What caused CompUSA and CircutCiity to fail?

[GagHalfrunt]

Perhaps I'm thinking of computer city then. It was a very long time ago.

Then you have it backwards, CompUSA bought out Computer City.

 

[rh71]

The kind of things you need from CVS cant be held off. If you need aspirin, you NEED aspirin. Waiting 3 days for Amazon to deliver aspirin is ridiculous. And paying extra for next day delivery of aspirin is crazy.

Sometimes. Or you actually buy stuff as you get low like you notice your kid's Delsym is low when you give them a dose. I last went to CVS for dental floss, Flonase, etc. The floss was similar price so I bought it there, but not the Flonase. You don't need to buy Asprin in an emergency that often if you're doing it right.

 

[Captante]

Wasn't compusa bought out and shut down by a competitor?

Ultimately yes but not before incompetent management drove them to the brink of bankruptcy.

 

[Thebobo]

I bought a few things from CC and Compusa but in the end CC employes were horrible. And there was best Buy coming on the scene. Fortunately the Compusa near me became a micro center which I go to often.

 

[Mai72]

Lots of reasons.

The big one for me that stands out is they didn't innovate. Still stuck like it's the 90s.

Also, customer service sucks and this type of environment put off less tech savy buyers. It's actually intimidating. It's like going to the gym for the first time and seeing nothing but beautiful men/women with 6 pack abs and tiny waist. In the case of Circuit City, you were greeted by a nerd who knows more than you and who acts like his sh*t don't stink. I'm pretty tech savy, but I still don't like going into Best Buy. I remember walking around for 15 minutes and just being frustrated. I was only looking for something that was in the other part of the store. Zero help. ZERO! Now, imagine buying a laptop and you don't know sh*t about technology. Hello internet.

Compare the sh*tty service in America to Korea, In Korea, you're greeted by a guy in a suit. Every isle has a helper. I couldn't speak Korean so I didn't really need their assistance, but you get the point.

 

[Alpha One Seven]

Same reason malls all over the US are empty and why Sears is becoming an online store, the internet is a lot more convenient for people to shop and get things sent to them.

 

[Alpha One Seven]

Denver only has 1 and its a 2 hour drive for me.

And they do not have anything you cannot buy online and never leave the house.
Brick and mortar sale are quickly diminishing everywhere and for good reason.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Speaking from my brief experience the abuse of returns killed CompUSA. As an employee shortly following Xmas, I looked up at a stack of Compaq computers that people returned. not 10, not 20, but more than 100 sitting on multiple pallets. In fact the returns from buyer's remorse was so strong Compaq developed a process to ship specialized repackaging boxes to CompUSA so they could repack them and sell them as used for 15% off.

People in America love the freebie return policy. It is one thing to burden this as a business on items with margins >40%, but on a desktop PC with a margin <5% that was pure destruction. Hell, even Costco changed their return policy on televisions when they expanded greatly into the southeast. It was only 2-3 years after I started my membership when they changed the returns on TV from practically lifetime to 90 days. And yet I also witnessed a-holes buy big screen TVs for the Superbowl and then try to return them. BB finally wiised up and placed a special return policy on them during a period leading up to the SB.

No one in America--speaking of cowsumers--takes responsibility for buying and keeping based on their decision. Most things, I'm betting, that are returned are done so for any reason other than defect.

 

[NutBucket]

Sometimes. Or you actually buy stuff as you get low like you notice your kid's Delsym is low when you give them a dose. I last went to CVS for dental floss, Flonase, etc. The floss was similar price so I bought it there, but not the Flonase. You don't need to buy Asprin in an emergency that often if you're doing it right.

I can't buy pseudoephedrine online so there's that.....

 

[lxskllr]

No one in America--speaking of cowsumers--takes responsibility for buying and keeping based on their decision. Most things, I'm betting, that are returned are done so for any reason other than defect.

I don't return anything; well, *hardly ever. I bought a cheapo cell from walmart, and it didn't work, so I took it back, but I couldn't tell you the last time I returned something. It was probably the 80s or early 90s. If I buy something, it's either carefully considered, or I consider the money disposable.

*Real time edit:
I was looking for a used sprint lg g3 earlier this year. First one had a blown speaker, second was boost, and sprint wouldn't activate it, but the third worked as expected.

 

[Amol S.]

Then you have it backwards, CompUSA bought out Computer City.

There was something called Computer City as well? Never heard of it.

 

[rh71]

I can't buy pseudoephedrine online so there's that.....

True, but CVS isn't just the pharmacy.

 

[NutBucket]

It does amaze me the number of folks who do their normal household shopping there; soap, toilet paper, etc.

 

[Amol S.]

It does amaze me the number of folks who do their normal household shopping there; soap, toilet paper, etc.

What amazes me even more is that pharmacy stores are starting to sell wine. My local CVS, started to sell low alcohol content wines. I am referring to the non-expensive wines that you usually find at most grocery stores now a days.

Rite Aid is well known as the pharmacy store that sells the largest assortment of game credit or timed membership cards for online or multiplayer games. Never go there if you want to buy any of those cards, I have seen gaming addicts scratching the cards and writing down the codes, even when the card rack is in front of the cashier and one of them is already probably calling the cops.

 

[John Connor]

There's a Starbucks here that sells wine now.

 

[Amol S.]

There's a Starbucks here that sells wine now.

Starbucks is meant to be a coffee shop, not a wine distributor.

 

[John Connor]

Starbucks is meant to be a coffee shop, not a wine distributor.

Ain't my marketing scheme.

 

[kn51]

What amazes me even more is that pharmacy stores are starting to sell wine. My local CVS, started to sell low alcohol content wines. I am referring to the non-expensive wines that you usually find at most grocery stores now a days.

CVS around here have been selling hard liquor for as long as I can remember. Decent selection too.

They are probably limited by law what they can sell in your neck of the woods.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Starbucks is meant to be a coffee shop, not a wine distributor.

Why not both?

Had a funny dream once that I picked up a beer at the Tim Horton's drive thru. I woke up and was like "wait, that's not a bad idea!".

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Had a funny dream once that I picked up a beer at the Tim Horton's drive thru. I woke up and was like "wait, that's not a bad idea!".

Some parts of the US have drive-thru liquor stores. It's a great idea, there are no possible problems with giving people instant access to large amounts of alcohol while they're behind the wheel.

 

[Thump553]

The start of the death of Circuit City was their huge ill-advised investment in the DIVX system. DIVX was an early alternative to DVDs, kind of a Red Box system. The discs were cheap but could only be played in a 48 hour window. The player was proprietary and had to be hooked up to a phone line (remember those?)

I'm sure the executives at CC thought they would make a killing selling both the DIVX players and the movies. The public generally hated the idea and I'm not sure if it ever got out of the prototype phase.

CompUSA was always a dump, the only thing they were good for was price mistakes and rebate items. Being bought out by the bottom feeder of bottom feeders, Tiger Direct, made their total failure inevitable.

Even without each of their blunders internet sellers spelled their doom in the long run. Around here there are only two big box electronics sellers left, and both are mere shadows of what the electronics brick and mortar industry used to be.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Some parts of the US have drive-thru liquor stores. It's a great idea, there are no possible problems with giving people instant access to large amounts of alcohol while they're behind the wheel.

Haha did not think that would even be legal, but I guess if it's unopened alcohol then technically it's ok, but it's kinda a gray area lol.

 

[Thump553]

Haha did not think that would even be legal, but I guess if it's unopened alcohol then technically it's ok, but it's kinda a gray area lol.

Back in the mid-70's I took a road trip through Tennessee. Gas stations sold beer in vending machines-and tall boys at that. That was pre-MADD days.

 

[spacejamz]

I remember camping out for 8 hours to get a Windows 98 PC at Compusa for $99...

 

[Oyeve]

I miss Compusa but I miss J&R records even more.