Possible [H]ot Deals: CompUSA store closings (Part 2)

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Yeah... I thought prices were going to drop today... no deal.

As I said before... they can't even go out of business corrrectly.

Anyway... I may hit them up on Saturday (I get paid).

I talked to a friend that worked there (shift supervisor) and asked him a couple questions.

First, Gordon Brothers ended all employee discounts, so they even screw over the employess working at the death knel of CompUSA. They get first pickings, but no extra discounts over customers.

Second, even after the supposed "liqudation discounts", products still have a 50% mark-up value. This I knew as I worked at CompUSA 1998-2001.

Third, Gordon Brothers haven't officially or un-offically set a harddate to actually close the doors. If they had, they are keeping CompUSA employees in the dark. No surprises there.
 
I just bought a book for $10 bucks. It would of been the same price online with the 30% off. I just didn't pay for shipping.

Maybe Monday we'll see a price drop. There were still a lot of hard drives, scanners, games, and other goodies that haven't moved in the Augusta, GA store.
 
Well, I was planning on passing by today since the day is very slow and customers are just not calling. They are not far away from me but not on my way home either.

Thanks for the heads up guys. Do you guys thing that this is the M.O. for all the stores or varies from city to city? so far is has been similar though... we definately need an Inside-Man on the job! :D
 
Compusa reminds me of K-mart a few years ago, they said they were closing and had everything on clearance, when I got there everything has still heavily overpriced yet they had a "markdown".
 
Okay so I stopped by CompUSA today and they have cases going for pretty cheap today. They wanted the Coolmaster 690 for 72.00, should I pick it up!!! I looked on newegg and they have one packaged with a powersupply for 150 but I figure that might be a good deal considering the fact I need a power supply too.
 
I checked the one here in Huntsville today and those stinkers had not dropped the prices one bit. Oh well, I should expect as much from Gordon Brothers. I hate seeing the employees loose their discount, which was huge; the could buy things pretty much at cost according to the CU employee I talked to. I don't really care, I don't need anything particularly right now and have little money.
 
dlaxman31 said:
Okay so I stopped by CompUSA today and they have cases going for pretty cheap today. They wanted the Coolmaster 690 for 72.00, should I pick it up!!! I looked on newegg and they have one packaged with a powersupply for 150 but I figure that might be a good deal considering the fact I need a power supply too.
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Newegg has the 690 for like $35 AR.
 
I talked to one of the managers in the Frisco, TX store and she mention that the next percentage increase will be on Jan. 2.
 
giants8989 said:
I talked to one of the managers in the Frisco, TX store and she mention that the next percentage increase will be on Jan. 2.
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Thanks for the info - does anyone remember what the second tier of discounts was during the first round of enclosures? I think they are at 10-30% right now (not completely sure about that). I am waiting for the %s to increase so I can maybe pick up a second mobile phone.
 
My dad just picked up a Corsair HX620 $127 + tax. Not too shabby. Seems to be one of the cheapest non-rebate prices.
 
I decided to swing by the last CompUSSR in Pennsylvania, the one near Robinson Town Center, to see if I could score some after-Christmas loot.

I probably should have known better by now. They've never failed to disappoint me and today was certainly no exception.

Everything of any value - laptops, desktops, hard drives and all that - had a markdown of 10%, and everything else was 20-30% off. Even with the discounts, though, most of their stuff was still grossly overpriced and the higher-end offerings were already picked over. It's great to see that they're finally backing off their draconian markups for once, but it's a shame that they still can't even begin to compete with reputable web sites like Newegg. There were plenty of people browsing around, but most of them, like me, left without buying anything.
 
Shorehn said:
I decided to swing by the last CompUSSR in Pennsylvania, the one near Robinson Town Center, to see if I could score some after-Christmas loot.

I probably should have known better by now. They've never failed to disappoint me and today was certainly no exception.

Everything of any value - laptops, desktops, hard drives and all that - had a markdown of 10%, and everything else was 20-30% off. Even with the discounts, though, most of their stuff was still grossly overpriced and the higher-end offerings were already picked over. It's great to see that they're finally backing off their draconian markups for once, but it's a shame that they still can't even begin to compete with reputable web sites like Newegg. There were plenty of people browsing around, but most of them, like me, left without buying anything.
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As a consumer I couldn't agree with you more. But if I was selling this stuff, I think I'd do exactly what they're doing. Why sell a laptop for 400 bucks if you can get 900?

Same with good video cards....you don't want to give the stuff away if you don't have to.

I didn't get anything when the one near me closed, but I did go the 2nd to last day they were open, and there wasn't much left to buy, so you gotta believe that they know what they're doing.

At Gordon Brothers, "Going out of business is our business."
 
mavalpha said:
Got into a fight with a manager today. 16GB Sandisk Extreme III CF Card: shelf tag reads $299, but actual item has a separate tag (with correct SKU) for $99. Ended up leaving empty-handed, but with his name. Will definitely file a BBB complaint against Gordon Brothers.
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HAHA ! I love it.

I work at another retailer, and I always find it funny when this stuff passes my desk. Gee wow you found one of 50,000 tags misplaced. GREAT for you. Go to your local Walmart and find 3000-5000 tags misplaced on any given day (out of 2.5 million in the store) lol..

Frankly if you complained to me about it,I'd be nice and explain the above, but if you started yelling, I don't care if the product is a $4999.99 LCD TV, and is marked $0.99 for a keychain, I'd kick you out of the store for stupidity. GL with the BBB, and don't come shop here.

When someplace is closing there are always bargains to be had, just have to know how to talk to the liquidator, and what to look for. You won't find RAM, or high sell through items on sale. Look for the oddball. Something not many people would look for. Techie stuff is about to get cheap at the ones near me. Coolermaster 850W may go to 50% off soon, then I'll pick one, maybe 2 up.

And BTW, CompUSA and no other retailer in the computer industry works at a 50% markup on computers, printers, etc. A receiver or pair of speakers maybe, or ink or cables, but not computers, or computer stuff. That is why they branched out into TVs. Their gross for a given day/store is likely less than 20% including services/warranties.

Bombay and Bombay kids are also closing using Gordon Brothers. Got some Christmas sutff there for the kids and family.
 
You guys have to realize too that the reason things cost more retail is because there's a lot more that goes into the business. An online company can survive with a shipping warehouse and some employees that can read and use a computer to package things. A retail store has to worry about renting locations in high traffic areas, paying employees and managers, utilities, advertising through paper and online and radio, dealing with the middleman shipping companies, etc....

BTW yes I do work for compUSA. Losing our discount sucks, we used to get "avg. cost" on everything in the store. Yes everything. Cables are marked up 30 - 80% depending on the cable, accessories are about 30 - 50% or so, etc... But you know cost on a videocard or laptop? It's crap! Markup on laptops under 1000 bucks, maybe 50 - 75 bucks. 8800GT at cost, 224.xx plus tax. Cost on HD3850, 163.00 plus tax, etc... cost on power supplies, etc... is about 15-20%. So the discounts right now on "upgrades" are dang near what they were at our store cost. When memory hits 20%, that's store cost for most brands.

Another thing, Gordon Brothers doesn't give a crap about you whining about pricing. Whatever the item scans into the POS system as is what you pay. If it's tagged wrong, it means an employee made a mistake, and you pay the price it scans at. Go ahead and waste your time and go to the BBB, the company is going out of business and no one really gives a crap. You'll spend more on a lawsuit then you will save by getting your precious discount.

Maybe you should be more concerned with the people that have worked for the company for a while and are getting stiffed by this whole thing. Our severance is a weeks pay if you are full time and employed for a year straight, two weeks pay if you are a manager, and a month if you are corporate (surprise, surprise)... What a wonderful Christmas present, or should I say kick in the balls. Nothing at all for part timers, or for those of us that have a year with the company that has been spread out over a little longer time.

Did you ever think that part of the reason why the company (and others soon to follow) are going down? It's because of idiots like some of you that post here and argue until you are blue in the face so you can get your CF X3 card for 99 instead of the real price. How can a company exist if they are pushing out items for half their store cost? Have you ever made a mistake in your life? Do you think it's at all humanly possible that a salesman could make a mistake when he/she is tagging an aisle? Of course there's moronic or lazy salesman, but they aren't CompUSA exclusive. What's funny is that you don't realize that by being selfish you are screwing hundreds and/or thousands of people out of their jobs, and also changing the way that retail electronics stores work.

Now that that's off my chest. Price changes come in from Gordon Brothers every Monday or Tuesday, we put up the new discounts on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. This will continue until New Years time most likely. After that, they will increase the discounts until it gets to every other day or so until the stock is gone. Shoot for the end of January for most stores is what we're hearing, maybe the bare essentials will last into February.

Go check out Circuit City's stocks and see where the future of retail electronics are going. Everyone moans and complains about Best Buy, but with the current trends that's going to be the only place to shop soon if you want local service, unless you're lucky enough to have a Fry's I guess.

You can all complain about how you're getting screwed and hate CompUSA, but we all know you will be there again in a week or two waiting to see if maybe, just maybe, that part you've wanted for such a long time finally is to a point where you can justify going into debt to buy it. I hope it's DOA when you open it up...
 
A friend of mine that works at compusa told me that some of the employees have been getting 5 finger discounts because they are shutting down so they aren't as strict on the monitering of the merchandise. ;).
 
I saw an E4400 for $112 + tax = $120 last weekend. I bought it because the cheapest I could find otherwise was $135 + shipping.

$15 saved OH YEAH!
 
My recent experience with the close out has been that they cannot make up their minds about what to and how much to discount things, i was there on Friday the 21st and games were 15% but when i went there yesterday(26th) the discount went back up (or down, however you see it) to 10%, i just walked back out, spent less than 60 seconds in the store:(
 
GameDad said:
My recent experience with the close out has been that they cannot make up their minds about what to and how much to discount things, i was there on Friday the 21st and games were 15% but when i went there yesterday(26th) the discount went back up (or down, however you see it) to 10%, i just walked back out, spent less than 60 seconds in the store:(
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Thats the idea. Get a bunch of people in with decent discounts then let word spread about it and jack up the price when more people start coming.

When i checked out the one here in des moines it was busier than i had ever seen it.
 
all it is that the liquidation company (NOT compusa fault this time) hit us at the right time. With the Christmas holiday, they are gonna just take there time to lower the prices becuase they want to get the normal chrismtas crowd to come in. once they see it slow down, then they will lower the prices more.

And since its the liquidation company, I noticed that if a item was in a clearance bin (like a opened laptop) its still going to be sold at the same 5% off as the new. Which is dumb, but I see some suckers are already buying the displays at 5%.

I just wish I knew whats the lowest % will be, and will they clearance everything or just sell what they can then close doors. Then just ebay the rest. That would be crappy if they lowered the prices to only 50% off and computers/laptops to 15% off as max.
 
starstreak said:
I just wish I knew whats the lowest % will be, and will they clearance everything or just sell what they can then close doors. Then just ebay the rest. That would be crappy if they lowered the prices to only 50% off and computers/laptops to 15% off as max.
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They will get up to 90% on the last couple of days before they close the doors for good. On the last day they will pretty much take what ever price you throw at them.

They are going to sell everything down to the bare walls. Pretty much everything, fixtures, furniture, everything, will be sold.
 
I hope youre right. Man, I've been off work this past two weeks. You watch, it'll go super cheap once I'm stuck at work. lol
Someone on another forum said they would even go as far as holding a "mini" auction to get the best prices if the computers dont sell. I hope thats wrong.

It was funny when I offered a loweball amount (I think I said $500) for a laptop with a cracked screen that wouldnt turn on. And the liquidator said the laptop is worth $2100 and he'll give me 5% off. Didnt matter about the cracked screen.
 
starstreak said:
I hope youre right. Man, I've been off work this past two weeks. You watch, it'll go super cheap once I'm stuck at work. lol
Someone on another forum said they would even go as far as holding a "mini" auction to get the best prices if the computers dont sell. I hope thats wrong.

It was funny when I offered a loweball amount (I think I said $500) for a laptop with a cracked screen that wouldnt turn on. And the liquidator said the laptop is worth $2100 and he'll give me 5% off. Didnt matter about the cracked screen.
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I worked the last liquidation sale. What I described is what the liquidators did during the last week. We had tons of people coming in to buy fixtures as well. It was crazy.
 
Just checked my local CompUSA, main thing of interest to me is the 25% off PSUs. They seem to have a lot of Antec and Coolermaster PSUs left. I did see two Corsair's left.

Corsair 620HX with 25% ~$135.00 + Tax.
 
Well I have to do my job hunting so I might as well drop by my Fresno store and give my report in a day.
 
Calm down now, I'm sure someone will give us a heads up. Won't be me cause it's pooring it's Ass off right now, but I'm sure somebody will.

I wonder if GB will take Louisianna's tax laws into account and give us a big break before new years since here in LA you have to pay taxes on all your inventory at the end of the tax year. Not sure how many states have double tax laws like us though...
 
Omegas said:
I wonder if GB will take Louisianna's tax laws into account and give us a big break before new years since here in LA you have to pay taxes on all your inventory at the end of the tax year. Not sure how many states have double tax laws like us though...
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The thing about government taxes, once they arrive they never disappear. Taxes are a constant growing black hole and lots of the money from taxes is poorly used... the best we can do is fight against new proposed taxes.

I might check out my local CompUSA closing today... doubt I'll find anything.
 
Pretty much all the deals suck (they're not really deals).

Printer ink is a hot buy though. Most everywhere charges pretty much the same. Picked up two Epson T069 color cartridges for $13/each minus 10%. Not worth jumping over, but it was something I needed and a better price than most.

On a side note, for some reason the Epson CX7400 printer costs less than my older CX6000 :confused:
 
Same discounts as a week ago... nothing changed. Store is still fully stocked.

As mentioned, ink cartridges seem to be selling well.

I need a PSU for a spare build, but still only 20% off full MSRP prices. I'll try next week.
 
tuksonrider said:
Same discounts as a week ago... nothing changed. Store is still fully stocked.

As mentioned, ink cartridges seem to be selling well.

I need a PSU for a spare build, but still only 20% off full MSRP prices. I'll try next week.
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Thanks for the update fellow Tucsonian. :D

I was gonna drop by today, but you saved me the trouble! Man, I really need some better cooling for my new rig and they just won't budge on the damn stuff!
 
When are they actually closing the doors? These "deals" suck, Ill wait till they have to liquidate to go back.
 
fallguy said:
When are they actually closing the doors? These "deals" suck, Ill wait till they have to liquidate to go back.
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Guy in the New York store said last day is Monday. Not sure if he actually knew what he was talking about though.

Yeah deal were not really deals. 10-30% off on already high prices. I'll go monday and see if they drop anything lower.
 
theHeat said:
Thanks for the update fellow Tucsonian. :D

I was gonna drop by today, but you saved me the trouble! Man, I really need some better cooling for my new rig and they just won't budge on the damn stuff!
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Yeah. I thought a saw a Zalman 9500 there for 20%, but I didn't notice the price.

Other than that, not much to cool down a Q6600.

They did have a complete Water-cooling kit at 20% off. A thermaltake brand... with discount, made it $110.
 
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