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Circuit City Returns Under Systemax
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sun May 24, 2009 10:26 AM
from the part-two-the-revenge dept.
from the part-two-the-revenge dept.
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.
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Circuit City Closes Its Doors For Good 587 comments
bsharma is amongst the hordes of people wanting us to share the news that long beleaguered retailer Circuit City has finally decided to close for good, asking for court approval to close the remaining 567 US stores. "Whalin said management mistakes over the past few years combined with the recession brought down Circuit City. 'This company made massive mistakes,' he said, citing a decision to get rid of sales people and other mismanagement. What's more, given the credit market freeze, Whalin added that no manufacturer wants to sell to any retailer who doesn't have money to pay for the merchandise. At the same time, Whalin said there's still a very slim chance that one or more firms that have expressed an interest in buying Circuit City could still buy it out of bankruptcy over the next few days."
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really (Score:5, Insightful)
Why shops at retail stores for electronics anymore?
Re:really (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't get me wrong. I buy most of my electronics online. I can usually find much better deals there than in brick and mortar stores. That said, there are some times when I am very glad to have a physical store to go to.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Shipping costs: Well maybe but last I checked because I forgot to include a 15m Ethernet cable the online price covered it + shipping for less.
Shipping time: Yes, definately when you need it today but that's rare. I've done it for odd stuff like the missing cable and so on but...
Retrun policies: Around here, no better (Norway). And I very rarely buy stuff I want to refund, YMMV.
Seeing and trying: Yes, for some products Reviews, benchmarks, press quality preview pictures go a long way though and there's alw
Re: (Score:2)
Not to mention the value in being able to see the quality and try out the product before you buy it.
With all of the consumer review and testing websites, such as CNet and TomsHardware (for PCs), available these days is that even necessary anymore? The types of equipment and testing that these companies do is well beyond the sort of rigor and precision sought by most consumers (who aren't going to spend days tweaking configurations to find out that one video card has only 2 fps more than another one costing $100 less). There is only so much personal time to be put into researching a purchase and unless it
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"Shipping costs, shipping time and return policies. Not to mention the value in being able to see the quality and try out the product before you buy it."
Shipping is cheaper for me than gas and time to visit the store, and I evaluate quality by visiting appropriate forums. I let the early adopters take the risks then I buy accordingly because I cannot duplicate user experience by a short tryout in a store.
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"Shipping is cheaper for me than gas and time to visit the store, and I evaluate quality by visiting appropriate forums."
Really? Ever price the shipping for a large TV, especially if you have to return it or get warranty work?
The best electronics/ products can still be damaged or fail. While many products are well packaged, I still wouldn't trust most delivery services.
Now for smaller/cheaper items....
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You forgot "heavy stuff" and "breakable stuff".
If it's heavy, it's expensive to ship. Monitors (especially back in the CRT days), automotive parts (I know, off topic), and anything the exact right model are important on is best left to an in person deal if possible.
(when you're a Linux user and you buy by the chip - the exact right model revisions is important sometimes)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
This is never an issue for an item like a motherboard which Newegg will RMA without much hassle if it is clear you know what you're doing. I feel pretty confident that if I had bought this printer brick at my local Staples and th
Re: (Score:2)
I think all brother inkjets do this now. I agree that it's a HUGE waste of ink if you don't print color regularly. On the flip side, I've never had a clogged head with this printer. hmmm....
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
This is similar to the reason newer printers have chips on the cartridge, and the printer rejects cartridges that can't be digitally identified as being the same manufacturer,
And why in many cases cartridges have "timebombs", i.e. after X pages, the printer will declare the cartridge empty and refuse to use (even if there's still lots of ink in it)
More revenue for the printer manufacturer who got you the printer for cheap so they could sell lots of ridiculously overpriced ink.
are you paying attention? (Score:3, Informative)
Why shops at retail stores for electronics anymore?
There are no locations for the new circuit city. All their retail stores are still closed. The new circuitcity.com is online-only.
Re: No, really... (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Why shops at retail stores...?
I don't think 'why' shops at retail stores anymore which is 'why' they are re-launching the WEBSITE.
I know you are not supposed to read the story but you could at least read the summary...
They are going to re-launch the WEBSITE. The WEBSITE is not a retail store, it is a WEBSITE.
Wow, yet another site (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Then again it's not really Circuit City (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
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.
Even money says they still want your full name, address and phone number just for buying an overpriced pack of D-cell batteries.
Re: (Score:2)
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.
The Consumerist is just taking advantage of Systemax's poor wording of a policy that NewEgg also has. HP, for instance, might provide that all warranty issues with their products must sent by the original purchaser to the HP technical folks. In that case, it would waste time and money if you sent it to Systemax, they sent it back to you and you then sent it to HP. Plus, in all that shipping, the package might get broken or the warranty may have run out.
Tiget Direct == Better Customer Service? (Score:5, Insightful)
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?
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Re:Tiget Direct == Better Customer Service? (Score:5, Informative)
Sometimes, even at the best places, you get a bad egg...
Speaking of eggs, newegg.com is the best online store that I've had the pleasure of doing business with. :)
Parent
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There's also newegg.ca. It's a little odd since they charge you a "handling" fee that covers GST/PST.
Now, I haven't lived in Canada all that long, so I haven't tried NCIX yet. I probably will in the near future, for comparison.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
mwave.com is also pretty good for online shopping.
Visited the site (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
MWave is a nice NewEgg alternative. [mwave.com]
Re: (Score:2)
A new business needs to bring a lot into the competition in order to get respect. And that's the way the world is, since many businesses have had a chance to mature. So new businesses take a lot of risk, and if you suspect Systemax to be just testing the waters, what they show may be just a shell with little willingness to back up their policies in the face of difficulties. However, customers should look for deals, and maybe there is a winner here. These days, we need to see risk takers make some gains, eve
opt out (Score:5, Informative)
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 [circuitcity.com]
see the following for more information about opting out
http://www.circuitcity.com/sectors/opt-outv2.asp [circuitcity.com]
Re: (Score:2)
I made an online purchase from Circuit City a couple of years ago, so I went to the link you provided and entered my email address to opt-out. It then told me the second step was to click a link that would be emailed to me immediately. I never got that email (it's been a few hours now, and I did check the spam dump). Disturbing. Anybody else have this happen?
Re: (Score:2)
You sir have never attempted to opt out of TigerDirect direct marketing.
Think of them as the Typhoid Mary of spammers, they go around spreading your info to all comers but have a sophisticated system of phone call marry go rounds for thwarting all efforts to remove yourself from their claws. I had to move twice and not leave forwarding addresses with the post office before I got them off my tail.
what's the point? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Yep. I have long had a personal policy to never do business with Tiger Direct. It's such a long-standing policy that I've forgotten the details. Perhaps it is just my mind blocking out old unpleasant experiences. I recall establishing the policy, which is all I really need to remember. And now that I know, I know to extend that policy to Circuit City.
Consumer laws (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Judging by many laws / regulations etc you'd think they were written BY corporations and handed to the government to act on.
In fact, this is not far from the truth here in the United States. Does anyone actually believe that Congressmen, Senators, and their staffs actually sit down and write out 3,000+ page bills to submit to committee? Many, if not most, of the bills that come before Congress are actually written by professional lobbyists employed by firms located in and around the Washington DC area on behalf of their corporate clients. Even if the bill is written by the Congress, the budget for example, the lobby firms still
Editor Opinion Filter (Score:2, Offtopic)
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How much Karma do I need to switch off offensive and bias story tags?
Translation of return policy (Score:5, Funny)
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"
Re: (Score:2)
Some tradenames should die (Score:2)
CircuitCity is presently the top of my list of organizations to boycott. Sam Rami has a good idea - drag them to hell.
The concise summary (Score:3, Funny)
A chain that was called "Circuit City"
Lost all of the cash in its kitty;
So they gave it some whacks
With a big System Ax
And now it will be Circut Shitty.
Stand by your guns (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Stand by your guns (Score:4, Informative)
Or ALWAYS pay with a credit card (not a debit card). One call to the bank, and it becomes the store's problem to prove you are wrong. Also, it costs them $25 to $50 from Visa to deal with a dispute.
Parent
Re:Stand by your guns (Score:4, Informative)
Have you actually tried this on more than one occasion, or are you just parroting something you've heard somewhere?
After returning a clearly defective product that I had spent over an hour testing (specifically, a cable from the bastards at cableclub.com, found via pricewatch), I was told the received product was NOT DEFECTIVE, and I would be given a store credit for the price of the product, minus shipping & handling... in short, less than I paid to ship the item back, and less than it would cost to buy (including shipping) ANYTHING from them again. I tried repeatedly to explain that there's no way they could be correct, and pointed out a handful of factual errors in the info they provided, and still got a steadfast refusal to even return the "defective" item.
I contacted the bank that issued my MasterCard, and explained the situation. They told me that there's no way to prove the product was, in fact, defective, and that because they have a stated policy which allows them to do this, my challenge would be declined, and suggested I just stop shopping there. It took me 5 more minutes to convince the rep I still wanted to challenge the charge, and get him to fill out the paperwork. Of course, the refund never showed up on my card, and the paperwork for me to fill out never arrived.
That's the gist of my experience with CC companies. Their "fraud" protection applies only to a very narrowly defined scenario of fraud, and you'll still probably have to take them to court...
Parent
Why would you want the Circuit City brand name? (Score:5, Insightful)
Who gives a shit? (Score:2)
I can still "buy from Montgomery Ward" [wards.com] - it's not like I'm actually able to buy from Montgomery Ward anymore. Snatching up a name is nothing more than that, I don't care what they name it, Circuit City is gone.
Re: (Score:2)
You are on the wrong forum... this is nerds, not playas
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Oh? Which part of "System ax" gives you unease?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
God, yet another NewEgg fanboy. Because shopping online shouldn't be about choice - it should be about worship!
Not that I have anything against NE, it's just that this thread is looking to be spammed by their employees.