So I stopped at Circuit City...

[KenjiS]

Decided to see if they had any substantially reduced lenses or anything left..

Saw the 40D there and saw it at a reasonableish price with the lens, so I went to find someone to ask if they sold them without the lens [Because i had a sneaking suspicion that the one with the 28-135 was the last one, and the 28-135's IS and AF were completely ****ed somehow, did not AF and i didnt hear or "feel" the IS engage]

Asked a guy who told me to see this woman whos in charge of that department, I politely asked and then she proceeded to tell me that the only camera that comes without a lens is the "Canon 900"

I then proceeded to say "Er..no the 40D is sold without a lens as well as in a kit, as are MOST digital slrs...and there is not Canon 900..the only 900 is a Sony which you do not carry"

She then proceeded to start saying things about Nikon and it must be a Nikon, I informed her Nikon makes a D90, but nothing with a 900 in the name

She started to get nasty with me and started to argue when I was politely trying to just get an answer and I just walked away, a bit pissed too that she was being a presumptuous bitch with her tone from the first word

Look I know they're closing, but still, the head of the digital camera department should at least know her **** :/ And theres no need to be so nasty to someone who has given THAT particular Circuit City a few grand of his money before :/

Tried to look at the 50D as well, because it was knocked down to $1200 with the kit lens, but it would not even power on...Most of their SLRs were broken or half non-functioning, they had no lenses, but they had a 430EX stuck under a bunch of heavy boxes...Which I would NOT have bought

[bacchanal]

That's what killed Circuit City, they laid off all of their "knowledgeable" people months ago in an attempt to save payroll costs...and it sort of backfired on them.

[Zeabrid]

I want to ****ing hit myself in the head everytime I read one of these.

I have people like that in my store. Know what I do with them? I keep them the hell out of my camera boat(section). I've actually "banned" three people in my department from even setting foot near cameras. I have ONE other person who's technically trained (but still comes to me with questions on specifics), and just lost a kid who was at least interested in learning.

I would've also killed anyone who did that much damage to the displays. I clean (or, used to) clean my display lenses at least daily - and made sure none of my displays ever ended up busted.

I can't say every CC is like mine, and I know for a fact it's not (maybe 30 of us out of 675 stores); but I can say truthfully that if the person in charge of the Camera section didn't know her ****, DON'T BUY A THING unless you open it up and test it first.

(If you ask nicely, they should let you do this no problem. If you ask nicely and they give you crap about it, don't even bother - walk out)

(Edit: No Circuit City has a working 50d - the company in charge of power cables never sent us one. Though, I'm pretty sure I've never seen a working one at Best Buy either)

[jbergdoll]

Zeabrid, I have played with a working 50D at BB.

Sad to hear about such a bad experience, although I usually experience the same ignorance at any consumer electronics store.

[Zeabrid]

Zeabrid, I have played with a working 50D at BB.

Sad to hear about such a bad experience, although I usually experience the same ignorance at any consumer electronics store.
Running off of a charged Battery or a power cable? If it was a battery : congratulations, you found a BBY employing someone who cares about cameras. I've done this once or twice with a few models without power cables.

Most every BB I've been two (there's 3 within a 20 mile radius of me) have usually the XSI, 40D and 50D on display (but so many more Nikons and Sonys), with the XSI and 40D working, the 50D not, and the XS in a glass case. Almost all of their extra lenses are kept under lock and key in this case, as are usually the 50D in smaller stores, and the XS, D80, D90, etc.

I have every lens I carry out and able to be used, as do I have every camera we carry out and able to be used. Price wise? Yeah, we were maybe 10-20$ more on certain things, but if someone came into my store to test a camera and a lens, they'd be able to without me standing over their backs watching them the entire time. (And I'd happily price match the difference)

(Sorry for the long responses, I absolutely loved my job and I'm feeling a tad bit nostalgic.)

[nphsbuckeye]

As opposed to going to a mom and pops store and having a nice conversation about film...

[butangviber]

(Edit: No Circuit City has a working 50d - the company in charge of power cables never sent us one. Though, I'm pretty sure I've never seen a working one at Best Buy either)
Redding, CA Best Buy FTW. They have one.

[JeffreyG]

Well, it isn't like you should be expecting great service from an employee who has been fired and is just running out the clock before heading down to the unemployment office.

This is like wondering why everyone on death row is so depressed.

[fishingjts]

Well, it isn't like you should be expecting great service from an employee who has been fired and is just running out the clock before heading down to the unemployment office.

This is like wondering why everyone on death row is so depressed.

Actually... they might not even be previous CC employee's... according their website they are currently hiring temporary workers to help during the liquidation...

BTW, the situation was always reversed here.. the CC had GREAT service while the BB sucked...

[eb314]

I've been looking for a $318 100mm f/2.8 Macro, and called 4 of the CC's around me (columbus, OH). I found that 2 of the 4 I tried didn't have a connected phone, or the number I got on google was wrong. The third one I called was the worst - I couldn't get anyone to pick up in cameras so I pressed 0 to speak with an operator. I started asking about the lens and he hung up on me. I called back and tried cameras again - still nothing - so went to operator again. I asked to be transferred to cameras but nobody was picking up over there, and he mumbled something at me and hung up on me again.

The 4th store I called I spoke to a cheerful person who knew (from the sound of it) what he was talking about. He told me when the shipments came, what time they'd have all the lenses from that shipment in the camera section, how much they sold for, etc. I still haven't gotten the 100mm yet, but I'll get it there if I can find it. I guess it just depends whether you get some jackass or not.

[birdfromboat]

interesting thing, a salesman at a local competitor said they are basing some price reductions on the sizes of the crowd at CC, but most of his customers say they went to cc first and left after seeing the bait and switch. competitors are having actual sales when they probably don't need to. kind of a feeding frenzy getting started

[TonyL]

Went to CC in Milford, Ct yesterday XS kit was $479 + tax. Helpful employee opened box i n front of me powered it up and i checked it first before money exchange. Then had 4 40D's in boxes locked up, and 2 XSI's.

[Zeabrid]

I've been looking for a $318 100mm f/2.8 Macro, and called 4 of the CC's around me (columbus, OH). I found that 2 of the 4 I tried didn't have a connected phone, or the number I got on google was wrong. The third one I called was the worst - I couldn't get anyone to pick up in cameras so I pressed 0 to speak with an operator. I started asking about the lens and he hung up on me. I called back and tried cameras again - still nothing - so went to operator again. I asked to be transferred to cameras but nobody was picking up over there, and he mumbled something at me and hung up on me again.

The 4th store I called I spoke to a cheerful person who knew (from the sound of it) what he was talking about. He told me when the shipments came, what time they'd have all the lenses from that shipment in the camera section, how much they sold for, etc. I still haven't gotten the 100mm yet, but I'll get it there if I can find it. I guess it just depends whether you get some jackass or not.

Phones: Most stores have unplugged their phones as of today, because Customer Service is no longer a department, and the counters have been abandonded in favor of checkouts. There's probably no one even remotely interested in what you're saying anywhere near the phone (like wharehouse members, who just want the ringing to stop).

As for the lens, to the best of my knowledge the 100mm Macro was clearanced out a while back, meaning that some stores have them because they haven't sold them - and if you're hoping one might come on the replenishment trucks you might be getting your hopes up for nothing.
If a dusty one happens to be hidden in the back of a Distribution center somewhere though, you may get lucky.

interesting thing, a salesman at a local competitor said they are basing some price reductions on the sizes of the crowd at CC, but most of his customers say they went to cc first and left after seeing the bait and switch. competitors are having actual sales when they probably don't need to. kind of a feeding frenzy getting started

Yes, the numbers are based off of sales. Read the Marketplace thread, this has been detailed. (For example, TV's at my store are 25% off. TV's at a store 10 miles away are 25% off - different liquidation company. I don't mind telling my customers this, because less sales out of my store means I keep my job longer)

What are you talking about, Bait & Switch? If you don't know the definition of that, don't use the phrase. Otherwise, feel free to describe the situation without making blank accusations.

[Zeabrid]

I banned another person from my camera boat today. Here's another example of why to not buy from someone who doesn't know what they're specifically talking about.

Before I got to work today, this kid sold a display Olympus P&S camera, intentionally gave the lady a demo (read: fake and plastic) battery, assured her it would work.

Thankfully, I was able to pull one from another camera I still had left on display (and noted it as such). If I had not found a battery, I would not have been able to return her purchase.
That kid will not be allowed to even touch a camera for as long as we are still open.

[theduck365]

The CC in our town is being run by all temporary staff hired by a closeout company. (read they don"t know what they are talking about.) In our town the 40D and 28-135 kit is going for $1199 on %30 discount, way more than i paid from B&H. Most of the inventory here has the same price as 3 weeks ago, but with a red tag instead to make you feel like your getting a good deal. However, I did pick up 2 16 Gb Sandisk Extreme III CF cards for $30 each.

[Ducky 2.0T]

What are you talking about, Bait & Switch? If you don't know the definition of that, don't use the phrase. Otherwise, feel free to describe the situation without making blank accusations.

I believe that he mis-spoke the bait and switch.

Working in bankruptcy law and dealing with liquidators it works like this...

Liquidators mark the prices back up to MSRP and offer "deals" on the goods, but in the initial stages those "deals" on their normal goods are priced above other B&M stores and WELL above online outlets (one of the demises to Circuit City.) The liquidators bring in lessor priced items that they can advertise for ridiculous discounts, but they typically suck and were never part of the usual product line-up. Unsuspecting buyers come in and see the prices slashed on everything and they believe they are getting a good deal on something, when often times it is more then other B&M places or they are in fact buying complete junk.

This is 100% for true for Circuit City (atleast for the 2 CC's I have been in thus far.) You walk in and see some random Japanese named LCD TV boxes sitting in the center of the floor for a ridiculously cheap price. I priced a few normally stocked TV's and found that they were more expensive then the same (or similar) TV at Best Buy even at 15% off.

Liquidators can be very tricky. The "bait and switch" impression comes from the fact that you often see huge % sales but when you get into the store, you realize the larger discounted items are complete crap and are typically not part of the normal product line-up.

Either way at this point, if you are working with an actual Circuit City employee, most likely they could careless about their soon to end job or they are fed-up with people trying to get even more of a discount off of the already marked price. Otherwise, you could be working for people employed by the liquidator who know very little about the actual product.

All plasma TV's are marked down 25% at this point, all camera gear is 20% off and car stereo equipment is 40% off.

[Ducky 2.0T]

Went to CC in Milford, Ct yesterday XS kit was $479 + tax.

So even at a discount, it was more expensive then just buying it at B&H with free shipping.

[Tee Why]

Went to a local CC and their prices seem about same as online stores. Was eyeing an Olympus e 420 with kit lens. It was missing a price so I asked a guy and he said $349, I was ready to buy since B&H has it for $412, he checked again at the register and it came up $439. So I left. I think you can find better bargains on the net if you look around.

[clipper_from_oz]

I believe that he mis-spoke the bait and switch.

Working in bankruptcy law and dealing with liquidators it works like this...

Liquidators mark the prices back up to MSRP and offer "deals" on the goods, but in the initial stages those "deals" on their normal goods are priced above other B&M stores and WELL above online outlets (one of the demises to Circuit City.) The liquidators bring in lessor priced items that they can advertise for ridiculous discounts, but they typically suck and were never part of the usual product line-up. Unsuspecting buyers come in and see the prices slashed on everything and they believe they are getting a good deal on something, when often times it is more then other B&M places or they are in fact buying complete junk.

This is 100% for true for Circuit City (atleast for the 2 CC's I have been in thus far.) You walk in and see some random Japanese named LCD TV boxes sitting in the center of the floor for a ridiculously cheap price. I priced a few normally stocked TV's and found that they were more expensive then the same (or similar) TV at Best Buy even at 15% off.

Liquidators can be very tricky. The "bait and switch" impression comes from the fact that you often see huge % sales but when you get into the store, you realize the larger discounted items are complete crap and are typically not part of the normal product line-up.

Either way at this point, if you are working with an actual Circuit City employee, most likely they could careless about their soon to end job or they are fed-up with people trying to get even more of a discount off of the already marked price. Otherwise, you could be working for people employed by the liquidator who know very little about the actual product.

All plasma TV's are marked down 25% at this point, all camera gear is 20% off and car stereo equipment is 40% off.


In Australia this is ILLEGAL under Trade Practises .....you are not allowed to bring in lessor priced items , mark them up with a bullsh*t Retail Price, then immediately mark them down to show what appears to be a 50% discount on retail even though they were most likely bought at the 50% off price (in other words -50% off is the true retail for these goods).. If they are lessor priced/cost items bought in specially for the sale they have to show the pricing RRP differently to normally discounted stock proper RP.

[Wazza]

I understand your frustrations.
I was in a downtown top line camera store, and said I was looking at a 5D2. He asked what I'm currently using - explained a 1D III. He went on to say, the 5D2 is no improvement, and uses the same sensor. :lol: Didn't have it in stock anyway, so I walked off.

[argyle]

...She started to get nasty with me and started to argue when I was politely trying to just get an answer and I just walked away, a bit pissed too that she was being a presumptuous bitch with her tone from the first word

Look I know they're closing, but still, the head of the digital camera department should at least know her ****...

Maybe she just had a bad day, figured that you were being a smart-a$$ know-it-all, and just didn't want to deal with you any longer. It goes both ways...

[Gabe63]

When Mervins went out of business it was a total scam. Some pants I bought before the sale cost more during the sale.

I think the scam worked so well Mervins had carpets on the last day for the 90% sale. They had carpets marked at $13,999.99. But if you were stupid enough to buy it they would mark it down 90%... I don't think Mervins ever had carpets.

[Zeabrid]

The CC in our town is being run by all temporary staff hired by a closeout company. (read they don"t know what they are talking about.) In our town the 40D and 28-135 kit is going for $1199 on %30 discount, way more than i paid from B&H. Most of the inventory here has the same price as 3 weeks ago, but with a red tag instead to make you feel like your getting a good deal. However, I did pick up 2 16 Gb Sandisk Extreme III CF cards for $30 each.

That's interesting. Regular price on the 40D offhand at CC was 1,299, which after 30% off should've been $999.23. Did you have them ring it up, or was it a tag? Might've just been an old price tag for a previous % off...

[andrepaul]

It isn't Circuit City who's actually in charge of any sales; it is the Liquidators and they may not be knowledgeable about the products. Their job is to try and make as much while the store close. The same went for Linen n Things, and most other companies that have liquidation sales.

[Zeabrid]

It isn't Circuit City who's actually in charge of any sales; it is the Liquidators and they may not be knowledgeable about the products. Their job is to try and make as much while the store close. The same went for Linen n Things, and most other companies that have liquidation sales.

*sigh*

[SuzyView]

I gave up going to any going out of business sale. It's a risk I am not willing to take. I did it only once and got a decent deal, but I probably could have waited and gotten something better. Also, not having someone to go to if it doesn't work right makes me nervous. For all those who got something good, congrats. I just can't do it myself. And I do like a clean, well organized camera section in a store. :)

[KenjiS]

I gave up going to any going out of business sale. It's a risk I am not willing to take. I did it only once and got a decent deal, but I probably could have waited and gotten something better. Also, not having someone to go to if it doesn't work right makes me nervous. For all those who got something good, congrats. I just can't do it myself. And I do like a clean, well organized camera section in a store. :)

Yeh thats the other reason i walked out, i was concerned even if i did, would Canon honor the warranty at all?

I went to my local camera store right after and they had a used 40D for $750, I felt more secure buying a used one from them, or a used one from one of you guys for that rather than a new one from Circuit City..thats how bad i felt

[Ducky 2.0T]

Yeh thats the other reason i walked out, i was concerned even if i did, would Canon honor the warranty at all?

I went to my local camera store right after and they had a used 40D for $750, I felt more secure buying a used one from them, or a used one from one of you guys for that rather than a new one from Circuit City..thats how bad i felt

Of course Canon would honor the warranty. Even Circuit City will be honoring their warranty as they are backed by a 3rd party.

[KenjiS]

Of course Canon would honor the warranty. Even Circuit City will be honoring their warranty as they are backed by a 3rd party.

This is true..on that note i really need to call and get a spare bulb for my DLP..im such a procrastinator!

[JWright]

The kind of stuff I'm reading here is why I'd never buy a camera from a big-box store, whether they were going out of business or not. I've seen too many broken displays at places like Circuit City, Best Buy and Frys that I can just imagine what their backstock looks like... By comparison, the local Marine and Navy exchanges keep their displays in excellent shape, even if they aren't powered up.

[photoguy6405]

I gave up going to any going out of business sale. It's a risk I am not willing to take. I did it only once and got a decent deal, but I probably could have waited and gotten something better. Also, not having someone to go to if it doesn't work right makes me nervous. For all those who got something good, congrats. I just can't do it myself. And I do like a clean, well organized camera section in a store. :)

Same here. Just too much uncertainty and hassle.

[Jon Foster]

I made the same mistake last week, going into Circuit City. Looked at the "discount" prices on the 40D & 50D kits and told the guy behind the counter that their discount prices were still higher than everyone else. He said there was nothing he could do about it while shrugging his shoulders. The "Canon" BP-511 batteries were also on discount at a higher price than everyone else sells them...

I left with the same crummy opinion I've always had for them.

Jon.

[Zeabrid]

I made the same mistake last week, going into Circuit City. Looked at the "discount" prices on the 40D & 50D kits and told the guy behind the counter that their discount prices were still higher than everyone else. He said there was nothing he could do about it while shrugging his shoulders. The "Canon" BP-511 batteries were also on discount at a higher price than everyone else sells them...

I left with the same crummy opinion I've always had for them.

Jon.
Honestly? Are you that dense?

Have a bad taste for CC from past experiences, that's fine.
But chalking up current procedures and then telling the kid behind the counter the same **** he has to hear from at least 500 people every day just makes you a jerk in our eyes.

Honestly, nothing pisses me off more than someone telling me something I already know and can't do anything about. I have a sign posted in my department that reads "ATTENTION : Pricing is not determined at the store level, SAVE YOUR BREATH".

[DennisW1]

Running off of a charged Battery or a power cable? If it was a battery : congratulations, you found a BBY employing someone who cares about cameras. I've done this once or twice with a few models without power cables.

Most every BB I've been two (there's 3 within a 20 mile radius of me) have usually the XSI, 40D and 50D on display (but so many more Nikons and Sonys), with the XSI and 40D working, the 50D not, and the XS in a glass case. Almost all of their extra lenses are kept under lock and key in this case, as are usually the 50D in smaller stores, and the XS, D80, D90, etc.

I have every lens I carry out and able to be used, as do I have every camera we carry out and able to be used. Price wise? Yeah, we were maybe 10-20$ more on certain things, but if someone came into my store to test a camera and a lens, they'd be able to without me standing over their backs watching them the entire time. (And I'd happily price match the difference)

(Sorry for the long responses, I absolutely loved my job and I'm feeling a tad bit nostalgic.)

I really think if CC had a workforce with your work ethic they would still be in business today, and profitable.
Sadly, as you will agree, your store and your atitude were in the minority for the CC chain, and to many customers that's what sent them out the door never to return.
I hope you'll land on your feet at a better workplace in the near future, no matter what store it is, businesses need people like yourself.

[photoguy6405]

Have a bad taste for CC from past experiences, that's fine.
But chalking up current procedures and then telling the kid behind the counter the same **** he has to hear from at least 500 people every day just makes you a jerk in our eyes.

Honestly, nothing pisses me off more than someone telling me something I already know and can't do anything about. I have a sign posted in my department that reads "ATTENTION : Pricing is not determined at the store level, SAVE YOUR BREATH".

I've appreciated your contributions in these posts quite a bit, but on this point you lost me. You may be tired of hearing the same thing over and over, but it's not unreasonable for customers to expect X% discount to really mean X% discount. Any displeasure should be directed at the people who are running the show, IMHO.

[KenjiS]

I'd like to mention now that actually, that Circuit City had my business when I bought a TV in 2006, I got it for a spectacular deal because their website made a massive mistake and they HAD to give me the web price [Basically a 1799 MSRP TV that was on sale at best buy for $1599 they put on the website for $1299] The guy was really nice about it and actually knew his stuff on top of it.....

I will say I've gone to every retailer and wanted to punch a clerk or two in the face for being disrepsectful to me, or being a pretentious dumbass...I usually have decent luck at Best Buy believe it or not...but I agree that most of their cameras are not plugged in or anything, and most things cant be demoed [Although personally, i find those anti-theft tethers annoying when im trying to feel and hold a camera..]

Usually for camera stuff, If I need it now, or fast, I go to my local camera store, worth the extra price because they're just so NICE there

[DennisW1]

I've appreciated your contributions in these posts quite a bit, but on this point you lost me. You may be tired of hearing the same thing over and over, but it's not unreasonable for customers to expect X% discount to really mean X% discount. Any displeasure should be directed at the people who are running the show, IMHO.

....which was his point. The liquidation company is setting prices, not the individual stores or employees.

And try and find those people at a local CC store. Good Luck. The point was that taking your displeasure out on the store employees is pointless, they have no say in how things are priced.

The sign may be a bit over the top but I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I were working behind the counter at one of those stores.

[photoguy6405]

....which was his point. The liquidation company is setting prices, not the individual stores or employees.

And try and find those people at a local CC store. Good Luck. The point was that taking your displeasure out on the store employees is pointless, they have no say in how things are priced.

The sign may be a bit over the top but I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I were working behind the counter at one of those stores.

I understood his point. Displeasure to the employees may be pointless, but so is displeasure toward the customers. It's not their fault either, which was MY point.

[Zeabrid]

I understood his point. Displeasure to the employees may be pointless, but so is displeasure toward the customers. It's not their fault either, which was MY point.

No, pricing issues are not their fault - but taking something that's not their fault, and blaming it on us when it's not OUR fault, basically just makes everyone hate eachother.

I had a lady threaten to have her son beat me up today....No lie.

[Ducky 2.0T]

I really think if CC had a workforce with your work ethic they would still be in business today, and profitable.
Sadly, as you will agree, your store and your atitude were in the minority for the CC chain, and to many customers that's what sent them out the door never to return.

Staffing was only part of the problem. Circuit City rooted themselves in off-prime real estate for cheaper space in the '80's and '90's. It worked for them when you couldn't log onto Amazon and buy the same thing for cheaper. These days if you want to sell, you have to be more pro-active in location and have a strong web-presence. They failed to change their strategy on both and paid for it. Meanwhile Best Buy and Wal-mart were soaking up market share by opening new stores in better areas and continuing to post positive quarters.

Similarly, I've seen both home depot's and Lowe's close and rebuild a new site within a few miles of their old location, simply to maximize floor room and accessibility. Most of the Circuit City's that I have been to are in hard to reach places and/ or just outside of the main retail areas.

[dc5itr888]

I also use to work at Circuit City. I quit 3 months before they declared for bankruptcy and started to close down their stores back in August.

It is true how many employees dont know their stuff. I worked at FireDog and that required us to have testing to PROVE that we knew what we were doing. (For those that dont know what Firedog is they are like Geeksquad and they service and repair laptops and computers.)

There were many times that managers forced us to go out on the floor to sell computers because their own employees whose job is TO SELL COMPUTERS were not able to answer questions that customers were asking. Ive had times that some managers and some corporate officials would come in and tell me to go sell and get on the floor when there are ABSOLUTELY NO CUSTOMERS. I guess they like to waste my time while Im working on fixing this customers computer to go out sell something to thin air. Even employees who were stationed in selling computers didnt have anyone to sell to so why drag me out there?


To be honest, Im not sad that Circuit City is closing since they sort of deserved it, cutting workers who actually knew their stuff and hiring them with noobs that dont know anything about selling their products dugged them in a whole. I however do feel for the few employees that actually knew their stuff and concentrated on each customer individually instead of just a customer. There is proably 2-3 in a store of 30-40 people.

[4mykids]

I actually had a pleasurable experience there. Got my 50D kit at the beginning of Dec for $1100. That was my Christmas gift.

[photoguy6405]

No, pricing issues are not their fault - but taking something that's not their fault, and blaming it on us when it's not OUR fault, basically just makes everyone hate eachother.

I had a lady threaten to have her son beat me up today....No lie.

That's insane.

I'm not saying it's "right", but as an employee of a given store you are seen as an agent of said store. There are way too many people that seem to believe that regular employees (and especially managers) have more power and authority to make decisions than they actually do.

[photoguy6405]

Staffing was only part of the problem. Circuit City rooted themselves in off-prime real estate for cheaper space in the '80's and '90's. It worked for them when you couldn't log onto Amazon and buy the same thing for cheaper. These days if you want to sell, you have to be more pro-active in location and have a strong web-presence. They failed to change their strategy on both and paid for it. Meanwhile Best Buy and Wal-mart were soaking up market share by opening new stores in better areas and continuing to post positive quarters.

Similarly, I've seen both home depot's and Lowe's close and rebuild a new site within a few miles of their old location, simply to maximize floor room and accessibility. Most of the Circuit City's that I have been to are in hard to reach places and/ or just outside of the main retail areas.

I'm going to have to disagree with you, in part. I work for a company whose biggest client is Wal-Mart. We do design for them for new projects. I have been doing this for just over twenty years now.

Wal-Mart is all about cheap. Cheap locations, cheap real estate prices. Cheap cheap cheap. It is very rare that Wal-Mart is pro-active and spending premium money for premium real estate. Their preferred M.O. is to buy cheaper land on the fringes of town or the fringes of commercial areas. This works for them because Wal-Mart is a magnet retailer... people come to them wherever they are. Within reason, of course, as even they know there's a limit to how far out they can go. And granted, this is also partially influenced by the lack of availability of parcels big enough within already developed areas.

Sometimes you will see a Wal-Mart being built as part of a larger shopping center, but this is usually for lack of other options. They prefer stand-alone stores. Quite often when you see a Wal-Mart in a well-located commercial area it's because Wal-Mart built first and everybody else filled in around them. Another aspect of their "magnet" status.

I cannot speak to Best Buy or Lowe's or anybody else, but I do know quite a bit about what makes Wal-Mart tick.

[Ducky 2.0T]

I'm going to have to disagree with you, in part. I work for a company whose biggest client is Wal-Mart. We do design for them for new projects. I have been doing this for just over twenty years now.

Wal-Mart is all about cheap. Cheap locations, cheap real estate prices. Cheap cheap cheap. It is very rare that Wal-Mart is pro-active and spending premium money for premium real estate. Their preferred M.O. is to buy cheaper land on the fringes of town or the fringes of commercial areas. This works for them because Wal-Mart is a magnet retailer... people come to them wherever they are. Within reason, of course, as even they know there's a limit to how far out they can go. And granted, this is also partially influenced by the lack of availability of parcels big enough within already developed areas.

I was referring to Wal-mart more or less on the market share aspect.
http://i.gizmodo.com/5125187/the-terrifying-spread-of-the-walmart-plague

If they open enough stores.. it doesn't matter what area they are in.


On the contrary, they just opened prime real estate in King of Prussia, PA. Near the largest retail mall in the country and up the road from Best Buy. The circuit city that is closing is a few miles away in Devon, PA. Despite residing in a fairly wealthy area, it did not attract people from New Jersey like King of Prussia does.

[SuzyView]

I bumped into a lady just now who said the CC near us had a ton of stuff at 25% off, all DSLR's. She said the cameras were sealed in boxes. She bought a Pentax P&S for $70.

[dc5itr888]

the goal for people that prive on big retailer closings is not to buy right when they announce closings but to wait in between the announcement and the time that they actually close

thats when they actually have to drop prices in order to sell and at the same time still have enough products that you desire

[Zeabrid]

I bumped into a lady just now who said the CC near us had a ton of stuff at 25% off, all DSLR's. She said the cameras were sealed in boxes. She bought a Pentax P&S for $70.
.....We haven't carried Pentax P&S in years, longer than I've been here.

I do still have a Pentax 50-200mm in my store for about $70 though.

[SuzyView]

That's what she said, but it could have been anything.

[nphsbuckeye]

That's what she said,but it could have been anything.
That's what she said. (I couldn't help myself.)

[thexrickx]

I managed to pick up a couple 8gb Extreme III memory cards at 60% off...

[Ducky 2.0T]

I managed to pick up a couple 8gb Extreme III memory cards at 60% off...

I plan to swing through this week or next again. I work in DE so that CC is another 6% off compared to PA (tax-wise).

[ChrisRabior]

It's heartbreaking to see CircuitCity closing.. they always had someone at least mildly intelligent to talk to about the SLR selection.. as opposed to some of the other retailers. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I might luck out and find a speedlite for 60% off.. but I doubt it.

[lyttleviet]

I think I'll wake up early and go check out the memory card section. CC was my childhood electronics store.. Sad to see it go :(.

[Ducky 2.0T]

I stopped in last night.. Highest CF they had was 8GB and Amazon is cheaper.

IIRC the SanDisk Extreme III was marked up to $89.99 and they take of 20%.
(it is +/- $55 on amazon.)

[FootAJ]

I stopped in last night.. Highest CF they had was 8GB and Amazon is cheaper.

IIRC the SanDisk Extreme III was marked up to $89.99 and they take of 20%.
(it is +/- $55 on amazon.)

I did the exact same thing. I needed more memory, so I went buy. They were marked up beyond belief and than "20%" off. Even after the discount, it was cheaper everywhere else.

It's a shame; I always preferred Circuit City over Best Buy...

[Synenergy52]

Please, people... don't shop at big box stores

[londonblue007]

I want to ****ing hit myself in the head everytime I read one of these.

I have people like that in my store. Know what I do with them? I keep them the hell out of my camera boat(section). I've actually "banned" three people in my department from even setting foot near cameras. I have ONE other person who's technically trained (but still comes to me with questions on specifics), and just lost a kid who was at least interested in learning.

I would've also killed anyone who did that much damage to the displays. I clean (or, used to) clean my display lenses at least daily - and made sure none of my displays ever ended up busted.

I can't say every CC is like mine, and I know for a fact it's not (maybe 30 of us out of 675 stores); but I can say truthfully that if the person in charge of the Camera section didn't know her ****, DON'T BUY A THING unless you open it up and test it first.

(If you ask nicely, they should let you do this no problem. If you ask nicely and they give you crap about it, don't even bother - walk out)

(Edit: No Circuit City has a working 50d - the company in charge of power cables never sent us one. Though, I'm pretty sure I've never seen a working one at Best Buy either)


i played with one at BB and that's why I bought it (not from BB though, jeeze they are expensive!)

[KenjiS]

Please, people... don't shop at big box stores

Sometimes you dont have a choice, its sad but you have to admit it

If I was out of town in an unknown area and I NEEDED a memory card because I didnt have access to a computer to photodump and my memory card is full, and theres 3 days left of my vacation, I would head RIGHT to best buy or circuit city [or another chain] because I know them, they're a big chain, if I have a problem or something when I got back, I can take it back to my local best buy

Movies i often buy there, there not much of a choice, I think Best Buy is preferable to my Wal Marts, because its usually not full of screaming little sugar high brats punching each other wrestling and running through a store while their fat trailer trash mother chases them yelling at them and making a scene...and people who took a bath in perfume and look like they never shower [My Wal Marts are always full of these types of people, everytime I go there I get a massive headache...and this isnt meant to stereotype at all, its just the experience I have whenever I have to go to a Wal Mart..]

Consumer electronics I have a little store called Stereo Advantage, they have higher end equipment than Best Buy, better customer service with employees who try VERY hard to make you happy and satisfied, and always admit if they do not know something and try to get you an answer through any means necessary, they also carry professional Canon equipment, including the 5D and a couple white L zooms, albeit at a rather higher price point [More like MSRP]

Cameras, I go to Continental Camera who is a 50-year old established local photography dealer, they can get you -anything- you want, their prices, while higher than online because of overhead, are still competetive and better than Best Buy, they also sell used gear on consignment usually at a decently fair market value with negotiation possible [30Ds, 400-500, 40D was about 700...they had a 400 5.6L for $950 too...didnt seem bad to me] and they have every camera system EXCEPT Sony [Olympus, Nikon, Canon, and the employees there generally have shot at least 2 of those systems] They also stock a good slection of tripods [Basically, if they have it, its a good tripod for most people] and monopods as well as lighting, telescopes and all sorts of other things....I dont mind paying the slightly higher prices to be honest, because they're just so nice there

[FootAJ]

Please, people... don't shop at big box stores

I completely agree, BUT, here's my situation....

The local camera place around here is pretty expensive. I'm in a film photography class and went to it to get film at $6.50 a roll! Their prices on memory cards were no bargain either.

As with everything, I love going to a store filled with experts, like a local shop, but when it comes down to money, if the difference is $3/roll to $6.50/roll, and I have to buy 10 of them, I know where I'm going to go. And yes, I'm upset with the fact that it was so expensive and I didn't even realize it until AFTER the fact.

Live and learn hah

[RyanQ]

hahaha