Being Circuit City is going out of business as of friday all audio was 50% off has anybody bought anything from this. I got the polk audio db6501 componet set friday and they are a great replacement for my front door speakers I installed them saturday. they were 200 regular but now 100 new

 

I've never been able to find a decent bargain at a "going out of business" sale, now I know why, from CNN:



Little secrets of 'out-of-business' sales

Do 'closeout' sales mean the lowest prices? Not always. And where did all that extra merchandise come from?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- They're seen as either big-time bargains or big-time scams. What really goes on at a "going-out-of-business" sale is something in between, according to experts.
"Consumers think this is the time for bargains. That's not true," said George Whalin, president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.
Thousands of retail stores are expected to disappear in 2009. But most big chains don't run those out-of-business sales themselves - Linens 'N Things, Whitehall Jewelers and, most recently, Circuit City, all hired liquidation firms to handle the process for them.
The liquidator buys the merchant's inventory and sets final clearance sales. They guarantee the store's creditors a payment upfront, and need to sell enough merchandise to recoup money for themselves.
"Would I love to offer a 60% discount and be out in two weeks? Yes. But it's not likely," said Jim Schaye, CEO of Hudson Capital Partners LLC, one of four firms managing the liquidation of electronic retailer Circuit City.
He said he and the other liquidators needed a "fairly sizeable" recovery in order to help Circuit City repay its creditors.
"We want to make sure everything is fairly priced," he said. "Do we get it right every time? No."
Because the liquidators don't want to lose money, it's not uncommon for clearance sales to begin at 10% to 30% off for the first few weeks, with deeper discounts staggered over the period closer to the end of the closeout sale.
However, Whalin said liquidators sometimes set those discounts based on manufacturers' prices - which can be 10% to 15% higher - rather than the price at the store when it closed.
Consequently, he said, consumers could end up paying more than they would have just before the "out-of-business sales" signs went up.
"This isn't necessarily right. It's almost a scam and there's nothing illegal about it," said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst with NPD Group. "Buying at a liquidation really is caveat emptor."
Cohen's suggestion to consumers: "You'll get the absolute best prices a week before [a retailer's] liquidation sale start." Assuming you can get to the liquidating store ahead of the sale.
Andy Gumaer, CEO of Great America Corp., which also is handling Circuit City's liquidation, said his company is setting discounts off the store's price prior to liquidation. He said he would honor prices in Circuit City's final sales circular.
Liquidators looking to make a few extra bucks sometimes sneak in goods that aren't part of the merchant's original inventory and add it to the mix, according to Whalin.
"This happens frequently in furniture liquidation sales," he said.
Hudson Capital's Schaye, who was involved in closing out Mervyns and Linens 'N Things stores, said he's aware of stores that added merchandise, but that he personally "doesn't like the practice."
Cohen said liquidators also go all out to make products less identifiable as "refurbished" or "previously opened."
"Just be aware of that because most liquidation sales are final," Cohen said.
One thing common to liquidation sales is that the discounts grow as the liquidators near the deadline for closing the stores.
"Anyone who has looked at liquidation sales knows that they are staggered over time," said Edgar Dworksy, a consumer advocate and editor of Consumerworld.org. "This isn't new."
He advised consumers to do their research. "Is a 10% discount at Circuit City better than anything else out there? Don't buy if it's not because you have zero percent return rights [in a liquidation]," he warned.
In general, Dworsky cautioned that he wouldn't "put anything past liquidators" when it comes to "playing a game with pricing."
Gumaer's advice to bargain hunters is that they have to decide themselves when to bag a deal.
"You have to take a chance. You can wait for better discounts, but the product may not be there," he said. "In truth, consumers dictate the discounts. If products aren't selling, we'll go deeper."
First Published: January 23, 2009: 3:55 PM ET

 

I looked at flatscreens at the going out of business prices at circuit city and they were anywhere from $50 to $200 higher than the ones being sold at regular prices at Walmart and other stores and much higher than being sold at internet stores.

It is common knowledge that going out of business sales simply sell the items at the crazy high manufacturer price then the knock the 10, 20 or higher % off and it still is higher than other stores sell them.

 

that is true why i waited for these speakers to go onsale I had been watching them for the last 3 weeks

 

I went over to my local Circuit City yesterday to look around. Of the five items I looked into, four were considerably higher priced than on the internet. One was about the same. Typical.

In the past I've only found true bargains at "going out of business" sales on the more unusual items - and always near the very end of the sale - like the final weekend. For instance at CompUSA I purchased some computer battery backups for $35 that were on the net for $80. And at Tweeter I purchased a 1000' spool of high end dual RG-6 for about 90% off internet pricing.

As to recognizable mainstream gear, forget it. My experience has been that popular name brand equipment sells out long before the closeout price is discounted enough to make the offering a true bargain. Unfortunately there are plenty of saps and willing suckers who simply don't know the value of the merchandise being unloaded at a typical "going out of business" sale.

What this means is that too many people are foolish enough to buy before the vast majority of these items actually become a bargain. And these same buyers too quickly forget that they're purchasing this merchandise from a bankrupt company. That means no returns, no (store) warranties, tough luck if it doesn't work out, fit right, etc., you're stuck with it.

At "going out of business sales" shopping early means you paid too much. Shopping late means you might get a bargain on a crumb. Not shopping there at all might be the best deal. You get to keep your money.

 

I'll try that going out of business sale for my 2 acre Malibu To Ocean View lot was $700,000 now $320,000 with approved plans!! want to retire now!

 

I've been going to CC just about every other day waiting to see a real deal on a 40+ inch LCD or plasma TV, so far I have been completely underwhelmed. Somehow the number of products left to choose from keeps going down though. I guess some people aren't making educated decisions when buying at 20% off MSRP.