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Circuit City Files For Bankruptcy
WillDraven is just one of many who writes to tell us that Circuit City, the United States' 2nd largest consumer electronics retailer, has filed for bankruptcy under chapter 11. This news comes as no surprise as the company has been in financial trouble, recently announcing that it will be closing over one fifth of its stores and laying off 17% of its US employees in the process. "Larger rival Best Buy, which is based in Minneapolis, has said it might take over stores that distressed rivals close. Yet a flood of discounted merchandise from liquidating Circuit City stores could hurt Best Buy during this holiday shopping season, said Jefferies & Co analyst Dan Binder."
... given the fact that they treat their customers like criminals. Besides which, my local electronics place usually beats them on price -- and there's always online shopping.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Good riddance to a disgraceful company. Let's not forget how they fired all their highest-paid, most experienced employees and allowed them to re-apply for minimum wage positions. After they pulled that stunt I never spent another penny there, going way out of my way to go to Best Buy instead when I needed to purchase something from that sort of store and didn't have the time luxury of getting it from the internet. Don't misunderstand: Best Buy sucks too, but at least they're not Circuit City.
Oppressing an entire population is never cheap.
--Jeckler (/. Beta IS GARBAGE!)
No pity here either. Circuit City was so poor about stocking items listed in the weekly sale ads I got fed up and quit reading their ads all together and actually going to the store became a total waste of time.
I hardly think a company that sells a cable for $129.99 when a functionally equivalent cable is available for $5.43 is concerned about the availability of discounted merchandise.
AIG is FAR bigger than Circuit City and tightly intertwined into the economy of the country. Nothing will change with CC going out of business except their employees losing jobs. AIG going out of business would mean huge collateral damage to the entire financial industry, which would then affect every other industry.
I'm not saying I'm for the bailout. But AIG has a massive impact where CC does not.
Developers: We can use your help.
Laws are different in different states. Just before CompUSA closed, I had a manager and security guard refuse to let me leave the building until I showed them my receipt. After some arguing, I gave in, then laughed in derision at the manager, saying this draconian policy is why CompUSA was losing business. Seems like Circuit City followed suit.
Searching my bag - whether it is a bag I came in with, on my brand new (once my purchase is completed at the register) Joe's Discount Electronics' bag - is indeed a violation of my rights. I don't surrender my rights because you put up a sign.
If specific and articulable facts lead you to a reasonable suspicion that I have been involved in a crime, they can hold me and call the cops. Store personnel have no right to search my person or my effects, and they do not gain such by posting a sign. All they can do if I don't comply with their store policy is ask me to leave and not come back - which, when treated like a criminal, is exactly what I want to do anyway.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
What you have here is not a violation of any rights, they weren't going to search purses and handbags (although some stores do - but they clearly post that they reserve the right)
I don't think putting up a sign gives them the right to go through my things. At best they could ask me to leave if I refused to let them go through my bags. Of course this is a moot point unless they are going through the bags before you enter the store, because by the time they asked you to leave you would already be on your way out the door anyway.
It's implied consent when you shop at a store like that, and if you don't like it, don't go back.
I'm sorry but it's not. If I put up a sign on my front door that says "all female guests waive the right to refuse to have sex with me" does that mean I can rape with impunity? All they can do is ask you to leave -- but unless they are enforcing this policy when you enter the store (as opposed to when you exit) it's kind of like closing the barn doors after the horses have already escaped.
To think, that guy could have avoided all the hassle, all the wasted time and money, just buy opening the plastic Circuit City bag and showing the receipt.
He probably could have. Some people are willing to give up their rights to avoid a little hassle. I'm not one of them.
Yes, I read where you said the local place beats them on prices. Then why do people shop there? There must be some compelling reasons.
Because Circuit City is on the flashy commercial strip and the local place is tucked away in an old part of town that most people aren't familiar with?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Too likely to get into trouble. A simpler solution is to do exactly what the manager is asking for: show them the receipt. But at the Returns desk.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
You're expecting me to become familiar with Ohio law?
Only if you intend to make statements about it, i.e: "He did something wrong when he refused to show ID to the police officer". If you don't intend to make statements about Ohio law then I guess you don't really need to become familiar with it.
I'd try to find a resource for where it's illegal to not carry ID on you, but any Google search for it is flooded by voter ID requirements.
So in other words you are talking out of your ass and have no proof to back up your claims? Well, at least you were right about one thing: "And I have a feeling I'll get modded troll for this post."
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
No, he's upset that they fired all of their best and most experienced employee's.
It wasn't just top sellers. It effected everybody.
And why the hell would you fire your top sellers anyway? How retarded is that?!?!?!
When you fire your top sellers and your most knowledgeable employee's what does that leave you with?
It wasn't exactly a brilliant move. I'm sure it saved them money in the short run but 2 years later they're bankrupt and closing most of their stores.
I was wondering if anybody was going to mention Micro Center. At this point in my life I've now bought several computers from Micro Center, and lots of repair stuff (CPU fans, power supplies, etc.), always good folks and a minimum of hassles with any problems. 21 locations all of the country, but clearly not everywhere. Pretty decent web store. I bought one of the first IBM PCs for an engineering project at the original store in Westerville, OH, back in 1982.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
"AIG is, quite simply, too big and intertwined with the American financial system to be allowed to fail. Period"
What that statement really means is that AIG is, quite simply too big to be allowed to exist. It should be broken up into many smaller entities - each with their own *separate* management and board of directors so that one or more components can fail without devastating consequences to the overall economy.
You either believe in rational thought or you don't
You can keep arguing from here to hell freezes over, but it wont make it true.
By reading this response you owe me 1 million dollars. You had the right to not read it, but read it voluntary and now owe me a million dollars.
Is this post a joke? I can't tell, I really can't tell, if it is bravo, you got me.
If this post is not a joke, good lord, wow! You Americans and your expectations from retailers continue to fascinate me, absoloutely and utterly incredible, it's got to come to an end.
I've been using the internet now for about 12 years and I'll never forget the first time I heard some of the stories you guys would relay.
Rebates, incredibly cheap prices compared to the rest of the world, massive huge stores with IT gear in them, like KMart sized IT stores, wow!
You can actually purchase a product and then go back a week later if the price drops with your receipt and they give you the difference, what the hell? Over here that's 'tough luck buddy' (and to be honest, so it should be! you bought it when it was higher, tough!)
The deals you can find on the internet still blow me away "buy this router for 11$ get a 9$ rebate" "buy product X for 50$ with a 30$ rebate" yet these same items cost 80 or 100$ US over here!
Now I've just come across your post, and I sit here unable to comprehend it.
You're telling me you want a store to give you a cash refund on a purchased product without a receipt and you have the audacity to whine about it?
Really? Where's the bloody proof you purchased it?
You could have stolen it.
You could have purchased it cheaper somewhere else, effectively stealing from these people.
You could work for the manufacturer and get them cheaper.
It could be broken.
There's a plethora of reasons why companies demand a receipt, it's common bloody consumer knowledge, I mean seriously what next will you people expect from retail stores? "Sorry, I don't have the cash on me now but I promise I'll pay next week!"
This way of doing business and being so competitive and catering to the ever pushy consumer (and a large portion of Americans are a very pushy consumer) is what's causing business's to go bust, admitedly circuit city was a dump but really, there needs to be a sharp dose of reality kicked in here.
Disclaimer: Not all Americans are pushy, not all business's in America cater to some of the ridiculous whims of the consumer, none the less as a foreigner the above is the impression I have gathered over the past 10 years of speaking to some of you guys and gals on the internet, really - you had it good, you had it too bloody good in some ways, consider yourselves damned lucky... price protection for goodness sakes.. sheesh