Get out!!!

Here's a more in-depth article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119706842364217640.html?apl=y&r=216811

no loss here... they were disappointing to me at least.

-k

If you live near an open CompUSA, take time to stop by while they sell off the inventory.....you'll find great bargains.

Many of the CompUSA stores are already empty and have been for months. The one near me was empied out and closed several months ago. They've been pulling back for quite a while.

CompUSA had a round of closings in late 06 and early 07. There were many stores that remained fully functional. This announcement pulls the plug on those last standing stores.

No one had a more cumbersome refund process. You go into Wal-Mart, all you have to do is give your signature on a receipt. Done.

CompUSA had multiple steps they went through, even stopping to Xerox something as part of the process. My only guess is they did all that to persuade you not to return anything.

My younger brother, who currently works for them at the corporate office, keyed me in that they would in all likelihood were going to fold in a couple months. Well, it finally happened but I'm a little pissed. they were the only "computer store" where I could go around here for the little thing, like cpu fans, cables, etc, just to avoid going to Radio Shaft.

No loss here either. I learned my lesson about those clowns back in about 1996 when I bought a "refurbished" monitor from them only to have to take it back for replacement 4 times. They were either DOA or the guns were out of alignment.

I never went back until their last store closing. Mainly just to celebrate them going under and to see if they had any deals. There were no deals as they were selling stuff for more than list just so they could put a 30% off sticker on it.

It wouldn't surprise me if Telvista is close behind.

Fry's is the preferred alternative around the SF Bay Area but there aren't any stores in the north bay. Comp USA was a quick, roll the dice, alternative. The only things that come remotely close are Circuit City and Best Buy, both of which are complete jokes.

Rob Mack

I've been more than thrilled buying from http://www.newegg.com this last several years; I've had zero problems with them, and the modest shipping charges are well worth getting great products from them for.

Also, the many reviews posted on various products are, like amazon for books/videos, a superb resource to help evaluate hardware alternatives.

I'm so glad I stopped the frustration of shopping at compusa and switched to newegg.com years ago - they're great.

-k

I'm with Ken. I buy 99% of my electronics from Newegg.

I'm with John and Ken -
Most of my PC items are purchased from Newegg with the occasional item being grabbed from tigerdirect.

I like Newegg as well. And that's the point about CompUSA closing. They just can't compete with internet stores.

Fry's is a different beast altogether. They're known for their horrible customer service and multitude of unresolved BBB complaints, and yet they're still around, playing by their own rules.

+1 for newegg.

Well I will say, in terms of brick & mortar stores, CompUSA used have some really good deals. Their Sunday circular almost always had a really good price on something (and that carried over to when they bought "Good Guys" electronic stores. Got my first plasma TV from them for $1000 less than anyone else was selling it for).

Yes their return policy was a profound PITA. And most (but not all) of their sales people were not very good. But competition is good and one less player within driving distance isn't a good thing.

I felt CompUSA was just too expensive, and had some really bad service. I have to add my kuddos to Newegg.com as well. Just last summer I bought every component for my new Quad system all thru Newegg.
What I like with them is the ability to read numerous reviews by people who actually purchased the items, and you can get some real nice feedback on the products you are looking to buy, pricing is excellent and they have a great RMA set up.
Goodbye CompUSA, hello Newegg....

I buy all the components to build my pc's from NCIX here in Vancouver (Burnaby) they usually have the best prices in these parts and their online store gives user feedback and the ability to instantly check current prices. The online store is a bit of a dogs dinner but once you know your way round it's OK.
However they have a 3% surcharge if you don't pay in cash. That I regard as second hand car salesman stuff, but I just factor it in to my permanent wishlist spreadsheet that I keep for when I can't live without a new pc anymore. :)
Their phone lines are usually a waste of time too, but again, I factor it in.
Bit I like though is it's only a half hour drive away.
http://ncix.com/
Oh, I almost forgot, you better be sure you ordered the item you *really* wanted, they have a huge restocking fee...
Hmm, maybe I ought to check out newegg after all!

I also buy from Newegg regularly (my preferred supplier no doubt) and have built a half dozen or so PCs that way.

The part that is frustrating is losing one of only 2-3 local options for buying parts, cables, drives, etc when there isn't time to order - e.g. what happens if a video card goes out, or power supply? I have 4 systems in use daily, and stocking backup parts for all 4 just isn't practical. CompUSA has allowed me to move forward with an upgrade, replace a bad video card, etc in the span of an hour rather than a week (only 10 minutes from my studio). That leaves BestBuy now for us, with less service from employees, and a smaller parts selection.

good point re not having local replacement parts available; I keep spare power supplies (Antec TruePower Trio 650w), video cards, motherboard and other parts, but not duplicates of everything, so that's something to consider... probably wise to have a spare main pc ready to go in case primary one goes down.. hard w/4 though

speaking of pcs, my favorite new mobo is the Asus P5WDG2 workstation one, pricey but well worth it, I bought both the main and a spare from newegg because it's stable, runs cool and very fast..


-k

From the SM forums, see here's proof that I wasn't hallucinating about my complaint about not getting rebates from compusa, here's an FTC action against them, posted at a lawyer's site...

http://www.winston.com/index.Cfm?contentid=34&itemid=1535

Failing to honor rebates is the main reason I lost trust in Compusa, and it looks like it was a well-placed concern.

-k