed mine on the last day, thankfully I asked because they had already changed the tags back to the original prices!) However, it doesn't look like much of it is in stock. I've been waiting to get one of the powerpacks but it looks like they're all sold out. Running on 14 batteries isn't much fun

[Steve S.]

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

Just so everyone knows, it looks like the radioshack sale now applies online - I know the stores in the Purdue area stopped recently (I nabbed mine on the last day, thankfully I asked because they had already changed the tags back to the original prices!) However, it doesn't look like much of it is in stock. I've been waiting to get one of the powerpacks but it looks like they're all sold out. Running on 14 batteries isn't much fun

Hmm.... Here ya go: Power Pack for VEX

[Ryan Dognaux]

Originally Posted by team1591

Hmm.... Here ya go: Power Pack for VEX

Yeah I've been there - it's out of stock there too

[Steve S.]

Originally Posted by Ryan Dognaux

Yeah I've been there - it's out of stock there too

Its in stock now