[geeks] End of the line for CompUSA

[Shannon Hendrix]

On Dec 16, 2007, at 12:25 PM, Lionel Peterson wrote:

> CompUSA is no longer CompUSA - no more sales int he stores, instead  
> the stores
> are being run by a liquidator, who reset the prices to "list" and is  
> marching
> the prices down each week to maximize revenue for each item. The  
> stores will
> not get any more inventory ever again - if it isn't in the store  
> now, it will
> never be in the store...

I thought they were waiting until January to do that.

Interesting.

The odd thing is the employees seemed happy.

> CompUSA is still running sales on line, but the stores are no longer
> considered part of CompUSA - the on-line storefront shows in-store  
> items, but
> they are only available for delivery...

That's been true for years now.

CompUSA online has always had different prices.  It was one of the  
things that ticked people off about them.

I use online catalogs to see if stores have things, and CompUSA would  
like an item at $10 and you could check if it was available in a  
physical store.

There was no indication the price was different, but when you got to  
the store, the item was $25.

I know they were like that at least four years ago, so this part isn't  
new.

> BestBuy is starting to carry Antec items, but the prices are a bit  
> high, IMHO.

I think they are high on most things.

What I've done over the years is when I'm in that area of the city, I  
would go in Best Buy and CompUSA and see what they had, and then use  
the local ads to plan when to actually buy things.

I generally got good prices by doing some research and being patient.

For example, I bought several big ticket items at CompUSA and Best Buy  
over the last 3 years at roughly 20 percent less than newegg.com  
prices, by watching the things I wanted.

For example, I got my HP 1320 printer for $250.

newegg was $350, and CompUSA was normally $400 on the same item.

Trolling can get you good prices.

My observation of most people though, is just like Mike said: they see  
the word sale or discount, and assume the price is good without  
actually checking to see if it is.

My view of Best Buy last night was that everything worth getting was  
high priced, and the cheap stuff was also low quality.  Very  
disappointed in the selection.

Just for example, I'm looking for a small stereo system to replace my  
rack system, because I don't need a stereo that big where I spend most  
of my time.

I have not been able to find a compact stereo system worth having  
anywhere.  They are all either crap, or way overkill.

The crap is $200 or less, the good stuff is $900 and up.

There seems to be nothing in between.  Five years ago, the $200-500  
market was big.

Best Buy is also horribly disorganized.  I found bluetooth headsets in  
four different places, and their selection was lower than that of  
Target.

I thought Best Buy was an electronics superstore and Target was a  
fancy dime store?

NOTE: Target's prices on that stuff suck, but at least they have it.

> But, you can get a nice case in a local retail store if you aren't  
> too price-
> sensitive...

Not around here.  I see nothing but cheap crap and L33T D00D cases.

Nothing suitable for audio, lab, server, or just pragmatism.

Then again, Tidewater is often like that.

As far as price sensitivity goes... when the prices are 50 to 100  
percent higher than the competition, yeah, I'm a little sensitive to  
that.

If retail was 5-20% higher, which I think should be perfectly doable  
given their volume, I'd support the local retailer a lot more often.



-- 
"Where some they sell their dreams for small desires."