Lots of activity at Circuit City, but only mediocre discounts
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Facebook it! | 01/19/09
My father-in-law and I went to Circuit City this weekend to see how the liquidation sale was going.
Man, the lines were long. The main line was about 15 deep most of the time I was there, and they had several other cashiers. The crowds weren’t quite Black Friday crowds, but they were impressive.
The discounts were pretty much what I expected: 10% off everything with a few categories that were 20% off. Nothing that impressive. The liquidation company is trying to milk the merchandise (as it should). It makes sure that the merchandise meets the market, and the market consists of people besides those who will only pay cents on the dollar.
I saw one person relaying item prices on a cell phone. I saw another person with a price list and a pen. Some people weren’t in too much of a hurry to buy things. These folks were probably like Green Panda and knew that the prices weren’t spectacular yet. I too had a few items in my hands but had second thoughts, so I put them back.
I’ll go back again, though. The selection will go down, but the deals will get better.
8 Responses to “Lots of activity at Circuit City, but only mediocre discounts”
By Lisa on Jan 20, 2009 | Reply
Wow, that’s not a very good discount. We drove by our local Circuit City yesterday and they already have everything marked down 30%…but I’m still holding out
By Writer's Coin on Jan 20, 2009 | Reply
Yeah I saw a thing on Good Morning America on this. THey went into Circuit Cities run by the liquidator vs. the other ones and the other ones (the ones not going out of business) had better deals. Some Circuit City employees even told the undercover producers to go to the other store because they would get a better price, despite all the hoopla and advertising of “GREAT DEALS!”
By Green Panda on Jan 20, 2009 | Reply
One of the reason we rarely shop at Circuit City was th lack of competitive prices.We had hoped the liquidation sale would change it, but it didn’t. We’ll try again too.
Our local news channel ran a story when Linens N Things were going out of business. Th liquidator were caught raising prices significantly.
By Single Guy Money on Jan 20, 2009 | Reply
I went to Circuit City when they were closing only a few stores and found that the “discounts” were pretty crappy. Some of the items there could be found cheaper at Best Buy. The only thing that seemed to be a great deal were CDs and DVDs which I don’t waste my money on.
By Eric on Jan 20, 2009 | Reply
Exact experience. I have a few items I’m eyeing but the “discounts” are pathetic. I’m in no rush though.
By Miss M on Jan 21, 2009 | Reply
The LA Times had an article to the same effect, only 10% discounts on already overpriced merchandise. Mr M and I went to Circuit City for something a few months ago and knew right away they wouldn’t last. They were charging $30-$40 for USB cables, ridiculous. I’m in the market for a laptop, I doubt they’ll be discounted much.
By ChristianPF on Jan 23, 2009 | Reply
yea, just like Linens and things a month ago, you need to wait it out a few weeks until the nice discounts show up -
By Alison @ This Wasn't In The Plan on Jan 23, 2009 | Reply
My husband was there on the first day of the liquidation sale. He asked an employee how much a certain product was discounted. The employee said anywhere between 10% and 30%, but that many things weren’t marked down in the computer yet. Which means there’s a good chance that many of the people purchasing things were actually buying products at the regular price but since they were caught up in the liquidation hoopla, they assumed they were getting a fabulous deal.