Circuit City closing all stores -- watch for bargains coming soon (1 Viewer)

Followed thereafter by higher prices from the remaining electronics store(s), if any, in each local area.

I used to work for CC for 7 years and still have friends there. I feel bad for them about to lose there jobs.

I think Best Buy stopped caring about trying to compete with Circuit City's prices years ago so I doubt this will have an effect prices.

I've had many a "Black Friday" raid of this Store every November. It'll be sad to see em go!:frowning:

Barron's says 35,000 are going to lose their jobs now. Man... that really blows.

Tech Trader Daily - Barron’s Online : Circuit City To Close All Stores; More Than 35,000 Jobs Lost

I miss the Circuit City that I discovered when they first opened up in my area in the 1980s. It was pretty much the same enjoyable shopping experience through most of the '90s as well but for some reason they felt the need to start meddling with things a few years ago. All of the stores that opened or had been remodeled over the past few years had a "Best Buy in red" vibe that I really didn't care for. I missed the sound rooms and the higher quality electronics such as higher end Onkyo and Polk products that disappeared from their shelves for some reason.

Now is the time for Fry's to start looking at opening a store out in my neck of the woods (somewhere in the Inland Empire). I'm sure a Fry's would do well near the Victoria Gardens Mall in Rancho Cucamonga or the Ontario Mills Mall. The closest Fry's stores are about 30-40 miles away and they always seem to be packed when I shop there.

Hmmm... I suppose this means that the two year bulb protection that I purchased from CC when I acquired my Optoma HD-65 is now null and void ... *sigh*

Seriously ... I'm sorry to see them go. I've purchased an awful lot of stuff from them in the past decade (DVD players, computers, receivers, boom boxes, iPods, projectors ... even short wave radio sets!) And I always checked out their DVD specials every Tuesday.

That article linked in the first post seems to imply that Best Buy did them in. But it was really the hybrid DVD format, DIVX (spit!) that started them down this path.

Right now I'm making almost all of my electronic purchases off Amazon. And I fear for the long term viability of *any* remaining B&M.

That protection might be via a third party that will still honor it.

One less store for Mike & Patrick to list in the Weekly Roundup.

As much as I hate to see a one huge electronics retailer close down, I must say that in recent years, I found shopping at CC to be a virturally futile effort. I'm a huge DVD buyer and it was miserable shopping at CC for DVDs. Racks were always an unorganized mess and you could seldom find anything that was less than a major release every Tuesday. As far as I could tell, you couldn't check online to see if a DVD was in stock at your local store, then reserve it for pickup like you can at Best Buy. I hardly shop there anymore, unless the severly undercut BBs price (which wasn't often) or there was good "DVD Bin" deals. The only thing I'll really miss them for would be price matching.

Watch for bargains? You mean after the liquidators buy everything up, double the MSRP and then put it all on sale at 50% off? Yeah, right.

Actually they'll probably start with 10% off for one week, then move to 20% and 30% off. They won't get to 50% off until the final week.

Well, aside from the fact that most of the time the liquidator raises all the prices back to their original number and starts marking down from there, with the markdowns getting steeper week by week. Theyre still allowed to make big signs that scream 50% OFF!!!! even though that price at the time might be the same or even higher than the price before the liquidation.

By the time prices actually get below what they were pre-liquidation, most of the inventory has been picked pretty clean. Except for the most dedicated bargain sleuths, liquidation sales are a ripoff.

^ I think if you're looking for DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs or video games, you might find some OK deals. If I was looking for anything else, I'd definitely look at other stores' prices before buying.

"The company said the sale would begin Saturday and run until March 31, pending court approval. The retailer's Web site and call center will cease to operate after Jan. 18."

Sad to see them go. Bought my first HDTV & much more there.

Like many industries lately, the Internet has turned electronics, computers & DVD into commodities. Many people go to stores like CC, bleed the staff for info & demos, but then go home & shop for a better (and tax free) price online.

Like Will G said, racks were terribly unorganized. Stuff was wildly out of order, and the staff didn't have the passion they used to. That happened when CC let most of their senior staff go a couple years ago.

I wonder how much DIVX hurt them. I always thought it was clunky, and so did most of the other movie & music collectors I know. It's not unlike downloading and then burning to disc. Too many steps & restrictions for the average consumer.

My nephew was an asst manager at a CC store that closed in the first round back in December, I told him, they (CC) would not make it and they shuffled him to a store in a different state and he and another guy commuted daily 75 miles one way! Now that store (all of them) is closing too. You know, before too long, this recession will effect each and every one of us I am afraid , what a way to start 2009!

I feel awfully bad for the employees who will lose their jobs.

However, from a consumer standpoint, I never liked Circuit City.
I never felt like a valued customer when I walked in their store
and I much preferred shopping at Best Buy.

My CC store went through the liquidation process for the last 2 months of 2008, and I never found anything worth spending money on given their discount structure (yes, it started from the very high MSRP) by the liquidators, but you never know, you might get a bargain if you look hard enough at the right time and discount level.

I've been wondering for some time how all these stores could stay in business. In the 80's and early 90's I shopped at the only 'chain' store in town - Silo. They went out of business and Circuit City came in. Then another Circuit City was built about 15 miles away. Next came Best Buy with 5 miles of the 2nd CC, then another BB almost across the street from the first CC. How can they all stay open? This area hasn't grown much in the past 10 years, but yet we get 4 stores to replace the 1.

I guess they had to keep expanding, but it seems like the area is already saturated. Somebody has to lose.