CompUSA Closing More Than 50 Percent of Stores 423
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. "
It's about time... and only the beginning. (Score:5, Interesting)
I have 2 CompUSAs in my area, close to clients that my company still maintains. They're both depressing -- too many workers, but no one with knowledge. I hear a lot of lies, get pushed on extended warranties that don't work, and have to deal with waiting and waiting when I need to find something that their website shows as in-stock. The company is inept because the company is trying to compete in the wrong market.
I honestly see a lot of retail collapsing because the time is getting close that the manufacturers can sell products cheaper, and at a higher profit for themselves, directly or through direct-partners. I can't imagine a Luddite like my father trying to buy something at CompUSA when the typical sales person there is no different than Best Buy's brilliant teen workers. But that's the end problem: CompUSA is still trying to be a consumer store rather than business-oriented.
CompUSA has a much wider inventory than Best Buy or Circuit City, but they obviously can't compete with those power houses who have more stores and also have a lot of value-added items they can sell to make up for what they don't make on popular laptops and LCD monitors. Yet the typical business that I deal with still prefers solid advice over bottom-line price. Consumers want it cheap, and they tend not to have long-term relationships with a particular sales person or a store. CompUSA dropped the ball when they started to lose to CDW and MacWarehouse -- the corporate clients of mine haven't used CompUSA in years because of their change from business-focused to consumer-oriented and cheap.
Even on price CompUSA doesn't compete -- often times when I need something I am shocked at the prices. Sure, we're all familiar with the $6-USB-cable-that-sells-for-$39, but even basics such as a stand IEC power cord are overpriced. Their selection is decent, but they are trying to compete in a market that they can not penetrate, especially with Amazon and eBay destroying the price competitiveness of the big box PC store.
This is a good thing for CompUSA, but I don't see them lasting. Every CompUSA near me has both Best Buy and Circuit City nearby, and I admit that I've had more intelligent sales staff at the big box store than at CompUSA. If they want to save their business, they have to focus on local businesses rather than trying to be the answer man for people who want cheap prices and sales. Without the business customer (who tends to accept a higher cost in exchange for GOOD advice and support), their business is heading to the toilet.
Count yourself lucky you have a retail store. (Score:4, Interesting)
It's the closest thing we have to Best Buy or CompUSA.
It's called PC World, and it's run by a company called the Dixons Stores Group.
Let's just say: £80 network cards (that was apparently the cheapest), £20 USB cables (again, the cheapest), £1,200 PCs. They stock cheaper ones but I've never met anyone who ever bought one - I suspect those who are savvy enough don't go there in the first place, and those who aren't are generally told "You want to send email? Well, in that case you'll need this...". And extended warranties which cost 70% of the value of the PC, yet are serviced by spotty 16 year olds who wouldn't know a PC if it dropped on their head.
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OTOH, I didn't ask their staff for advice on which card I should buy (^_^)
Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store. (Score:5, Informative)
Let's just say: £80 network cards (that was apparently the cheapest)
I've been selling £7 NICs for ages, most expensive i remember was a Gigabit card that cost about £20.
£20 USB cables (again, the cheapest)
Nope, cheapest is £10, although the standard 2.1 metre cable is £14.99. I agree, that's expensive but you can just go to Maplin and buy them there, i often tell people about that. Cables are the place where you get ripped off most, with network cables costing £9.99 for 1 metre and most people can spend well over £20 on a long cable.
£1,200 PCs. They stock cheaper ones but I've never met anyone who ever bought one
You what? We only have 1 PC at the moment going for £1,200 and it's a beast by Packard Bell, it's trying to be like a custom-PC with a side window and lockable front and case. Frankly, 90% of the PCs i've sold are under £600 with quite a lot of people going away happy with a £300-£400 PC.
And extended warranties which cost 70% of the value of the PC, yet are serviced by spotty 16 year olds who wouldn't know a PC if it dropped on their head.
Extended warranties are PAYG and about £8/month, now i know that's not cheap but it does cover anything that goes wrong with the thing. With that your PC gets taken away and repaired by proper techies, you don't get the guys that work in the store servicing PCs under the warranty.
I'm a computing student at Imperial College London, i got my friend hired who's also a computing student, his cousin works there (again into PCs), and the tech guys actually know what they're talking about. Now our store might be a wonderful exception to the norm, but come in when we're on shift and you won't get bullshitting from us.
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Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store. (Score:4, Informative)
Probably not far from it though
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Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store. (Score:5, Interesting)
Depends on whether it's a corporate store or not. It used to be that you could tell the difference pretty easily because the non-corporate stores looked pretty different. Now, it's hard to tell except by the service. With the corporate stores, you get some random manager who has training as a manager. With the non-corporate (franchise) stores, you often have a manager who is a hobbyist him/herself.
My home town RS back in Martin, TN has a manager who knows the stuff cold. "I'm looking for something to do X," usually gets an "I'm not sure. Let me ask Jeff." I wish he were managing a store here in the Silicon Valley; most of the stores here seem to exemplify the "We have blank stares" problem in my experience. The point is that it varies a lot from store to store.
At least it isn't Fry's, though. I went in to buy potentiometers. They only had long shaft pots, so I had to saw the shaft, which was obnoxious.... Then, I asked where the knobs are. "Knobs?" "Yes. Knobs for pots." "Aisle 3." "I just looked there." "I saw pots, but no knobs." "Oh, knobs. We don't sell those." "What!?! If I have to go to Radio shack for something as basic as knobs, why the *&^%^& am I wasting my time coming here at all?" Yes, this was a real exchange, minus the last line, which was my muttering as I walked out to the car.
Fry's seems to be good at carrying the really obscure stuff, but they seem to have a complete lack of common, basic parts... like I couldn't find a 555 timer IC. Had to buy it at the Rat Shack. Knobs for pots. Rat Shack. Decent soldering gun that wasn't obscenely priced. Rat Shack. Copper shielding tape... the garden section of Orchard Supply Hardware. Yeah. That one was weird.... CD markers? Fry's was out of stock. Grocery store. Dr. Pepper? Albertson's was out of stock. Fry's.
Clearly, we live in a world where stores can't be bothered to give a rat's ass about customer satisfaction, sensible stocking, or generally knowing anything at all about the products that they carry. Were it not for the shipping, I'd even order my groceries online---not because it's cheaper, but because it would save me from having to deal with incompetent people. :-)
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Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Count yourself lucky you have a retail store. (Score:5, Informative)
Cheapest Network card: Dynamode, £6.99
Most expensive Network card: Dlink, £34.99
Cheapest USB Cable: 3 meter, £5.99
Most expensive USB Cable: 10 meter, £19.99
PCs: Yes, there are cheap £349.99 PCs in store, but the following one caught my eye - £479.99 AMD 64 4000 Dual Core, 1GB ram, 160GB hard disk, wide screen 19" monitor
The 'spotty 16 year old' actually turned out to be a well dressed 20ish year old who was very knowledgeable, took my 'needs' and pointed me to the above system while informing me of some pretty good reasons why it was better than the basic £349 PC - as an IT professional I couldnt fault the reasons either.
Why do a hatchet job on PC World when it hardly ever deserves it? Ive had brilliant experiences with them and while they dont have the best prices, they are competative when time is a factor.
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I'm gonna miss the sales....weekly. (Score:5, Insightful)
One of my favorite things is to look in the Sunday paper for the CompUSA sale ads and see what I *need* to buy. Between them and Office Max, I've stocked up over the years with tons of 'free' with rebate blank CD's, $0.50 DL DVD's....250G and 300G drives for about $100...and 4-5 Haupauge PVR x50 cards for Mythtv boxes...etc.
Damn..I'm gonna miss all that cheap stuff...Best Buy simply does not have the inventory or prices you can get from CUSA.
Guess I need to stock up on what I can next few weeks.
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Arooo? Best Buy sells Computers, CDs, TVs, and major appliances. CompUSA sells computer gear, and a smattering of TVs and PVRs. If anything, CompUSA's inventory goes deeper, but certainly not wider. And it's NewEgg and the like that are cutting their legs off by offering as base price what CompUSA makes you do the rebate dance for.
Best Buy also seems to put more into store appearance -- the CompUSA in San Francisco is a freaking dungeon, while the Bes
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Good catch, bad wording on my part. I intended to mean wider inventory of IT/PC based products
Thanks for the catch and clarification.
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Sure, if I'm ordering lots of stuff, online is a much better option, but there are times when it's roughly the same price to buy locally when shipping is considered
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It also helps that their selection, although smaller, is a couple of orders of magnitude better than Best Buy. I only go to that CompUsa when I need only one thing and don't feel like driving down to Fry'
Not the end of retail -- just economic Darwinism (Score:5, Insightful)
15-20 years ago, the big box discounters were putting the smaller mom and pop retailers out of business. Now, the better managed (Wal-Mart, Target, Fry's, OfficeMax, IKEA, BestBuy) big box stores are putting the lesser managed (K-mart, Toys'R'Us, Circuit City, CompUSA) stores out of business. Retail is obviously still strong for even the smaller players. Apple and HP are doing well with consumers via retail. Dell and Gateway? They are both in a small funk right now.
CompUSA would be better off emulating Fry's. K-mart is one retailer that as proven that one can't shrink it's way back into the hearts of consumers. (Note to those in the Bay Area: The Fry's in Austin, TX actually has competent employees!)
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It's better than paying $29.95 for a cable worth $5 at a big box store. Cables seem to be right behind extended warranties and printer ink in the retail cash cow category.
There was a middle ground, and they were it. (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the point was that CompUSA was one of the few retail stores that didn't gouge like that. Sure, they weren't as cheap as mail-order, but they didn't try to screw you the same way that Best Buy, Staples, and the rest of them do.
I have a very nice CompUSA down the street from me, and I tend to go there whenever I need something that I either don't want to wait for, or don't want to pay the shipping on. I've gotten some great bargains off of their clearance table over the years, too. I'll really miss them if the store closes.
For me, if I want a cable, going down to CompUSA and paying $8 and having it in my hand immediately is a no-brainer, compared to having to order it online, pay perhaps a dollar or two less when you factor in shipping, and waiting three days, or going to Best Buy, being assaulted by the noise and idiot salesdroids there, and paying $30 for a sub-$1 part.
If they go under, at least I still have a MicroCenter in my area, which is decent, but it's a heck of a drive.
There is a market for a store that's in between the Best Buy big-box stores, and the mail order IT supply houses, so if CompUSA fails, I think something must have been wrong with their management.
How many locations does Fry's have? (Score:2)
Re:How many locations does Fry's have? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Not the end of retail -- just economic Darwinis (Score:2)
Re:Not the end of retail -- just economic Darwinis (Score:2)
Re:Not the end of retail -- just economic Darwinis (Score:2)
Huh? (Score:2)
Are you kidding? Fry's "does anyone speak English here" Electronics seem to go out of their way to provide the worst possible buying experience. Aside from the cacaphony of music coming from three or four different sources, their staff don't seem to last long enough to know where anything is in the store, to say nothing of know anything about the products. I once walked the entire store looking for something, and when I tracked down someone to help me, she led
No Kidding (Score:2)
Leaving my office, the first electronics store I drove past was a Circuit City. I didn't bother to stop - even if they sell game systems, the odds that they have Wii hardware in stock are next to nil. (Do they sell game systems? Their signage doesn't say.) In the next shopping center up the freeway, I skipped the CompUSA. The last CompUSA I was in (around Christmas) had completely removed its Nintendo sec
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That statement scares me.
Re:It's about time... and only the beginning. (Score:4, Insightful)
Believe it or not not all big box sales people are idiots. Some of them are actually computer geeks in college getting their computer science degrees, or programmers that want a part time job. I think the stereotype of the idiot salesmen is a huge over-generalization. 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, not knowing that I was just paying my way to a computer science degree. I've found that a lot of customers who claimed to be techies were actually not that intelligent at all. So it works both ways. You have some extremely intelligent sales people and some clueless ones. It's just as common in the tech world. Some of my colleagues are on the same intellectual level as the generalized sales people you speak of.
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That should be "so much smarter than I", Mr. Brilliant.
-- one of those assholes
Re:It's about time... and only the beginning. (Score:5, Funny)
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:It's about time... and only the beginning. (Score:4, Interesting)
Then one day CompUSA decided that their main competition wasn't the local computer shops (which are a much better resource for the SOHO buyer) or CDW or MacWarehouse, but Best Buy, Circuit City and OfficeMax. For crying out loud, I shouldn't get more knowledgeable sales staff out of a freaking office supply story than I do out of a store whose main goal is to sell computers and accessories!
I don't think retail will entirely go away: Office Depot and OfficeMax make quite a hefty sum selling routers, network adapters and notebook computers. Especially in the SOHO market, where people like the convenience of walking into a store and walking out with a computer. And in the SMB market, CDW and MacWarehouse will continue to reign supreme. Dell works for the larger corporates who have in-house IT, and while some SOHO and SMB people get their PCs from Dell, many are finding Dell support to be too poor to be useful. Many SOHO and SMB folks are turning to outside services to handle IT issues, and Geek Squad, 1-800-905-GEEK and other companies are making money hand-over-fist selling services to them.
Is it a bedtime office-supply story? (Score:5, Funny)
Once upon a time, there was a brave little stapler, who was running low on staples...
Re:Is it a bedtime office-supply story? (Score:4, Funny)
... so he said to his boss "If you don't give me more staples, I'll burn this supply closet down."
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There used to be a section in all of the stores with "cheap" cables... the equivalent of radio shack generics.
Now, it's a wall of Belkin Premium and Monster, and the sub $140 HDMI cable (or sub $40 firewire, etc) is nowhere to be found. Even Radio Shack is starting to jump on the bandwagon. I mean, I know their house-brand audio & data cables are utter crap, so they're starting to carry midrange Monster stuff and double the price on the
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That section exists, but it is online only! Talk about frustrating:
14 foot patch cable, pick-up, $34.99 [compusa.com]
14 foot patch cable, delivery-only, $6.00 [compusa.com]
Re:It's about time... and only the beginning. (Score:4, Informative)
14 foot patch cable, $1.99 [microbarn.com]
Microbarn doesn't have the selection of rapidly-obsolete gear (like hard drives and system boards) that somewher like Newegg might, but their prices are great for the stuff they do carry, especially for things that should be cheap, like cables.
But yeah, all the retail places these days are carrying high mark-up stuff like Belkin. (Price aside, I won't touch Belkin because of the stunt [google.com] they pulled a few years ago where their routers would periodically hijack HTTP requests.)
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HP Deskjet 3320 printer: $35 (including ink)
Cheapest 15' USB A->B cable: $45ish
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"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!?
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We have a company account there with a discount even but i never use it !
It is not worth waiting around for someone who knows how to deal with selling on an account to get the discount. I spent extra 20 min buying a monitor. Corporate discount = $7.30. Amount company paid for me to wait = $6.67. Frustration > $.63. WooHoo we saved almost one-half of 1%
Even more frustrating was this was during a push for more business accounts with signs and poster
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I was kinda shocked when I moved into the area. I needed to replace my monitor, which pretty much died in transit. I looked up the stores in the phone book, and was kinda surprised when they all had addresses on the same street.
I was even more surprised when I saw how physically close they are to each other.
And we're keeping _both_ of ours (Score:3, Informative)
I guess that's a good demonstration of the mean intelligence level here. People would rather go into ChumpUSA and be abused by surly salespeople than order something online to save a few bucks.
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I guess that's a good demonstration of the mean intelligence level here. People would rather go into ChumpUSA and be abused by surly salespeople than order something online to save a few bucks.
Atlanta loses all of its stores. (Score:2)
I cannot say I am surprised that the corporation is having problems, moving into TVs had to be painful and their pricing strategy cannot withstand the big box stores. Now with Best Buy offering Apple products there is less reason for many to visit a Comp USA
So, when does the Radio Shack follow suit?
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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!
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I wish we could get an Apple Store. Apple is just th
Half of nothing... (Score:2, Interesting)
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Ode to CompUSA, or, why I don't hate the place. (Score:2)
Yeah, I do. I don't know what they must have done to the store in your area, but the one near me isn't like that. Yeah, it has a TV section in it somewhere, but it's small relative to everything else. They have a big (compared to other B&M stores) selection of parts, including barebones systems, cases, power supplies, et
kinda sad. (Score:5, Informative)
For all its shortcomings, when my hard drive failed, i went to compusa to get back up and running the same day, when the 9700pro didn't offer an oem, compusa ran a special that was cheaper than the internet in general (same price + shipping). With a corporate buyer, they beat the other big box stores in both volume pricing and responsive service (usually 2-3 account reps on staff in the one by work).
Reasons why i'll miss it aside, I've gotta say that compusa is failing for a reason. The corporate office treats its parts, employees, and customers as commodities. Refunds are a pain if its open box (like a laptop keeps overheating, you gotta take it in 3 times, and the 4th time it fails you get a refund), the repairs are shoddy and if its dll hell, rather than find and replace the dll or do some other moderately advanced repair, they'll charge you 200 bucks for a reinstall of windows, provided you still have the disks. The employees will rarely be honest or knowledgeable about if a product is in stock, and most likely will say yes just to get your hopes up and you in the door.
I've also heard stories where the cashiers are told to cheat the sales people out of commissions for big computer sales, where they'll "forget" to punch in a 3 digit code that signifies bonus to the sales rep. No wonder you get minimum help for minimum wage.
Re:kinda sad. (Score:5, Funny)
I am lucky, I live between 3 Fry's, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas. They are only a day away!
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No Fry's within 100 miles here on the west coast, either...
Yeah, it's the same everywhere... and it has been exactly that for 10+ years. Don't even get me started on their selection of monitors, and the utter shittyness of what they chose to stock.
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So now they can't compete. When I need to simply replace a failed part, Microcenter provides a better experience and selection. The salespeople are always willing to help, and the cashiers always give them
Small Business Rejoice. (Score:4, Interesting)
The End of the Customer Appreciation Bat? (Score:5, Funny)
Crow T. Trollbot
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Oh, no! (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, okay, Best Buy will still be open.
--saint
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That was easy.
THANK GOODNESS (Score:2)
Source of the cash (Score:5, Funny)
Someone finally paid for the retail version of Windows Vista Ultimate.
Re:Source of the cash (Score:5, Informative)
Here is some hot news for you...almost all of the inventory is going up on eBay for pennies on the dollar.
Re:Source of the cash (Score:5, Funny)
* After rebates
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--
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
Too bad (Score:4, Informative)
Deja Vu (Score:2, Insightful)
NewEgg 1 CompUSA 0 (Score:2, Insightful)
Anyone know when NewEgg is going public?
money from mexico-based bank (Score:5, Informative)
From this article [app.com]: The closings will leave 103 stores. Nunez said CompUSA said the restructuring will include receiving $440 million from Mexico City-based parent U.S. Commercial Corp, a holding company controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
So pretty much the only thing left is online? (Score:3, Interesting)
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When I need a 1U, rack-mountable, 8 port, KVM (or some other piece of professional networking equipment) I don't even think of going to Best Buy or Circuit City.
Does anyone know if the ones in Washington State are staying open?
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I have had far less problems with refurb'd products than with new ones. See, when they're refurbished, they fix what's broken. So you know (most of the time) that the product has already broken and been fixed.
The problem with Fry's is that when people bring things back they often just re-shrink-wrap them and put them back on the shelf. Once I bought a box that claimed to contain a PCI UW-SCSI card. I got it hope and opened it and it had an ISA F
I'm not suprised at all (Score:4, Insightful)
The thing I always was frustrated with was we were threatened into selling warranties that would not cover anything other than factory defect. For each warranty we sold we got anywhere from $1-$4 on cameras, peripherals and $5-$10 on computer warranties.
We almost never had anything in stock. Probably 50% of the questions we got we sent to other nearby stores.
The other problem I had was the amount of time it took for people to be able to buy laptops. Somebody would pick out a laptop, then I would need to check the stock on the item, then go back up to the front of the store grab a UPC sheet for that laptop for the person to get checked out, and we could only ring the person out through the tech shop, so I would need to page a manager to unlock the register and check them out. Usually it takes at least 5 minutes for the manager to come over, then the manager would raz you for not selling warranties as we walked over to laptop lockup. We had to Find the matching UPC laptop, which generally we could not find because somebody took that one already (in which case we would have to return and re-ring the poor guy's laptop), but if we do find it, we fill out a checkout form. walk out and hand it to the guy. This process usually takes 30 minutes if the store is at all busy.
The other thing was the stores stocked so much shit in them. Paper.. landscaping software.. desk gadgets..lame PC mod stuff & lame cases... off brand overpriced external drives.. offbrand networking devices.. Video Games.. Books.. We spent more time moving old shit around than we actually spent on the sales floor. They should should have less selection.. more stock. They needed to go through with a fine tooth comb and fix that.
It was a great job in the summer because it was indoors, pretty easy, the hours were flexible, the people were okay, but I have seen a big decline in the last few years.
competes? (Score:2)
CompUSA competes with Best Buy and Circuit City.
I never knew they existed until visiting up north (black friday in OH).
But got a BB and CC nearby and there is a fry's in atlanta (never been, yet).
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Alpharetta (up 400)
Gwinnett (Near the mall)
I enjoy going to Fry's for an hour and wandering around. They have stuff I need and my wife actually enjoys it too since it's not JUST a geek store.
The amazing thing about Fry's is that I can find pretty much anything I need. I needed to bolt a 19" telco rack to a concrete floor the other day. Fry's had the bolts.
That's what they get (Score:5, Funny)
From a Compusa employee (Score:5, Interesting)
Why shop there? (Score:5, Insightful)
Since they've lost their focus, things that they used to do well have suffered. They used to have a wide variety of computer parts and accessories. Now it seems they've opted for the "thousand types of the same item" style over the "thousands of options". If you want a wireless router or a video card, sure, you've got a huge selection. Otherwise, sorry... Best to shop online. In the new areas they've pushed into, they are only making a token effort. Why would you go to CompUSA to look for video games? Sure, they sell Video Games, but they only have a few titles, and low stock levels, so chances are you're not going to find what you're looking for. Same goes for TVs, or Cell Phones.
They should pick something and do it well, or they should go out of business.
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You touched on the primary issue. When I was helping my brother with a drive install, I noticed it d
Good riddance (Score:3, Informative)
I find that they don't consistently post pricing for items, and their customer service is terrible. Ever order over the web for in store pickup? I keep going to the store hours after placing the order and then waiting in line for the management to task a sales clerk to go fetch the products from the shelves. Ick.
They don't know their products, nor do they know where the inventory is, they advertise products at a cheap price that are sold out when I arrive 2 hours after store opening (and when their inventory system says that they have items in stock.) They have been doing an awful job of meeting the market needs, and this is what happens in a competitive market.
I hope that a well stocked, fair priced alternative arrives. Shockingly, I'd pay more for good quality products, skilled sales people, and efficient customer service when I go to a store. I concluded long ago that this was out of the question for CompUSA, and decided to work the angles for cheap after-rebate merchandise from them while waiting for them to collapse.
It's the old Montgomery Wards -> Sears story repeated a hundred years later. Wards was a huge mail order powerhouse, but were upstaged by technology and marketing powerhouse Sears when they didn't adapt to new technology and business models in time. Of course the same thing happened to Sears, too.
Good by, CompUSA. Hello Buy.com, NewEgg, and Fry's!
Too bad - (Score:2)
The comments here surprise me (Score:4, Informative)
I really don't ever expect help from any tech salesperson, but I can't imagine them being less knowledgeable or helpful than BestBuy (although I have to admit that BB's salespeople are always bugging you, so at least if you need to get into a locked case you can.
What I do remember from CompUSA is they used to have fantastic sales. at BB if a $32 product goes on sale, it always seems to be for $29.99 at best.
CompUSA sales often featured products at 40% or half off. The first week a game was out, I used to always look for it in the CompUSA flier because they always seemed to have a great sale the first week--like $30 for a new $50 game.
On top of that, with all these stores I couldn't find a single decent hard-drive enclosure, CompUSA had a dozen to choose from, and I know that there are many other components I won't find at any of the others..
If our Spokane store closes, we're going to have to travel 500 miles to Seattle to get decent computer parts, or we'll have to pay BestBuys terribly inflated prices for what little they do stock.
Strangely enough, Staples has decent sales. I consider that my best alternative, bought a 20" LCD monitor there for under $140, but the selection is probably the most limited.
Hmph
No worried (Score:2)
how to tell if your local CompUSA is closing: (Score:5, Informative)
this list [compusa.com]
Good Freakin' Riddance (Score:4, Interesting)
The location in Manhattan in 57th and Broadway is a perfect example. All the businesses and corporations in the world within 5 blocks' walk and yet the place is always empty. You ask an employee an incredibly simple question like, "where are your flash drives?" and the answer you get is a surly, "what's a flash drive?"
Contrast that with the Apple store in SoHo, which is crawling with people every second of the day they're open. After many years of dealing with CompUSA for PC parts I went to the Apple store to check into buying an iBook for my girlfriend running the spiffy new OSX OS (yes, a few years ago). I dubiously asked a salesperson, a random salesperson, how to open a terminal to work on the command line. He did so and wrote a quicky little PERL one-liner to demonstrate that, yes, the kernel really was *NIX.
I nearly wept.
Nothing to do with the internets... (Score:3, Informative)
10-15 years ago, back before our favorite set of tubes made online shopping easier than physical shopping, my friends and I used to have a game we'd play (when very, very bored).
Back then, geeks had a huge thick magazine full of nothing but mail-order ads (I think it might have had some content, but no one read it for anything but the ads) called "Computer Shopper". Need a computer? Check the CS. Need a video card? Check the CS. Need a printer? You get the picture.
Anyway, CompUSA carried this magazine. So, my friends and I would go to CompUSA, grab a Computer Shopper, and start playing as follows:
We would walk around, comparing in-store to mail-order prices, looking for the worst deal in the store (and of course, correspondingly, the best deal in the magazine). The person who found the best worst deal (ie, the highest markup over the lowest mail order price) after an hour (or when we got thrown out) won.
CompUSA's average prices usually came out to roughly double what you could get the same thing for in Computer Shopper. The "winner" of the above game usually managed to find something in the 10-20 times more expensive range.
CompUSA won't die because the internet undercut them. It should have died years ago from simple competitive market forces, and having held on so long says a lot for the saavy of the average tech consumer.
Re:Nothing to do with the internets... (Score:4, Insightful)
An old customer (Score:4, Insightful)
I stopped shopping there mainly because of their damned rebates.
I live in a small town. To shop at CompUSA, I had to drive about 125 miles round trip. I can drive a few miles further and shop at a Fry's and get both better prices and (usually) not have to deal with a fucking rebate to get it.
When I shop at a brick and mortar store, I want the best price when I walk through the door. Not 8 to 12 weeks later. And if you want my business, then you're going to offer your best price when I walk through the door.
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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
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