Wasn't this supposed to be the Christmas season when satellite radios, wireless cameraphones, and iPod accessories filled stockings in record sums? This morning, RadioShack (NYSE:RSH) is raining on that dancing-sugarplum dream. The consumer electronics chain is no longer confident in nailing its annual forecast, which called for profits between $2.14 and $2.24 a share this year.

This follows Tuesday's disappointing quarterly report out of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), which sent those shares lower.

No one is going to confuse one of Best Buy's big-box superstores with the 7,000 smallish neighborhood RadioShack locations, but they both feed off the same desire for leisure electronics gadgetry.

Following that logic, maybe you can draw a line from here to last month, when Sharper Image (NASDAQ:SHRP) posted a 20% decline in sales for its fiscal third quarter. Sure, no one goes to Sharper Image to buy a pair of batteries. No one goes to RadioShack to buy an air-purifying massage chair with a robotic chimpanzee attachment, either. The two stores may not be kissing cousins, but they can be spotted swapping potato salad recipes at the next family reunion.

Go back a month earlier, and you'll find Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) attempting to paint a brighter portrait. During the online retailing giant's third-quarter report, consumer electronics fueled the charge, coupled with "other general merchandise" to soar 43% in worldwide sales. However, the stock tumbled on the news, because Amazon expressed caution about the upcoming seasonally potent holiday quarter.

It can't be that bad for consumer electronics. In fact, it really isn't. It's just that expectations were set too high. Now that there's a more guarded tone in the air, it may make sense to look around the rubble and consider scooping up a store you like while it's still on sale. After all, folks are still thirsting for the latest hot gizmo. If that wasn't the case, Tweeter Home Entertainment (NASDAQ:TWTR) wouldn't be posting a 10% spike in comps this past quarter. Then again, you also have companies like Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) and Gateway (NYSE:GTW) selling plasma and LCD televisions; the pie is getting bigger, but so are the hungry folks lined up for slices.

Best Buy, Dell and Amazon.com have all been Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. However, only Amazon has trounced the market since its selection. That's saying a lot, because the average newsletter pick has performed three times better than the market average. These stores' recent dips may spell opportunity, but it's also an appropriate time to be selective. By all means, shop -- but shop carefully.

Fools, now is the time to open your hearts and wallets to worthy causes! Please support our five Foolish charities at www.foolanthropy.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves consumer electronics, but he doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. He knows that an ionic breeze air-purifying massage chair with a robotic chimp attachment doesn't exist, but he expects Sharper Image to roll one out eventually. T he Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.