# Circuit City going completely out of business - Best TiVO HD Price?



## darksurtur (Jan 2, 2008)

Given the news that the company couldn't secure financing to save a subset of its stores, there may be an opportunity here for getting a cheap TiVo HD (at the cost of higher prices in the long run from lack of competition). So I was wondering if anyone could comment on the lowest price they had seen for the unit at a clearance store, so members here know what they might expect/whether to head out? All stores will be liquidating come a few days, so it should be helpful information.

P.S. My condolences to the 30,000 employees who will lose their jobs because of this. In the long run, nothing good will come of this.


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## Southcross (Nov 28, 2008)

considering that CC's pricing is so OUTRAGEOUSLY over priced... they _MAY_ come down to a point where are comparable to a retailer like BB/Target/Walmart


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

The liquidator will raise all prices to full list before they apply the discounts. List for the TivoHD is $299 so a 20% discount means $240 which is a normal price. Any units left at 30% will be $210 which is no better then the deal 6th Ave Electronics recently had (has?) I'll speculate any units will be sold, or shipped to some wholesaler before the price works for us.

My guess is the best deals may be any remaining floor units.


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## MisterWho (Oct 7, 2007)

I got my new Tivo HD for $208 at a CC store that was closing in the previous go 'round as well as a Slingbox Solo for $107. Both were brand new, unopened.


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## SpiritualPoet (Jan 14, 2007)

Keep in mind that starting tomorrow, all sales at CC are final - no returns - no exchanges. CC will offer extended warranty sales as usual as they are honored by 3rd party firms. I am a former employee of CC. I enjoyed being a customer better over the years. The company's motto: "love the customer" (I appended: "hate the employee"). S-long, CC. *Canadian Circuit City stores are said to continue operating - no closure slated.


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## moonscape (Jul 3, 2004)

oh this is sad. although i don't shop there a lot (so contributed to their demise!) - they're close to me and the only option in their category w/in reasonable driving distance. only other is a stripped-down best buy that's worthless - 

damn!

sob!


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

What happens when you put the screws to employees...










Very sad.


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## destek (Jan 15, 2001)

They will bring in a liquidation company. That company will re-tag merchandise up to full price with discounts that are often higher than the tag underneath!
The liquidator will bring in all kinds of other merchendise - cheap junk from very low end electronics mfgs and "add" it to the inventory. This stuff will sell at it's normal prices - but will benefit from the "close out" hype.
The liquidators are pure sleaze and slime and will count on people getting caught up in the perception of getting a bargain - but few, if any, actually will pay less then they could at best buy in the same town.
Worse - there's no place to take it back if it doesn't work. 
CC have reaped what they've sewn. Top execs have walked away with enough to retire, workers are left out in the cold and vendors are screwed. When it was clear they were sinking it became a plain and simple cash grab for the top execs who legally looted what they could on their way out the door. Part of the problem is that they actually thought what they were doing was right.
Too many companies claim they "have to offer bonuses to top execs so they will stay" - but the truth is they are putting money in their own pockets. It would have been far better for the BOD to usher ALL the top execs out the door as soon as the company began to flounder and bring in people who had a vested interest in making the company succeed. Give some recent MBAs a shot at it - can the incompetent greeds before they shift the business model to self enrichment!

'nuf said.


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## moonscape (Jul 3, 2004)

Southcross said:


> considering that CC's pricing is so OUTRAGEOUSLY over priced... they _MAY_ come down to a point where are comparable to a retailer like BB/Target/Walmart


i'm not sure if this is regional (not aware if it is) but the CC where i am is less than or equal to the BB. i find best buy incredibly overpriced for a lot of things, esp computer stuff.


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## mstockmyer (Oct 7, 2002)

I got the display model TiVo HD from a liquidating CC store in November. It was $170 if I remember correctly. The store was close to completely closing and had been picked clean of almost everything else. 

The tag on the TiVo had gone from $270 to $240 to $210 and finally where I bought it. No box, but it had all the cables and accessories. It works without a problem.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

moonscape said:


> i'm not sure if this is regional (not aware if it is) but the CC where i am is less than or equal to the BB. i find best buy incredibly overpriced for a lot of things, esp computer stuff.


Yep...that's the way it is here. CC was somewhat reasonable on most things (although it could usually be found on line for less), they were almost always at par or priced below BB. About the only time anything at BB is a "best buy" here is when it's on sale. Of course, they are still in business and CC isn't, so...


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## getbrian (Oct 10, 2006)

darksurtur said:


> Given the news that the company couldn't secure financing to save a subset of its stores, there may be an opportunity here for getting a cheap TiVo HD (at the cost of higher prices in the long run from lack of competition). So I was wondering if anyone could comment on the lowest price they had seen for the unit at a clearance store, so members here know what they might expect/whether to head out? All stores will be liquidating come a few days, so it should be helpful information.
> 
> P.S. My condolences to the 30,000 employees who will lose their jobs because of this. In the long run, nothing good will come of this.


I saw a CC ad web page that listed the Tivo HD for $99!!! The web site said currently unavailable, but further in a forum thread, it said that price is for in-store only...if you can find a store that has one.


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## ajwees41 (May 7, 2006)

The only problem with CC I had before they closed in Omaha Nebraska was when we bought a cd writer for the computer and it came with free installation and when we got it back it did not work, so we took the whole computer back and the tech said it worked, but it it still didn't. We ended up sending it to my brother in law in California who said it didn't work.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

getbrian said:


> I saw a CC ad web page that listed the Tivo HD for $99!!! The web site said currently unavailable, but further in a forum thread, it said that price is for in-store only...if you can find a store that has one.


Hmmm...CC web site is just an FAQ at the moment.

34,000 jobs...history. Heavy sigh.


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## westside_guy (Mar 13, 2005)

richsadams said:


> What happens when you put the screws to employees...


Well, I gotta say that graph looks bogus. If the person who made that graph knew he/she actually had a solid presentation, he/she would've extended it further to the left to demonstrate that CC was fine until they started being jerks to their staff. As it is, I'm pretty sure extending it left would just show that CC was already declining well before 3/29/07 - so the real correlation (and only one the data demonstrates) is that a business in decline often starts to treat its employees like crap.


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

westside_guy said:


> Well, I gotta say that graph looks bogus. If the person who made that graph knew he/she actually had a solid presentation, he/she would've extended it further to the left to demonstrate that CC was fine until they started being jerks to their staff. As it is, I'm pretty sure extending it left would just show that CC was already declining well before 3/29/07 - so the real correlation (and only one the data demonstrates) is that a business in decline often starts to treat its employees like crap.


Bogus? In what way? I'm not the author (should have given credit) but most any amateur can bring up a stock chart. Here's 05/86 to current:










It looks to match up. I think the author's point is exactly what you're saying...things were good until they created a new business model based on a low-wage, non-incentivized staff paradigm. That's bogus IMO, not the chart.


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## westside_guy (Mar 13, 2005)

richsadams said:


> Bogus? In what way? I'm not the author (should have given credit) but most any amateur can bring up a stock chart.


I already explained "in what way" - the original author's attempt to make a point would have been much stronger had that first chart not started that close to the date of the first mass firing. If Circuit City really was doing well before that, then having the graph go back a year or so prior to March 2007 would be much better - that way any correlation between the start of the decline and the first mass firing would have been clear and obvious. As that graph stands, all you know is that the first firing occurs along a decline - not whether or not it is at the beginning, or if it occurred as CC's fortunes were already waning.

Whether or not "any amateur" can bring up a stock chart is irrelevant. The point was that the graph you initially presented did not make the case you seemed to be claiming. Bringing up a different chart does not make the first chart somehow "better". Also, if you were really intent on proving your point, you really should run the chart from some time in 2006 to the present, not all the way back to 1986.

*Addendum:* Here ya go. Taking it back to September 2006 will maybe make this clearer - the decline started roughly 6-7 months prior to that mass firing (chart from wikinvest.com):


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

westside_guy said:


> I already explained "in what way" - the original author's attempt to make a point would have been much stronger had that first chart not started that close to the date of the first mass firing.


Guess we'll have to agree to, um, agree. I get your point about the original chart, but all three charts show the same numbers, the stock price at various points in time. We both agree that CC made a mistake with their employment practices. Not sure what you're so upset about.

There's not much I can do about you're being pleased or unhappy with where they start or stop or that you didn't like what Matt Buchanan (the author of the first chart) did or didn't do. Sounds like you're in the mood for a fight. Maybe you should argue with him? 

This has gone far enough OT IMO. "Nuff said.


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## berkshires (Feb 22, 2007)

So how many shares of CC stock will I need to buy one TiVoHD ?


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## jrm01 (Oct 17, 2003)

berkshires said:


> So how many shares of CC stock will I need to buy one TiVoHD ?


Well, let's see. Todays quote is 3.5 cents per share. THD is $299. So that means you would need 8,543 shares. Better hurry though, that price will probably not hold very long on Monday morning.


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## westside_guy (Mar 13, 2005)

richsadams said:


> Guess we'll have to agree to, um, agree. I get your point about the original chart, but all three charts show the same numbers, the stock price at various points in time. We both agree that CC made a mistake with their employment practices. Not sure what you're so upset about.


I'm not upset in the least (and not really sure why you say I am) - just pointing out that the data presented didn't at all support the statement "What happens when you put the screws to employees...". People often tend to accept claims involving graphs or tables without thinking critically regarding the claims - the person making the graph must've known what they're talking about, right? If an individual takes a step back and thinks about whether the supporting evidence actually does bolster the claim being made, they'll sometimes realize the "evidence" doesn't really show much at all.

It's the same basic reasoning behind scientific journals' requirement of peer review before accepting a paper for publication - does the data really show what the author claims it shows? In my previous job, working in a climate research lab, I saw enough bogus data presentations to realize the difference between someone who is really making a good case with data versus someone who's hoping you won't really notice the fundamental flaws in her/his conclusions.


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## melissa12345 (Sep 9, 2007)

hi

well just went to our closest CC store and tivo HD is $299.00 with 10 &#37; off ,,wondering where someone found it at $99.00...oh by the way,,the salesman said it was the last one???? i will recheck next week to see if it goes down and how many do they REALLY have


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

this may well be like CompUSA liquidation

I went there to look as I needed a PC - the yhad one on super closeout sale for 650$. I had priced the same specs at Best Buy on my way to CompUSA for $500


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## jmoak (Jun 20, 2000)

melissa12345 said:


> hi
> 
> well just went to our closest CC store and tivo HD is $299.00 with 10 % off ,,wondering where someone found it at $99.00...


Same In Melbourne Florida.

....except there was no 10% off.

Clearance sale price was the full retail price.

Oh, boy.... What a sale.


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## jbsmith_05 (Mar 23, 2006)

I was in a CC that was closing prior to this 1/16/09 announcement and saw some guys looking at a 52in samsung lcd tv. They were talking to the liquidation manager as it was the last one - getting the floor model for $2000 or so - this was at their 30% off period i believe. they thought they were getting a good deal. Fortunatly I had just purchased my 46 in of the same tv and knew that $2K was way to high and went to tell them that they could get it for about 1600 shipped to their door and setup for free. 

Needless to say the Liquidation MGR wasnt to happy ...that was fine with me i was on my way out since i was pissed i wasted time looking around the store only to find the prices were higher than they were before they were closing.


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## Pixel (Jan 10, 2003)

I am sad for the 30,000 plus employees that will lose their jobs, such as they are.

That said, I, for one, am pleased to see that CC is going entirely belly up. CC is a store that I long ago stopped bothering to check when I was interested in something. 

10+ years ago I did buy a big tv there, but that's it. They always seemed to be reducing the product lines they carried, they eliminated appliances at their store and it seemed that they didn't carry much of any particular category or item. Of course, maybe that was just at the particular CC closest to me.

Then they began abusing their employees. Reducing pay, etc. While, once again, and this is an old story, executives paid themselves more. The very people generating the income, the front line staff doing the selling got a powerful incentive to do little more than simply report to work and punch the clock. If any employee actually did more than the minimum required, that was a reflection on the work ethic of the individual employee, not the employment policies at CC. And all the while, the executives took the money from the coffers and put it in their pockets through lavish salaries and bonuses for a "job well done." If that can be defined as flying the corporation into the ground.

Why should it surprise anyone that this company failed?


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## patroldawg (Nov 21, 2006)

A couple months ago I returned a Sony Walkman MP3 player to a local CC. I paid sale price $105 for it on my debit card. 4 days later the refund appeared on my debit card for full retail price of $130. Dopes. dumb stuff like that makes no wonder to me why they're out of business


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## ciper (Nov 4, 2004)

I bought multiple items from Circuit City's most recent liquidation (mid December) so please heed my warning -

*You must be prepared with the current market price before buying any item* Most of the items are still significantly overpriced even when they are 30% off. Car stereo equipment and consumables (ink/paper/cds) are usually still overpriced at 50% off. Too many morons visit the store and get caught up in the hype and end up paying more than they would at the Best Buy down the street. Don't even get me started about comparing the item to the Amazon price!!!


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## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

ciper said:


> Too many morons visit the store and get caught up in the hype and end up paying more than they would at the Best Buy down the street. Don't even get me started about comparing the item to the Amazon price!!!


There was a story on the local news saying the same thing, citing the chatter on various forums. Guess the liquidators understand the "There's a sucker born every minute" concept.


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## trussrules (Oct 4, 2007)

melissa12345 said:


> hi
> 
> well just went to our closest CC store and tivo HD is $299.00 with 10 % off ,,wondering where someone found it at $99.00...oh by the way,,the salesman said it was the last one???? i will recheck next week to see if it goes down and how many do they REALLY have


Same here in Portland. I did pick up an Apple TV for $100 though.


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## Phantom Gremlin (Jun 20, 2002)

The poor management decisions go back to at least 2003. That was when they fired their commissioned sales people.

Many people don't like salesmen on commission, but I do like them under certain circumstances. First, they are often more "hungry", less likely to just stand around bull****ting with their buddies. Second, in my experience, the good ones learn more about their products than the average minimum wage slackers do.

This Bloomberg article agrees. In it, an analyst says (regarding the 2003 firing):

_That switch had a ``*dramatically negative impact on sales,*'' McGranahan said today._


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## ciper (Nov 4, 2004)

Please read this interesting article which was created from the comments of CC employees http://i.gizmodo.com/5146694/their-final-words-as-the-grunts-of-circuit-city



> The biggest let down that I personally experienced was the fact that thousands of people who shopped with us this week could have saved the company by shopping a few weeks ago. The prices are higher than a month ago, yet we are selling much more than ever before just because there is a big "going out of business sign" above our door. *People are just stupid*.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

> ...The prices are higher than a month ago, yet we are selling much more than ever before just because there is a big "going out of business sign" above our door. *People are just stupid.*



And that's surprising why?......


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## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

I love how in the midst of the steep dive, the executives get $1 million "retention bonuses". Nice...screw the workers and give the fat cats some cash.........

That's no different than a company using a corporate jet when they don't need to.


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## minorthr (Nov 24, 2001)

jlb said:


> I love how in the midst of the steep dive, the executives get $1 million "retention bonuses". Nice...screw the workers and give the fat cats some cash.........
> 
> That's no different than a company using a corporate jet when they don't need to.


Yup its great isnt it. When I worked for FAO we declared bankruptcy twice in a year, both times the same execs got bonuses that were a few hundred grand each.


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

ciper said:


> Please read this interesting article which was created from the comments of CC employees http://i.gizmodo.com/5146694/their-final-words-as-the-grunts-of-circuit-city


from the files on "shopping backwards"

"We had one customer buy something only to return 20 min. later from Best Buy saying that he got ripped off and it was cheaper at Best Buy. Now while that was true, there are signs that say no returns ALL OVER THE STORE."


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## berkshires (Feb 22, 2007)

minorthr said:


> Yup its great isnt it. When I worked for FAO we declared bankruptcy twice in a year, both times the same execs got bonuses that were a *few hundred grand *each.


Was that back in the 1800's?????


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## Mishkin (Apr 20, 2002)

I went to local Circuit City a bit after they announced liquidation and they had indeed hiked their prices up to full recommended manufacturer price before applying the 30% off. I went in to see about a Sony 46" I was looking at a couple of weeks before and it was around $400 more than the earlier sale price I had seen.


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## beckylynn420 (Feb 10, 2009)

I got my series 3 HD DVR at Circuit City. Guys told me that they could not sell it to me. I told them it was on the self you need to sell it. SO after all that jazz I got it for 179 (that is after the discount). Not bad I guess.


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## Sapphire (Sep 10, 2002)

beckylynn420 said:


> I got my series 3 HD DVR at Circuit City. Guys told me that they could not sell it to me. I told them it was on the self you need to sell it. SO after all that jazz I got it for 179 (that is after the discount). Not bad I guess.


Original Series 3 (with the nice display in the front) or TiVo HD?


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## beckylynn420 (Feb 10, 2009)

Ummm....uuuhhh....the HD DVR 652? I guess that is what it is usually called. Looks just like the other series 3. Just does not have the pretty remote


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## lrhorer (Aug 31, 2003)

westside_guy said:


> Here ya go. Taking it back to September 2006 will maybe make this clearer - the decline started roughly 6-7 months prior to that mass firing (chart from wikinvest.com)


They would have done a lot better - certainly no worse - to fire all their senior executives in 2007 and keep their rank and file employees, replacing the senior management with lower paid workers. It might not have made enough of a difference in the long run, but they would have stood a much better chance of making it.


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