Scrounging for bargains at CompUSA

With the CompUSA liquidation in full swing, some of the deals at closing stores have started to get quite interesting.

A cage full of Vista and Office copies--all 40 percent off.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

The hardware was not necessarily much of a bargain. During a recent stroll through the downtown San Francisco store, I found desktops and notebooks discounted 20 percent, and in many cases there was only a well-used demo model for sale. There were also printers (some new in boxes and some demo machines), but I suspect one can get a PC or printer for a better price just by shopping the weekend circulars.

The real bargains were in the software area. While PCs and printers get used, scuffed, and outdated sitting on store shelves, software stays pretty much the same inside its nearly empty box.

Included among the Vista copies were several of the Bill Gates-signed limited edition Ultimate version.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

There were many varieties of Office 2007 as well as many flavors of Windows Vista--all for 40 percent off. There was even a stack of the special Bill Gates-signed limited edition version of Vista Ultimate. On the Office front, there was everything from Office Ultimate for the Home and Student to copies of individual programs such as Word and OneNote.

On the Mac side, there were only a couple of demo Macs--and those were just 15 percent off. However, there were copies of .Mac for 40 percent off the standard $99 price as well as the chance to get AppleCare extended warranties for half the usual price. For those who happen to need a MagSafe power adapter, there was a basket of those located several paces from the now-abandoned Apple Shop.

There wasn't a ton of pro software on either the Mac or PC side, though I did notice several copies of Final Cut Studio 2 in one of the cages.

There weren't many Apple accessories, but they did have a bunch of MagSafe power adapters.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

Speaking of cables, there was also a section that seemed like the dregs from the repair shop featuring a ton of power bricks, cords, and remote controls. It's not for everyone, but if you've been missing a cord and don't mind rummaging, there might be something up your alley.

It's worth noting that not all of the CompUSA stores are closing for good. Systemax acquired the CompUSA name and plans to keep open up to 16 of the stores, also rebranding some of its TigerDirect retail stores with the CompUSA name.

If the business of liquidating stores is a science, with its practitioners knowing just when to drop the discounts a little further, buying from such sales is an art. I'm sure there are plenty of artists out there. What was your best find?

[basraw]

my best find..

was not buying anything!!<br /><br />nothing of interest was left, and i'm sure i could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere!<br /><br />anyone will buy something over retail at another store if someone tells them it is already marked 40% off.

[usario clave]

Snowball USB mike

Picked up one for $70. Nice!

[ethana2]

bargain my ....

...i wouldn't take that stuff if you gave it to me.<br />Well, there /is/ eBay..<br /><br />But that's a big liability, holding onto all that pyrite while passing out ubuntu install discs, and I don't think I'm willing to risk it.. kinda betting against yourself, you know?

[nachomama99]

bargains? what bargains?

The article is right, there are some good deals on software, but <br />someone didn't tell them what they'd really need to do to move the <br />hardware. Laptops are 20% off the RETAIL price. Apple was still <br />sitting at 10% off (of which you can get refurbished <br />iMacs/Macbooks for less from Apple directly). I think people were <br />buying the stuff because they saw XX% off, not because it was that <br />great of a deal. You really had to be looking for something specific.

[pureverve124]

No wonder Compusa can't compete with Best Buy and Frys

Even with the "discount" Compusa cannot compete with Best Buy and Frys on cheaper laptops. I am waiting for the time when Compusa is desperate to liquidate everything on the Store and give 50% off on hardware.

[fred dunn]

CompUSA and Bargain in the same sentance

is oxymoronic. CompUSA was never a bargain and there won't be bargains while they are going out of business.

[ssratt]

SF-end of month

SO far, I picked up a PSU tester (when they were MEANT to close last month).<br />Next week it looks like when Vista/Blanks hit the %50 I'll pick some up then<br />The only other thing I am interested in is a SATA DVD burner just to free airflow and get keep my old one for when I get around to building an HTPC

[zincmann]

Seriously..nothings cheap at these closeouts

Everything is marked up to higher than retail prices and then the discounts are taken off that. I wont bite until its down to a sale price then taking the discount into affect. Everything I was interested in was on Ebay or to be had online at an etailer for much much cheaper. Its no wonder why when I walked into their store they had tons of product still available. You can fool some people into "fake" discounts but I think most consumers are smarter, especially in a weak economy right now

[inachu]

At first I was angry then so happy!

I was angry my favorite Compusa was closing but then the store that replaced it was 1000 times much better and has almost every hardware that pc modders could dream of.

[gandalas]

My best deal...

At the closing of my local OompUSA a few months back, I bought a 100-pack of CR-Rs for like $10, and a 50-pack of DVD-Rs for about the same...<br /><br />Other than that, my girlfriend bought a computer, but it was not really that good of a deal IMO...