Beware Circuit City Closeout Deals

[baker7]

I found this online yesterday, and remembered that Jeff and others had mostlikely bought some gear from CC: This article is CC's warning, although I would question the statement that they cannot open products to check to see if they are broken before buying them. According to them, I have heard that someone bought a $1,500 Flat Screen HD TV Only to find when they got it home and opened it up that it had a smashed screen - BE CAREFUL!!

LINK (Yahoo Tech)

Brian

[JDoors]

I have yet to see ANY compelling reason to shop Circuit City's closeouts.

[baker7]

Me either JDoors - However, figured it would be a newsworthy item for those who may avail themselves of the opportunity.

Brian

Edited February 26, 2009 by baker7

[blim]

Thanks, Brian, because those ads are pretty compelling and yes, I bet there are shoppers going to CC!

Read some chatter on our local tv site about CC. Their "deals" are no deals. They have a liquidation company running the sale and marked the prices UP before applying the "discount". This information came from an employee who said,

"Whats worst thing thata gonna happen to me if I let this out, I'll lose my job??"

NOT surprised they put damaged goods out on the shelves, they did that BEFORE they went belly-up. Just last October I bought Son one of those Video Game Guitars to discover the package was previously opened and missing a few parts. Shoulda known there was something "up" because it was the only one on the shelf. Thank goodness I was able to return it

Liz

Edited February 25, 2009 by blim

[Honda_Boy]

I have yet to see ANY compelling reason to shop Circuit City's closeouts.

Ditto. Checked our local Circuit City that was closing mere months after it opened before the company wide closing and nothing in there was a deal. Everything I could get cheaper at Newegg or even frickin Walmart. They had an EVGA GeForce 9600 GT there that I could get for almost half at Newegg, a 500GB external HDD was like $170 (I paid about $100 each for both of my 500GB externals on Newegg), laptops were overpriced as well. My dad went with me and we were looking in seperate parts of the store. We met back up and he said nothing was a deal. We noticed many people leaving the store with nothing.

They sucked before, they still suck till the end. Best Buy (for DVD's), Electronic Express (for some electronics and car audio), and Newegg (for computer and other electronics) FTW!!!

[JDoors]

Me either JDoors - However, figured it would be a newsworthy item for those who may avail themselves of the opportunity.

Brian

Oh God yes! It's important as all get out. I suspect most people didn't know how "liquidation" works before CC became news. An item that "listed" for $1000 but sold for $800 before they went bankrupt would be listed at 20% off during the liquidation: $800. No savings whatsoever, in fact, you LOSE return privileges, and still pay the original price! It's crazy.

I have read first-person accounts that on THE DAY of closing they start giving you REAL deals, but by then all you're gonna get are batteries, cables, and stuff nobody wanted anyway. But hey, if you're looking for batteries and cables ...

[Besttechie]

That really sucks considering their "all sales are final" policy. However, selling broken merch is just low.

Additionally marking up the price and then taking 30-40% off is pretty low as well. I actually used my trusty iPhone to check Amazon's price of the Logitech Orbit AF I purchased to replace my Orbit MP to make sure the deal was as good as it could get and indeed it was so I'm pleased with my purchase.

B

[JDoors]

It's cool that technology let's you doublecheck whether or not you're getting a "deal" or not.

I may have implied that NO ONE should EVER shop the CC liquidation and I didn't mean to. A "deal" for one person may not be a good deal for another. Even if you could get something cheaper elsewhere, the fact that you're there and it's available to be taken home that instant may be worth the extra cost for some (just to state one example).

I find all those "first person" accounts of what's going on fascinating. Like employees who are barraged with snide comments like, "It's about time you went out of business, CC sucks!" Ouch! (True enough, but ... ouch.) I've worked at a place that was shut down and it's depressing enough without people twisting the knife.

[Besttechie]

Well... they're now officially closed.

B

[jcl]

Well... they're now officially closed.

I would suggest rooting around in their dumpsters for leftovers but you'd probably still end up overpaying.

[JDoors]

I would suggest rooting around in their dumpsters for leftovers but you'd probably still end up overpaying.

In another interesting twist: Best Buy has been buying stuff from CC. I imagine it's stuff like store fixtures and test equipment. At least I HOPE it's not consumer goods they plan on reselling (maybe I should read more than the headlines?).

[irregularjoe]

I have yet to see ANY compelling reason to shop Circuit City's closeouts.

I never saw any compelling reason to shop at CC when they WERE in business.

Just my opinion of course.

[JDoors]

I never saw any compelling reason to shop at CC when they WERE in business. ...

Good point!

I did not like the atmosphere in their stores, I did not like the customer service, I did not find any particularly special deals, so ...

On the other hand, I do not mind the atmosphere in Best Buy, their customer service is better than CC was (though not up to the level of, say, a mom-and-pop store), but their deals aren't anything to write home about either. It's just convenience: you need something NOW, they got SOMETHING that should work. You need a new scanner? They HAVE one, it may not be the best choice, it may not be a special deal, but you can get "a" scanner -- now.

[irregularjoe]

I never saw any compelling reason to shop at CC when they WERE in business. ...

Good point!

I did not like the atmosphere in their stores, I did not like the customer service, I did not find any particularly special deals, so ...

On the other hand, I do not mind the atmosphere in Best Buy, their customer service is better than CC was (though not up to the level of, say, a mom-and-pop store), but their deals aren't anything to write home about either. It's just convenience: you need something NOW, they got SOMETHING that should work. You need a new scanner? They HAVE one, it may not be the best choice, it may not be a special deal, but you can get "a" scanner -- now.

The only bad point about them closing is that it eliminates one source of competition.

When stores feel they can compete less, they get sloppy.

Case in point: Homebase. These were mega home improvement stores in direct competition with Home Depot. When they went out of business about 7 years ago Home Depot started on a gradual decline. Home Depot has become so inept now that I predict THEM to be closing within two years or less. You can blame it on the economy, but they don't help their own cause with perpetually empty shelves, lack of competent employees, and a general "I don't give a s#%t attitude toward customers." Before retiring from my contracting biz, I was in Home Depot daily. As the years went on I found that they became more and more inept. This especially became obvious after the closing of the HomeBase stores.

As far as geek stores, I always try Frys Electronic first. We are lucky to have two of them in Phoenix. They usually have the best prices, much more esoteric stock, and generally people that know what they are talking about. But if it's a significant purchase I'd always compare with BB and CC (before they closed). Sometimes the latter would have better specials.

As far as mom and pop stores, I'd take them any day. The problem is that they are going the way of the dinosaur. Very sad indeed.

Edited April 22, 2009 by irregularjoe

[JDoors]

The only bad point about them closing is that it eliminates one source of competition. ... Case in point: Homebase. These were mega home improvement stores in direct competition with Home Depot. When they went out of business about 7 years ago Home Depot started on a gradual decline. Home Depot has become so inept now that I predict THEM to be closing within two years or less. ...

There are no other comparible electronics stores around here, so Best Buy can do whatever they want now.

I feel about Home Depot like I felt about Circuit City; don't like the atmosphere, don't like the lack of help, don't think the prices are anything special. I decided to replace my lawnmower (a new Craftsman that I had to have repaired each of the four times I used it) and out of frustration I decided, dammit, I'm just gonna get a Honda lawnmower at Home Depot, like normal people do.

I stood around the lawnmowers for twenty minutes or so, grabbed somebody walking by who said he'd get the person for that department, waited another twenty minutes, the guy shows up and didn't know the product whatsoever. But I expected that exact experience so I went ahead and bought the darned thing anyway (and I hate it, Honda mowers suck, but I talked about that before).

Home Depot has plenty of competition around here, a couple of big family-owned chains and several individual stores (not to mention all the "hardware" stores still ekeing out an existance).

For electronics? I can't think of any place OTHER than Best Buy around here. Everybody else is gone. So if I want something major, I think I'm stuck.

[irregularjoe]

The only bad point about them closing is that it eliminates one source of competition. ... Case in point: Homebase. These were mega home improvement stores in direct competition with Home Depot. When they went out of business about 7 years ago Home Depot started on a gradual decline. Home Depot has become so inept now that I predict THEM to be closing within two years or less. ...

There are no other comparible electronics stores around here, so Best Buy can do whatever they want now.

I feel about Home Depot like I felt about Circuit City; don't like the atmosphere, don't like the lack of help, don't think the prices are anything special. I decided to replace my lawnmower (a new Craftsman that I had to have repaired each of the four times I used it) and out of frustration I decided, dammit, I'm just gonna get a Honda lawnmower at Home Depot, like normal people do.

I stood around the lawnmowers for twenty minutes or so, grabbed somebody walking by who said he'd get the person for that department, waited another twenty minutes, the guy shows up and didn't know the product whatsoever. But I expected that exact experience so I went ahead and bought the darned thing anyway (and I hate it, Honda mowers suck, but I talked about that before).

Home Depot has plenty of competition around here, a couple of big family-owned chains and several individual stores (not to mention all the "hardware" stores still ekeing out an existance).

For electronics? I can't think of any place OTHER than Best Buy around here. Everybody else is gone. So if I want something major, I think I'm stuck.

I forgot, we do have one semi reliable family owned hardware "chain" around here. Problem is that they too hire the brain dead to staff their stores. Much better than HD though.

You know what I'm talking about....the kid that doesn't know a #10-32 screw from a bowling ball? This used to drive me crazy. Having been self employed, I'd of course be in a hurry to pick up parts. (not being "on the clock"....the customer didn't want to hear that I had to spend 3 hours describing what a GFI circuit breaker was to some clown that kept directing me to the garden hose section.....)

Looking back, that's probably one of the reasons I retired early. Dealing with the stupidity of the parts stores became more cumbersome than actually doing the work.

As far as lawnmowers are concerned, although I never thought I'd do it, we now have a xeriscape yard. I still miss the grass though.

[JDoors]

Had to look up "xeriscape." Reminds me of when I bought the house. I, like many people do, overextended myself purchasing my first home (thank God it wasn't in today's financial climate). I couldn't afford grass or sod for the longest time. I joked to my neighbors that I planned on putting down green linoleum; No muss, no fuss, just Mop-and-Glo once a week!

Being new to the neighborhood, some of them weren't sure if I was kidding or not!

[bozodog]

If it wasn't for the doggy bombs, I'd go for astro turf...

[irregularjoe]

"I joked to my neighbors that I planned on putting down green linoleum; No muss, no fuss, just Mop-and-Glo once a week!"

LOL. That's funny.

That reminds me of an aunt of a certain ex-wife who retired to Pompano Beach, Florida. We went down to visit (this was many years ago). She actually had a cement front yard that was painted green.

Mine is not that bad though. We planted a bunch of desert type flowering bushes and trees in the front when we took out the grass. That was about four years ago. I was horrified at first, thinking that it looked so barren. But I have to admit that it actually looks pretty nice now that they've grown.

[Honda_Boy]

Circuit City may comeback. Systemax, Owners of TigerDirect, have bought Circuit City's intellectual porperty and have plans to reopen it as an e-tailer and may bring back the brick and mortar stores. That's what Systemax did with CompUSA. They plan to completely retool Circuit City and make it, I guess, not suck.

[irregularjoe]

Circuit City may comeback. Systemax, Owners of TigerDirect, have bought Circuit City's intellectual porperty and have plans to reopen it as an e-tailer and may bring back the brick and mortar stores. That's what Systemax did with CompUSA. They plan to completely retool Circuit City and make it, I guess, not suck.

Not sucking would be a good business model! I hope it works.

[sultan_emerr]

Circuit City may comeback. Systemax, Owners of TigerDirect, have bought Circuit City's intellectual porperty and have plans to reopen it as an e-tailer and may bring back the brick and mortar stores. That's what Systemax did with CompUSA. They plan to completely retool Circuit City and make it, I guess, not suck.

Yes, I've seen some pretty good deals on CompUSA.