A Tech Hub sign outside the Enarson Classroom Building on Dec. 1. Tech Hub is set to open mid-January.
Credit: Jon McAllister / Asst. Photo editor
The store that sells discounted electronics and other technological products to students is cutting the wires and moving shop.
Wired Out, currently located inside the Enarson Classroom building at Ohio State, is set to move to a new nearby location and will be called Tech Hub, as soon as mid-January.
The move to the new location at 2059 Millikin Road (near Oxley’s Cafe) is so the store can have more space and provide a more holistic technological experience, according to a release on the Office of Distance Education and eLearning’s website.
The transformation will cost about $600,000 and includes costs for construction, signage, marketing and equipment, said Katherine Keune, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Information Officer in an email.
The money is coming from profits earned by Wired Out, Keune said.
Wired Out’s net income was $200,000 in Fiscal Year 2013 and was $500,000 in FY 2014, Keune said.
Besides selling discounted products to members of the OSU community, Tech Hub will provide a space for individuals to experience “the future of technology,” said Chris Helman, manager of the Wired Out and the upcoming Tech Hub stores, in an email.
“We are adding a technology checkout program, 3-D printing, in-store workshops and training events, as well as a second campus BuckeyeBar location,” Helman said.
BuckeyeBar, which has one other location inside Thompson Library, offers technology help to students, faculty and staff.
Tech Hub will also offer a product demo zone with bleacher-style seating, the release said.
Many products carried by Tech Hub will be the same as what Wired Out sells, but some new brands are set to be added. Those brands are set to include GoPro, Mophie, Beats Electronics, Cambridge Audio, G-Technology, Yurbuds, Fitbit, Olloclip and 3DConnexion, Helman said.
Helman said Tech Hub will allow customers to demo the full line of Apple hardware and provide more PC models, such as HP and Dell. It will also offer Windows and Android tablets.
Wired Out currently has four full-time staff members and 10 part-time students employees during the school year. Tech Hub will hire four additional student positions, Helman said.
Some students said they think Wired Out already gives its customers a good experience.
Nick Lawler, a second-year in welding engineering, said he likes Wired Out because it offers a wide variety of products.
“They offer different warranties if you do end up buying a computer or a laptop and they are very helpful when it comes needing replace something or looking for something,” he said.
Still, Lawler said it was hard to get help at the beginning of the semester because all of the staff at Wired Out appeared to be busy.
Sanika Vaidya, a first-year in neuroscience, said it puts her at ease knowing there’s a place on campus that can fix technological problems.
