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Circuit City Returns Under Systemax
animeking503 was one of several readers to send word that after closing its doors earlier this year, CircuitCity.com is alive and kicking once again. Systemax Inc., the company that owns TigerDirect and CompUSA, purchased the Circuit City e-commerce brand name last month, and has now re-launched the website with promises of lower prices and better service. The Consumerist points out that the new site's return policies leave something to be desired.
Why shops at retail stores for electronics anymore?
Just like the original article it does state that it's not Circuit City it's Systemax. I've personally never dealt with Circuit City as I'm in Canada. the only thing close I guess was "The Source by Curcuit City" which basically was Radio Shack prior to that. Not being able to return unused printer cartridges doesn't surprise me much considering even Walmart won't take them back either. The other major brands HP, Compaq that kind of surprises me because you couldn't just take that fancy laptop back to HP or Compaq and get a refund.
Really? The Tiger Direct people are going to improve someone's customer service? I stopped buying from them nearly a decade ago. Are they any easier to work with now?
I mean the prices are pretty good and the site is full of useful content and info about the products. However, it's not Newegg, millions of product reviews are already there, competitive prices already and pretty decent customer services. The new CircuitCity.com is ultimately "meh" to me. I mean if you HATE Newegg, this might be an OK alternative... i guess.... MEH
Were you a customer of circuit city? Did you give your email address at the store? or Did you have an online account with them? If you do not want your personal data be transferred to systemax you need to opt out by June 9
See the following for the opt out page
http://mail.circuitcity.com/p/Circuit_City_Backup/cc_web_optout
see the following for more information about opting out
http://www.circuitcity.com/sectors/opt-outv2.asp
So, the new site is basically Tigerdirect underneath with the usual Circuit City logo on the main page? I bet when you order, the stuff comes out of the same warehouse as Tigerdirect. So, why not just order from Tigerdirect? These guys did the exact same thing with compusa.com. If they were going to do something new and different with the brand, then I'd say go for it, but this is hardly creative at all. They've basically just put Circuit City on an eternal life support machine,...
No corporate policy trumps consumer law, it's the other way round. Do any consumer protection laws in the US guarantee something more that these cretins are trying to push? I used to work in a store where we were told to use "company policy is set in stone" as an excuse for getting the customer to accept something less than the law guaranteed them to.
Having said that, companies don't lobby politicians into NOT modifying the law pushing the company / consumer balance further in their favor. Judging by many laws / regulations etc you'd think they were written BY corporations and handed to the government to act on.
Products in need of return for physical defects may not be returned. Products that we ship incomplete may not be returned. Products whose brand name is recognizable may not be returned.
Honestly their return policy could be greatly abbreviated as follows: "All your base are belong to us"
Usually when I have paid cash for something and told my refund will be in the form of store credit, I ask them to point out where I paid in store credit on the receipt, and where in the statute books it states I can't be refunded in the currency I paid in.
Stay polite but firm, refuse point blank to accept less and keep moving up the command chain when the next chump sent to deal with you repeats the same as the last chump. Make sure you use a loud but calm voice to ensure that other customers hear you. Mind you, I enjoy twisting a sales person inside out with logic until they run out of excuses and agree to what the law states I'm entitled to just to get me out the door. Remember, the longer you tie these people up dealing with you, the more time they lose trying to sell stuff to other customers.
Of course this only works with a real brick and mortar store.
To me, the Circuit City brand represents high prices and bad service. I don't understand why anyone would want the Circuit City name. It's tainted.
And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
I had an experience not too long ago that had me asking the same question. I first went to the website of a well-known bookseller to check the price on a particular item. They had a list price and an online price. Quite naturally, the online price was cheaper, but I was willing to fork over the list price because I still thought it was reasonable. I walk into the store to find that the shelf price was 60% over list. When I inquired as to why this was, I got the usual smattering of excuses, and an assertion that they would not be able to match the list price on their own website. After some discussion, I placed the item back on the shelf and left. A day later, I purchased the same item from an online retailer at a price that was 30% less than their list price.
So yeah, brick-and-mortars can whine about the fact that they have to charge sales tax, and that this gives online retailers an advantage, but please...when you pull this kind of crap with customers, EXPECT to lose business.