1.) I wonder if they'll put the best gear (cameras, video game consoles) on sale first, or hold them until later?)

2.) I just want to say that Carlos Slim is about the coolest name for a Mexican tycoon you can have.

Don't expect great deals, the first thing gordon brothers does is mark everything *up* (seriously)

then for the first month or more, everything is 10-20% off.. which is still either equal or greater than the prices that compusa was selling them for when they were open.

look at the history of gordon brothers liquidations of compusa - the majority of the stock goes out to ebay wholesalers because the public realizes the prices are horrible.

Yikes! The one right up the street from my house is going! Good riddance though, it was on the bottom floor of a crowded building, and while it had the title plate on the front of the building, the CompUSA inside was pretty lame. Kind of dark...dank...and it was pretty sparse with the gear. No love lost between me and that store, just that it was close to my house.

Well, this sucks. I've been shopping with these guys even back in the day when they were called "Soft Warehouse" and always found it to be a great store. But I have to admit, over the past few years the chain has deteriorated. Living in the Chicago area, there will be no stores around anymore, save for Rockford which is 90 miles away. If you are lucky enough to have a Micro Center or Fry's in the area you'll fair better anyway. Best Buy really did these guys in - how could CompUSA compete with Best Buy???

informedconsumer - If liquidators actually raised prices don't you think attorney generals and the Better Business Bureau would be all over them?. They definitely bring the prices back to pre-sale prices but "raising prices" is illegal. All you have to do is be a smart consumer.

Both stores in Atlanta are gone.
One store was within walking distance of a HUGE Fry's store and a HUGE MicroCenter store. Yet it always seemed to have customers in it.

I never shopped there much but it was nice to have a third choice.

I actually found CompUSA to be more expensive than other electronics retailers when I priced compared. So, it's no skin off my back that fifty percent of store locations are closing!

RE: those that don't care, they shopped BestBuy or whatever for lower prices anyway.

Keep in mind that the store you do shop at can certainly raise any prices that were kept low to be competitive against CompUSA. If that was their only true competition, and they now own your market, they can start to charge whatever they like. Most of us still have Best Buy vs. Circuit City and a few other retailers to keep the competition strong.

I am in the Denver area, and it doesn't look like any of our CompUSAs are going away. Too bad, I was hoping for some closeout deals from at least one of the stores!

Well I work for CompUSA and I am losing my job. A job that I had pride in and worked my ass off for.
I am offered a lousy severance package in return for 3 years of blood sweat and tears.
All because Corporate bigshots drove this company into the ground about 5000 people will be jobless.
When you go into these stores like the bottomfeeders you probably are, don't get pissy if we avoid you like the plague. We don't give a shit about selling to you and don't want to solve your problems anymore.
We don't care what you want, we don't care that your wireless network won't work and we don't care that your 6 year old desktop is slow.
The rest of the stores that will remain open probably won't live to see the end of the year. Fuck slim the mexican, fuck Roman Ross and fuck compusa! THANKS FOR NOTHING!

I believe that the writer who believes it to be illegal to raise prices is seriously mistaken. There is nothing illegal about raising prices, just as there is no requirement that a "sale" have lowered prices.

As for the fellow who doesn't care about customer service any more, I suggest he take a copy of his posting with him to show potential employers in future job interviews. Some of those "bottomfeeders" might have been potential employers.

It would appear that buying out The Good Guys may not have been a very good move for the corporate bigshots...

Well, it's good to know that there were caring CompUSA employees. We had one at my local (being closed) store and I feel bad that he will be out of a job. The rest usually could not be bothered to help customers.

As for clearance pricing, it is unlikely that there will be any hot deals for a while. It is in the best interest of the company that is doing the liquidation to get as much as possible.

First, a company can charge whatever the market will bear; that's capitalism. Liquidators generally end existing sales and bring prices back to full list price, or whatever the manufacturer's list price is (but not more), as soon as they take over, to maximize their return. It can take weeks before they start to reduce prices, and by then local shoppers have probably given up and gone elsewhere.

I won't bother to go. Never liked the stores anyway, with their poor service, confused staff and lame rebate-based sale pricing. Fry's sucks, but at least they don't mess around with their customers; you know what you're getting into for the deals.

My experience at my local CompUSA has been mixed over the last 6 or 7 years. I bought one of my first computers there and had a really great salesman who took good care of my needs. Their repair department, however absolutely stunk! Their so-called techs didn't know what they were talking about most of the time and I ended up having to switch most of my computer needs business to Best Buy and their "Geek Squad". About the only good thing that CompUSA did right was to have a very large selection of software that I could not seem to find anyplace else.

I say, no great loss that they are closing. I still have Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot and Circuit City within easy commute so I should do okay on future technology purchases.

I am a CompUSA customer, I sell products to CompUSA. I have been in many CompUSA's. There are so many stores that have employees that just don't care about customers. Attitudes were poor, it was always about the store, not about the bigger picture. BestBuy does a great job with the bigger picture. You walk into a BestBuy in Virginia - it is the same as one in California; you walk into a CompUSA in Dallas, could be way different than another CompUSA in Dallas. It is sad to see such a great company take such a step, but if it can regroup and get to a better place, it could be a good thing for the consumer in the long run.

Glad to see them go. These fucking lazy-assed bottom feeding employees sucked. The attitudes of most of their employees was typical of the the poster Iamlosingmyjob. I never expected these minumum wage earning dogs to know much about technology. They wouldn't know a serial key from the one in their pocket. The only bad thing I see from the whole deal is that these fake MCSE's might try to find employment at Frys or some other viable technology company still in the game. Yikes!!

The CompUSA in my area has been here about 9 years, I found that Best buy,circut city, etc near by could never give straight answers to my questions it was about the all mighty dollar. I thought Compusa had good prices, but they really seemed to know about technology, I guess it comes down to the mamangement of the stores. I for one only have good experiences to speak about.

Nope. It IS illegal to raise the baseline price for a known event. Check your retail sales statutes. It is also illegal to advertise a special without "reasonable quantities" of said item available.

I used to work for CompUSA (as a salesperson and as a manager). I saw a lot of people who were just there to cash a paycheck (however anemic). But, there were always people who loved the technology and took the job so they could be around and receive discounts and freebies on new technology. The shame of this is that chains like Best Buy and Circuit City tend to have few, if any, of the latter type of person on theirs sales floor.
While it can be easy to find answers on the internet, it can be difficult for someone with little to no depth in technology to do so. And, with CompUSA disappearing, there is one less source for information.

CompUSA has screwed me for the last time. They can kiss my ass goodbye. Obviously, I could tell my horror stories but I stopped shopping there a long time ago, good ridence. Maybe now the space they were taking up could be replaced with a Fry's in Tucson!

I always found the CompUSA stores to be overcrowded, disorganized and too dark. I like the new look Best Buy stores, but their prices are ridiculous, plus I absolutely despise rebates. Circuit City will be the next casualty. I'm hoping Fry's will come to my neck of the woods. I've heard good things about them.

My purchases are from NewEgg.com. I've never been disappointed or had to put up with a know-nothing sales rep.

I hope they keep the Edison or Springfield NJ store open. I've bought almost all my computer gear there for years! The tech and busisness support people have been great.

I've provided consulting to a half dozen CompUSA stores on the East coast, so I also know the stores as a regular customer.

While I feel bad for the people losing their jobs, and I'm sure some good employees are getting shafted, most of the clerks I found at these stores were inattentive -- you almost had to send up a flare to get noticed by the people behind the (dis)service desk. And if you ever tried to return an item, they'd keep you waiting in line so long, you'd probably get disgusted and walk away. Maybe they did it on purpose, I don't know.

So if you need stuff, Newegg.com and Pcconnection.com are great mail order houses. But stay *far* away from WildDigital.com. They tried to steal from me, then lied about it.

Polixenese: sorry, but Edison and Springfield are both history (so is King of Prussia, PA). The only CompUSA store to remain in the Garden State is Mount Laurel. Take 295 south to the Moorestown Mall, then go left off the exit, and they're a quarter mile down on the left.

I bought my last 2 Compaq's at CompUSA. I hope the Dayton Store will be still open.

They never were any good. You never could get anyone on the phone at the local stores. They never had the latest software. The sales people were not helpful at all. I say Good Riddance!

You can see where the CompUSA stores were/are by looking them up on Yellowpages.com or Switchboard. Any store listed there but not on the CompUSA site is one that they are closing.

I have to say I am not surprised. The one near me was not known to have reps with product knowledge. They would typically pick up the box I was asking questions about and start reading the labels. Management was worse, and had no concept of customer service. Once in a while they would let me onto a computer with live internet access so I could look up the answers to my questions. But mostly, it was a bunch of people who obviously would rather be somewhere else. I moved most of my purchases to Fry's, Best Buy, and online. And if I need really good technical support, I go to my local VAR. There are thousands of very good smaller businesses that are expert in explaining and deploying technology to small and mid size businesses that have been in the community for years, and have excellent reputations for service and support. They just aren't the first stop for games.

So long to an arrogant company, and to iamlosingmyjob - please don't darken my doorway. Take a walk to Nordstroms and see what customer service is supposed to look like. Its about the customer, not the deal on the table.

This goes to Iamlosingmyjob. No one gives a shit about you -or- your job. It's worthless employees like you that drive a company under. You'd better practice saying "Ya want fries with that?".

What about any pending rebates???? Will CompUSA honor them or just pretend they don't exist?

Also, the advertised sales were great deals! I think as much as some people don't like them, their competition was good for the consumer.

About ten years ago when I first started shopping at Comp USA they were pretty good. after a few years they went down hill. My local Comp USA almost never had items on sale in stock. They would not give rain checks. Far too many of their sales used mail in rebates. Understandably all big ticket items were locked up, but I had to wait way to long (1 hour +) for service, often to be told the item was out of stock. I quit shopping there about 4 years ago. I do fill bad for the people loosing their jobs. I will not miss the store.

My biggest problem with Comp USA is that almost everything that they have on sale is after a rebate. The last rebate I submitted to them took almost a year to get paid. I am not big on Best Buy, but they and OfficeMax have done away with rebates and give you the discount immediately.

I saw a Compusa close last year. They dragged there feet closing but they did have some decent deals. The high item things like computers will be shipped to other stores in there region but demo and on the shelf items will go on sales and the sales only gets better the closer to the finaly date. Also big tvs will most likely not be sent to other stores due to shipping cost and the alerady high mark up on price. Happy shopping.

I stopped shopping at CompUSA well over 10 years ago for many reasons. The most notable was having to return a 3 pack of Travan Tapes because, although double shink wrapped/name brand, they had already been used to back up someone else's data.

Good Riddance!

It's amazing that they lasted this long. Anyone notice Micro Center heating up the competition? They are sporting prices on some products like Newegg. Some are even better such as the Zalman HD160B home theater case. $64 cheaper than Newegg, not including tax for those who want to whine about that. What's funny is that I live within 30 minutes of two CUSA's, one of them a Superstore, and they have been delisted from their website.
Why is everyone comparing them to Best Buy? Sure, they were competitors, but rather different markets. I think they were cursed once they starting selling Gateway crap. Oh, By the way, Once you know, you Newegg...

Good ridance since most of their good sales are a scam with limited stock (loss leaders). Most savy shoppers already know where to get the good stuff cheap and 95% of the time, it wasn't COMPUSA. I'll still be checkin' out the local one though to see if anything worthwhile pops up but I'm not banking on it. Keep an eye on Microcenter as their prices online have become rather competitive which can translate into instore/local deals with their printable coupons. I.E., Lowest price to be found for an Intel E4300 anywhere and that was even after taxes. Same for an EVGA 7900GS KO videocard.

Dunno about the rest of you but I'm sad to see them go. Yeah, they lost their way and I frequent stores like Fry's and Best Buy and Circuit City more often, but -- damn! -- CompUSA was the first computer superstore I ever saw. That was 15 years ago and I had never seen anything like it. Before CompUSA, all the computer shops I'd ever seen were little Radio Shack-size hole-in-the-walls. So CompUSA was pure heaven and to this day I retain a modicum of brand loyalty. And, to give them their due, they still have/had some great sales. I just bought several hundred name-brand blank DVDs for $20/100-pack.
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For their last anniversary, I thought they should have had a contest to see who could present the oldest CompUSA receipt. That would've been fun.

I went to the Edison, NJ store today, hoping to get an offer that was in Sunday's flyer. I didn't know about the closing.
They of course wouldn't honor the ad.
Well, in typical don't give damn CompUsa style they were not ready for the sale.
But I checked and asked, and it seemed like that had marked everything with full retail prices. Then they were offering 10% off on most things. Not really worth it.
Like full retail DVDs with 10% off.
Who buys at those prices?
Good thing there is a computer show in Edison., NJ this weekend.

After reading all of the above comments, I think I can see the company's problem - no consistency and too much neglect of their stores, inventory, and staff.
My "local" CompUSA was fabulous - about 25miles from my house. I rarely shopped for computer gear, both Windoze and Mac, anywhere else. Knowledgeable staff, good inventory, decent location for other shopping and eating out. Include me with the group that is sad about their closings.

Johnny Bowties How naive can you get?

CompUSA has been doing it for years - having "sales" on items on which prices were first raised and then advertised as "SALES"
And they always had items displayed in the store as unadvertised sales which were NOT at reduced prices.
Somewhat in their defense though, others also do it.
That's business as usual in USA...and less and less regulation or enforcement of regulations.

I notice that Las Vegas, NV is not losing their store even though there is a Fry's about 10 miles away. For me that is a good thing as the Fry's is located in the worst possible spot traffic wise, it can take over a half hour to exit the one exit at the store. The CompUSA store is located in an easily accessible area with good entrances and is in the center of town. Going there can save over a half hour of travel time alone.

All Washington D.C. Metro Area stores are gone. Nearest now is Richmond?!? Ggga-GGaa-GGGaa, That's All Folks! I'll check them out for bargains in a few weeks but don't expect any real bargains, for reasons cited by everyone else. ANY retail closing with liquidators sells the "good" stuff (if it was not shippe dto other stores first) at not more than 15% off and the junk goes on for months starting a "10-off" until closure at 60% off or more, but what you are buying then are broken pieces, trash and store fixtures and such run over by elephants.

CompUSA CEO Roman Ross claims the stores are closing due to "changing conditions in the consumer retail electronics market." I couldn't agree more.

Retailers in all segments are astutely working feverishly to show care and concern for their customers; wheelchairs for disabled people, places throughout the store to sit for a moment of respite and rest for the elderly and disabled, well informed staff that are kind, caring, and helpful, broad product selection and fair prices with fair return and exchange policies.

After 20 years of professional IT experience including shopping as a consumer of IT products I have never had that type of experience at any CompUSA store in Wisconsin. Never. I shopped the two CompUSA stores in Wisconsin because the company offered broad product selection and only because the company had broad product selection.

Circuit City is also closing stores due to "changing conditions in the consumer retail electronics market."

Retailers that care about their customers always weather the toughest of times. Retailers like CompUSA and Circuit City eventually go out of business and for these two particular abusive pariahs the sooner the better.

I bought a laptop at CompUSA awhile back. The sales rep knew very little about his products, but I have been using computers for 25 years, had done my research and knew what I wanted, so I felt comfortable buying it there. He did sell me on their extended warranty program, only because it included a free battery replacement after 1 year, no questions asked. When my battery died, I felt rather justified in spending the money on the extended warranty because it was less than the new battery. I called last Saturday to make sure I could pick one up. When I went in Tuesday night, I think I ran into iamlosingmyjob, above, because the guy behind the counter was as rude as it gets and would not even talk to me. Why have the store open at all if you are going to treat customers this way? I understand what it is like to lose a job because corporate leadership fails. I invested 14 years in a software company, only to have them turn against anyone who had been there awhile because they wanted to cut cost for the shareholders. Sorry, but losing your job is probably the best thing that could happen to you. Just remember along the way to learn that most companies (especially public companies) are only loyal to their employees as long as it suits their bottom line. But as long as you are standing behind the counter at a store who is paying you to do a job, you should do your job and take care of your customer. CompUSA is not going out of business. They are closing SOME of their stores. They should continue to honor their agreements whether an individual store closes or not. I personally will never buy another product from them, no matter how good a deal it is. And, duh, to state the obvious, I certainly would warn anyone reading this to never buy an extended warranty from them. If they are treating their customers like this now, they will not last over the long haul, and your warranty, even from a thriving store, could be worthless at any time. If they tell you to call 1-800-CompUSA to get warranty service, be prepared to go through more than it is worth to get something fixed. Buyer Beware. And, again, to state the obvious, even if you get something in writing, it is only worth as much as the integrity of the people running the company. Sadly, in many cases these days, integrity and business do not seem to mix. Certainly not with CompUSA.

The overall problem was/is a serious lack of competence on both sides of the counter. On the one hand sales people who aren't given the financial incentive, (i.e. an average 1%-3% spiff) to accumulate either product knowledge, or customer service skills. On the other hand customers who claim to come to the store for questions/assistance with a product then have the gall to argue with you when it's abundantly clear that they couldn't find their own asses with both hands, some of which have already posted their own moronic insights in this particular post. My personal favorites were the really loud-talking, knuckle-draggers who think that the purchase of a platinum TAP entitles them to get, do, & say every & anything they want to courtesy of an ass-kissing, middle-management force that promises the sun, moon, & stars to these idiots without so much as a by-your-leave to their support staff who they then threaten/chastise for not delivering on all the unreasonable requests made by the aforementioned knuckle-draggers.

Just shows you how stupid CompUSA management has gotten. They were around long before Best Buy. I loved that store when it opened and bought a printer from them a couple of years ago which I love! I always loved to go there to see all the latest computer stuff. To leave only 1 store open in Michigan in the center of the state is so stupid! The only winners will be the local computer stores and of course Computer City and Best Buy! I refused to support their stupid rebate system! I would go over to CompUSA to get my technical questions answered (great help!) and when I was ready to buy went to Best Buy first and only came back if I had to! They had a much greater inventory than Best Buy and I will miss the Black Friday sales. They also usually had 5 closed cash registers with 1 or 2 clerks so you had to wait in lines every time you went!

Interesting that Florida is keeping all of its stores. Given the general thin-ness on the ground of specialty retailers, there's probably enough business to go around. I always found the store here (opened about 2 years ago) to be clean and well-stocked. Service wasn't spectacular, but not any worse than every place else. The Best Buy was crowded with idiotic tennagers in oversized pants, and the booming car stereos about made one's ears bleed. The Shirk-it City was a true dump, where the employees tried to outdo one another for shoddy service, and one was likely to be knifed by a fellow customer. Plus is smelled funky, and would have periodic plagues of half-crazed ferrets.

The Washington DC metro area hs never been well supplied with good computer stores. For years, Circuit City practically owned the electronics market, but they hit the skids in the computer department years ago and have rarely been well stocked. (To its credit, Circuit City continues to have the best tech service among the superstores here, and is remains the most honest and forthright in honoring warranties.) Best Buy came into the area years ago and undercut everybody, but their service work has generally been less than adequate (at best), their "warranties" have been essentially worthless, and their business practices have sometimes bordered on the loathesome. The CompUSA stores in the Maryland suburbs were consistently well-stocked, their prices consistently good, and their sales excellent. I have spent a bundle of money at CompUSA and I will miss them a great deal. Now if only Fry's, MicroCenter, or OfficeMax would take over some of the old CompUSA stores....

I spent lots of time and money at CompUSA, but because of the decline in service and stock, I haven't been there in 2 years.
It's the now classic tale - a good company is milked of its assets, mismanaged and the good employeees leave when they are forced to work for minimum wage. Seems to be the way we do business here in the good old USA. A bankrupcy or two, then gone.
Best of Luck to the remaining good employees loosing their jobs, and hope a once great name can buck the odds and make a strong comeback.

St. Louis has no Fry's or any other major electronics chain. Still, it looks like CompUSA will be closing their 3 stores here. I've always gotten very good service, especially at the Sunset Hills store. My experiences with Best Buy have been anything but the best. I will definitely miss CompUSA!

The CompUSA story is not unique. We live in an age where technology has made it possible to become incredibly rich. Wealth goes beyond simple money into control over what other people do. Nothing new about that. Rich doesn't mean evil, but evil people get rich. They do it by focusing on the money without any regard for the people who help them grow richer.

I remember when CompUSA was a computer store. Then Slim Pickens (whoever) took over and changed the focus to consumer goods, which would make him richer faster. But every other person that would not rest until they had it all did much the same thing. Now Slim thinks there are better ways to get richer, and a whole lot of people have lost their jobs. At least they didn't get outsourced by people with the same focus on money.

In the old days, 400 years ago, if the leader was irresponsible to the people, like Charles the First of England, the people revolted and the king lost his head. Unfortunately, his sychophants didn't lose theirs, and continued the line of managers that had no clue.

Yes, I will miss our local store. They did well against the odds set by Pickins, but they really weren't in control of their destiny. How much more of this will go on before we recognise the enemy?

Yes, this is all empty rambling. Wealth is power, and I don't have it. So I keep Vaseline handy and spread my cheeks when power wants to have its way.

I think lucasfilm should've had more spankings when he was a kid.. If he is still a kid his parents need to exercise some parental rights on his butt. As far as Comp USA closing some stores, it's a shame. It was nice to always have that choice when looking for something that you had to have today. I feel for the people that are losing their jobs, it seems that lately that is the norm everywhere. Maybe some employees will use this as an opportunity to get better educated and find stable employment elsewhere. I say good luck to them and godspeed. Goodbye Comp USA. Sorry to see all St. Louis stores closing, one of the stores will be dearly missed.

Is there a list somewhere of what stores are closing?

Somebody mentioned only the Mt Laural NJ store will remain open. Is it confirmed that both Paramus NJ stores, Little Falls/Totowa, and Parsipanny are closing?

Well, my nearest store just went from 5 miles to 265 miles away... Not that I would notice - the Murrieta, Ca store opened only a short time ago and its sales people fit the stereotype - I went there once and never again..

Dear Paramus NJ,

Go to comp usa web site - go to store locator (by zip, or city/state). If your store no longer appears - it is closing

All the LA stores are off the store list. My local Redondo Beach, CA store is closing, so my "nearest" store is 80 miles away in Bakersfield... I agree, CompUSA is not what they were 10 years ago, but the RB store was still ok: close, had reasonable stock, and reasonable employees. I avoided the Manhattan Beach Fry's like the plague. Although it had more stock, I find the employees mostly clueless, the stock frequently repackaged from returned items, and the store generally disorganized. Oh well, back to online shopping, I guess, although I'll miss the ability to actually look at and handle the merchandise...

I just checked and the Minnesota stores are gone..closest is Des Moines. What I liked about the CompUSA was it was huge and had a large inventory. The offered for sale far more items such as computer components that BB and CC didn't offer. We don't have Frys here or any other large computer centers. It will be a big loss to this area.

don't bother to look for bargains - the Memphis store seem to mark stuff up and offer a small discount that got bigger with time but almost nothing of interest - shop Newegg!

I got ripped off by CompUSA in King Prussia, Pa more than once I feel. I bought an Epson Dot Matrix printer for $150. They charged me $250 to replace the print head! Never asked first, no esimate, no phone call, just did it, then demanded the money! Said Warrenty had expired. Their prices kept going up and up. I stopped going in years ago...

Yep, all the stores in my local area are closing, Even the one in the Palisades Center SuperMall in Nyack NY. That makes 5 stores in the NY/NY suburbs. Well, like others have said, nobody will really miss them. Their sales staff was non-attentive, hard to locate, and when you did, were unknowledgeable. Not that Best Buy and Circuit City are any better as far as knowledgeable staff goes. Interesting to note that all of the stores in my area that are closing were within sight of, or walking distance to, a BB, CC, or Staples. No, I doubt I'll miss them.

Here is a link to store closings
http://www.compusa.com/locations/closing_stores.asp

What about those like myself who have bought a bunch of different stuff at C-USA with their extended warranty? I actually had great service at my local store, which is now closing. Who's going to fulfill my warranties if I have a claim?
BTW-their 2-year replacement warranty probably didn't help in their undoing. Their salespeople would sell it as "buy this printer and bring it back in 2 years even if nothing is wrong with it, and we will give you a brand new model replacement valued at the same price you paid for the old one." I have had them replace printers, pda's, mp3's, and a computer. Probably not how they envisioned it to be sold and not good for the bottom line.

I went to the store down the road from Johnson Space Center and the best discount was 20%. I picked up a pair of speakers and a D-Link router for 10% off. I can't justify a large purchase for less then 40% off. I will monitor that store for a week or two to see what happens.

Back in 1993 I used two CompUSA's in the Boston area for several major purchases for my office. The staff were knowledgeable and professional for many years. Then service very much declined. Unskilled staff were in abundance, products were usually overpriced, previously opened and generally seemed rumaged through. The extent of my purchases ended up being only trivial supply items that I can get anywhere. I do feel bad for the employees that "worked their asses off" and now are out of a job. But as for the rest of the other employees and top management, I hope they do not end up in another store near me.

Getting porked out of a personal $80 rebate cost them all the corporate business I was doing with them. Whilst trying to find an upper level corporate manager to express my disgust to I found that they hid behind a foreign veil of secrecy. Unfortunately I learned that they were no longer publicly traded and I could not short sell their stock to make my $80 back. Damn it!!! Turn out the lights; the Compudyne party is over...

Washington DC folks: Don't forget the CompUSA in Columbia, MD - it's much closer than Richmond VA, and I actually LIKE that CompUSA - it's bright, clean, and very well stocked. :D

i only shopped there for stuff i knew about
i tried 3 diff stores and each had about 30 or so people, around 2-3 that knew something and the rest a bunch of retards
maybe if they had only a 50% retard rate they would have done more business

sorry to enlighten you whoops but i have work with the gordon bros and they do start stuff off higher b4 they mark it down

Goodbye and good riddance, CompUSA. The last product they carried I really cared for, the cheapo neoprene keyboard wrist rests, went the way of all CompUSA products and disappeared from the stores in January, just as I needed one for this bloody awful Apple keyboard.

For all of you hoping to be saved by a Fry's moving in to fill the vacuum, good luck. I can tell you from the heart of Fry's land that nobody, not even CompUSA, can pack a store with know-nothing, care-nothing retail wage slaves like Fry's. Sure, the prices are great, if you can actually find the stuff in the store, and if it hasn't been opened, half the parts thrown out, then resealed and restocked by the simian staff. But hey, the prices are great.

What to do? Get cozy with Newegg. Better yet, get a clue and visit the local Apple store. The employees there may not know much more, but they're at least polite, well mannered, and clean, and SOMEBODY in the store knows what you're talking about. Oh, and the computers SUCK A LOT LESS too.

I went to CompUSA to buy an advertised computer last month. FIVE, yes, FIVE employees were standing around watching a big screen television.

NONE of them would even help me get the computer I wanted to buy; I didn't have questions about it, I just wanted the computer and monitor that were advertised put in a shopping cart (the display area doesn't have the products to buy, only displays).

It was INSANE! I've never seen employees that were such assh@les.

Screw CompUSA. I hope they all lose their jobs.

If I didn't know any better, I would say Iamlosingmyjob is somewhat bitter. Hmmm. I have shopped at CompUSA several times. Was never impressed with their knowledge of products. So I just moved on. One will find downfalls at any store. Just move on. It's the less stressful way to do things.

I can't believe that I am reading about all the negative being said about Compusa.

The store I visit about once a week is a large, very well organized and has an excellant staff of workers, always there to try and help.

If you really want nitty gritty computer parts or technical books (many times at discounted prices) where are you going to go?....Best Buy...you gotta be kidding. Maybe you want a washing machine and refridge while shopping for a computer...then I suggest Best But.

I cant believe computer buffs can compare Best Buy to Compusa.

Go to BB for a raid controller card or a special jumper cable or bluetooth headsets or a Perl Language tech manual...good luck you'll still be looking ...and probably wind up buying Return of Batman or Superman DVD instead.

I have never liked the customer service at CompUSA. It has always been very poor. I have only bought things from there when it was a really good deal. I like visiting CompUSA, but rarely ask for assistance, because I either don't get it or they don't know much about their product as I did research. It is unfortunate that people have to lose their jobs, but downsizing happens all over the world and there are other jobs out there. Looks as though the one is my town is sticking around for a while.

The store in La mesa SAn diego is closing, yeah the people there had no clue about anything they were selling, but i did and when there becase i knew what i needed and for th most part thier prices were in par with best buy fars as computer and software stuff goes. I like the store cause they offerd other brands, then best buy etc... best buy has a awful computer componet seletion, and frys just re-stocks returned items right back on the selfs, even if its known to have a problem. Now they have now stared orange tagging items like this now, but still. The frys in San Diego is a mess, never can find anything that someone has not opened or stole somthing out of. Saw a bag labeled thermal grease, ripped open, guesss someone did not what to pay the .99 cents. Most of the people who work there look like gang bangers, the parking lot is notorious for auto thieft and break ins. best buy carries Lg and samsung, and thier named insigna brand or whatever. compusa always had a good selection of brands and performance to choose from. Sad they f'ed up a great store, should have just stayed with comp parts and i bet they would have done well.

I'm sad. My local store was always a good resource. One day, looking for some hardware to mount a disk drive, the employee gave me a huge tray of parts to look through, find what I wanted, and after I found what I needed, told me it was "no charge". That sort of service kept me coming back to actually buy (and pay for) things. I can always find fault but my other local stores (Fry's, Best Buy) aren't exactly a walk in the park. Less competition isn't a good thing, IMHO.

Here is the list of closing stores. It even tells you which ones had a small business center or sold home electronics.

http://www.compusa.com/locations/closing_stores.asp

All 4 of the Northern Va. stores are going. Too much competition from Best Buy and Circuit City I suppose.

Raising prices just to advertise a "sale" price that's no lower than the usual selling price is generally illegal.

Simply raising prices isn't.

Sorry to see CompUSA go. I have Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples, Fry's and MicroCenter alternatives. Best Buy charged me a total of $300 for repairs to a printer which needed only an uptake roller and toner. Cash deal,no warranty issues. They called me to pickup 3 times and each time, they had broken something else. Finally, the last time they had lost the digital control panel off the front so it wouldn't even turn on. 6 months time, $300 and they called security and threatened to have me arrested if I didn't leave and take the pieces with me. Fry's has sold me $200 "graphics card" shrink-wrapped, which contained a few loops of a broken extension cord, cardboard and some other junk and paper to approx. the weight, sold me an advertised "package" mobo and processor that were incompatible, a badly scratched music cd, and took one year to repair a Toshiba laptop under extended service plan. Comp USA was there before all of the rest, and had excellent service, prompt warrenty repair. Prices were a little higher, but the quality worth it. Circuit City lost interest in computer business years ago so I have only 2 local alternatives now: MicroCenter, a little further drive, but great service and quality, and a Vietnamese guy hidden in an industrial park who builds exactly what I want including parts I bring while I sit and watch, and when I am at the end of my rope with some computer that is having intermittent fits, he will trouble shoot, and replace whatever component is causing trouble. I expect that stores closing or mistreating customers may lead to those still in business being free to raise prices but you never get more than you pay for - I just hope to get the full value for the price.

I'm sorry to see the Sunset Hills, MO store go. I always got great service at the corporate sales desk. The only problem I had was when I would go into the store during the evening and had to deal with the non-corporate sales staff. They never knew how to handle tax exempt status and they never gave me as good of a discount. I've bought a LOT of equipment from them over the years and will miss them. BTW, the 'clearance sale' is currently 20% off of everything.

I checked out one of the stores to be closed. The discounts on merchandise were not substantial, from 5% to 20%. Some items, e.g., motherboards, were all but sold out. I bought an interface device, some labels, and some DVD+R discs, but felt the prices on the other merchandise could be beat on the 'net.

RETURNS! @ COMP it was all about returns. I never seemed to have to go thru nearly the hassled of FRY's
when it came time to take sometink back. I will miss
the corner COMP(where we bought our first puter) but,
seriously, rebates are OUT and that was ALWAYS COMP's
main hook on sales. But, I still can't wait to see the Sunday's ad.

I worked at CompUSA back in 01 as a tech. Worked there for about a month before I quit. I felt that the uniform there should have included a mask along with the red shirt. I didn't feel comfortable ripping off customers and had to leave. The company would push sales of unneeded services and accepting any and all work without any chance of completing work by the promised date. I sent half the day answering irate customers phone calls and couldn't make up enough excuses. I never set foot back in a CompUSA since and I don't think I will for any closeouts ether.. They will figure a way to stick it to you even in closing.. Good Riddance...

I could have told you years ago that CompUSA would not make it; untrained employees, poorly arranged stores, half the items were not priced. Just a sign of poor or no management. I don't know what people see in BestBuy; I think their prices are high and I hate all the loud music, and sensory overload in their stores. I try to buy everything I can online.

Today I visited one of the two Columbus, Ohio CompUSA stores going out of business. I found no big deals and walked away empty handed just as I had so many times in the past before CompUSA was going out of business. Possibly as the clearance sale lingers on and items on hand dwindle, there will be deals to be had. Today (Sunday, March 4, 2007) there weren't any significant deals to be had. I might possibly try again later.

7 of the 9 CompUSA stores in the DFW area are closing. Dallas was were the chain originated. It is strange that one of the only stores remaining open is around the corner from a Fry's.

I've never liked CompUSA. They were always understaffed, and the staff they had was usually unmotivated and ill-informed. (I once watched a rep tell a customer that there was no difference at all between two scanners except the price. I gently pointed out that one scanner was a color scanner while the other was B/W.) The CompUSA where I used live was little better than a slum - filthy and poorly maintained. I used to make a game out of trying to figure out how they would make me suffer whenever I went there. They always managed to do it somehow.



The reason I kept going (and the only real loss for me) is convenience. Everything's cheaper online, but sometimes the ability to run out on a weekend afternoon or at 8PM on a weeknight and instantly get my hands on a badly needed part or unusual cable was worth the extra expense and hassle. Even though CompUSA's selection wasn't the greatest, BestBuy's stock of such things pales by comparison.

This is to John the Moron

WHEN A STORE IS IN LIQUIDATION THE STORE INVENTORY IS OWNED BY THE LIQUIDATOR. THE STORES AD IS NO LONGER VALID IN THOSE STORES. ARE YOU STUPID?
YOU MUST BE LIKE THE FOOLS THAT CAME IN OVER THE WEEKEND ASKING IF WE WERE PRICE MATCHING...UNREAL.
YOU ALL BITCH ABOUT REPS NOT KNOWING ANYTHING. YOU ALL WANT SOMETHING FOR NOTHING..I AM SICK TO DEATH OF ANSWERING YOUR STUPID QUESTIONS FOR FREE. DON'T YOU STUPID SHITS RESEARCH STUFF BEFORE YOU BUY IT??? IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO HOOK UP YOUR PRINTER YOU SHOULD NOT BE BUYING ONE IN THE FIRST PLACE..HIRE SOMEONE TO SET UP YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK BEFORE YOU HURT YOURSELF! YOU ARE ALL LUCKY YOU CAN BREATHE WITHOUT HELP.
AND AS FOR REBATES...DO YOU THINK COMPUSA IS THE ONLY STORE TO DO THEM?? I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM GETTING ANY REBATE I HAVE EVER DONE ANYWHERE! IF YOU BOTHERED TO READ THE DIRECTIONS AND TAKE PHOTO COPIES OF WHAT YOU SEND YOU'D GET THE REBATES. BUT YOU SCREW IT UP OR SEND IT IN TOO LATE, OR GET GREEDY AND TRY FOR MULTIPLE REBATES AND IT'S THE STORES FAULT! YOU ARE ALL THE SAME AND I'M SO GLAD TO NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOU JERKOFFS ANYMORE...RETAIL SUCKS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU. TRY TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SAY AND HOW YOU TREAT YOUR SALES PERSON WHEN YOU WALK INTO A BESTBUY NOW...IN REALITY THEY DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT YOU EITHER...NOBODY IN RETAIL GIVES TWO SHITS ABOUT YOU...ALL WE CARE ABOUT HIS HOW MUCH YOU ARE TO SPEND.

The list of closing stores is currently ON the CompUSA site, below the store locator boxes. March 6, 2007.
- Bill

Iamlosingmyjob,

"We don't give a shit about selling to you and don't want to solve your problems anymore."

Sounds like an attitude that probably sunk your store to me. Do you really believe that the customer can't feel or see this attitude? Why in hell's name would anyone buy anything from you. Go get a J.O.B. because true sales requires finesse and caring....and you have neither. Get some gloves because you're going to need them to shovel all that shit out there to feed yourself....unless of course you feel you are "entitled" to more and better just for having been born into this society. Water seeks it's own level and I am sorry you went down for the "third time". Maybe if you're young enough you can still learn from this lesson.

This is interesting that a CompUSA just opened a month or two ago here in Hawaii right across Home Depot in the Leeward area (that is if you are familiar with Hawaii).

Recently I bought a printer there and it is the first time I stepped into the new store buying something. The salesperson was quite informative and knowldegeable about OkiData printers even though I had done my research about laser printers being better. After our discussion and seeing how the ink cartridges are put in the Okidata I was impressed. I then let the salesman know that I wanted to think things over so I thanked him for the information and his help and he left us to decide.

After a talk with my husband we went ahead with the Okidata and this time a young salesman came around to assist us who seemed less knowledgeable than the first older man, but we knew what we wanted. He then wanted to sell the extended warranty and I did not want that, but my hubby said we should.

After reading some of the posts here though I am getting a bit worried about the purchase of the extended warranty not being honored and would like to get a credit back for that on my credit card.

Anyway, before walking away from the store with my printer I had asked if the ink cartridges in the printers were fully loaded or if I would need a new one right away. The answer was that it was fully loaded, etc. ready to print as much as it said it would. I went ahead and bought an extra ink cartridge since I do a lot of printing and thought that would be smarter.

Well, after a couple days and close to 250+ copies later I needed to replace the black ink cartridge. I was a bit disappointed since the toner should be able to print out more than that before it needs changing (stated), but I remembered that I had my extra cartridge. It turned out that I had picked the wrong cartridge for my particular model. I thought we would just run down to the store and pick the right one, but that was not the case. The store was out of stock and long story short I ended up talking to a warehouse manager that said the backorder is 3 weeks ago and that he could expedite the item sooner. He also added that he would call me back the next day regarding the item. No call and no one knew when the next shipment would come.

Luckily, I was looking through the Sunday paper and came upon a flier for Office Depot and saw that they carried OkiData printers and they had ink cartridges on stock, and great customer service as the salesperson said they would set aside the number of cartridges I needed right away for pickup and they were at the same price as CompUSA. My problem was solved.

As for the OKIDATA printer, I love the way it prints and it is faster than the last printer I had. I was skeptical at first about purchasing this brand of printer that I had not heard about before, but I am glad that I did. I read that lasers are better than LEDs and that some lasers are really LEDs but here I have a printer that is performing well so far and it is nice. I am checking how long it takes to replace this brand new toner I just installed and how long my drum will be.

aloha

Long time coming for C-USA. Local stores in DFW area (where co began as Softwarehouse 20 yrs ago) poorly staffed, stocked and not-competitively priced, shot themselves in the foot. The only surprise is how long the co lasted.

To the clerks at the Long Beach California store who treated me so rudely when I showed up one Sunday afternoon a year ago expecting to find merchandise advertised in that mornings paper: are you really going to blame management for your being out of a job? A simple apology instead of your sneering attitude would have at least kept one customer. I never went back after that day. I am sure many other customers had the same experience.

yeah - carlos slim is a great name. but an asshole. they forgot to mention that along with closing 50% of their stores, they laid off 50% of their corporate employees and store (obviously) employees. And not exactly in the most ethical of manners...

To IAMLOSINGMYJOB:

I'm sorry to see you lose your job, but you have bigger issues, mister. You are one mentally f***ed up individual. I hope you figure this out for yourself, and get help. If not, losing a retail gig at CompUSA won't compare to the mess your life's on the way to being.

Get a grip, grow up, shut up, and be a man.

Everybody loses their job sometime. You think you're special? Look around. Everybody doesn't go postal like you, though. I don't know how much "blood, sweat and tears" you spilled there, but you sound like a drama-queen. It's a RETAIL job, for Pete's sake. They're everywhere! Keep it in perspective.

If you're so talented, and we all can tell you're really not, you can get any retail job, right?

I just hope you never have kids. You're one maladjusted dude. God help the little boy or girl that gets you for a dad.

for the writer above ... who is looking for a fry's to move into the store fronts in Tucson, look again. There are no stores in Tucson that are closing. Though I will say, I wish Fry's would come take a second and third look at Tucson, we have grown some since they last looked here (and determined we were too small a market place for them).