CompUSA Closing More Than 50 Percent of Stores

Zurbrick writes to tell us that CompUSA hs announced that they are closing the doors on over half their stores over the next three months. "CompUSA said in a statement it would close 126 of its stores and would receive a $440 million cash capital infusion, but it was not specific as to the source of the cash. The company also said it would cut costs and restructure. The company operates 225 stores, which its Web site says are located in the United States and Puerto Rico. "

The End of the Customer Appreciation Bat?

[Cr0w T. Trollbot]

Somehow, I don't think Gabe and Tycho are heartbroken. [penny-arcade.com]

Crow T. Trollbot

Oh, no!

[saintlupus]

Wherever will I find gold-plated $30 USB cables?

Oh, okay, Best Buy will still be open.

--saint

Re:Which half?

[physicsboy500]

he way the headline reads, I thought they were closing the left half or the right half (or back/front) of each store.

In an effort to increase attendance, CompUSA closed the half of it's store with the exit

Source of the cash

[DigitAl56K]

...would receive a $440 million cash capital infusion, but it was not specific as to the source of the cash

Someone finally paid for the retail version of Windows Vista Ultimate.

Re:And we're keeping _both_ of ours

[nickname225]

Damn - I was hoping for some close out sales.

Re:kinda sad.

[jackb_guppy]

There is a Fry's on East Coast!! Atlanta... 8hrs away for me.

I am lucky, I live between 3 Fry's, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas. They are only a day away!

Is it a bedtime office-supply story?

[Kadin2048]

office supply story

Once upon a time, there was a brave little stapler, who was running low on staples...

Re:And we're keeping _both_ of ours

[Anonymous Coward]

Objectivly, Best buy, Compusa, Fry's, Microcenter, ect; they're all the same. They all do the same thing. It's wrong to think you can go to one or the other and not get fucked. Just remember:

1: Do not trust what the salesmen say. They lie.

2: Technicians are always more trustworthy than salesmen.

3: Technicians will screw you over if they are told to do so.

4: Anything sold can and usually is made of cheap shit unless it's a specific brand like belkin or asus. Salesmen know this, that's why they try to get you to buy the shotty product.

5: Read the service contracts, inquire as to how they are fulfilled with those fulfilling them prior to using them.

6: The salesmens and supervisors jobs are to make you work to get what's rightfully yours (in some instances). Managers are usually there to play the good guy so they have to give you less than what your expect.

7: Everyone oversells their services; this will lead you to perceive you are entitled to more than you really are. Beware.

That's what they get

[CptChipJew]

Their biggest mistake was not letting Belkin build the entire store. Their lack of gold-plating around the buildings led to low performance.

Re:And we're keeping _both_ of ours

[Trelane]

I'm not surprised.

I mean, you expect a CompUSA to sell COMPuters, in the USA. Fry's? Apple?! WTH? They must be a fast food joint and a fruit stand or something!

Re:Source of the cash

[DigitAl56K]

Here is some hot news for you...almost all of the inventory is going up on eBay for pennies on the dollar.*

* After rebates

Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store.

[kd5ujz]

In the US, we call that store Radio Shack. You have questions? We have blank stares!

Re:It's about time... and only the beginning.

[Anonymous Coward]

In fact I worked retail while I was in college and I often ran into assholes who thought they were so much smarter than me because they had "real" tech jobs

That should be "so much smarter than I", Mr. Brilliant.
-- one of those assholes

Re:Source of the cash

[Theolojin]

...would receive a $440 million cash capital infusion, but it was not specific as to the source of the cash
--
Someone finally paid for the retail version of Windows Vista Ultimate.

If I said it once, I said it a billion times: Dude, don't exaggerate. $440 million is way more than a single install of Windows Vista Ultimate. This is for a *site* license.

Sheesh. You people on /. *never* stop exaggerating. Not for one single femtosecond of the day.

Re:It's about time... and only the beginning.

[soft_guy]

If you are down at CompUSA trying to show off your "intelligence", it is probably because you have none.

I work maybe a block from a CompUSA and once in a while I go in there to buy something that I need right now and can't buy elsewhere (like dual layer DVD-Rs), but I never go there to have discussions with the employees. Why the hell would I do that?

Re:Oh, no!

[David_W]

That was easy.

Re:It's about time... and only the beginning.

[ckaminski]

My favorite was when I bought an HP inkjet printer, cheapest one they had, just to have something to print with. The salesdroid walked up and offered to sell me an extended warranty on it. So I looked puzzled...

"How much it cost?"

"49.00"

[looks at price on printer, $44.95]

"Um, for that price, I could just buy a brand new printer..."

"um... good point. Enjoy your new printer!"

Erk!?

Re:Is it a bedtime office-supply story?

[TubeSteak]

Once upon a time, there was a brave little stapler, who was running low on staples...

... so he said to his boss "If you don't give me more staples, I'll burn this supply closet down."

Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store.

[mrgrey]

Out of your entire comment, the most surprising statement was that Packard Bell is still making computer...... ('8

Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store.

[Idarubicin]

'You have blank stares? The parent post has answers!'

Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store.

[Mister Whirly]

Well, Packard Bell is still MAKING computers... I doubt they are SELLING many though..