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Circuit City unplugged: retailer files for bankruptcy photo

Last week we told you of rumors that electronics retailer Circuit City might be closing 155 stores in the coming weeks.

The poor state of the store chain was confirmed when I drove past our local location last week. Its windows were plastered with "everything on sale" signs. The parking lot was packed with vehicles, which is not a typical sight for this location. Inside, the store had been picked over, with very little in the way of quality stock left. Many items were marked down, some as high as 20 percent. Televisions, audio equipment, and computers were flying off shelves.

In the midst of this excitement, I decided to check out the gaming section. Unfortunately, I saw that games were discounted a mere 5 percent, and accessories only 10 percent. What's worse is that some of the normal priced games at Best Buy were cheaper than these "discounted" ones at Circuit City were. No wonder they're going out of business!

Today Bloomberg tells us that Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy. Vendors servicing Circuit City were concerned that the retailer could not pay for the merchandise they sell. The company is entering court protection as it owes HP $119 million and Samsung $116 million. In all, they owe $650 million to suppliers, including Sony.  Ouch. 

Bloomberg points to stiff competition from Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Amazon.com, as well as the on-going global financial crisis, as reasons why the company is nearing its end. 


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22 comments | showing # 1 to 22

galagabug 's Avatar
galagabug at 11/10/2008 11:31
fuckers still owe me 1600 MS points from my gears purchase.
Surf314's Avatar
Surf314 at 11/10/2008 11:34
Retailers rarely discount games or movies by much. I mean people are willing to buy used games for $5 less than the original with the instruction manual that does not smell like cheetos.
scsitransfer's Avatar
scsitransfer at 11/10/2008 11:37
I'm headed over to mine later today to see what i can snipe off at a good deal :-D
Tubatic's Avatar
Tubatic at 11/10/2008 11:40
@surf314

That's actualyl why I haven't bought many used games this console generation. There's barely any discount anymore, so I'm just buying new stuff and renting from gamefly (Which discounts a bit more for used games, though you're still paying for the rental service)
Stella Wong's Avatar
Stella Wong at 11/10/2008 11:55
Not surprised actually, circuit city wasn't one of my fave retailers to go to buy anything.
SteamyV's Avatar
SteamyV at 11/10/2008 12:04
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 11/10/2008 12:08
Well, they kind of deserve it
mix's Avatar
mix at 11/10/2008 12:22
Now the thing I don't get is HOW you can get up to owing another company, or companeis, $800+ million dollars.

Sir we a pretty much screwed and have no reserves left. Well, by dammit, we are going to place the largest fucking order of PC's and TV's the world has EVAR SEEN!
LarkOhiya's Avatar
LarkOhiya at 11/10/2008 12:29
yeah. when you get to this size retailer and you have to preemptively purchase goods from a supplier you need a HUGE money reserve to back those purchases, or hope customers buy them. otherwise your screwed.
0bshaky's Avatar
0bshaky at 11/10/2008 12:32
Why do people still buy at this type of stores? Shit like Best Buy, Radio Shack and Circuit City always have stuff overpriced.Go to Sam's Club or Costco instead or better yet, go to Tiger Direct or Newegg. I hope Best Buy goes to the shithole too.
cametall's Avatar
cametall at 11/10/2008 12:42
Better get your asses out there and spend those gift cards!
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 11/10/2008 12:56
In before Ron says "I told you so."
parrothead's Avatar
parrothead at 11/10/2008 12:57
sucks for them
the Golden Avatar's Avatar
the Golden Avatar at 11/10/2008 13:31
I got out of CC stock at $3.31 (for a profit too). Now that it's at .02 I guess I made the right decision.
GohanGVO's Avatar
GohanGVO at 11/10/2008 14:18
I prefer Amazon to most anything. Free shipping and no tax = awesome.

Thanks to CAG, though, I see great deals pop up everywhere. You just have to exercise patience. I pricematched CC's price for The Orange Box over at Best Buy earlier in the year. woot!
Knives's Avatar
Knives at 11/10/2008 14:21
I went to one yesterday but didn't find any good deals, in fact there was even a "now hiring" sign hanging outside :P
Zero Atma's Avatar
Zero Atma at 11/10/2008 14:58
This had better not stop me from getting Valkyria Chronicles for $45.

I played the demo, and I loves me some Valkyria Chronicles
Velt's Avatar
Velt at 11/10/2008 15:46
what happened to compusa?
sexycommando's Avatar
sexycommando at 11/10/2008 16:03
@0bshaky

I know of three reasons. 1 - some prefer instant gratification and want the product they pay for immediately. 2 - some prefer to pay a slight premium to avoid the hassle of shipping back and forth in case of RMAs. 3 - some people have a lot of cash income they want to hide from the IRS, and buying small things with cash helps them spend their cash income while saving their reported income for more visible things like rent and car payments.


Anyway, normally I wouldn't care about CC closing stores, except they are closing the 3 closest CC stores to me out here in Long Island. That leaves Best Buy as the only major electronics store to shop at. The only other option I have is to drive 40 minutes to Microcenter. I really wish Fry's Electronics would open a store out here.
RonBurgandy2010's Avatar
RonBurgandy2010 at 11/10/2008 16:15
My Circuit City sucks anyway. I don't care.
Dezzy's Avatar
Dezzy at 11/10/2008 17:24
You do realize that when a store is closing, it isn't even the company anymore, right? That is a Circuit City shell and everything in it was already purchased by another company. So, you getting 5% off is the RETAIL price. Meaning, its the same price that is listed on a game no matter where you buy it. This excludes wholesale stores such as BJs, Sam's and Costco. These places can make their electronics cheaper because you pay for a membership. Circuit city doesn't sell the game for $49.99, they usually sell it for much cheaper...the liquidators don't care about that. So don't say that's why they're going out of buisness...that isn't even the same store you went to months ago. They aren't going out of buisness. Filing bankruptcy is very common and you should all know that Best Buy did the same thing in the 90s, along with many other stores you probably still visit on a regular basis. They closed 155 stores, then filed. They're trying to save their company. The company is now in the right hands. The man working to fix the company now is the same man who built Kmart back up. Kmart just purchased Sears...so I think that whole "bankruptcy" thing didn't do too much damage, huh?
The Amazing Shenazin's Avatar
The Amazing Shenazin at 11/16/2008 20:17
damn, wonder what'll happen to my local one (it just opened a little over a year ago)
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