Circuit City calls it quits, to liquidate assets

[AppleInsider]

One-time Apple partner and the United States' second largest electronics retailer Circuit City will shutter all of its remaining stores following a difficult holiday shopping season and failed efforts to negotiate a sale that would have saved the company.

Just last week Circuit City*said*it was in "significant discussions, meetings, and negotiations" with "two highly motivated and interested parties".* The Best Buy rival, which was negotiating under immense pressure because its cash reserve was running dangerously short, said Friday it was unable to reach an agreement with those parties. Although Blockbuster made an unsolicited $1 billion bid back in*April 2008, Circuit City declined.

The Richmond-Va.-based company is now requesting approval from the bankruptcy court to liquidate all of its assets and close its remaining 567 U.S. stores.* It also operates 765 stores and outlets in Canada.* It's reported*that Circuit City is roughly $2 billion in debt, due in large part to its practice of buying inventory on credit and paying the sellers once it sold the merchandise.* The credit crunch and failing banks of last year robbed Circuit City of the good financing rates it depended on.

"We are extremely disappointed by this outcome," said acting chief executive James A. Marcum.* "The company has been in continuous negotiations regarding a going concern transaction.* Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available, and so this is the only possible path for our company."

Circuit City's troubles came to a head in November when it announced*the closure of 155 stores and the beginning of its bankruptcy process.* The company said Friday it has not finalized plans to liquidate stores and other assets or decided the status of CircuitCity.com and its firedogSM service operation, meaning any extended warranties its customers purchased are now in question.

According to a statement, Circuit City "does not anticipate any value will remain from the ... estate."

Apple and Circuit City had a fragmented history together.* Circuit City once stocked Macintosh Performas until 1998, then the two*resurrected their relationship in 2000*to sell iMacs and iBooks in 600 Circuit City locations.* That program was cancelled a year later. *

After five more years passed and Mac OS X flourished, the companies*renewed attempts*to push Macs in Circuit City's locations in a 2006 pilot program at a handful of stores, only for Apple to*announce a year later*that it had decided to pull the plug.* Circuit City still sold iPods while Best Buy's partnership with Apple to also sell Macs*only got stronger.



One possible reason Circuit City has not announced the fate of its website is that CircuitCity.com is a $1 billion business,*according*to CNNMoney.* A chance remains that a creditor could acquire the company out of bankruptcy.* In such a scenario, Circuit City would follow the lead of*CompUSA, which drastically cut back its retail locations to just 23 in four states in order to focus on online sales in a partnership with TigerDirect. *As a final note of interest, one reason Apple reconsidered a partnership with Circuit City as an attractive option was the early 2007*demise of CompUSA.

As of press time, CircuitCity.com had been taken offline with a message telling customers to return in a few minutes when it will announce a series of special offers.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[NasserAE]

I feel sorry for those who lost their job. As usual, the top management people consider this early retirement. The problem with Circuit City is that they cannot compete with Best Buy.

[gto65l]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Circuit City is roughly $2 billion in debt, due in large part to its practice of buying inventory on credit and paying the sellers once it sold the merchandise.

Sounds like they used the business model of the US government.

[wizard69]

Seriously considering their marketing methods and store policies I'm glad to hear that they are finally going under. I've tried to do business with them a couple of times and it was always the same old BS, trying to sell me something I don't want.

Personally I hope that the management team ends up hungery and homeless. They simply represent the worst in American retailing.

Dave

[hmurchison]

This is the ghost of DiVX come home to roost.

[Tauron]

This is spectacular news!!! Finally with Crap USA and now Circuit Shiity going under the electronic retail jackarses are finally getting what they deserve. These are the equivalent of USA auto car makers and their business model of building crap pickup trucks out of scrap metal and selling it at 10x the cost.

Now if only Worst Buy (Best Buy) goes under too I will be completely overjoyed. Those fuuckers tried to sell me a $100 HDMI cable which I later got from amazon.com for $1 (ONE) dollar. Die, die, die.

LONG LIVE NEWEGG.COM!!!!!!!!

PS: I don't feel sorry for the employees who lost their jobs. They are better off doing anything else anyways.

[wolfneuralnet]

I just hope they have some GREAT deals when the site comes back, cause its going to take 50% off or more for me to deal with those people...

[cnocbui]

Originally Posted by Tauron

Those fuuckers tried to sell me a $100 HDMI cable which I later got from amazon.com for $1 (ONE) dollar. Die, die, die.

PS: I don't feel sorry for the employees who lost their jobs. They are better off doing anything else anyways.

So because they offered you an item of paltry value, which you declined by exercising your free will, you would wish immense misery and suffering on 30,000 people and their familes?

Go read Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, you need a reminder of history.

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by wolfneuralnet

I just hope they have some GREAT deals when the site comes back, cause its going to take 50% off or more for me to deal with those people...

Unfortunately what they will do is announce 25-50% off some mystical retail price that doesn't reflect the market value of the product. I've seen this at bankruptcies around here. They close the stores and run around jackng the sticker price up on everything and then open the door with a smile telling you everything is 25% off. The reality is you might save 2% over the cost of whatever two weeks ago. Frankly it is a bit of a joke if you are looking for a real bargain.

Dave

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by cnocbui

So because they offered you an item of paltry value, which you declined by exercising your free will, you would wish immense misery and suffering on 30,000 people and their familes?

Yes I would because these people made a choice to work for an unethical business and frankly should be held accountable. They had a choice to spend their lives hustling worthless extended warranties and grossly over priced cables.

Frankly this is no different than a guy lying down with a whore and then getting some sickness that spells a slow death. He made his bed and needs to lay in it, like wise these employees need to be held accountable for their actions.

Go read Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, you need a reminder of history.

There is nothing at all here that is even remotely comparable.

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by hmurchison

This is the ghost of DiVX come home to roost.

Honestly I forgot about that little bit of history, shame on me. This is even a bigger reason to take joy in this failure.

Dave

[city]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I feel sorry for those who lost their job..

...and the commercial landlords that lost a tenant.

[veloboldie]

When Circuit City let their tenured staff go, who new what they were selling, and hired kids who wanted to work there just to get a discount, I stopped shopping there. CC shot themselves in the foot and so have no one else to blame for their demise.

[tomkarl]

It is always the most ignorant posts that have the worst spelling.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by gto65l

Sounds like they used the business model of the US government.

I thought paying for goods as they were sold was a common practice.

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I feel sorry for those who lost their job. As usual, the top management people consider this early retirement. The problem with Circuit City is that they cannot compete with Best Buy.

I really don't think they needed to compete directly against Best Buy. They were doing pretty well when they were offering competent, knowledgeable service in more comfortable surroundings. When those three eroded, there was little point to going there.

Originally Posted by cnocbui

So because they offered you an item of paltry value, which you declined by exercising your free will, you would wish immense misery and suffering on 30,000 people and their familes?

The only reason they had employment was to take part in this form of hucksterism, especially when they say that the more expensive HDMI cable delivers better results than a less expensive one.

I have no problem with that, most CC employees that I've had the misfortunte of encountering in the later years were slackers anyway.

Go read Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, you need a reminder of history.

So what? That story was about people caught in circumstances they didn't necessarily create. CC employees in general were participating.

[Halvri]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I thought paying for goods as they were sold was a common practice.



I really don't think they needed to compete directly against Best Buy. They were doing pretty well when they were offering competent, knowledgeable service in more comfortable surroundings. When those three eroded, there was little point to going there.



The only reason they had employment was to take part in this form of hucksterism, especially when they say that the more expensive HDMI cable delivers better results than a less expensive one.

I have no problem with that, most CC employees that I've had the misfortunte of encountering in the later years were slackers anyway.



So what? That story was about people caught in circumstances they didn't necessarily create. CC employees in general were participating.

I have to agree with what others have said, you're extremely overboard. You have the freewill to accept or deny any and all services offered to you. Retail stores operate on these wonderful things called profit margins (which is why those cables cost so much). Online retailers often suffice on much lower margins, which is why they make nowhere near the annual revenue. Business by its very nature is based on profit. In a free market, you can shop anywhere you want, be it in store or online. That creates this thing called competition that keeps prices (online or otherwise) from being exponentially higher than they are. So, again, you have several choices and many choose big box retailers. If you choose online, that's fine, but businesses have every right to maximize profit margins if they can. And quite honestly, wishing for thousands of people to lose their jobs in this economy just makes you kind of a dick. So, please, spare us all your brand of "ethics." Go somewhere else and get over yourself.

[hittrj01]

Having been a former employee of Circuit City and current employee of Best Buy, the only shocking piece of information here is that it took this long. During my time at Circuit, I was always appalled at the way we were treated as employees (yelling at us in front of customers, horrible benefits, etc.). Having come over to Best Buy, not only can I sell Macs (WIN!), but we are treated MUCH better as employees and there truly is a level of respect between the employees and management in regards to our customers that I don't believe is understood.

To the people who are glad to see these employees lose their jobs in an economy like this, you are complete jacka**es. I challenge you to spend one day on a sales floor in a place like Best Buy or Circuit City. We are not commission-based salesmen, so "pushing" anything on anybody is a waste of time. We have services and accessories available for those who want them. It is my job as a salesman to offer them, and your job as a consumer to decide if it's something you want or need. There is nothing unethical about that. If you find a problem with that, then you also have the choice to not come in. Most of you on this board probably don't need the things we offer, but you mother, grandmother, friend, co-worker, etc. might, and that's why we have them.

And also about the price, Halvri couldn't have put it any better. We as a company have a right to charge market value for our products. Best Buy (and all companies, for that matter) are in business to make money, not cut deals. You may be fine going to newegg.com and getting an "allegedly" authentic product for significantly cheaper, but I liken it a lot to eating out. Sure, you can go the grocery, get some sirloins and seasoning, and grill a steak yourself for a fraction of the price of going to Outback, but many people are willing to pay a premium for convenience and professional assistance (in this case, a chef for cooking, waitor for placesetting, etc., and a bus boy for cleaning), not to mention there being a good chance of getting a better cut of meat and things being done with better quality. How is this any different than the products, services and such we offer in our store? Just like you have the option of going to Outback or grilling a steak yourself, you have the option to either shop online or accept/decline our services, warranties, etc.

To the majority of you, sorry for the excessively long rant, but I just can't stand blatant arrogance and completely idiotic comments that could very well be highly offensive to someone reading these posts.

[J120387]

Originally Posted by Halvri

I have to agree with what others have said, you're extremely overboard. You have the freewill to accept or deny any and all services offered to you. Retail stores operate on these wonderful things called profit margins (which is why those cables cost so much). Online retailers often suffice on much lower margins, which is why they make nowhere near the annual revenue. Business by its very nature is based on profit. In a free market, you can shop anywhere you want, be it in store or online. That creates this thing called competition that keeps prices (online or otherwise) from being exponentially higher than they are. So, again, you have several choices and many choose big box retailers. If you choose online, that's fine, but businesses have every right to maximize profit margins if they can. And quite honestly, wishing for thousands of people to lose their jobs in this economy just makes you kind of a dick. So, please, spare us all your brand of "ethics." Go somewhere else and get over yourself.

I totally agree wit you.. well said..

[mikeske]

I was wondering how long it would take for Circuit City to go down. I was really upset when they let go senior employees and hired new employees as it smacked of being unfair. I am sad to see another competitor going down but I have recently seen something that makes me proud is the fact that the local independent merchant are making a come back. In a local mall near me a new independent Apple approved reseller opened and it is a local name and it was the stores first expansion from its primary store on a busy highway.

Sure CC had issues but choices are still there and local resellers are still there after taking a beating, they just reduced overhead and kept fighting. I think that maybe the local independents can now try and succeed as someone is always there to fight and take on the big boys because sometimes the big boys slip and fall.

[nvidia2008]

Originally Posted by NasserAE

I feel sorry for those who lost their job. As usual, the top management people consider this early retirement. The problem with Circuit City is that they cannot compete with Best Buy.

It is very sad for the retail rank-and-file. It's not like Best Buy is that fantastic that Circuit City can't keep up?

Ah, memories of 2000-2002 in San Francisco. Nary an Apple Store to be seen, all your Apple and other tech & accessories needs taken care of by CompUSA and Circuit City. Less than a decade on, both epic failed.

Fry's is still kicking along, I take it?

[nvidia2008]

I empathise with your situation. When someone has to work on the retail floor for just a few weeks, you realise how just diificult retail is. When I had difficulties holding down an office-based job I was in retail for a few months.

After that when I tried to look for a job in London I was at Carphone Warehouse in UK for just one day, it was just rubbish.

The retail industry, from a human perspective, all I can say, is that it is very, very strange. In some cases, as an employee, you wonder why the management even wants humans around, the management seems like they'd be happier doing away with people altogether and just fix vending machines and looped videos at the retail stores to do all the selling.

Even my own brother had such a poor impression of retail sales, even though I tried to explain how good retail can actually work well and benefit both customer and salesperson.

Originally Posted by hittrj01

Having been a former employee of Circuit City and current employee of Best Buy, the only shocking piece of information here is that it took this long. During my time at Circuit, I was always appalled at the way we were treated as employees (yelling at us in front of customers, horrible benefits, etc.). Having come over to Best Buy, not only can I sell Macs (WIN!), but we are treated MUCH better as employees and there truly is a level of respect between the employees and management in regards to our customers that I don't believe is understood.

To the people who are glad to see these employees lose their jobs in an economy like this, you are complete jacka**es. I challenge you to spend one day on a sales floor in a place like Best Buy or Circuit City. We are not commission-based salesmen, so "pushing" anything on anybody is a waste of time. We have services and accessories available for those who want them. It is my job as a salesman to offer them, and your job as a consumer to decide if it's something you want or need. There is nothing unethical about that. If you find a problem with that, then you also have the choice to not come in. Most of you on this board probably don't need the things we offer, but you mother, grandmother, friend, co-worker, etc. might, and that's why we have them.

And also about the price, Halvri couldn't have put it any better. We as a company have a right to charge market value for our products. Best Buy (and all companies, for that matter) are in business to make money, not cut deals. You may be fine going to newegg.com and getting an "allegedly" authentic product for significantly cheaper, but I liken it a lot to eating out. Sure, you can go the grocery, get some sirloins and seasoning, and grill a steak yourself for a fraction of the price of going to Outback, but many people are willing to pay a premium for convenience and professional assistance (in this case, a chef for cooking, waitor for placesetting, etc., and a bus boy for cleaning), not to mention there being a good chance of getting a better cut of meat and things being done with better quality. How is this any different than the products, services and such we offer in our store? Just like you have the option of going to Outback or grilling a steak yourself, you have the option to either shop online or accept/decline our services, warranties, etc.

To the majority of you, sorry for the excessively long rant, but I just can't stand blatant arrogance and completely idiotic comments that could very well be highly offensive to someone reading these posts.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Halvri

I have to agree with what others have said, you're extremely overboard. You have the freewill to accept or deny any and all services offered to you. Retail stores operate on these wonderful things called profit margins (which is why those cables cost so much). Online retailers often suffice on much lower margins, which is why they make nowhere near the annual revenue. Business by its very nature is based on profit. In a free market, you can shop anywhere you want, be it in store or online. That creates this thing called competition that keeps prices (online or otherwise) from being exponentially higher than they are. So, again, you have several choices and many choose big box retailers. If you choose online, that's fine, but businesses have every right to maximize profit margins if they can. And quite honestly, wishing for thousands of people to lose their jobs in this economy just makes you kind of a dick. So, please, spare us all your brand of "ethics." Go somewhere else and get over yourself.

Isn't it dickish to aligning yourself in the defense of snake oil salesmen? If you base your income on a lie, there's not much valid room for complaint when the lie comes crashing down. I think the employees had as much of a hand in CC's downfall as the management. I do understand what it's expensive to run a business, if you're more expensive, you have to provide something in the trade to make it worth the extra expense.

Free market shouldn't be used as a defense of snake oil. In this case, I think the free market won, enough people get wind of the charlatanism of big box stores and their magical cables and worthless extended warranties and the lies often told to sell them. The company couldn't be bothered to pay for knowledgeable retail "associates", and for the most part, their help was worthless, the information they gave was just plain wrong, if not lies. So why go to a retail store couldn't give you competent help without lies or a hard sell? I actually don't mind paying more for service, but I actually have to get service and good quality service at that rather than being ignored for five minutes and then given a hard sell about how the product I have in my hand is probably going to break, so I need to spend another 30% for a warranty. And my story isn't isolated either. You get enough customers that get pissed off, you don't have much of a customer base to keep you in business.

There may be some collateral damage, maybe a few people in the organization hasn't been infected, but I think most of those people had left long ago or had gotten infected. There are better investments of their time elsewhere.

[Tazznb]

Please feel free to add this to your resume as well. I really hope this country survives the bad leadership this administration forced on us.

[Tauron]

Originally Posted by cnocbui

So because they offered you an item of paltry value, which you declined by exercising your free will, you would wish immense misery and suffering on 30,000 people and their familes?

Go read Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, you need a reminder of history.

Exactly.

[vandil]

I used to buy my music (cass. & CDs), movies (VHS), and electronics (stereos, TVs, movie players) from Circuit City back in the day.
At the time, they had cheaper prices than traditional music stores and could beat Ames and Sears for movies and electronics.

Then, 10 years ago, came Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and later iTunes. All of whom brought better prices, selection and convenience (iTunes).

Now, I buy almost all my music on iTunes, except for a few bands whose CDs i will purchase for the bundled DVD or whatever. The CD purchases are done in BB/Walmart/Target.

I buy almost all my DVDs at Walmart or Target.

I buy almost all of my electronics at BB and Walmart.


I haven't set foot into a Circuit City in over 10 years.

[Tauron]

Originally Posted by hittrj01

Having been a former employee of Circuit City and current employee of Best Buy, the only shocking piece of information here is that it took this long. During my time at Circuit, I was always appalled at the way we were treated as employees (yelling at us in front of customers, horrible benefits, etc.). Having come over to Best Buy, not only can I sell Macs (WIN!), but we are treated MUCH better as employees and there truly is a level of respect between the employees and management in regards to our customers that I don't believe is understood.

To the people who are glad to see these employees lose their jobs in an economy like this, you are complete jacka**es. I challenge you to spend one day on a sales floor in a place like Best Buy or Circuit City. We are not commission-based salesmen, so "pushing" anything on anybody is a waste of time. We have services and accessories available for those who want them. It is my job as a salesman to offer them, and your job as a consumer to decide if it's something you want or need. There is nothing unethical about that. If you find a problem with that, then you also have the choice to not come in. Most of you on this board probably don't need the things we offer, but you mother, grandmother, friend, co-worker, etc. might, and that's why we have them.

And also about the price, Halvri couldn't have put it any better. We as a company have a right to charge market value for our products. Best Buy (and all companies, for that matter) are in business to make money, not cut deals. You may be fine going to newegg.com and getting an "allegedly" authentic product for significantly cheaper, but I liken it a lot to eating out. Sure, you can go the grocery, get some sirloins and seasoning, and grill a steak yourself for a fraction of the price of going to Outback, but many people are willing to pay a premium for convenience and professional assistance (in this case, a chef for cooking, waitor for placesetting, etc., and a bus boy for cleaning), not to mention there being a good chance of getting a better cut of meat and things being done with better quality. How is this any different than the products, services and such we offer in our store? Just like you have the option of going to Outback or grilling a steak yourself, you have the option to either shop online or accept/decline our services, warranties, etc.

To the majority of you, sorry for the excessively long rant, but I just can't stand blatant arrogance and completely idiotic comments that could very well be highly offensive to someone reading these posts.

Sorry but I have no respect for any floor salesmen. I don't care if your job seems hard to you. I also have a hard job and so does everyone else. But what I don't do is to give misinformation to clients and less than completely objective factual advice. That is why Best Buy will end up bankrupt as well. Sites line Newegg and Zipzoomfly, you know, net based, have all the advantage. There you can compare and contrast products and have direct information to peer reviews of the product which by their nature have no particular bias. Shipping is very cheap these days and return policies are favorable and smooth. In the end if you do the math it is always better to buy something from newegg and say no thanks to Best Buy.

The ONLY time I buy something from Best Buy is when I KNOW I will be returning the item. It is that simple. Like that time I bought a hardware enclosure to recover some backedup data. A one time need.

Besides being overpriced, Best Buy employees are ignorant as well. They never know the answer to anything.

Good riddance to Best Buy.

[hittrj01]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Isn't it dickish to aligning yourself in the defense of snake oil salesmen? If you base your income on a lie, there's not much valid room for complaint when the lie comes crashing down. I think the employees had as much of a hand in CC's downfall as the management. I do understand what it's expensive to run a business, if you're more expensive, you have to provide something in the trade to make it worth the extra expense.

Free market shouldn't be used as a defense of snake oil. In this case, I think the free market won, enough people get wind of the charlatanism of big box stores and their magical cables and worthless extended warranties and the lies often told to sell them. The company couldn't be bothered to pay for knowledgeable retail "associates", and for the most part, their help was worthless, the information they gave was just plain wrong, if not lies. So why go to a retail store couldn't give you competent help without lies or a hard sell? I actually don't mind paying more for service, but I actually have to get service and good quality service at that rather than being ignored for five minutes and then given a hard sell about how the product I have in my hand is probably going to break, so I need to spend another 30% for a warranty. And my story isn't isolated either. You get enough customers that get pissed off, you don't have much of a customer base to keep you in business.

There may be some collateral damage, maybe a few people in the organization hasn't been infected, but I think most of those people had left long ago or had gotten infected. There are better investments of their time elsewhere.

Again, this is such blatant arrogance and stupidity it is hard to fathom. How can a salesperson who is non-commission be a "snake oil salesman"? Whether or not you buy the warranty or cable or service or whatever is completely up to you and doesn't affect me at all one way or the other. It is simply my job to let you know that it's there and what it will do for you.

By your reasoning, we shouldn't have insurance on our cars, homes, or even our health, because if there's a chance of it breaking, then it most certainly must be a piece of junk and shouldn't be purchased in the first place.

Get off of your high horse and stop lumping all of us in with the stereotype of a used car salesman. Sales is not an unethical profession, and while I cannot speak for everybody, I personally have never lied to a customer, or tried to sell them anything that I didn't think would be beneficial to them, so I guess your "snake oil salesman" theory isn't as bulletproof as you would like to think.

[cnocbui]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

The only reason they had employment was to take part in this form of hucksterism, especially when they say that the more expensive HDMI cable delivers better results than a less expensive one.

You seem to be unable to differentiate between the roles of indians and chiefs. To blame the rank and file for doing as they are told by their employers is crass, as is implying that penurious unemployment is morally preferable to paid employment, just because you don't personally like the business model imposed by the company mangers.

I love your examples, they remind me of the days when Apple argued vociferously that their G4 and G5 based computers were actually much faster and more powerful than their Intel and AMD powered rivals. Not only that, but you paid a hefty finacial premium for that superior performance. A clearer example of snake oil and hucksterism it would be hard to find.

I have no problem with that, most CC employees that I've had the misfortunte of encountering in the later years were slackers anyway.

Soul impoverishing employment conditions are not great motivators. It is a bit like blaming a patient for exhibiting symptoms, rather than the disease that caused them.

So what? That story was about people caught in circumstances they didn't necessarily create. CC employees in general were participating.

concerning the Grapes of Wrath, if you will recall, the principal characters were farmers escaping the dust bowl conditions which eradicated their livelihood. The farming practices they themselves employed, were partially responsible for what befell them. From Wikipedia:

The phenomenon was caused by severe drought coupled with decades of extensive farming without crop rotation or other techniques to prevent erosion, and the deep plowing of the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains, which killed the natural grasses that normally kept the soil in place and trapped moisture even during periods of drought and high winds.

However, you are entirely correct that the more general economic climate they found themselves trying to exist in was none of their doing, In the same way as the parlous state of the economy at present is none of the doing of those 30,000 ex-employees who will likely have a tough time finding jobs.

[hittrj01]

Originally Posted by Tauron

Sorry but I have no respect for any floor salesmen. I don't care if your job seems hard to you. I also have a hard job and so does everyone else. But what I don't do is to give misinformation to clients and less than completely objective factual advice. That is why Best Buy will end up bankrupt as well. Sites line Newegg and Zipzoomfly, you know, net based, have all the advantage. There you can compare and contrast products and have direct information to peer reviews of the product which by their nature have no particular bias. Shipping is very cheap these days and return policies are favorable and smooth. In the end if you do the math it is always better to buy something from newegg and say no thanks to Best Buy.

The ONLY time I buy something from Best Buy is when I KNOW I will be returning the item. It is that simple. Like that time I bought a hardware enclosure to recover some backedup data. A one time need.

Besides being overpriced, Best Buy employees are ignorant as well. They never know the answer to anything.

Good riddance to Best Buy.

Wow. That's all I really have to say to that. Complete disrespect for another human being that you don't even know. All we are doing is our jobs, simply trying to make an income so we can live, same as you. Whether you find our field unethical is completely your decision, but I highly doubt you're anywhere near qualified to be the moral police, seeing as how judgmental you are even on this message board. And in honor of you, I am going to make general assumptions and assume that you are probably not in much of a different line of work than me. Even if you're not in sales, I have a hard time believing you told your boss every little detail about yourself on your resume or in your interview, so please, leave your ignorant, idiotic opinions to yourself.

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I thought paying for goods as they were sold was a common practice.

Taken to extremes, what is the difference between that approach to trading and a Ponzy scheme? Yes, most companies need a line of credit but at the end of the day they should be solvent when the books are balanced. Two billion in debt sounds like they were a long way off being solvent.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by hittrj01

Again, this is such blatant arrogance and stupidity it is hard to fathom. How can a salesperson who is non-commission be a "snake oil salesman"? Whether or not you buy the warranty or cable or service or whatever is completely up to you and doesn't affect me at all one way or the other. It is simply my job to let you know that it's there and what it will do for you.

That the "service plans" will actually do anything of value is the lie in itself. The manipulation that I almost always see to trying to guilt or pressure people into buying one is quite astonishing.

That a $100 1 meter digital cable is going to work better than a $20 one is another such lie.

Just passing along the corporate line does not absolve the fact that someone is generally being a willing participant in its perpetration.

While there are a few honest ones, but it's been a long time since I've had a case where they drop it after I say I'm not interested.

[hittrj01]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

That the "service plans" will actually do anything of value is the lie in itself. The manipulation that I almost always see to trying to guilt or pressure people into buying one is quite astonishing.

That a $100 1 meter digital cable is going to work better than a $20 one is another such lie.

Just passing along the corporate line does not absolve the fact that someone is generally being a willing participant in its perpetration.

While there are a few honest ones, but it's been a long time since I've had a case where they drop it after I say I'm not interested.

The service plans are exactly like insurance on your car. Yes, most likely, you will never need to use it, but in the event that you do, you will be forever grateful that it is there. If you get in an accident and have no insurance, you're pretty much screwed. Chances are you're a safe driver who won't get in one, but who's to say you won't make one mistake or that someone else is as safe as you?

The same theory applies to the computer that you buy. Chances are you won't have any problems that the manufacturer wouldn't cover anyway, but who's to say you won't make one mistake and drop the computer or someone who is borrowing your computer won't spill a cup of coffee in it? At that point, you'll have wished you would have spent the extra couple hundred dollars on accidental coverage instead of having to buy a new MacBook for $1300.

I see all of you praise AppleCare on these boards, but I ask the question, how is what we offer any different? Our plans even cover more than AppleCare does, and yet ours are worthless? It makes no sense.

[foodmetaphors]

In my experience with CC employees, they're pretty much worthless and are only there to try to sell me something I don't need. Anytime I have a technical question they have no way of answering it. If they had knowledgeable workers, I would respect the store more, but their outrageous prices and pushy salesmen make it a pain in the ass to go there. I only go in if I know I can get a better price, which is very rare. I feel no sympathy for their employees, it's not as though the majority of them are skilled or anything.

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

The company said Friday it has not finalized plans to liquidate stores and other assets or decided the status of CircuitCity.com and its firedogSM service operation, meaning any extended warranties its customers purchased are now in question.

Hey AppleInsider, I can't believe you are so lazy and stupid that you cannot even get a TRUE story correct! The extended warranties are NOT in question! If you bothered to visit the CircuitCity.com website, you could have written an accurate article. The extended warranties have always been handled by a third-party company, which is not going out of business. The extended warranties are not in question, and will continue to be honored. Gift Cards, however, are only valid during the liquidation period. Once all stores are closed, the gift cards will have zero value. This is something you should have mentioned in the article.

I know you are a rumor site, but you should be able to get TRUE stories correct!

[hillstones]

How can a non-commissioned salesman try to sell something you don't need??? Maybe the last time some of you visited a store is when they still had the commissioned salesmen. That was their downfall, switching to non-commissioned salesmen and hiring a bunch of teenagers that knew nothing about product and didn't care about customer service. When I bought my first HDTV in 2003, after the switch to non-commissioned sales, the kid couldn't even tell me the difference between two different models! At least the commissioned salesmen knew what they were selling and provided good advice to make a living.

Tauron, have you ever shopped around? All retailers sell expensive cables. It has nothing to do with Circuit City or Best Buy. The cable manufacturers have overvalued their cables! This is nothing new. DVI cables were also very expensive. Since Best Buy has never paid their employees commission, I don't think anyone "tried" to sell you a $100 HDMI cable. It was probably offered to you when you inquired about an HDMI cable. They get paid regardless of what they sell, so no one forced you to buy that particular cable. Best Buy's prices are the standard retail prices on everything they sell. It is your job as a consumer to decide if you want to shop around or not.

Amazon sells a 'Monster Cable' High Speed HDMI 2M cable for $94. Do you hate Amazon for trying to fuck you over on a cable? Is Amazon trying to rip people off? If you look further on Amazon, you can get a non-brand 2M HDMI cable for $9.95. Or as you discovered, you found a relatively cheap cable for $1. eBay is also a good place for quality cables at a low price. But don't go blaming Best Buy for trying to sell a cable that is priced by the manufacturer!

Lastly, how dare you take pleasure in 34,000 people losing their jobs! I hope karma bites you in the ass so you can be unemployed and looking for a job in this economy. Then maybe you will get a clue and have some respect for others. Same goes for Foodmetaphors! The majority of them are not skilled? If you think you are so smart, why would you need to ask a technical question in the first place? Outrageous prices? They have the same prices as every other store selling electronics! I hope your employer goes under and you lose your job too.

[FuturePastNow]

For my part, I found the shopping experience at Circuit City to be much better than Best Buy. I can't stop walking in a BB without some blueshirt running over to annoy me.

Best Buy won this war because of their store brands, Insignia and Dynex, and the crap quality HDTVs they make and sell cheap.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by hittrj01

The service plans are exactly like insurance on your car. Yes, most likely, you will never need to use it, but in the event that you do, you will be forever grateful that it is there. If you get in an accident and have no insurance, you're pretty much screwed. Chances are you're a safe driver who won't get in one, but who's to say you won't make one mistake or that someone else is as safe as you?

I don't know of a service plan that covers accidents, floods, or other damage.

I only buy the minimum insurance that the state requires that I have to have a licensed car.

The same theory applies to the computer that you buy. Chances are you won't have any problems that the manufacturer wouldn't cover anyway, but who's to say you won't make one mistake and drop the computer or someone who is borrowing your computer won't spill a cup of coffee in it? At that point, you'll have wished you would have spent the extra couple hundred dollars on accidental coverage instead of having to buy a new MacBook for $1300.

I see all of you praise AppleCare on these boards, but I ask the question, how is what we offer any different? Our plans even cover more than AppleCare does, and yet ours are worthless? It makes no sense.

Applecare is one of those exceptions, and it's been noted in articles that I've read over the years. Not only that, Applecare has always gotten me the support that I needed, not the run-around. The people I know that have tried to take advantage of a CC extended warranty got the run-around.

If you want actual insurance, then that's something that probably should be handled separately by an organization that specializes in that.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by hillstones

Amazon sells a 'Monster Cable' High Speed HDMI 2M cable for $94. Do you hate Amazon for trying to fuck you over on a cable? Is Amazon trying to rip people off? If you look further on Amazon, you can get a non-brand 2M HDMI cable for $9.95. Or as you discovered, you found a relatively cheap cable for $1. eBay is also a good place for quality cables at a low price. But don't go blaming Best Buy for trying to sell a cable that is priced by the manufacturer!

The difference is that Amazon doesn't make it hard to buy a cheaper one. Circuit City (and probably Best Buy too) either don't carry cheaper alternatives or they make them very hard to find on some obscure rack.

Originally Posted by hillstones

Lastly, how dare you take pleasure in 34,000 people losing their jobs! I hope karma bites you in the ass so you can be unemployed and looking for a job in this economy. Then maybe you will get a clue and have some respect for others. Same goes for Foodmetaphors! The majority of them are not skilled? If you think you are so smart, why would you need to ask a technical question in the first place? Outrageous prices? They have the same prices as every other store selling electronics! I hope your employer goes under and you lose your job too.

Weren't you one of those people that hoped that Motorola or Dell crashes and burns?

[hittrj01]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I don't know of a service plan that covers accidents, floods, or other damage.

I only buy the minimum insurance that the state requires that I have to have a licensed car.

It is obvious you don't shop at places like Best Buy, because if you read the policy statements, those things absolutely are covered under our plans. Water damage, drops, cracks, spills, heck, we've even replaced a few computers that people had run over with their cars, so I'd say accidents and the like are covered.

As for the minimum coverage, I went down that road myself before, until I got t-boned by an uninsured driver and my minimum coverage wouldn't cover the majority of the expenses. To each his own, though.

[wizard69]

Originally Posted by Tazznb

Please feel free to add this to your resume as well. I really hope this country survives the bad leadership this administration forced on us.

How do you rationalize a connection between Bush and Chenney with respect to Circuit City?

Circuit City was going down the tubes and frankly it had nothing to do with the economy. That is like saying GM should blame the president for not producing fuel efficient cars or taking hybrid technology seriously. Sure the economy hurts both companies but both companies suffer from a management team with no respect for the consumer.

Dave