Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
01-17-09, 03:50 AM
#76
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
I worked at Circuit City from 1994-1996. It was a pretty darned good retailer back then. By the time I left, though, the writing was on the wall. Middle and upper management were pushing high profit items that were hard to sell (either due to poor quality or high price).
Those of us who were commissioned salespeople knew the best items to sell. We sold the best valued items for the money. They were profitable, but not the highest priced items. The people on the front lines knew what was what - but the upper and middle managment people shaping the company were clueless due to their inexperience at that level. We knew that if things continued down that path the company would be in trouble down the line.
A few years later upper management decided to eliminate the major appliances department - the highest profit center in the store. A year or two after that they axed their best and most knowledgeable salespeople. Add in some bad expansion strategy and it's game over for the company.
That's a shame, because back when I worked for them it was the best electronics retailer around. Someone's always gotta come in and change things to make his mark.
Well, the people that came in as middle and upper managers over the last decade or so definitely made their marks. Congratulations, guys! You're a bunch of morons!
Those of us who were commissioned salespeople knew the best items to sell. We sold the best valued items for the money. They were profitable, but not the highest priced items. The people on the front lines knew what was what - but the upper and middle managment people shaping the company were clueless due to their inexperience at that level. We knew that if things continued down that path the company would be in trouble down the line.
A few years later upper management decided to eliminate the major appliances department - the highest profit center in the store. A year or two after that they axed their best and most knowledgeable salespeople. Add in some bad expansion strategy and it's game over for the company.
That's a shame, because back when I worked for them it was the best electronics retailer around. Someone's always gotta come in and change things to make his mark.
Well, the people that came in as middle and upper managers over the last decade or so definitely made their marks. Congratulations, guys! You're a bunch of morons!
01-17-09, 04:03 AM
#77
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Gotta post these yet again:
<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-7661920011203722214&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:800px;height:652px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>
<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=738005093024022359&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:800px;height:652px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>
<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-7661920011203722214&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:800px;height:652px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>
<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=738005093024022359&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:800px;height:652px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed>
01-17-09, 08:44 AM
#78
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Wow, thanks for posting those videos again you say. I've never seen them on the forum and it was a blast from the past. Hard to remember when dvd players cost that much! Now the one in that commercial is more expensive than blu-ray players! Makes blu-ray players seem much cheaper in comparison!
So a by the way, is there any way to watch those divx movies? Every once in a great while I come across one. Seems funny that they also cost 4.99, now you can probably find the disc to own for less than that!
So a by the way, is there any way to watch those divx movies? Every once in a great while I come across one. Seems funny that they also cost 4.99, now you can probably find the disc to own for less than that!
01-17-09, 08:50 AM
#79
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Just checked out their website. Surprised to see their website completely shut down! You'd think it would be much easier to also sell off stuff on their website faster than in-stores!
01-17-09, 08:52 AM
#80
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
I think the guy in those videos is a newscaster in Richmond now.
I never bought much from CC, so I won't miss them, but it's a shame all those Richmonders will be losing their jobs.
I never bought much from CC, so I won't miss them, but it's a shame all those Richmonders will be losing their jobs.
01-17-09, 09:21 AM
#82
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
FYE (or TransWorld Entertainment) has been losing millions of dollars a year for the past couple years. This year alone I think they are projecting losses between $15-$25 million. I doubt they will last more then 2 more years.
01-17-09, 09:29 AM
#83
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
I wonder if they will be liquidating their Itunes gift cards, or do they send those back to Apple? Even 10% off a $50 gift card is a deal...
01-17-09, 09:41 AM
#84
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Those aren't technically inventoried the same way as traditional merch, so they'll probably be destroyed. There is no margin--all the money goes to Apple when one of those is sold.
01-17-09, 10:30 AM
#85
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
thanks for the video of Divix-what a blast from the past-I remember the lively posts right here on dvdtalk on that...mostly about it's march to failure for Circuit City.
01-17-09, 10:41 AM
#86
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Just went to the one in Decatur and they have no discounts yet. I thought maybe they'd have everything at 10% off at least, but nada.
01-17-09, 10:45 AM
#87
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Anybody have a status on whether or not they're still taking their own credit card?
01-17-09, 10:51 AM
#88
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
They probably will because there credit card is backed by a bank not themselves check the back of the card to make sure I am right. They are accepting there gift cards, and there warranties and extended warranties are guaranteed by a third party so those will still be good after they close
01-17-09, 11:02 AM
#90
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
That's what I thought - Chase owns the credit line. My wife's going to pass by CC today and see what there is to see. The only things we might grab if there are spectacular deals is a 32 inch LCD or a computer monitor.
01-17-09, 11:04 AM
#91
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
01-17-09, 11:05 AM
#92
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Just heard from 2 friends, that our CC has a 30% off sign up. Going to check it out soon.
01-17-09, 11:09 AM
#93
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Philips has a DVD player that plays DivX for around $40. I've seen them at Wal-Mart and on Amazon. Just look for the DivX logo. The real upside to a DivX DVD player is that you can download a movie as an AVI, burn it to a CD, and play it in your DVD player.
01-17-09, 11:11 AM
#94
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Seriously? You got angry at them for something that keeps credit cards just a smidgen safer?
I hope, at least, all your credit cards are signed. Then there's some kind of justification here. That might not be so bad. If your credit cards aren't signed, well...
Who's kidding who? No one gives a crap about customer service--especially most of the people on this board. It's value, value, value, with undignified rants if a value someone else got fails for them. Now, subtract the customer service aspect and your statement is definitely true.
Wal-Mart has atrocious customer service in the great majority of stores (I've worked for two of them in very different environments, which is by no means a large sample, but I've certainly shopped in far, far more than 2) but is still doing very well even in years where it isn't doing well compared to itself.
I could name Best Buy stores with lame service. Targets with lame service. I could name any branded store I've been in that had lame service. This is the general perception anyone seems to get, too--"Hey this local branch of Company X was nasty to me once, Company X sucks!"
It's simply not true. Or rather, it might be true, but that's no indicator.
Employees of retail establishments are human beings. Some human beings are assholes, some are not. Some people treat said employees as less than human (retail establishments themselves, especially on a corporate level, tend to be strong contenders for worst offender here). As such, suggesting that a company somehow controls its customer service down to the specific employee is ludicrous and completely unrealistic, just as much as suggesting that a single store's service is representative of the entire company behind it.
A lot of people like to talk about Company X's customer service, but they don't really know unless they've toured all the stores. An awful lot of retail stores are going to have bad service, because you're paid peanuts to take abuse with a smile, with Joe Schmoe telling you you're a jerk with bad customer service and he's never shopping their again because you wouldn't give him the store for free. Try finding a bunch of people who can keep up that smile and devoted service after years of that for that pay.
The company I work for (who I do not speak for) has been known for customer service--of course, some people see only one store or two and they have lame service, but it's not representative. No one really cares, though, because they're really only interested in prices. Being treated like a lot of people treat retail employees--that will bother people, sure, but neutrality or even laziness toward customers doesn't bother the great majority, it seems.
It's a capitalist economy, and pretending there's anything like human interest motivating any of it as you shrug over the loss of 30,000 jobs is open enough in its hypocrisy that you really ought to be aware of that already.
Sorry. I know you don't give a crap. I just thought it ought to be said.
I hope, at least, all your credit cards are signed. Then there's some kind of justification here. That might not be so bad. If your credit cards aren't signed, well...
Who's kidding who? No one gives a crap about customer service--especially most of the people on this board. It's value, value, value, with undignified rants if a value someone else got fails for them. Now, subtract the customer service aspect and your statement is definitely true.
Wal-Mart has atrocious customer service in the great majority of stores (I've worked for two of them in very different environments, which is by no means a large sample, but I've certainly shopped in far, far more than 2) but is still doing very well even in years where it isn't doing well compared to itself.
I could name Best Buy stores with lame service. Targets with lame service. I could name any branded store I've been in that had lame service. This is the general perception anyone seems to get, too--"Hey this local branch of Company X was nasty to me once, Company X sucks!"
It's simply not true. Or rather, it might be true, but that's no indicator.
Employees of retail establishments are human beings. Some human beings are assholes, some are not. Some people treat said employees as less than human (retail establishments themselves, especially on a corporate level, tend to be strong contenders for worst offender here). As such, suggesting that a company somehow controls its customer service down to the specific employee is ludicrous and completely unrealistic, just as much as suggesting that a single store's service is representative of the entire company behind it.
A lot of people like to talk about Company X's customer service, but they don't really know unless they've toured all the stores. An awful lot of retail stores are going to have bad service, because you're paid peanuts to take abuse with a smile, with Joe Schmoe telling you you're a jerk with bad customer service and he's never shopping their again because you wouldn't give him the store for free. Try finding a bunch of people who can keep up that smile and devoted service after years of that for that pay.
The company I work for (who I do not speak for) has been known for customer service--of course, some people see only one store or two and they have lame service, but it's not representative. No one really cares, though, because they're really only interested in prices. Being treated like a lot of people treat retail employees--that will bother people, sure, but neutrality or even laziness toward customers doesn't bother the great majority, it seems.
It's a capitalist economy, and pretending there's anything like human interest motivating any of it as you shrug over the loss of 30,000 jobs is open enough in its hypocrisy that you really ought to be aware of that already.
Sorry. I know you don't give a crap. I just thought it ought to be said.
I think this is true to a degree. But a few years ago, Best Buy was lying and giving every excuse not to honor their price matching agreement. You called their "hotline" and they would support the management decision even if it went directly against their policy. This happened at mulitple stores I have visited. In the past couple of years ago, this has changed. They seem more willing to actually help the customer (some of the time). I'm not saying that generally what you way is not true, but it definately is not always true.
01-17-09, 11:13 AM
#95
Senior Member
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
I doubt they will go the way of Circuit City anytime soon, but it seems they will transform into a strictly mall-only enterprise. The closure of CC means that FYE will stand out more in terms of B&M media offerings, so they have an opportunity to draw people into their stores who would otherwise go to CC. I just see them downsizing significantly instead of hitting the bucket like CC.
01-17-09, 11:21 AM
#96
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Actually, that's the DivX video format - DIVX was a disc format. Not sure if there are any players that'll read them. I actually have a DIVX disc and I have never popped it into a player - I bought it as a joke when they were $1.
01-17-09, 11:42 AM
#98
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Ah, the joys of long term contracts for bad ideas. (See multiple sports contracts for reference...)
fitprod
01-17-09, 11:43 AM
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Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
I was interesting in a micro laptop for my son that was normally $350.00. I asked how much it was, and the clerk said that they only had the demo left. "Okay, how much is the demo?" He didn't know and had to get his supervisor. The supervisor said that he couldn't tell me until I he unlocked the security and rang it up. I was game and waited for him to dismantle everything and take it up the the CS counter. I was figuring $350 - 10% is $315, then take another 20% off for being a demo and having no paperwork should get it down to $250 or so if I was lucky. The price: $310. I pointed out that it was only $5 less for being a demo model and he said "yep. Do you want it." I declined.
When I got home I did a search and found the same computer at Best Buy, brand new, for $285.
01-17-09, 12:27 PM
#100
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Circuit City Liquidation Sale Thread All Remaining U.S. Stores Starting 1/17/2009
Just got back from the Southgate CC. The poor guy outside in the snow was holding a sign that said 30% but the DVDs/Blu's were 20% and most of the other merchandise I saw was 10% off. They weren't even finished putting up the signs so there could be better deals out there.