Circuit City Closure
 

By now most of you all know the whole company is closing up shop. I am wondering how much that matters in the greater scheme of availability of high tech goods. Other big box places with just scoope up the market share and in the end they may gain from it. We have a Circut City directly across the street from a Best Buy, same kind of store in size and goods. The only thing that may happen is that it could decrease competition in the long run, but in reality they never were much different in price as they went back and forth over a few dollars difference and most stuff had a difference of less than a dollar. In the background Walmart and Target will always be around to keep up the competition. I think we may just be seeing a thinning of the herd. In the end we may see an end to many bricks and mortar businesses as they go to something more like a portal where you can talk to someone who helps you order on line.

Amazon: Will It Benefit From Circuit City’s Demise?
http://voices.allthingsd.com/2009011...-citys-demise/

In my experience a lot of stores are starting to thrive the other way--you order online, but have it drop-shipped to the nearest brick-and-mortar. You save on shipping as well as time, and they don't have to stock everything they offer all the time, yet they still carry the basics on the shelves for browsing shoppers.

Best Buy stock jumped %8 when Circuit City announced the closing.

CompUSA used to be the worst big-box electronics retailer. I never bought anything there until they started to carry a lot of pieces and parts (screws, fans, etc.) for computers. They are now gone.

Circuit City then earned the title of the worst such store. They are now gone.

What's left besides Best Buy and Fry's (which I've never been to)?

They all pretty much suck for knowledgeable sales people. Circuit City started it's decline by going to strict hourly wages instead of commissions. While some could argue that commissions could result in bad advice, it did give the free market a chance on the theory that people would look for more knowledgeable sales people and reward them.

As for prices, a lot of electronics are now commodities to the point where you can buy them at Wal-Mart, Staples, etc.

BTW, for a geek, Fry's is one of the happiest places on earth. Anyplace where you could pick up Twizzlers, a toaster, and a quad core motherboard at the same time is worth visiting. BTW, they also carry porn in their DVD section. This keeps the nerds happy.

I've been to one in Nevada and two in California. The closest to PA is Indiana and Georgia. I hoping that when the economy smooths out they will carefully expand to PA or Del.

I've bought several Laptops at CC and other stuff too, I never browse in store, I look up everyhting online, usually purchasing online and just picking stuff up.

One the things I am still amazed they do not have in the US is anything like Argos. Since 1973, a catalog store where they didn't ship, you go and pay and pick the stuff up from the store, but can browse the catalog in advance at home. Very little retail floor space required, few staff, no sales people. Of course they have web ordering now, and will ship for a price etc.

I bought our new tv from Best Buy that way. Researched what I wanted, ordered it online, and picked it up in the store. Easy, and I was much more confident with my purchase than if I stared zombie-like at the wall of tvs while a salesman lied to me.

i have a gift card with like $27 left on it. I gotta go buy something there tomorrow morning on my way to the gym i guess

At Circuit City? Better hurry. Ours are all long gone already.

Ours is 30% off, and the goods are thining fast. I am a bit hesitatant to get anything as if there is a problem there will be no recourse. I could see some pissed off floor worker pulling some fast ones out of anger to the company for the sudden loss of employment.

Wife and Dau went in to look for a camera and there was one register open and about 50 people in line.

I think I might be in one of the few cities where there is a Circuit City but no Best Buy. Circuit City wasn't too bad, but sheesh, the only place you seemed to find salespeople willing to talk were the ones in the cell phone section.

The CC is very close, I'm haunting theplace on an almost daily basis. Currently everything is only 10% off, I'm hoping they cut it more just before closing and I can grab a new computer.

Our office depot is closing as well as our circuit city...on opposite ends of town...the techie kids must be wasting a lot of gas right now