CompUSA is sold

Associated Press via WXYZ ^ | 12-8-2007 | AP

[Westlander]

Consumer electronics retailer CompUSA says it will close its stores after the holidays.

CompUSA closed more than half its stores this spring.

[Westlander]

That leaves Worst Buy and Circus City for PC's. I'll make my own thank you.

[HangnJudge]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1936409/posts

[RedWing9]

Frys has a higher tech head feel that Best Buy or Circuit City. Of course, I’m not sure if you thought CompUSA was better that BB or CC... I never did.

[bill1952]

I’ll make my own thank you.

Thumbs up from a computer assembled by myself.

[familyop]

Have a look at this, if you haven’t already seen it.

http://www.pricewatch.com/

[familyop]

That’s not an advertisement, either, BTW. I get nothing from that site or its subscribers. It’s the listing of lowest prices that I’ve seen, though. Various companies that sell low list their stuff there. ...hope that it helps you out.

[shadowcat]

I have used PW for years and saved a ton of money!

I go to the big boxes to look, even Fry's, but buy on PW!

[PAR35]

That’ll teach them to rip me off on a rebate.

Glad to see them go.

I will probably shop their going-out-of-business sale.

[familyop]

I wish there was a Fry’s near here (far from California). :-)

[aft_lizard]

CompUSA was worstbuy, most expensive place I ever saw. Surprised they lasted this long. Now Fry’s Electronics is the best of them all IMO.

[umgud]

Call me slow, but why would Comp USA be sold, then closed? Market share?

[bpjam]

That only took about ten years after they became obsolete

[CanaGuy]

“The success or failure of a company rests squarely on the shoulders of its management.” Henry Ford

[Texans]

My best friend is a Sr. IT Facilities Coordinator for CompUSA, they got an email Friday afternoon around 4:30pm telling them to call in for a pre-recorded message at 4:45pm letting them all know that they would all soon be unemployed...He says he should have gotten out this past spring when they were shutting down all the stores in the DFW area...

[ECM]

I’ve been using pricewatch for at least a decade—they’re my first stop for all PC-building needs, among other things.

[Krankor]

I think they sold it to a “Jack and the Beanstalk” kind of guy.

[Mr_Moonlight]

Interesting read here, originally posted 3/27/07 when CompUSA was shutting down nearly half of its retail stores:

Case Study: Why CompUSA Is Losing The Battle For Computer And Electronics Sales

[texas booster]

Your friend will find a job fairly soon. The job market is certainly better in DFW than it was.

I worked there from ‘89 till ‘92. Still like the stores.

Its just not as compelling as in the past.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Call in to hear that you were going to be laid off? That is gutless. Typical Carlos Slim

I have a friend who lives near one of the guy’s houses in Mexico City. His description of Carlos is “Bolsa de suciedad”. Look it up.

[Company Man]

They will need a team in place to liquidate as many assets as possible before pulling the plug. Mostly real estate holdings I would presume.

[Does so]

That only took about ten years after they became obsolete.

It's been about ten years since my last PC purchase there. (And I'm still using it right now!)

[Dacula]

Have your tried http://www.newegg.com/?

[CalvaryJohn]

Newegg and Tigerdirect are where I spend my computer dollars. I just got 2G of RAM for $40. I got a CPU fan with a heat sink for eight dollars.

[Malsua]

but why would Comp USA be sold, then closed?

Asset value exceeds purchase price and future profits.

[engrpat]

Newegg and Tigerdirect are where I spend my computer dollars.

Agree. I just finished a new computer for my wife with most of the parts coming from Newegg and Tiger. Had a problem with the first M/B, wrote Tigerdirect and a new one was sent out, no problem. I did get a few small things from Fry's but they aren't by first choice.

[RightOnline]

I’ve used pricewatch for years. Great site.

[mcshot]

Is there a how to site that would guide a: “I can take it apart but it always winds up in a basket” kinda guy.
thanks

[PAR35]

why would Comp USA be sold, then closed?

It takes a certain skill set (and mind set) to profitably liquidate a company.

[Myrddin]

That doesn't surprise me. CompUSA was never my first choice of places to shop for parts. The small PC shops around San Diego maintain a cut throat level of competition and pricing while offering good variety and service. Too bad I'm 900 miles away from that level of convenience now.

I've been planning to build another new computer based on an MSI P35 Platinum, q6600 quad processor and 2 GB of DDR RAM. My local PC shop has built a few of these and recommended a 750 watt power supply. A 500 watt appears to be marginal for this class of motherboard/CPU. I have to purchase a video card as all my current machines are AGP based...this MB requires a PCI Express. I already have a 300 GB EIDE and DVD +/- R/RW/DL burner new in the box and waiting for a home. This box is going to be a Fedora Core 8 build/test environment. Mostly a "headless" server. I saw a machine at Best Buy from Gateway that had comparable specs, but all the customer reviews cite noisy hard disks, brittle RAM and motherboard failures. No thanks.

I use the pricewatch website to get a feel for the current reasonable "street price" of the various components. Purchasing that way does entail some risk if you get a bad component from a supplier. Dealing via phone, e-mail and multiple passes at UPS can eat any "savings" in a hurry vs dealing with a reputable local PC shop. My local shops make a best effort to come close to the best deals on the pricewatch site. In general, I expect my supplier of motherboard/CPU/RAM to demonstrate a successful boot on a technician's bench before I cart it home and install the motherboard in the new box. That saves a lot of time and travel.

[Myrddin]

I wish there was a Fry’s near here (far from California). :-)

I agree. I enjoyed shopping at Fry's in San Diego. My last trip reminded me of why I moved. The Fry's in San Diego is the size of 4 football fields inside. On my last visit, the place was so crowded that I couldn't get near the merchandise to do any shopping. The whole store felt like a crowd racing out of a sports stadium at the conclusion of a big game. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

[Myrddin]

Call me slow, but why would Comp USA be sold, then closed? Market share?

The real estate occupied by the stores is probably the asset of interest. I expect a similar demise for Sears in the future.

[Tijeras_Slim]

That’ll teach them to rip me off on a rebate.

You too, huh?

[gitmo]

I always found it darned tough to find the prices of merchandise there. Sales folk were always unavailable and nothing had prices posted.

[Tijeras_Slim]

No relation!

[armymarinemom]

I buy most of my electronics from NewEgg

[mad_as_he$$]

Having lived with Fry’s from it’s inception; they have pissed me off as much as they have made me happy. I will not set foot in BB or CC. Do most shopping on the net.

[Hardastarboard]

That only took about ten years after they became obsolete

Give the man a seegar.

[mad_as_he$$]

How's this?

Fry's

Downers Grove - 3300 Finley Road, Illinois (630) 390-2100

[ReignOfError]

Downers Grove - 3300 Finley Road, Illinois (630) 390-2100

Isn't that where the Martians landed on Halloween 1939? Hmmm ....

[mad_as_he$$]

Yup and I bet Fry’s is built right on the spot! :-)

[dragnet2]

Don’t ever go to Circuit City.

They treat their employees like yesterdays garbage.

[Charlespg]

Bought a custom PC at compusa In VA beach and found out later,when it was too late, that they had used used parts. In fact fact I think the Attorney generals in several states went after them for this

good riddance

[PAR35]

You too, huh?

One of many.

[exDemMom]

Interesting read here, originally posted 3/27/07 when CompUSA was shutting down nearly half of its retail stores: Case Study: Why CompUSA Is Losing The Battle For Computer And Electronics Sales

From the link: "Early on in CompUSA’s existence, a different chain named “Computer City” challenged CompUSA. CompUSA, which had the better brand name, and offered special “free after rebate” sales, beat down Computer City, and eventually bought up the chain at a steal of a deal. One down, many more to go."

It's interesting that the author of that blog chose Computer City as the comparison. Whenever I would walk into a Computer City, I was impressed with the cleanliness, ample lighting, and well-stocked, tidy shelves. I avoid talking to salespeople in stores as much as possible (unless I'm really frustrated), but I do not recall ever being unsatisfied with them.

Contrast that to CompUSA: Dimly lit stores, merchandise crammed on shelves in aisles that were too narrow for people to walk past each other comfortably, and what little open floor space they might have had was crammed with bargain bins, where they were trying to sell software at least a decade out-of-date.

My observations were similar whether I was shopping in Maryland or in California. I was sad to see Computer City get bought out by CompUSA; it was only a few weeks before the once bright store I was used to became dingy, cluttered, and dimly lit.

I suppose some people will tolerate almost any shopping conditions if it means rock-bottom prices, and I would guess that's why CompUSA lasted so long. Personally, I prefer attractive stores with slightly higher prices.

[ReignOfError]

They treat their employees like yesterdays garbage.

If they treated their customers that well, they might not be coasting to oblivion.

[pray4liberty]

CompUSA will go Internet. Watch.

[BuckyKat]

Worst customer service of anyplace I’ve dealt with. Had a nightmare experience with my daughter’s laptop and it was impossible to get service for it despite their crappy extended warranty for which I paid wayyy more than it was worth. Never again!

[anymouse]

Or it’s owner - one Carlos Slim, Mexican multi-billionaire.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

As we all file past the casket and spit into it,
I’d like to share a memory of the deceased...

Back in ‘83, I was in graduate school and Apple
released the Mac and offered special educational
buys. I bought. Loved it.

These were the days before internal hard drives
on Macs. I had two 3.5” disk drives - both internal.
The WHOLE operating system fit onto one 400k disk.
Your program files AND data went on the other.

Presumably, in computer years, that must make me
ancient. I’m 50.

This was before the World Wide Web. I was online
with a 300 baud modem. Everything was in text only.

Anyway...

Diskettes were expensive - way out of the budget
range of graduate students... except at one place.

In North Dallas, over by Brookhaven college, back in
a quasi industrial area, there was a little hole in the
wall store that sold those diskettes SO CHEAPLY that
during the lunch hour, there was a line of people
15-20 deep waiting to buy.

The whole store was probably 12 X 12. it fronted a back
end warehouse.

I stood in that line many a time. Diskettes were basically
all they sold. The people on the warehouse side of the
ordering window looked like they were from the Middle East
somewhere.

We always wondered how they could sell those diskettes for
HALF or less as any other store. Of course, nature abhors
a vacuum, so we speculated that they were using this system
to ship money into or out of the country.

To make a long story short, that tiny hole in the wall
became CompUSA!

[shuffles from the front of the casket...]

I bought a lot of diskettes...

ampu

[dragnet2]

CompUSA will go Internet. Watch.

Their choice. Newegg.com and a few others are light years ahead, established etc.