CNET News Poll
Hey Mervyns, help us get some of these on the cheap?
(Credit: About.com)Computer vendor Systemax is bringing CompUSA back to life, and now it looks like it might be doing the same for Circuit City. The company bought the intellectual property and domain name this week.
The two might rise as separate chains, but we wouldn't be surprised if they end up as some sort of mashup, a Frankenstein-like monster of retailers.
But why stop there? We can think of a few more franchises Systemax could add to its unholy abomination of shops to round out its offerings to customers. What should it be? Vote in our poll. And if we missed anything, be sure to let us know in the TalkBack section.
The prolonged death spiral of its retail stores have been well-documented (not least by our undercover spy shots of the so-called liquidation sales), but the Circuit City story seems to have added yet another chapter.
Computer vendor Systemax has agreed to purchase the bankrupt company's trademarks and domain names for $6.5 million, according to the Houston Chronicle. The actual sale is part of a May 11 auction of assets, and in court filings, Circuit City said, "The sale of the intellectual property and Internet assets would bring significant recovery for the sellers' estates and creditors."
If the Systemax name sounds familiar (and you've missed the handful of Systemax desktops we've reviewed over the years), that's because the company snapped up the remains of the CompUSA brand last year after that chain folded. They're also the parent company of online retailer TigerDirect.
When it decided to go out of business, Circuit City employed 34,000 people at 567 retail stores. Want to remember the good times? Check out the gallery below.
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 While PCs and printers get used, scuffed, and outdated sitting on store shelves, software stays pretty much the same inside its nearly empty box.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?
As CompUSA begins shuttering the last of its stores, it's also tying up loose ends.
(Credit:
CompUSA)
The retailer, which was bought by a private equity firm December 7 and will shut down, put up a customer help Web site Friday where it gives details on how warranties, gifts cards, and more will be handled.
The closing sale will last approximately eight weeks and all sales will be final. Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners.
Forget Black Friday. For the best deals on gadgets and PCs this holiday season, look no further than your neighborhood CompUSA.
The embattled electronics retail chain was dealt its final blow Friday when it was sold to Specialty Equity, an affiliate of private equity firm Gordon Brothers Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the immediate result is that Specialty Equity will close all 103 CompUSA stores in the United States, according to a press release issued late Friday.
Gordon Brothers will "initiate an orderly wind-down" of each of the stores, the company says. That's great news for consumers looking for bargains. CompUSA will remain open through the holiday shopping season, presumably with "Everything Must Go!"-style signs.
It was clear all was not well at the retailer when in March it closed half of its stores due to pressure from bigger chains like Best Buy and Circuit City.
- prev
- 1
- next
