Circuit City to close all stores, liquidate. They're done.

[K Frame]

There's still regional competition for Best Buy. Not so much in the East, but on the West Coast they have Frye's, which apparently has been kicking BB's butt for some time.

[HankB]

We have a Fry's here in town. More than once, their advertised price on an item was noticeably less than Best Buy . . . but since the latter has a store MUCH closer to me than Fry's, I just take the sales paper over there and they do a price match.

They have to compete with Amazon, lower prices and free shipping.

And as part of the lower prices, factor in no sales tax . . . which is significant on large items.

[Monkeyleg]

Best Buy has the selection that Circuit City didn't have, but Best Buy's prices aren't cheap.

Numerous business types have drilled into my head over the years an old saying: you've got price, quality and service (service, selection, speed of delivery, etc); pick two, because you can't have all three at the same time.

Circuit City only offered one of the three.

[Manedwolf]

We have a Fry's here in town. More than once, their advertised price on an item was noticeably less than Best Buy . . . but since the latter has a store MUCH closer to me than Fry's, I just take the sales paper over there and they do a price match. And as part of the lower prices, factor in no sales tax . . . which is significant on large items.

No sales tax here. Amazon is still cheaper on lots of things.

[mfree]

I'll do my big-item shopping at HHGregg for AV stuff and elsewhere for computers and appliances.

I think the last time I set foot in a circuit city was 2 years ago for a little $30 router, because they had the cheapest price of the stores that were still open that hour.

[roo_ster]

I thank the good Lord I have Fry's & Microcenter nearby.

If I didn't, 99% of my IT/electronics purchases would be made online.

[MillCreek]

Those of us who live in Washington pay state sales tax on our Amazon purchases, since the company is headquartered in Seattle and thus has a physical presence in the state.  And unfortunately, there is only one Fry's in the state.  With the demise of CompUSA and now Circuit City, Best Buy is the sole remaining electronics chain of any size in Washington, and I am underwhelmed with their computer and computer accessory selection.

[Racehorse]

All we have is Best Buy. I wish we could get a Fry's. That's the best electronics chain store I've been in. But even then, I find I'm usually better off using Amazon, Newegg, and a couple other online retailers.

[Perd Hapley]

Ultimate Electronics moved in here a few years ago.  Their commercials claim they have people spying on CC and BB on a daily basis, so UE can always have the lowest price.  Always. 

Don't the other guys get a little annoyed that the same person (or people) keeps coming by, looking around, writing down prices, but never buying anything?  Or how does that work?  Do they just shop the web-site? 

[Racehorse]

Ultimate Electronics moved in here a few years ago.  Their commercials claim they have people spying on CC and BB on a daily basis, so UE can always have the lowest price.  Always. 

Don't the other guys get a little annoyed that the same person (or people) keeps coming by, looking around, writing down prices, but never buying anything?  Or how does that work?  Do they just shop the web-site? 

I coordinate some of this stuff for my company. We do it all online and by phone. Just call the physical store and ask the price of 2 or 3 items. You can't ask too much or they start to get suspicious.

[Thor]

Best Buy's total lack of competition now is going to do wonders for prices :(

They still have to compete with Fry's, Walmart, Sears, KMart, many other stores, and then all of the internets.

[Gewehr98]

I'd love to have a Fry's somewhere in my neck of the woods.   

[HankB]

Ultimate Electronics moved in here a few years ago.  Their commercials claim they have people spying on CC and BB on a daily basis, so UE can always have the lowest price.  Always.

IIRC, Ultimate Electronics was - somehow - tied in to an old, semi-high-end store called "Audio King" up in the Minneapolis area. UE opened up a couple of stores in & around Austin, but they didn't last, closing after only a couple of years.

[Monkeyleg]

I'd love to have a Fry's somewhere in my neck of the woods.

Are there even Radio Shacks in your neck of the woods?

[mfree]

Radioshack?

You must remember that for some reason or another, there are a great number of people who refuse to set foot in that sh... that hole of a store, ever again, for any reason.

I'm quite literally shocked they're still in business, perhaps the model is just *that good* that it survives the complete and utter incompetency in the company from the store managers up the line to the Big Desk.

But I'm not bitter at all :)

[seeker_two]

Went to a CC in Austin yesterday. Got 30% off DVD's and 10% off everything else. Still had a pretty good inventory. May have to visit the Waco one in a week to see if prices go down any further.

I couldn't believe what Michael Savage had to say about that.  "If Circuit City folded, why didn't Best Buy fold, too?  How could one go under, and the other one survive?  I don't understand that." 

I already knew he was a lunatic rage-aholic, posing as a real conservative; I didn't realize that he is also a moron. 

I hope he was just pointing out the irony there.....but, knowing Savage, it's hard to tell....