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"Where are they now" - computer/electronics catalogs you used to get

vwestlife

vwestlife

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Location
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Remember those computer and electronics catalogs you used to get in the '80s and '90s, probably as a result of filling out and sending in a "reader service card" from a magazine? I did some research to find out what happened to the ones I remember...

Altex Electronics - still in business

CDW - still in business

CompuAdd - went bankrupt in 1993

DAK - went bankrupt in 1994, but resurrected in the 2000s

Damark - ended its catalog business in 2000, and devolved into a shady telemarketing firm

Elek-Tek - bought out by PC Mall in 1997; went bankrupt in 2006

Global Computer Supplies - still in business; changed its corporate name to Systemax, and now its product line is the same as Systemax-owned TigerDirect

Heathkit - stopped selling kits in 1992; filed for bankruptcy in 2012; restructured in 2013 and announced plans to resume selling electronic kits, but that hasn't happened yet

Inmac - sold to MicroWarehouse in 2006 (see below)

Insight - still in business, but now is an "IT solutions" company, no longer in retail sales

JDR Microdevices - still in business (now "JDR Computer Products")

Jameco - still in business

Mac Mall - still in business

MicroWarehouse / MacWarehouse - went bankrupt and bought out by CDW in 2003

PC Mall - is now PCM, an "IT solutions" company, no longer in retail sales

TigerDirect - bought out by Systemax in 1995; still in business
 
I used to like Treasure Chest Computers catalog, Insight purchased them in 1988.

Staring at a Crutchfield catalog from Winter/Spring 2000 if car stereo home audio counts, still around online.
 
Unknown_K said:
Staring at a Crutchfield catalog from Winter/Spring 2000 if car stereo home audio counts, still around online.
Click to expand...

Crutchfield actually sold Sony Vaio computers for a while, to go along with the rest of Sony's audio/video product lineup. And they still distribute catalogs, although these days they're just a brief highlight of the newest and fanciest products, only about 20 pages long.
 
Car stereo companies remind me of Computer manufacturers, major consolidations over the years. So many brands that are long dead.

Anyway the best thing I ever got from Crutchfield was a screw driver kit where the head was at 90 degrees (if you ever worked inside a car trunk it comes in handy).

Those old printed catalogs are great for showing what was around (with quite a bit of specs and information) a decade or more ago. These days it's much easier to get information online but once those companies fold they take their websites to the grave with them and all that info is lost. Even companies that stick around tend to dump any information about older products especially if they never sold that well.
 
Recently I was given, the only person who expressed interest, a pile of old data books. But of more interest amongst them were the half dozen or so distributer catalogues from the 70s and 80s, UK based. They had lots of pinout and other data on all sorts of devices, mostly long gone.

In the UK we had RS Components, still around but they have lost the idea that the catalogue sells. Also have CPC and they fortunately still do a 3700 page catalogue. RS also sent out a CD ROM version of their catalogue in the 80s and 90s, still got most of them. Did ask them if they objected to them being put on line but no reply. I do find that irritating, it is no skin off their nose and there is all the kudos.

What about Action Computer Supplies? Used to look forward to their catalogue and the end of line sell offs, bought lots of them!
 
Tiger Direct just announced they are going web sales only, so closing all stores. Here in Dallas the stores are 1/2 empty already, and only did marginal sales (about 10-15% off list).
 
vwestlife said:
Crutchfield actually sold Sony Vaio computers for a while, to go along with the rest of Sony's audio/video product lineup. And they still distribute catalogs, although these days they're just a brief highlight of the newest and fanciest products, only about 20 pages long.
Click to expand...

I'm spoiled enough to live near one of their retail stores. :) Long before that, for a period of time, they actually built and sold their own line of clone computers...early-ish 486's as I recall. What was really interesting about them is that they offered a system in black - long, long before it became anything resembling common. From 96-2000, I worked for a local computer shop...one of the owners worked for Crutchfield back in the days when they were building those machines, I think he may have been one of those putting them together...he was also a Radio Shack manager for a while. My most interesting run-in with one of their machines was when a customer brought one in after a flood. It had been in their basement on the floor (a minitower) and was totally submerged. New power supply, floppy drives (black just wasn't available - so they got white replacements), and CPU fan...along with some time spent scrubbing the mud off the motherboard in the sink with a toothbrush...and it was back working good as new.

I'm disappointed with their new catalogs...but I guess I'm one of the few that wants to look at a nice chart of specs, features, prices, etc...

Wesley
 
2019 update:

vwestlife said:
DAK - went bankrupt in 1994, but resurrected in the 2000s
Click to expand...
Drew Kaplan retired a few years ago, and the site isn't quite the same without his long writeups weaving his personal adventures into the ad pitch for each item.

Global Computer Supplies - still in business; changed its corporate name to Systemax, and now its product line is the same as Systemax-owned TigerDirect
Click to expand...
Now Global Industrial, specializing in computer desks and workstations.

Heathkit - stopped selling kits in 1992; filed for bankruptcy in 2012; restructured in 2013 and announced plans to resume selling electronic kits, but that hasn't happened yet
Click to expand...
Now back in business selling kits:
https://shop.heathkit.com/shop

As for the aforementioned Egghead Software, they went bankrupt in 2001 and its assets were aquired by Amazon. And pretty much all of the other former brick-and-mortar computer software/video game stores ended up being bought out by GameStop, which is now on shaky financial ground and has announced closures of hundreds of stores:

 
I still get emails from DAK, but it's run by a fellow named Sol now. Mostly portable audio (e.g. Bluetooth) stuff--nothing really interesting and certainly nothing like the old DAK.

You could see the shift coming, just by monitoring the "computer" and "electronics" category on your local Craigslist. Lotsa laptops and bits of audio gear. If you see a desktop computer, it's either an Apple or some gamer's setup, both selling for far more than they're worth.
 
Allide

Digikey - mother of all parts catalogs

Mouser

Polypaks

Marlin P jones - just got one. Love it, every product is marked with a prop 65 warning, lol

All electronics

Radio shack and the days of the free battery cards.


There were a ton
 
Unknown_K said:
Downloadable content tied to 1 account is killing the market for used PC and Console games.
Click to expand...

A decade ago I called Adobe and asked about transferring my ownership of a copy of Photoshop to a new owner. The question seemed to floor the guy on the phone. It was a concept that obviously had not occurred to him. Simple enough for a car, ya know? :)

For the old computer and parts supplier ads, nothing beats the phone-book-thick Computer Shopper of the '80s and other vintage electronics/computer magazines from that era. Every year I'd mail out my catalog requests, probably still have a stack of 'em in the shed.
-Ed
 
woodchips said:
Recently I was given, the only person who expressed interest, a pile of old data books. But of more interest amongst them were the half dozen or so distributer catalogues from the 70s and 80s, UK based. They had lots of pinout and other data on all sorts of devices, mostly long gone.

In the UK we had RS Components, still around but they have lost the idea that the catalogue sells. Also have CPC and they fortunately still do a 3700 page catalogue. RS also sent out a CD ROM version of their catalogue in the 80s and 90s, still got most of them. Did ask them if they objected to them being put on line but no reply. I do find that irritating, it is no skin off their nose and there is all the kudos.

What about Action Computer Supplies? Used to look forward to their catalogue and the end of line sell offs, bought lots of them!
Click to expand...

In the UK - who could forget Maplin Electronics? Still trading I think - although their store in a town near me disappeared a year or so ago. I used to spend hours just reading the various Z80 computer kit descriptions and all the other kits I knew I would never get my hands on. Before the internet, the Maplin Catalogue was also my only component datasheet source for all the components I'd de solder off TV's and amps etc. I didn't know about component reference books then. Cricklewood Electronics - another Gem. I loved all the cheapo diy kit adds on the back pages. I remember buying a Helium Neon laser tube off that catalogue and building the high voltage PSU from a 555 IC, power transistor and a car ignition coil. Had more fun burning stuff with the arc it created than with the laser it was intended for!
 
Maplin was a shadow of its former self during its last few years. The prices kept going up and the components were relegated to a smaller and smaller part of the shop, to the point where my local branch kept them all in the back room and you had to ask for them. The shelves were filled with crap radio-controlled cars, LED fans, and those aluminium Lian-Li computer cases everybody stopped buying in about 2006.

I went in on the day they closed down and even with everything supposedly priced to clear they were still trying to sell things like 5m VGA cables for £30+
 
Ed in SoDak said:
...For the old computer and parts supplier ads, nothing beats the phone-book-thick Computer Shopper of the '80s and other vintage electronics/computer magazines from that era. ...
-Ed
Click to expand...
Computer Shopper, and Processor (a trade rag, newspaper format back then, magazine format later) were my go-to sources in the late 80's and early 90's. As far as I know, Processor is gone, too, as part of the whole Computer Magazine Purge of a few years ago. I remember using a vendor with an ad in Processor to buy some RAM from me in the mid-90's; I had several 8MB RAM cards for Apollo DN3500 workstations (all my DN3500 parts are long gone, sorry) and was able to sell several of them for good money; I think I parted with five 8MB boards for $100 each or something like that.
 
lowen said:
Computer Shopper, and Processor (a trade rag, newspaper format back then, magazine format later) were my go-to sources in the late 80's and early 90's. As far as I know, Processor is gone, too, as part of the whole Computer Magazine Purge of a few years ago. I remember using a vendor with an ad in Processor to buy some RAM from me in the mid-90's; I had several 8MB RAM cards for Apollo DN3500 workstations (all my DN3500 parts are long gone, sorry) and was able to sell several of them for good money; I think I parted with five 8MB boards for $100 each or something like that.
Click to expand...

+1 for Computer Shopper :)
 
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