Unfortunately, no retailer can compete with Wal-Mart. It's not really Best Buy that's putting CC under, it's Wal-Mart. Don't get me wrong, BB has a large hand in their demise, but most people will shop at Wal-Mart for everything, including electronics and CC can't compete.

sjohns

their real competition is (was?) not bestbuy it's amazon.

CraziestGadgets.com

@Greg: I couldnt agree more!

xaflatoonx

I'm looking forward to the liquidation sale, it better be better than the CompUSA one was...

Greg

Going out of business sale?

mobilehavoc

@Log1c: www.newegg.com. Never, ever, support those brick and mortar shops.

Alex7575

Best Buy will be the big dog but Walmart will not sit by idle. As long as new egg and others exist I'm not sure it matters

wanago

@phoenix6666: It's not like Best Buy has ever really been threatened by Circuit City. BB actually had reasonable prices most of the time, while CC was off in the clouds (with respect to how high their prices were). There were maybe occasionally good deals, but it was rare. The reason BB has done so well while these other companies fold is because they offer competitive pricing versus online stores, and I don't see why the lack of another B&M shop nearby would cause them to raise their prices, because if they do, the online giants will crush them.

rjp

I tell you why this sucks, because I have neither a Fry's or Microcenter near me, so I'm stuck with CC and BB.

I don't often go to Circuit City, but they tend to have the one product I spent a month researching but don't want to buy online, and Best Buy doesn't.

Log1c

I go into CC sometimes to get those new release DVD's for $14.99 on Union Square. I wonder what they'd put there if it disappeared. Hopefully not a sister store for the Walgreens across the street. Ugh, it'll probably end up a Diesel KIDS store.

Kaiser-Machead's LEGO WALL-E

I completely agree with you, Matt. I'm glad CC is finally suffering but if it goes under, Best Buy will basically be unchallenged in regular consumer electronics on the brick and mortar front.

phoenix6666

It's because for some incredibly bizarre reason, all of their store entrances smell ridiculously of B.O. Has anyone else noticed this?

horizontaleight

I buy my toys online anymore.

Sorry.

strider_mt2k

Neither best buy nor walmart is the one responsible for cc going down in flames. I work for cc... most of our customers shop there because our prices are better than the other guys. Plus, we have a 60 day price guarantee on tv's. Also, Circuit City might suck in your area but not every city is the same. Some cities best buy is horrible and some cities circuit city is horrible. When I lived in RI i hated shopping at CC and I would go to Best Buy because I got excellent service most of the time. In KY where I live currently Best Buy has the worst service I have seen.

Here is where Circuit City made there mistake(s)...
First they laid off a few thousand employees (4300 I believe). These weren't any employees, these were the ones that made too much money in there opinion. The problem is that these were the same employees that kept the faithful customers still walking through the door. Now, none of the old customers come back anymore. Who knows where they shop now. There second mistake in my opinion would be entertaining the idea of a merger with failing Block Buster. Bad idea to merge but an even worse idea to not jump on the offer. They played around to long and Block Buster wised up and abandoned ship. Circuit stocks started to crash after that.

Here is my opinion on saving the company for a few more years... GET RID OF ALL THE STORES THAT LOSE MORE MONEY THAN THEY MAKE. Here in Louisville Kentucky we have 4 stores all within a few minutes of each other. We only have 1 store that has ever made any money. One store that makes money because we own all the land and there are a few restaurants there. If they closed down That one and used it strictly as a warehouse and only used the 2 stores conveniently located next to Best Buy we would gain tons of business. Then if we did that across the country we might actually have a chance at surviving a few more years.

VeeDub

So that $500 CC gift card I have is nearly worthless?

FlashSandbox

Usually Circuit City has pretty decent sale prices on New Release DVDs, music, video games, etc. I refuse to shop at Best Buy so CC has always been good to me.

brendanm14

I was just in the Brand New Store in Sarasota, FL and it's much nicer than the others I have been in.

The store is much smaller than others and doesn't have the BO smell at the front that we have become accustomed to.

It would be bad if they go away because they have better deals most times than BB. The service in this store was much better than any other store in the area. I liked the fact that I didn't have to set off a nuke to get someone's attention.

CCNA1AB

FIRE SALE!!!

I'll bring the molotov cocktails

discounteggroll

@[Dextr]: Me too. I don't use their Firedog services, but they always seem to have what I'm looking for, and (at least recently) their prices have usually been better than Best Buy. I like them - if nothing else, I see no reason to blindly avoid them in favor of Best Buy.

Rhawb

Oh well. I'm no free-marketeer but when you overexpand and offer nothing to distinguish your business from the competition, what do you expect?

Circuit City used to have a lot of good incentives. The Price-Match +10% got a lot of people in the stores. The 24 Minute pickup was an okay idea. Unfortunately, Best Buy had a better business model - offer discount CDs to generate foot traffic.

If Circuit City improved its customer support and salesmanship, it could have distinguished itself from Big Blue. But it didn't. In a land of "more of the same" interchangeable chains, the closer store with better selection wins.

As it stands now, if I want a major appliance, I go to J&R. The employees get a commission. That means I don't have to hunt them down. They let me haggle a little bit and will match a Best Buy price.

OMG! Ponies!

If the circuit city here is any indication, its no wonder they are going under. I can't get a guy standing right in front of me to help, and I usually have to interrupt some poignant conversation about how many times this girl barfed after drinking herself into a stupor the night before.

kwicherbichin

Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
little soft cities!

Not really, Carl.

scarbrtj

The only way you might get help at a Circuit City is if you make believed your going to steal something other than that, good luck. Am surprise people even own their stock, i mean don't they even visit their stores?

snitch29

Only thing I brought from Circuit City was Sony 27" Tube TV 9 years ago, at that time Circuit City was only store to carry that model first.

os_2

Might be time to buy? At least you can't loose much money on the deal...

Geisrud

It is unfortunate for short-Circuit City, however the retail electronics business model does seem to be fatally flawed. How long can a real 'store' make money when we go in to shop for the product we want, then walk out of the store and buy it online? Given the current economic situation, even the half dozen people that buy it there will have to think twice now.

Monty

@Alex7575: I'm a fan of OtherWorldComputing.com also. They're focused on Mac equipment, but a great deal of it is universally accepted hardware, so it's a great site to shop for peripherals.

Kaiser-Machead's LEGO WALL-E

and they just literally opened a new store near me, last weekend.

phenderson

When it comes down to Best Buy or Circuit City, I tend to always go with the latter. I've used their firedog service once or twice (does this revoke my nerd badge?) and found it far superior to the horror stories I've heard about Geek Squad. Maybe my good experiences just outweigh the bad, esp. in relation to BB, so this is a little sad for me. I hope something works out.

[Dextr]

Circuit City was competing? With who, CompUSA? I'm going to miss all of the sales people hovering around the TV sets and changing the channels.

MichelleDatsun

@Alex7575: I buy all my computer parts from newegg. Except those that if defective will cost me time and money in shipping, (primarily my LCD monitor)

In fact, I have a higher credit limit on my newegg account than I do my Visa card.

Log1c

@Chewbenator: ... Then declines.

Chewbenator

You know you're in bad shape when Blockbuster offers to buy you.

Chewbenator

What a surprise - bad customer service, bad store setup, always out of sale items = failure. It's like they don't want to succeed.

I remember the last recession of the early 90s. Customer service everywhere was great, because everyone who still had a job truly appreciated it. My wife and I always comment when we receive horrible customer service in the past five years that the economy has been doing very well, and that one recession will snap people back into realizing how lucky they are to have a job and put some effort in to keep it.

EBone

@Geisrud:

Nope, bad company. Even at $0.46 a share, the stock is still trade at 18x next year's earnings. That is a sign that at best it is fairly valued.

I recommend spending the $0.50 on a can of soda... at least you'll get something out of it.

Secret Agent Man

50¢/share? If you buy now and it goes up, you make a fortune. If you buy now and it goes under, you don't lose very much.

Hmmmmm

Glaiel-Gamer

Liquidation sales are handled (usually) by a 3rd party. They have no interest in cutting any fantastic deals to get rid of product until the very end, when all that's left is random bags of rubber dog bones and other garbage.

CC was run into the ground by the worst CEO ever. He took a 13 billion dollar/year company and turned it into toilet bowl in less than 2 years. He cut his best sales people. He copied Best Buy's service model with the "Fire Dog" scam. He really needs to be held down and allow 3000 ex-employees and several thousand stockholders and investors to come up and punch him. He should be in jail for being stupid. Hopefully, he doensn't have kids, and no woman in her right mind would want to breed with the former CEO.

yikz

@strider_mt2k: It's not about people like you. Not everyone is tech savvy. People for the most part are stupid. Thats why places like CC and BB still exist. Amazon destroys local competition and if they had a store front where people could actually walk in and play then they would put everyone out of business but they don't. The internet is not that much of a concern. There are still a lot of Tech illiterate people in this country and till they die off or get with the times then internet will still be a place mainly used for porn and email.

VeeDub

Not to worry, the government will bail them out.

smarusich

@Greg: I wasn't able to make it to a CompUSA for their liquidation sale, but a friend of mine made a killing buying cheap electronics there. It got better in their final days, and he says his only regret was not buying more.

GTgeek

I worked at CC many, many moons ago. Back then they paid there sales people straight commission. It was pretty intense for a guy like me just out of high school. They were very high pressure sales back then. They forced you to sell there crappy extended warranties. Very unethical if you ask me. I think they've loosened up since then, but still I've never liked there organization. Just to stiff and ridged and not able to adapt quickly to market changes.

shaithis

@CCNA1AB: brand new stores ALWAYS have better CS and helpful salespeople.

because the employees haven't had time to get beaten down by the piss poor corporate mentality yet.

mikeg916

Has anyone been to one of their The City concept stores? It seems like they tried lots of different things but to no avail. The new smaller, cleaner stores are a good idea but probably too little too late.

send9

I dont care how bad their stores are, or even if I have to leap over naked, stinky bums in the front entrances. Its all about the DEALS and they dont have them.

Curves

@horizontaleight:
HAHAHAHA!!!!!!! That is hilarious!!! I said the exact same thing in a previous CC article.

I second that!!!

JEmlay

@CCNA1AB: Easy Tiger... a Thermal Detonator would do the trick!

+2 Noints?[Nerd Points]

FreshJulius

As long as the competition between the USPS, UPS, FEDEX, EMS, Et Al does not stop, F'k brick and mortar over charging behemoths. Get it cheaper, newer, better service online.

FrankenPC

@Chewbenator: They didn't offer to buy Circuit City. At the time they couldn't afford that. They just wanted to merge so that they would have a way of selling there version of the Vudu box. Also, they felt that doing so would also be beneficial to circuit city because it would send more business there way.

VeeDub

@Secret Agent Man: meh, that's probably why I don't buy stock - I don't know anything about it. I leave my portfolio to my people.

I'll take your advice on the can of pop.

Geisrud

All of these retailers have to deal with massive floor and warehouse inventories to exist. With model turnover in the electronics world measured in months, it is REALLY difficult to make it in a competitive marketplace that includes the web. I'm hoping that CC will use a scalpel instead of a hatchet (to paraphrase a hatchet job of a presidential candidate) and close only the unprofitable stores, but I'm guessing that the problems getting short term credit may kill them in VERY short order. Like even before they could get a fire sale going...

ptyork

@CCNA1AB:

That's actually "the city" which is a seperate company.

rawbdee

@Darksider1972: Brick&Mortar stores has its benefits. I usually go to Best Buy to check out the actual item before I buy it online.

ripfire

Who needs Circuit City when you have Newegg.com?? Sorry, I am just one those people who tend buy all his electronic goods online..

Darksider1972

Wait, people still buy electronics in stores?

radeon21

@Kaiser-Machead's LEGO WALL-E: I think the space on Astor Place formerly occupied by Barnes & Noble is still vacant after 18 months. The Union Square CC is poorly laid out and probably grossly overpriced. I expect a "Retail Space For Rent" sign to be there for a good long time.

OMG! Ponies!

@Geisrud: Don't worry. Ford and GM and still in the bargain bin. A share of Ford now costs less than a gallon of gas (~$2.50) and GM is flirting with the $7 mark.

This is what happens when the economy eats too much toxic debt and gets dysentery. Dow 9,000 is not out of the picture by today (and certainly a possibility by Friday).

OMG! Ponies!

@phoenix6666: I actually had a CC guy offer to call BB to see if they had a PS3 in stock when I bought my TV there.

Phenostar

@rjp: I'm not sure where you live but I've found that CC's prices tend to be, almost always lower than BB....

Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude

I never forgave Circuit City for screwing up the market acceptance of DVDs by their cock-eyed Divx scheme of limited-play DVDs.

WeedMonkey

@ripfire: Same here, I like to go check out the item in person before I buy online. You can check out reviews online but sometimes a product has a feature you absolutely hate, or the interface sucks and you see something else and get that instead.

gqcarrick

I bought my big 24" LCD monitor there, it was the best deal around at the time. The kid that rung me out of course tried to sell me all this BS and I just shook my head and said I know what I want.

gqcarrick

@OMG! Ponies!: Yep. Since I work just blocks away from the place, and the prices and selection are more than I require, I shop there all the time.

Kaiser-Machead's LEGO WALL-E

Way back and a day (long before Best Buy invaded these here parts) I used to love me some Circuit City. They had commissioned sales people who actually knew a lot about the products and were very helpful. Granted, most of us here do our research online, but for the average joe just walking in that's a big issue and good luck finding many knowledgeable sales staff people these days. Sure, some of the commissioned folks could be pushy, but most of the ones I encountered were excellent and kept me coming back whenever I was looking for another product later on.

They also (at least at my local store) used to mark down floor sample and open box stuff BIG TIME, not just the paltry 10-20% you typically see these days. I got a ton of great A/V equipment that way over the years for ridiculously cheap.

It just hasn't been the same since they went away from commissioned sales staff IMO. I'm sure they felt they had financial reasons for doing so, but they lost their customer service edge over Best Buy once they started down that path. Now they're just the red version of Best Buy IMO (and vice versa.)

Ron-Mexico

@Log1c: Gosh. I almost feel guilty for having both near me....

GoPadge

@[Dextr]: Ugh, a friend of mine worked as a firedog while he was still going to school.

I heard so many stories about how one firedog would delete shortcuts off the desktop and consider that 'optimizing' the machine. Or another firedog who broke the ram retention sockets trying to cram the wrong stick of ram into a laptop when it obviously wouldn't fit. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. The list, sadly, goes on.

If you need computer support, just try to find a savvy high school student to do your computer work for you. Odds are, you'll get much better, faster, and cheaper service.

wiregr

@Greg: Now if compusa had charged normally for their merchandise what they were charging during their liquidation sale (i.e. reasonable prices) maybe they would have stayed in business. Same goes for circuit shitty.

I can't even remember the last time I bothered to set foot in one of their stores after I realized could get the same item from the internet the next day for less money.

wiregr

One day, Buy More will make them all just memories...

GC736

I've been shopping at CC quite a bit lately because of their '24 minutes or $24 guarantee'; 5 items purchased online and 5 X $24 gift cards to date.

dahlberg123

@phoenix6666: on the West coast things will still be pretty competitive since we have Fry's out here.

FrancesTheMute

I dont care if they die. There is this great thing called the internet that saves me money on electronics prices and gas money!

livinzlife

D'oh! I meant...

Circuit City = FAIL!

(Darned bailout's got me all confused!)

EricAlder

@Kaiser-Machead's LEGO WALL-E: As a new Mac user, I thank you for the link!

@Log1c: We're on the same boat then, and I always hate (almost embarrassed) when I have to buy anything from them.

Alex7575

City Bank = FAIL!

(I'm surprised I was the first)

EricAlder

All of Circuit City's woes can be traced to that giant puddle in their parking lot. Nobody likes driving through puddles.

General Halfshaftery

@Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another du...: Every CC I've been in has been the highest priced store around....and always empty. So, around here, they have been zero threat to BB, who's always packed. (prices at both places are too high for me though)

Darkest Daze

@horizontaleight: AHAHAHAHAHA! It's true! I really did LOL on that!

the_Sleepwalker

I'd be happy to see them go under. I started my boycott last April after they fired a few thousand workers then reworked some options for an outgoing CFO so that he could still exercise them. Not surprised the business might go under with that type of selfish and greedy management.

Smoothjazz

@phoenix6666:

I believe Best Buy left CC behind a long time ago... they're more worried about Walmart, Sams Club, and anyone that's actually bigger than them and focusing after them

aluminum54

It's been said more than once and it is ultimately the reason any retail chain goes under. Too many CCs have teenagers that don't know shit about the products that they are selling. From experience last Sunday I walked in to buy a t.v. for my bedroom and the kid tells me I should buy the 720 Samsung over a 1080 Sony because the Samsung was better at the 720 resolution. WTF?! If your staff is simply not knowledgable why would you return to shop there.

The average size of each CC does not help either. It's a large space with near non existant products and the ones that are up there are on clearance online or at a competitor.

To address some folks comments about "why do you need a real store," the truth is that most people are apprehensive about shopping online for something as pricey as a 50" t.v., $1,000+ home theatre system, etc. Sometimes you just have to go in, touch the product and see if you can live with the purchase.

enosone

I do not like CC but I have bought a surprising amount of merchandise there. Often, when I spend a few weeks researching a major purchase CC comes through at the last minute with a big sale.

Last Christmas they took $600.00 of the price of a plasma TV to price match Sears even though Sears didn't have it in stock. I have also bought a high end digital camera, a satelite radio and at least a couple of cell phones there (All this while generally avoiding the store as much as possible).

That being said, I hate the shopping experience at CC. I will sometimes go to Best Buy just to browse and look around. I never did this at CC.

I won't miss the store too much but I hate to think about all that retail space sitting dead and empty acrss the country. Most of the former CompUSA's are still empty and abandoned.

bdgbill

So they finally pissed off enough of their customers to realize that they can't piss off their customers on a regular basis and stay in business?

FritzLaurel

Oh crap, if all that's left is BB, we will be screwed. Their already overpriced crap will become even pricier!

GiantEnemyCrab

@horizontaleight:Oh, thank God. I thought it was me.

wootsee

@kwicherbichin:

So...how many times did she barf?

madmaxmedia

Crap. They had (have) an excellent price match and return policy.

snathanb

Circuit City's been dead to me for awhile now.

UniComp

I cant wait, I want a new power supply, RAM, mobo,and another 24 inch LCD. Sure, il throw in the 46 inch plasma, but only because I know you need the money circuit city =], and yes the thousand watt surround sound is good to.

p.fortin

@horizontaleight: @JEmlay: @the_Sleepwalker: @wootsee: either we all live in the same city or CC like to line their entrance with fat man sweat

ArrogantAce

"As it stands now, if I want a major appliance, I go to J&R. The employees get a commission. That means I don't have to hunt them down. They let me haggle a little bit and will match a Best Buy price."

The TV departments are commission based again and CC matches JR.com and bhphotovideo.com in the NYC area

roker

I put in my two weeks at Circuit on Friday, but not because of anything like this. I don't think they will fail. If Tiger Direct bought Comp USA, somebody will buy Circuit City. The current CEO doesn't want to sell, from what I gathered in company mail. Though we do apparently have a store meeting on Saturday now. Maybe they will announce the closure, lol.

CSUSam

Circuit City reminds me of Sprint - same approach:
- Lack of decent or exciting products
- Overpriced
- Completely clueless and rarely available staff
- Terrible post-sale service
- Near absolute absense of good deals

Customer is always right... as long as he/she is not dealing with the aforementioned companies.

cynep

Circuit Shitty deserves to die based on the sales droid's addytood.

Last time I bought a usb drive there I was treated like a criminal because I had to ask some droid to open the case to get me the drive. I wanted to read the tech specs on the side and was treated to a "gunna buy it or not" as if we were in NYC.

screw them.
screw them in the ear.
screw them in the ear with a baseball bat.

rockhopper

WOOT bring on the clearance sales, I could use some bargain basement deals right now

Seiven

@horizontaleight:

I noticed something even more odd. In my area and in another state, all the flat front stores smell. But all of the "old" front cube style stores do not smell. Did that make sense?

JEmlay