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IT CompUSA to Close Nearly 130 Stores
Brandon Hill (Blog) - February 28, 2007 4:07 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 83 comment(s) - last by pugster.. on Mar 6 at 3:52 PM

CompUSA locations before the announced closings.
CompUSA announces plans to close over half of its US locations

Earlier this year, Circuit City announced a handful of store closings in the United States along with 60 more in Canada.  Today electronics retailer CompUSA is following suite, but more drastically. The company announced that it is closing 126 stores nationwide (DOC) leaving just 109 stores in 39 states and Puerto Rico.

"Based on changing conditions in the consumer retail electronics market, the company identified the need to close and sell stores with low performance or non-strategic, old store layouts and locations faced with market saturation," said CompUSA CEO Roman Ross. "The process began last week with the closing of four CompUSA stores and over the next 60-90 days."

The company will receive $440 million USD in cash to facilitate the restructuring. According to the Houston Chronicle, the cash will come from its parent company U.S. Commercial Corp. which is controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

In Texas alone, CompUSA will close seven out of nine stores in and around Dallas, Texas. New Jersey will see 10 out of its 11 total stores fall by the wayside and six of the seven CompUSA locations in Massachusetts will be shuttered.

The increasingly cut-throat electronics arena has taken its toll on CompUSA. Its more nimble rivals like Best Buy and Circuit City have made greater strides in maintaining up-to-date stores and adapting to changing market conditions and consumer tastes.

CompUSA locations like the one in Skokie, Illinois have the following phone recording for customers calling in, "Thank you calling CompUSA Skokie. Please join us for the store closing sale in progress. Call as at 1-800-COMP-USA or visit us on the web at www.compusa.com. We look forward to serving your technology needs."

CompUSA also came under fire in recent years for its mail-in rebates attached to many of its products. The company received number complaints from consumers nationwide who reported unfulfilled rebate requests and deceptive advertising practices. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) came down hard on CompUSA and its rebate practices issuing a number of changes that had to be made to ensure that the rebate process was made easier and less treacherous for the consumer.

The resulting system that rose from the FTC's probing was CompUSA's eRebates program. Under the program -- which is slightly more complex than Staples' Easy Rebates program – users can enter in their receipt information online to submit a rebate. UPC codes and receipts are not required to be mailed in and the process is completely electronic and relatively trouble-free.

To see if locations in your area will survive or be closed due to restructuring, you can follow this link. If your location is not shown in the list of stores, it will be closed within the next 90 days.

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Good.
By Runiteshark on 2/28/2007 7:05:27 AM , Rating: 5
Eat it CompUSA. I went to 3 friggin CompUSAs in the Denver area looking for a simple SATA cable. They had a repair service with a little box full of them, and the brilliant people there wouldn't even sell me one. Not even if I offered $10 for the stupid cable.

And all of the other stores were sold out too.

I do feel kind of sad though, CompUSA was the one place where I could find stuff that nobody else had that I "needed now" (ie thermal paste, SATA cable, etc). Where am I gonna go now?

Also is there some definitive reason why every time I try to post I have to submit 20 times until it goes through? Or did someone fail asp class?




RE: Good.
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 2/28/2007 7:12:11 AM , Rating: 2
If you don't let the page load before you hit send, it will give you an error.


RE: Good.
By ShangoY on 3/1/2007 4:51:10 PM , Rating: 2
Just threadjacking, but I've put up a complete list of closing and open stores here:

http://www.earthlinkk.com/CompUSA.htm

Have fun shopping.


RE: Good.
By FITCamaro on 2/28/2007 7:12:40 AM , Rating: 2
I know what you mean man. Nearly every time I try to post it takes me about 10 tries.

CompUSA always did have higher prices. But every now and then they'd have something on sale at a good price after the rebate. Thanksgiving last year they had 500GB hard drives for like $100.


RE: Good.
By One43637 on 2/28/2007 12:10:47 PM , Rating: 2
yeah i remember having a horrendous time trying to get my rebate from them 2 years ago. since then i don't bother with their rebates.

you do get good deals from them once in a while. i recently picked up a 4GB Sandisk USB drive for $50+. not bad from a B&M.


RE: Good.
By bplewis24 on 2/28/2007 6:17:19 PM , Rating: 2
I bought an item (LCD Monitor) with a $120 rebate on 12/29 and finished all of the paperwork (the rebate was split into 3 separate rebates) that day and mailed them off on 12/30.

I received one of the rebates last week, so I don't complain too much about waiting nearly 8 weeks, even though I've had rebates from other companies (Sony and Verizon) mailed back to me within 4 weeks. However, the other two rebate checks aren't supposed to be mailed out until April according to the website. What a joke.

Brandon


RE: Good.
By poohbear on 2/28/2007 10:43:54 PM , Rating: 2
hmm, why dont u just shop on the internet for computer parts? fast & cheap.


RE: Good.
By Runiteshark on 3/1/2007 8:05:17 AM , Rating: 3
Do you not understand the concept of "need it now"?

If I need it now, that doesn't mean in 3 days, that means now. Try explaining to a customer that it will take 3 days to get a part, when they want it now.


RE: Good.
By mezman on 3/1/2007 3:43:09 PM , Rating: 2
Need it now is the only reason I ever shopped at CompUSA. In my experience, the CompUSA stores in the Denver Area were not only more expensive then the internet locations (no surprise there) but was always between 5% to 20% more expensive then other local B&M stores (Best Buy, Circuit City) too.


RE: Good.
By MrSmurf on 3/3/2007 12:30:41 AM , Rating: 2
When I had a bad harddrive or something they typically allowed me to exchange it with no box or receipt. Because of that, I gladdly give them some of my business unless it's vastly cheaper to buy online.


RE: Good.
By heinsj on 2/28/2007 10:28:27 AM , Rating: 2
I wouldn't miss any of the Denver-area CompUSA's, however it looks like they will all survive (according to link). The customer service I experienced from Boulder, Denver (Central), Westminster have sucked. Recently, while at lunch, I went to Westminster to try to buy a new gadget, red shirts all over the place and not one offering to help; when I walked out a cashier asked me how my experience was I let her have it. Haven't bought anything from there since.

Why didn't you go to Microcenter to buy the cable? Quincy and 225 is a bit far for me, but they have everything and then some when it comes to computer parts.


RE: Good.
By ElJefe69 on 2/28/2007 11:19:35 PM , Rating: 2
wow, apparently more than one microcenter fan!

yeah, thats the wave of the future that started 10 years ago about. revived long island.

To be honest, I buy there first, newegg second. now newegg is very nice to me and a 1 day delivery date to NY city, with no tax (feds must love that). BUT, the past year, microcenter has been so close OR BETTER in pricing that I say screw that, local + good salesman + nice people running it makes me buy there.

They wouldnt hire me a few years ago because I dont work sundays. :(


RE: Good.
By Basilisk on 2/28/2007 11:03:18 AM , Rating: 2
Maybe "Eat it Everyone" is more appropriate, as I've dropped into 11 stores [2 Targets, 2 OD's, 3 Staples, RS, OM, CC & BB] and didn't found one with a Sata cable. None of them -ever- stocked Sata cables as far as I can tell, 'tho' most sold Sata drives... sigh. Only one or two staff even knew what a Sata cable is. (Amazing how nearly-obsolete items abound on their shelves, however.) Yup, it's lame that the techie couldn't find a way to help.

The only NJ store to survive is the one nearest me [in Mt Laurel]! Unsure if that's just to punish me. :)


RE: Good.
By MrSmurf on 3/3/2007 12:32:32 AM , Rating: 1
I'd say you're the dumbass for shopping at Target, Office Depot and Staples for a SATA cable.


RE: Good.
By immortalsly on 2/28/2007 2:08:28 PM , Rating: 2
The only time I'd go to CompUSA is when I'm desperate or needed something right away. Or, to look at the product before ordering online later. They are way overpriced and their sales people don't give a crap.

Looks like they're closing all but one Massachusetts store. That's hard to believe since only one is near a Micro Center; the others don't have any competition besides Best Buy/Circuit City that I know.


RE: Good.
By kmmatney on 3/4/2007 2:58:21 PM , Rating: 2
They almost built a Fry's in Denver, near Park Meadows Mall where the Great Indoors is now. Fry's would have done well there - too bad.


RE: Good.
By marco916 on 3/5/2007 4:40:25 PM , Rating: 2
CompUSA Corp could totally turn this store around if they wanted to, but I guess it's too late, All they have to do is drop the prices so they are competitive to Fry's Electronics, and some of the other outlet stores. The sales people are useless like Fry's, I think they put somewhat knowledgeable people in the complete computer sells department. They have more stores then Fry's. Like some of the other posters mention, I only go to CompUSA if I really need something.


RE: Good.
By marco916 on 3/5/2007 4:43:40 PM , Rating: 2
CompUSA Corp could totally turn this store around if they wanted to, but I guess it's too late, All they have to do is drop the prices so they are competitive to Fry's Electronics, and some of the other outlet stores. The sales people are useless like Fry's, I think they put somewhat knowledgeable people in the complete computer sells department. They have more stores then Fry's. Like some of the other posters mention, I only go to CompUSA if I really need something.


By 13Gigatons on 2/28/2007 10:45:32 AM , Rating: 2
My area only had two locations and both are closing. I hope and pray that a Fry's will move into one of them at least.




By kattanna on 2/28/2007 10:58:55 AM , Rating: 2
but which frys you talking about?

the electronics one..or the grocery store ones like in arizona??

LOL..doesnt matter cause the people working in either one will be as helpfull and as knowledge about computer stuff anyways


By ted61 on 2/28/2007 12:30:38 PM , Rating: 2
LOL, You do not go into Fry's expecting customer service.

If you happen to get customer service, it would probably be bad anyway so you are better off without it.

I don't really care about grocery stores in Arizona anyway.


By Alias1431 on 2/28/2007 3:02:32 PM , Rating: 2
I know what you mean man. I work at Fry's in the components section. We are the only section that knows their shit. And by "we" I mean myself and about three other people. It's ridiculous. All the manager cares about is hiring people that will be on time. What Fry's needs is more people that can explain the difference between the 975X chipset and the 965 chipset. Hell, we need more people that know what CAS latency is, or what a fucking sata cable is. I get paid well, but not well enough to always be picking up the ignorance slack of every other associate in the store.


By darkpaw on 2/28/2007 5:17:28 PM , Rating: 2
God I miss Fry's

Sure most of their employees were completely morons and their customer service sucked, but their sale prices were great. I always loved new release games and movies on sale almost garunteed.

I moved back east last year and its defiantely one of the things I miss most.


By PWNettle on 2/28/2007 7:07:03 PM , Rating: 2
IMO, if you're going into Fry's (or anywhere else) to buy components you should know WTF you're doing. You certainly can't expect one of the pimpleheaded teens working there to be able to tell you anything useful. I'm always surprised when their eyes don't glaze over when I ask a basic question.

As a wierd as hell side note - dunno about any Fry's near you - but at the North Phoenix location they MUST go out of their way to hire the most uber geeked out people in the city. I'm an antisocial programmer and a geek and I feel entirely normal in that store. It's like some kind of whacked geek movie or twilight zone episode.

Anyways, Fry's rocks for at least having some components and a wide variety of techno toys (and software). I still only buy hardware there if I absolutely need it now - their prices are too high compared to buying online and they rarely have exactly what I want.


By ted61 on 2/28/2007 10:49:04 PM , Rating: 2
I love Fry's. That store gets lots of my disposable income. I bet I spend more money there than at the gas station.

They always have good mobo/cpu combo deals. Mostly midrange stuff that I use, like ECS mobo and e4300 cpu. You can't beat the hard drive prices and they always have good sales.

Just do not expect good customer service. At my local Fry's, you are lucky to get someone who speaks English as a primary language. Hell there eyes are glazed over at breakfast before work.

Fry's rocks.


By Sharky974 on 3/2/2007 6:19:56 AM , Rating: 2
I remember a few years back I got a mobo/CPU combo from fry's for $39.95 in one of their famous sales. It was a very decent low end CPU of the time too, think it was like a Duron 1600.

40 bucks for the guts of a computer. Amazing.


Bittersweet?
By Dannik931 on 2/28/2007 3:41:53 PM , Rating: 4
I've worked for "the Comp" for almost a year and a half now (definitely not a length of tenure I'd hoped for or expected), and I can't begin to expound upon how apathetic I've grown toward working there. What started off as a decent, and often fun, part-time college job spiraled down into the doldrums of high-pressure sales and toe-the-corporate-line obedience. Then again, this transformation seemed to coincide with the sacking of two of our managers who'd been "cooking the books" to inflate earnings reports, and their replacement with a hard-assed, micromanaging, domineering type from higher up. CompUSA used to be an environment I felt I could work in, finding some fulfillment in helping people out with the knowledge I'd gleaned simply by being a computer enthusiast. If that approach led someone to buy a new $2000 computer, great, but if, as so often occurred, they only needed a $20 accessory (likely overpriced, admittedly), then so be it. But the regime change in managerial style at our store from laissez faire to ultra-controlling (ok, an exaggeration), coupled, I have little doubt, with the general and inevitable erosion of satisfaction in working as a salesperson at a "big box" store, served to lead me, and a number of coworkers, into disaffection.

It's definitely disheartening to hear of similar situations from other stores, and of terrible customer experiences. I can identify with some of that frustration, like the inexplicable absence of SATA cables. We've sent many a customer away with a sad shrug and a "We ought to have this in stock; the hell if we know why we don't." It seemed like we'd get a decent shipment of SATA cables in every 6 months or so, which was depleted in about 2. On the other hand, our selection of other items has seemed a bit more robust than in the examples above. We have a decent selection of Zalman coolers, alongside those exorbitant Thermaltakes, of course, and we got the 8800 GTS 320s in almost immediately after they were announced (though I don't think, generally, that CompUSA really caters to much of an enthusiast community, nor is it meant to, even before the adjusted focus closer to a general electronics retailer. There's just not much money in that). We may benefit, uncharacteristically, from being the only CompUSA in a significant area (Little Rock, AR, which won't be closing), and receive a broader selection of product from it.

On the customer service front, we've got an interesting cross-section of people and personalities whose motivations vacillate between the desire to help, and the desire to make money. There are those who, like myself, garner the most satisfaction by helping people resolve their problems in the most efficient way possible, bottom-line be damned. These tend to be the ones with significant background in computers, and who tend to balk at having to force an unnecessary warranty down a customer's throat (on that front, there was some vindication when a recent Consumer Reports, focusing on electronics, deemed just about all extended warranties superfluous, as the average cost of repairs for a computer over a 2 or 3 year span, the life of said warranty, averaged out to the cost of the warranty itself...and only occurred in about 10% of cases. The exception was Apple, who force you to buy one of their warranties if you want phone support after 3 months). Then there are those, also pretty well-versed in computers, who do a better job of suspending their revulsion to piling on needless doo-dads long enough to make decent money and stay out of the crosshairs of management, and, finally, straight, dyed-in-the-wool salespeople, who often have, at the outset, paltry knowledge of anything computer-related. I think our salesforce is about evenly divided between these three camps, which makes for interesting, and often frustrating, observations whenever multiple salespeople help the same customer. It's hardly the case, however, that a customer is left unattended for very long; in fact, with our store management's exhortation to "touch every customer", the opposite is frequently true, as salespeople feel obligated to badger everyone in the store, regardless of whether some other salesperson did the same 5 seconds before.

Anyway, I've got mixed feelings about the closings. On one hand, a company that often doesn't cater to the true needs of customers, and sometimes abuses them, gets a bit of a comeuppance. On the other, CompUSAs can be a very good resource, both in terms of products and knowledge. Finding what you need, though, from what I've read, can be one heck of a crapshoot. Naive as it is, I'm sorry a store that provides good products at good prices based upon good advice can't hope to remain successful in today's retail environment.




RE: Bittersweet?
By yacoub on 2/28/2007 8:57:27 PM , Rating: 2
The other tough thing must be competing with online stores for products like those 8800 series cards after they've been out more than 2-4 weeks and prices online start coming down while b&m store prices stay at MSRP for what seems like 6-12 months.


RE: Bittersweet?
By ted61 on 2/28/2007 10:57:28 PM , Rating: 1
Dan, have you ever thought about writing for Kris? He loves multi syllable words and words that contain "V,X and Z". You may have to learn to be a bit more direct though.

It was interesting to hear what it is like to work at CompUSA. I don't think many people think of Little Rock, Arkansas as a major metropolis.


RE: Bittersweet?
By Cullinaire on 3/1/07, Rating: 0
RE: Bittersweet?
By Samus on 3/2/2007 3:44:15 AM , Rating: 2
I'm going to use your post as a persuasive speech in my speech 201 class. just don't tell anyone. should tempt the class to buy up whats left at these stores closing sales ;)


RE: Bittersweet?
By drebo on 3/1/2007 11:34:48 AM , Rating: 2
You know, I'd applied at a CompUSA a couple years ago, but never called them back to inquire. Was looking at a hardware sales position. Looking back, I'm fairly glad I didn't take the job.

Right now, I'm working at an independent, regional computer shop in Central California, and I almost couldn't be happier. I've had quite a bit of room for growth, including two promotions already. I've gone from phone technician for our nationwide dialup ISP to sales to being the only salesman for corporate and retail to heading up the web development here, and it's great. The pay is moderate, but for someone my age, it's well above the average.

We have a CompUSA in town, and it is among those closing. I see this as a bit of a double-edged sword for us. On the one hand, we'll get a fair amount more business. On the other, they stocked some products that we didn't, and it was nice and easy to say "We don't carry that, go to CompUSA." Now, I'll have to figure something else out. We don't do much retail work, so things like microATX power supplies and other stupid things people want like microphones and what not are not something we carry.

So, anyway, I'll be looking forward to the sales, things like CD and DVD media and other small components might be good to snag. Overall, though, I'm not surprised.


RE: Bittersweet?
By MrSmurf on 3/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Bittersweet?
By nanokompressor on 3/3/2007 4:47:45 AM , Rating: 2
Then don't read it.


Wow Shocking!
By qdemn7 on 2/28/2007 5:20:38 AM , Rating: 2
But then every time I've been in a CompUSA the prices have been high, and the customers few. They tried going to selling Home Theater products, but I guess that didn't work. Too bad they ran Computer City out of business several years ago. I had a friend who really like working for that company.




RE: Wow Shocking!
By Pwnt Soup on 2/28/2007 6:49:47 AM , Rating: 2
goodby compusa, all long island NY stores will be closing it seems. the only reason i would even care is that competition is good for consumers. compusa aside from some pia rebates, and a few select sales, was not a store i will miss


RE: Wow Shocking!
By Lazarus Dark on 2/28/2007 6:50:12 AM , Rating: 2
They closed my only local Compusa last october, unfortunate actually as there is no computer store here now, Bestbuy and Circuit city just don't carry everything I might need. I can understand why though, cause everytime I went in there, I was like 'eh, I can get that for half the price at newegg or I can get this for way less at mwave'. They just can't compete with online stores with way less overhead cost. But it was nice being able to walk in and get something I needed right then, or if I just needed something small, a cable or adapter or something- I do hate having to order some cable or something when the shipping is more than the item.

The closing sale prices were great though, picked up some stuff for cheap, especially my apc ups backup- the shipping on these can be high since their heavy. My advice to everyone: call you local Compusa and find out exactly when they are supposed to close; they cut prices more as the deadline gets close, but keep an eye on the stock, the main items like hard drives start to go quick as the prices drop. A lot of small system builders and resellers will go in and buy several items at once. I actually came very close to buying a core 2 macbook at a severe discount the last week, but I had to pay rent instead. Stupid rent. Funny, since I hate macs, but thats just how cheap it was!


RE: Wow Shocking!
By Oregonian2 on 2/28/2007 2:47:38 PM , Rating: 2
Their service (like having *anyone* at the checkout counters) improved tremendously when they were bought out a number of years ago (by an offshore company I think), but still not great. Some of their house-branded stuff when on sale can be a decent price. Their advantage for me is that they're the closest "computer store" to me. But another 15 minutes of driving takes me to a Fry's, about 50 times bigger (in a building that used to be Incredible Universe's largest, so it's one of Fry's larger stores too). Non-sale prices aren't great but they've got everything imaginable, pretty much (and no sales taxes here which helps).

CompUSA then went home-entertainment as part of their diversification when the same company bought out the "Good Guys" chain (which here isn't too far from the CompUSA and almost next to a Circuit City which I like a lot more -- esp. with their buy online and pickup in store routine).

Would be sad if my nearby store closes, but wouldn't be a heart breaker.


RE: Wow Shocking!
By Oregonian2 on 3/5/2007 9:45:07 PM , Rating: 2
.. and it's not. Two on the other side of the metro area are though.


Whats with selling only Belkin brand cables there
By clemedia on 2/28/2007 1:55:32 PM , Rating: 2
CompUSA was always the best place to get ripped off on cables (network, printer, etc). My jaw would drop when I would see a tiny piece of network cable (maybe 5 feet) selling for somewhere around $10, there is like 2 cents worth of cable there, at least I could walk into a local mom and pops store and buy the off the roll cable for cheap. Don't even get me started on the printer (parallel) cables they were like $30!




By Oregonian2 on 2/28/2007 2:52:47 PM , Rating: 2
Esp when one can go to places like www.pchcables.com and get any cable imaginable for dirt-cheap prices (and it's local for me, so I go there in person for the same prices w/o shipping costs).


By Cullinaire on 3/1/2007 5:42:06 AM , Rating: 2
Yes Pat runs a first-class business there. I'm also fortunate to be local to it. ENU isn't bad either, I guess.


By Oregonian2 on 3/2/2007 3:17:59 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, they're about a 5 minute (at most) drive from where I work (and most of that sitting at lights). ENU is pretty good if they've what I want, but they've a relatively restricted number of things available (they're a local small computer klone store about 100 feet from the other place for those others reading this). PCHCables.com, however, has about everything imaginable in cables, a lot more selection than even a big store like Fry's (as well as a LOT cheaper). Cables I think was Pat's old computer store's forte as well and a big reason to have gone to it.


By EastCoast on 2/28/2007 7:28:03 AM , Rating: 2
If anyone purchased a warranty in the last 2 years you better call their corporate office. I am not sure how this is going to work if some states no longer have a store where you can go to?




By therealnickdanger on 2/28/2007 8:38:09 AM , Rating: 2
When I worked there (in the 90s), our extended warranties were backed by an outside insurance company... I still remember part of my sales pitch: "This warranty is so good, it'll probably last longer than we do!" Ah, the memories... the sweet, sweet lying memories... I kid, there was a time when the warranty was actually worth buying, but it wasn't cheap.

Even back then, we knew that Best Buy handed us our ass every day in both revenue, volume, and margin. There was rarely any question that Comp would go under. The company was good to me, though. I was full time right out of highschool making just shy of $11/hour plus spiffs (which added a LOT), then there was the excellent discount - especially on D68 product...

Oh well, if you can't compete, tough shit.


By Leper Messiah on 2/28/2007 8:38:27 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I work at the Wichita, KS store, I almost wish they would close ours down. The pay is crap, but I needed the job. I'm A+ and Net+ certified (not thats worth all that much any more) working in the tech shop and I'm making a measely 8 bux an hour. Best Buy and Circut City pretty much kick our asses in every way, unless you have a business account, in which case we do discount some stuff. As sad as it sounds, I'd much rather work for geek squad, at least they start at $13 an hour.

BTW, if you do live in Kansas, for god sakes, please don't bring your computer here. Our tech shop is probably one of the worst in the whole chain.


Who Cares?
By IamKindaHungry on 2/28/2007 8:06:13 AM , Rating: 2
IMHO, anything and everything that CompUSA sold can be found at far better prices on NewEgg anyway. I personally detest Best Buy and Circuit City, but at least their products,for the most part, are somewhat up to date. CompUSA always seemed to have previous generation hardware at next generation prices.

Now if only Kmart would come to the same realization that CompUSA has, we would truly be making progress as a society.




RE: Who Cares?
By Sulphademus on 2/28/2007 8:38:05 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
CompUSA always seemed to have previous generation hardware at next generation prices.


Last summer I was looking for a video card, so I stopped in to see what they had. I was eying a 7600 or 7800. Compusa had a 5700, a 6200 and some x1300s. I really wanted to ask someone where the modern video cards were. Good riddance.


RE: Who Cares?
By Runiteshark on 2/28/2007 9:33:43 AM , Rating: 2
That has to be possibly the stupidest thing I've ever read.

Of course that prices on Newegg or ZZF or elsewhere will be cheaper, but the difference is is that you get it now. As wonderful as shipping is, nothing based on the internet can beat when you need it right then and there that day. Unless of course you live right across from the warehouse.

The way how its done is, is you find what you want, read reviews about it, and then you get it from a store like Newegg.

I think that what another poster said -- that they stopped being a computer store and an everything else store is exactly on track. Instead of having quality products like say Tuniq, or Zalman coolers, they would have crappy cheap overpriced Thermaltake coolers, or Spire. If they were to focus their product line and get some quality, I think that they definatly could start making a buck on the "Need it now" people. I even think if they had a bit more customized repair area, if they could push their "higher performance" products (ie your processor is overheating, we can replace your stock processor cooler with this xxxxxx) they could make yet more money there.

I dunno, I kinda feel like going to work there and fixing everything, but I know it will never happen.


Reminds me of Tiger Direct
By KayKay on 2/28/2007 10:01:34 AM , Rating: 2
In many ways Comp USA reminds me of how Tigerdirect does business, clinging to the mail-in-rebate as if it were the tree of life, selling previous generation products at current generation prices, I wonder how long before Tigerdirect starts heading in this direction




RE: Reminds me of Tiger Direct
By Dianoda on 2/28/2007 11:02:40 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Comp USA reminds me of how Tigerdirect does business, clinging to the mail-in-rebate as if it were the tree of life


That is hilarious. And it's true. Damn them both for forcing customers to jump through hoops just to get the price they advertise. Probably my least favorite marketing tactic, sneaky bastards.


RE: Reminds me of Tiger Direct
By Schrag4 on 2/28/2007 5:40:28 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, have you tried their eRebates? If I'm going to do a rebate, I'll only do CompUSA's eRebates, as you don't have to send anything in, and you can check the progress online. I still get most of my hardware from sites like NewEgg, but occasionally I'll see something priced cheaper than NewEgg after eRebate (usually a hard drive).


Bye then!
By Ben on 2/28/2007 12:02:43 PM , Rating: 2
Won't miss these guys. I've avoided their stores for years since they screwed me on an extended warranty.

Out of desperation I went in one a couple months ago to buy a laptop. After nearly an hour waiting for someone to help me, I walked out. I guess it was a blessing in disguise. I didn't know that I would just be helping a Mexican billionaire get richer.




RE: Bye then!
By rdeegvainl on 2/28/07, Rating: 0
RE: Bye then!
By Oregonian2 on 2/28/2007 2:50:12 PM , Rating: 2
I suspect he meant making a foreigner richer. Some have national pride and would prefer a domestic fat cat get the money. CompUSA is foreign owned.


RE: Bye then!
By Ben on 3/2/2007 11:47:12 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly what I meant. I don't care what color he is. It's just more money leaving the country that I don't like.


Sad
By ted61 on 2/28/2007 10:54:55 AM , Rating: 2
It is sad that all of the CompUSA stores in my area are remaining open. Everytime I go there to buy something the price on the sign is never the real price. There is always some mail in rebate attached

Fry's is the king of Northern California.

BTW, I have never had to hit post more than once.




RE: Sad
By Dustin25 on 2/28/2007 12:01:40 PM , Rating: 2
Yup, I couldn't care less about them closing stores or going out of business eventually. They are overpriced and my girlfriend broke up with me in one of their stores, so screw them. But I do like their dvd+r sales they have that you can get 100 for $19.


CT stores survive
By Rovemelt on 2/28/2007 4:45:14 PM , Rating: 2
The CompUSA near me was a disaster for a while, but they recently upgraded the interior which was badly needed. I left the store and a purchase behind on a few occasions simply because there would only be one checkout open and a huge line. It sounds like some stores simply weren't moving stock and so never got the newest products on the shelves. For a while, they were the only local store that would carry things like thermal paste and cpu coolers, but now Best Buy is carrying some stuff like that.

There is actually a small computer business nearby that always impresses me, even though they have a fraction of the products. Oddly, the small computer store near me sometimes has better prices than the big box stores.




RE: CT stores survive
By Sharky974 on 3/2/2007 6:29:39 AM , Rating: 2
We have some small computer shops nearby, I kind of feel sorry for them, their prices are insanely high. You know it's not their fault, they cant compete with the big chain stores, let alone the internet. About the only reason to go there is if you just need a quickie cable or something that Best Buy doesn't carry. They seem to survive, barely, on non-techie people who bring their computers in for service. You know, Grandmas computer isn't loading email, and they haven't the faintest idea what to do, that kind of thing.

But yeah, they get almost no customers from what I can tell.

And of course, you'd almost never buy a video card even from the chain stores, they vastly overcharge compared to net merchants.


Check out Microcenter in Denver
By scruffytech on 2/28/2007 6:46:04 PM , Rating: 2
I love this Store!!! CompUsa Sucks in Comparison




By bravacentauri83 on 3/5/2007 11:29:52 PM , Rating: 2
We are lucky to have one in Fairfax, Virginia. Only problem is that it takes longer to get to MicroCenter then it does our local CompUSA.


By Aquila76 on 2/28/2007 8:07:39 AM , Rating: 2
That's about 2 hours down the Pike in the southwest end of the state. It's also in one of the poorest areas of the state. I predict this store will be closing by year end, too.




On the Job Hunt
By AMD4ME2 on 2/28/2007 8:25:34 AM , Rating: 2
Having worked at CompUSA in Tech Services for the last few years, this really wasn't so shocking. Brand selection and inventory was out of touch with what the mass majority of computer enthusiasts would want to buy, Advertising is largely non-existent in a great deal of markets around the country. I can proudly say that I fixed alot of computers and made alot of customers happy. The ones that weren't happy were either screwed over by the system, or didn't deserve to be happy with their computer in the first place.

what used to be "The Computer Superstore" quickly turned into "We Cater to the Lowest Common Denominator"




Won't be missed
By Jellodyne on 2/28/2007 9:06:00 AM , Rating: 2
Depending on where you are MicroCenter or Fry's is about a million times better. CompUSA really closed those stores when they stopped being a computer store and started being an everything else store. This is just the logical conclusion of them trying to be best buy. Close the rest of them, already!




My feelings on the subject:
By HWAddict77 on 2/28/2007 9:26:47 AM , Rating: 2
[nelson]
Ha-Ha!
[/nelson]




Haha
By thebrown13 on 2/28/2007 9:44:11 AM , Rating: 2
That will teach them to advertise Apple.




By viperpa on 2/28/2007 9:45:08 AM , Rating: 2
Looks like the 2 stores near me are closing. The stores were always busy so I don't know why they are on the chopping block. It was great cause Best Buy never had what you wanted but CompUSA always did. Sad to see that CompUSA was run into the ground. There are many other electronic stores so it really is no biggie.




Bittersweet
By alifbaa on 2/28/2007 1:40:02 PM , Rating: 2
CompUSA was the first computer store I ever shopped at. Back then, it was Softwarehouse, and I was 9. I remember saving up money to buy computer games and eagerly watching their ads to see what new game just came out. Then they got bought out, and things went way down hill. The stores started getting messy, their mail order never sped up like everyone else's, and prices kept getting higher and higher compared to what you could find elsewhere. To top it off, service was lackluster at best. So what used to be a store that had my love has become something I'm glad to see get closed down. They had something good, then they jacked it up.




CompUSA used to be good
By Iridium130m on 2/28/2007 2:32:25 PM , Rating: 2
I liked CompUSA in the 90's when they were more warehouse like...that seemed to keep their costs down. It was neat to walk in and see them doing CD Video demos on low end 486s when no one else had them...little things like that used to drawn me there.

Then when the rebuilt our local store and made it more retail/pretty, the costs on everything went up, and selection went down. Too bad, i think that was their fatal move.




Sniff
By bigboxes on 2/28/2007 4:36:37 PM , Rating: 2
I'm reaching for a tissue as I write this [/sarcasm] <--tag for those who need one. Thank god I've got a Fry's within 2 miles of me. Sure their staff doesn't know diddly, but they've got everything that I can't wait on Newegg for. I usually wait and get it from the Egg, but for DVDs, labels, cases or other supplies that I need for the box I'm working on I just drive up to Fry's.




ooo goody
By ElJefe69 on 2/28/2007 11:16:40 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, worst store possible. Famous for selling the worst versions of vid cards you thought would have been cool. No help, pay for any advice, screw them.

Microcenter.

That's where it is at. They made a killing in flat panels last year (top 40 list for volume! for a store). If you can find one near you, that is where to go. I buy my zalman water cooling supplies there. I dont even think that an employee at compusa knows what a watercooling setup is let alone silent computing, etc.

hate that place. Every time another comp store opened near the compusa, that store crushed comp usa.




good start
By patentman on 3/1/2007 12:00:58 AM , Rating: 2
Now all we need is worst buy to follow suit and the U.S. consumer will be on the road to paying the correct price for electronics.




bye
By Xorp on 3/1/2007 12:34:15 AM , Rating: 2
Good riddens, the one near me, princeton nj, is gone. I swear they TRIED not to help customers.




Like closing a museum
By Suomynona on 3/1/2007 5:35:35 AM , Rating: 2
It's been years since they been enticing to the computerphile though I suspect as the press release noted the retail environment could not support any c-usa incarnation either when they were "good," or now, bad. Heck, that last thing they ever had that I really liked were those wonderful nylon thumbscrews for pc's, they never wore out the threads on your case no matter how many times you used them. But alas they don't even stock those items anymore....




Bawls
By Cullinaire on 3/1/2007 5:44:31 AM , Rating: 2
CompUSA used to be one of the few places to sell Bawls by the case locally, but

I stopped drinking the stupid stuff.




By Jazz57 on 3/1/2007 1:10:37 PM , Rating: 2
I worked for them for many years and quit because I couldn't stomach their ruthless regional manager, and outright fraud. They changed prices of products reducing them to build in warranty sales then if you returned an item it was returned without the warranty so the stores numbers would look good to the corprate offices. It was encouraged to misuse sku #'s, falseify inventory and so on. Upperstate NY and MA stores were the worst....don't even get me started on the sexual harrasment behavior.
Good riddance.......what goes around comes around!




Longer drive times
By kyleb2112 on 3/1/2007 6:56:20 PM , Rating: 2
First Radio Shack and now CompUSA. I was no fan of either, but they were convenient for odds and ends. Now it's a half hour to Frys for even a $2 connector. And the mall right next to my house is officially useless for all technological purposes. Much as I like Fry's it's Walmarting the market.




You can kiss compusa goodbye..
By Sharky974 on 3/2/2007 6:24:05 AM , Rating: 2
Closing over half their stores, in market times where it's generally expand or die, I dont see them surviving.

We had one in my area a few years ago (before it closed) I could tell it was kind of high priced, but having another computer related store around was a good thing in my book.




Times they are a changin'
By AGAC on 3/2/2007 9:46:54 AM , Rating: 2
Can´t remember the last time I walked in to a computer store and actualy bought something. I´ll rather do it online. Easier, cheaper, less time and energy consuming. It´s the best way to buy hardware.




CEO's and money mismangement
By Jackyl on 3/3/2007 12:54:09 PM , Rating: 2
I believe all these store closings are a result of CEO's and upper management making too much salary, and the mismanagement of funds. Shutting down stores will not save the company any money. It will mean less income for the entire company.

Stop giving CEO's and upper management $200,000+ salaries and use that money instead to improve each store.




I worked there
By Dalceon on 3/4/2007 7:46:48 AM , Rating: 2
I worked for CompUSA for 5 years.
They have 2 major problems.
People working at corporate offices that know nothing about what a consumer wants. And secondly and most important, the ability to suck the life out of each and every employee.

After working there for a while, I could give a crap about what any customer wanted/needed I just wanted my paycheck.

I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner.




New ideas = dumb ideas
By pugster on 3/6/2007 3:52:28 PM , Rating: 2
They tried to compete with Circuit City and Best Buy and lost. I recalled a few years back they decided to sell plasma TV's and entertainment centers. I guess you know where that is going. And they also sell snacks, m&m's and sodas.

That is definately the place if you want to buy antiquated computer parts because I was able to get pci-based parellel cards for my company!!! They have improved somewhat on their compusa ezrebates. I have gotten every rebate since government went after them.

They seem to have a problem catering to hardware enthuiast crowds because they only seem to have 2 year old motherboards and cpus. And this stuff is tucked far away from customer's views.

The last time that I actually brought something at compussr was when they have a dvd-burner for $8 after rebate (which is about $13 after taxes).




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