Comments on: Circuit City liquidation: A cautionary tale

If you're looking for a great deal at your local closing Circuit City, it's buyer beware, and check your purchases.

[gglockner]

My local Circuit City has a table near the exit that is marked for you to open and test your merchandise after you pay but before you leave the store. May not be practical for an extra-extra-large HDTV but a good idea for smaller electronics.

[jamesreb]

There's a Circuit City sign in the picture but there's also blue and gold (Best Buy) interrior colors.

[greginnewyork]

That's the Circuit City at Union Square in New York (14th Street and 4th Avenue), looking east along 14th Street. It has never been a Best Buy (although there's a Best Buy Mobile across the street). The blue and yellow is just a coincidence.

[yonah]

I was waiting in line at Circuit city to buy something and witnessed a similar incident - A guy came in with a video game that he had bought. It was sealed when he bought it, but when he got it home, the cd was shattered. The manager told him he was SOOL.

--Yonah

Ah yes... Future Shop. Future Shop was eventually purchased by Best Buy, and continues to grow... in Canada.

[etiahwhite]

You have to be really careful about whether or not your really getting a good deal as well. When they first wave of stores closed I went to purchase a wall furniture moda shelf unit thing when I inquired about the price they said it was $313 with the discount and I thought that couldn't be right so I went to a store that wasn't closing and saw that the price they were charging was the actual full price. So I went back to the closing store and the unit was gone :( but they had a different one I went to buy it and noticed that they marked the price up on it from 187 to 287. I brought this to there attention and at first they tried to act as if I was wrong but I insisted if they went to circuitcity.com they'd see that the correct price was $187. I ended up getting the unit at 60% off $187 but I can only imagine how many people have over paid thinking they were getting good deals and in fact they didn't save anything at all. It's so important to go into those going out of business sales knowing what the actual retail of an item is.

[Orbitalint]

There has been a lot of talk about this in regards to CC's going out of business. In most instances, including CC, liquidators increase the prices back to MSRP - not what CC used to charge - and cut discounts from there. Their job is to try and monetize as much of the merchandise as possible with as small a loss as possible to pay off as many debtors as they can. They could care less about whether or not consumers are getting good deals. During the first phase, you could probably get most things off Amazon cheaper than the 10% off MSRP that the CC sell off started at. As time passes, they start marking off more and more and you're left with crappy merchandise at 60% off MSRP and if you can find something in that, more power to you. Congrats on convincing your local store by using the website. Definitely got away with something that the liquidators wouldn't have liked.

[donsms]

Our local Hamburg,NY store was cleaned out a month ago by either people who are to stupid or just not on the ball about checking prices.When i was there at that time most items were being marked up to MSRP or more before the liquidation discount of 30% which made these people think they were getting a deal when actually they were getting ripped off big time.Oh well,buyer beware i guess!

[heeroy7]

I feel really bad for this lady but at my store in rochester we open up the box to check to see if the tv is cracked or has any other blemishes. I wonder why the store does not have that policy in effect because it would take an extra few minutes and it would save the customer,cc and the liquidator a headache. Oh well its a lesson learned and i hope that samsund does something for her.

[Lucky Bob]

Ah, the Hamburg store. Gonna miss the ol' place. Not that I ever actually bought anything from there. I could almost always find stuff cheaper online.

I just recently went to the Circuit City near Elmira. 60% off signs were plastered every where. Other than a good deal on a print server, everything else was a rip-off. I imagine many people bought stuff thinking they were getting deals. Oh well...

[jskrenes]

I won a few CC gift cards in a sales contest at work a few months ago. Shortly after cashing them in (I bought Okami for the Wii and Cakewalk Music Creator), they went out of business. Glad I bought quickly!

[Shaun822]

This is exactly why every business does liquidation sales under federal bankruptcy laws now instead of state going out of business laws. It allows them to be ultra-sleazy about return policies. I refuse to buy anything that is all sales final, even defective merchandise, for this reason right here.

[Burton]

Just shopped the local CC last night.
Panasonic PZ-50TH85zu was priced at $1538.
You can still find them cheaper on the web, including tax and free shipping.

Until the Plasmas hit the 40% off mark, that's when you'll see a deal to jump on.

Also, by the extended warranty through the manufacturer. Having spoken to my repair tech for my plasma recently, he said Panasonic Plasmas were the least seen by his company.

[jlt0x]

I bought a 42" Panasonic Plasma EDTV in 2005. It has worked flawlessly from day 1. I dust it once or twice a month & never let anyone tough it. I mounted it above my fireplace and it's always ready for movies, shows, and sporting events.

I've been stopping back at a couple of the local CC to check prices on their remaining Plasmas and smaller LCD TVs. Many of their "liquidation" prices have been matched by competing Best Buy & HHGregg stores. And I've seen better prices on laptops, digital cameras, audio systems, etc. at other electronics stores. I would consider buying one of their "display" TVs only if they're marked down to at least 50% or lower, and they throw in the wall mount hardware they're using in the store. But that scenario is dream, b/c somebody will buy them up before they get that low in price.

[wamiman]

I also worked at WA Future Shop way back in the day. Wish I knew then what I do now about how business works. Wouldn't have put up with the crap they threw at you. Like BB today, it was all about how much money you make, although the employees were brainwashed towards biz practices being "good for the customer". You had a long sales track you had to go through which took about 5 min - Ridiculous. I have a lot of respect for people who can handle retail, especially electronics retail. Don't think it happens at BB? There used to be a site up where customers and employees wrote anonymously about their bad experiences there. Very interesting. Sorry to digress. Don't hear of too many people anymore that shared the Future Shop experience.

[Geobots2]

Was in CC this weekend. Shopper took purchase to cashier. The amount was not as advertised. Cashier stated that it didn't matter what the marked price was only what was in the system. There is some significant bait and switch going on there. BE CAREFUL

[jjmaxwel]

How is a prcing error bait and switch?? Bait and switch historically says you advertise a product with none in stock and then intentionally try to get the customer to buy a higher priced product. Bait and switch...jeez it's people like yourself that make us all look bad.

[ShroomDuck]

you cant open the product before yu buy it. once you buy the product there is a testing station so u can open it up and make sure it works. as long as u dont leave the store you can return the item. its not our problem that you are cheap and didnt test out the product.
about 90% of the products (excpet for movies, cds and games) ccity had it for cheaper during holiday season. if u morans came to shop with us before we went under u probably wouldve gotten better prices with better customer service.
Hate the people that are coming into circuit city these days, and if I get pushed enough my last conversation will go like this:
Cu: Well this is why your company is going out of business (or something similar but equally ignorant)!!!
ME: No, this has nothing to do with why Circuit City went out of business. In fact, contrary to your simple views, there is absolutely nothing that I, as one manager in one store, could do to take down the second largest electronic store in the country. More importantly, ignorant customer, is it people like you that caused the company to go under. Simply because you want to buy **** you don't need for prices less than the cost to make them. Therefore you shop online or where you think you are getting the best deal but really are not. ( it is market research that we did have the best prices 80% of the time). On top of that, becuase you are no longer spending our economy is in the crapper, and because of u Me, my friends and 40,000 workers lost their job!!! So genius customer contrary to your initial well thought out plan on why I wont return your defective product when there are maybe two thousands signs saying you can't, everything is your fault

[spurs1999]

What a well written and thought out post ShroomDuck. I applaud your efforts to shift all the blame for Circuit City's failure onto the consumer. I mean what person in their right mind would want to find the best bargain on "stuff they don't need" in the first place right? I mean there is no way that if you had the best price 80% of the time that maybe it would be poor customer service or lack of inventory that would contribute to the consumer going somewhere else! Nope not possible. And darn those uppity ignorant consumers for not spending their money on "stuff they don't need" and instead doing dumb things like playing their mortgage. That must be exactly what ruined the economy, not shopping at Circuit City. How could we all be so blind to it.

Well put ShroomDuck well put.

[jvsjr]

to misquote bugs bunny, "what a moran."

[ShroomDuck]

if u dont want to spend money on useless stuff before, then why are you spending money because you get 10% off the RETAIL Price??? day the liquidation started, the store was busier than black friday... maybe if United States had better education people would realized that they didnt save any money....

i mean comeon... people still think President Obama is a terrorist??? seriously???

why do u expect us to have better customer service now??? if you ever worked in retail then you would know how annoying customers are... you people expect us to go past our policies and return the camera you bought 6 months ago???

[sonnyg91]

ShroomDuck: I worked at CC #3508 before moving to BBY last year. The customer and economy have very little to do with CC going under. CC ran itself into the ground. WE had horrible management instore, in district, and in corporate. When the CEO complains of horrible store locations theres a problem. Our training system sucked, E'Learnings and no role-playing....yeah that makes for a great sales person. I lost many customers at CC because of our crappy prices and card financing.

[wkfung108]

Circuit City went out of business for two reasons:

1) Contrary to what you claim, they always overcharged. Not by a lot, I'll grant you, but even if I just save $5 or $10, I'll go somewhere else

2) Rude, incompetent, lying employees were the norm. ShroomDuck is a perfect example, but in Circuit City retailers in four different states, I have always found this to be the case. The employees were rude, provided incorrect information (when they bothered to respond to your requests for help), and clearly didn't care, as evidenced by how dirty, messy and disorganized the stores always were.

Shroom Duck might not understand the concept of a "better deal." A better deal is when I can get the same product and same (if not better service) and pay less. Circuit City almost never offered a "better deal." And that's why it couldn't compete.

[pghcraig1]

i think shroomduck is speaking to the stupidity of the general public. and they are stupid.

I want to hurt half the people shopping at liquidations sales because of how stupid they actually are. As every comment in this thread was from educated people who knew better than to buy at marked up prices, how can you defend the idiots who did waht you didn't do? It doesn't take a genius.

ALL SALES FINAL... I really have never understood how people DO NOT understand the definition of final. Should the signs be changed to say: "Hey dumb ass, once you pay for this, you cannot bring it back, no refunds, no way, no exceptions.... its yours for life pal." But people would still try.

If i were dropping 1100 on a tv (and she probably over paid) i don't give a flying (insert Q-Bert like explative(%)(@($)#%) what they tell me. I'm going to open the box anyway. Are they going to arrest me for it? I did this at CC two days ago and simply said to the guy who treid to stop me, "would you prefer me opening the box, or dealing with the idiots who can't read the no returns signs trying to rbing it back and yelling at you?" He gave me a box cutter.

[ShroomDuck]

once you buy the product you can open it and test the product, and return it if it doesnt work as long as you dont leave the store

[wavjockey]

The moral of these CC liquidation stories are:

CC was, is, and always will be a joke of a company.
Buh-bye and good riddance.

[Shaun822]

Nah CC wasn't a bad company in general. Then they fired all the experienced salaried employees and tanked. The liquidations companies that purchased the stock and locations on the other hand can go straight to ... well you get the idea.

[whit1--2008]

So you expect that a "Going Out of Business" sale should have better customer service and prices than when the company was in business? Well, if their customer service sucks and the prices are too high, then shop elsewhere... Or as Mike Brady told Greg back in 1970 "Caveat emptor, Son, Caveat emptor."

[kukufxr]

The CCs in FL I went to were generally pretty good. Prices were as good or better than BB or CompUSA. As with any major purchase, you needed to educate yourself before going in.. I liked their website which early on allowed customers to review products. I'ld rather had CC stay in business and BB go out. It's tough on the employees....got bills to pay and have to look for work with this wretched economy...I might be a bit less than pleasant if I was in their shoes. The liquidator doesn't care about the customer or the employees...Liquidator paid 70.5 cents on the wholesale dollar for CC merchandise and as a business, they have to turn a profit, too.

Times change. As the internet continues to ramp up, it gets harder for B&M or big box stores to compete with Amazon or eBay. TV news is entertainment, newspapers go bankrupt, ******** isn't sex (according to most adolescents and Bill). The changes aren't good nor are they bad. It's just change.

[ikcizokm]

Circuit City's downfall began back in 2000 when they stopped paying commissions to their employees, and subsequently dropped major appliances.

Non-commissioned employees cared less for customers, knew less about products, and had zero motivation. CC went from employing mature, educated sales people to a bunch of ignorant high schoolers content with minimum wage.

I know--I used to work for them and was one of the top PC sales reps in the US, making over $90k in my best year. My customers got great service, great advice, and a good time when they dealt with me. I wouldn't try to over-sell someone, but I also wouldn't pass up "low-hanging fruit." If I thought someone could use something, I'd recommend it. The managers loved me because I had ridiculously high customer service scores.

But when CC announced they were stopping the commissioned sales rep role and switching employees to hourly pay, I quit, as did all the other quality sales people. And all so that CC corporate could make bigger profits, which is what the pay structure change was all about. (At the time, CC's stock was thriving, too.)

Then they dropped major appliances. Why? They were the #2 major appliance retailer in America, right behind Sears. They claimed it was too expensive to maintain delivery trucks. Meanwhile, we've seen Best Buy and Lowes take over as major appliance powerhouses, and those products earn them a profit because they had competent corporate leadership, something CC has obviously lacked for a decade or more.

I feel sorry for the in-store employees and managers and warehouse crew that lost their jobs, but I cannot feel sorry for the execs who are now reaping the spoiled fruits of their ****-poor management and blatant disregard for employee and customer alike. It is morally unfair that they will be spending their summer on a golf course or sandy beach while thousands of employees struggle to find new jobs, but alas, what goes around comes around and they will get their comeuppance.

[wperry1]

You could take your post and do a find and replace on most of it with CompUSA. I left there a few years before they crashed and burned but it had already started. In the quest for short-term big gains Management decides they will cut labor costs and hiring mostly young, unmotivated, near minimum wage workers. For a little while it goes well as people used to finding professionals in the store continue to shpt there. With a little time though the stores' image begins to change and once they get a rap for having bad customer service it is all over.

BTW, I'm not sure about CC but for CUSA the downhill slide began when they went public. The push to drive up stock prices at all costs is what really put the company into the toilet.

[MrMike3417]

ikcizokm--Circuit City's downfall did not begin in 2000. I place it as around 1992-1993. I worked for the company for over 24 years. When the division operations manager position and associated positions were eliminated in 1993 that really spelled the beginning of the end in my opinion. Zero accountability,responsibility and the worst pathetic managemnet that you could possibly imagine. I could tell stories that the average intelligent person would absolutely not believe about what i saw from around that time onward,but time and space are limited here and just thinking about it raises my blood pressure too much. I was one of the 3400 people layed off in March 2007 and if it weren't for feeling sorry for most (i say "most" because there a couple of thousand punks who worked there just to get discounts and steal from the company)of the 30000+ people who are losing their jobs i would say good riddance. You made your own bed. Now sleep in it!!! It was truly beyond the pale what i saw happen there from the mid/early90s 'til 2007.