I didnt know they were still in business, anyone remember Egghead Software, and Gateway Country? How about the $600.00 floating point decimal card for those old 1970's computers? You also had a choice of monochromatic amber or green monitors.

I sure remember them being overpriced way back when. Now there's Tiger Direct which is little more than a computer peripheral flea market that is indoors.

hmmm...I rarely ever shopped at CompUSA but not because of anything than the fact that I buy my parts every 5-10 years.

Sad to see them go though...we all need places like these to walk into and peruse :p

But for all those that are saying they are overpriced...were they? I am asking innocently. I always thought all brick and mortars were the same and you get the best prices from online shops.

Or at least the ones where main business is online with just a couple stores here and there.

All my local stores will be closing which kinda sucks. The mistake they made was not staying a computer store.

Maybe Fry's or microcenter will open in the same place.

Is there a list of the stores that they are going to close anywhere?

Yes: http://www.compusa.com/locations/store.asp

If your store is listed it is staying open, if it is not listed then it is closing in the next 90 days.

Comp USA is a dinosaur. Downsizing isn't going to do a thing for them unless they fix the fundamental issues that are causing them to downsize - and it isn't about how lucky they are in certain markets. They are just overpriced, non competitive and have lousy customer service. At best they will end up on the same train as Kmart. Maybe they should have taken a trip over to see the boys at Micro Center years ago, but as it is they have pretty much blown their opportunities to motivate customers to return to their stores.

Their Purchase of COmputer City was a bad move on their part. I know I use to work for Computer City back in 1997/1998. Since then they have lost $$$ and especially after the Mexican firm bought them

Another issue was customer service, I have a friend who is a Store manager and an uncles who is a retail sales manager in two different region and trust me even they don't like to give out discounts to their employees. Its all about the bottom line.

One thing they told me was STAY AWAY FROM THEIR REBATES, they rarely come.

"One thing they told me was STAY AWAY FROM THEIR REBATES, they rarely come." I don't think that problem is really limited to CompUSA. Many mail in rebates have been problematic. That applies to both Manufacturer and retailer rebates. Despite that caveat the excessive use of rebates instead of just putting stuff on sale probably annoyed too many potential customers.

"Its all about the bottom line." The horrors of a business that wants to make money! Actually I think there problem is actually the opposite. I think they lost track of the bottom line years ago. They seem to be concerned about expenditures and not profit. What they really need to do to turnaround is to hire more employees, raise pay to help attract and keep the best salesmen, and really try to find a niche in the market. They seem to try to sell too many products for the size of their stores.

"Yes! This is certainly good news. Maybe if they weren't such a-holes, there would be more return customers."
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Sorry to hear that you had such a bad experience. Mine with two stores in my area has always been quite positive with friendly and knowledgeable staff and the same with their tech support people as well. It will be a sad day for many of us in the Pacific Northwest when the two stores here close.

What part of the NW are you in??? The Tacoma, WA one sucks. Either you wait around forever for help with something, but the salesperson would rather push an ipod on someone who ends up not buying than help answer one simple question of yours. Or perhaps you ask for a simple accessory (svideo to RCA adapter) and end up being referred between different salespeople there.

At first, I was sad when I heard this because CompUSA has been a mainstay in the industry. But really, am I going to miss their crappy service, inflated prices, dwindling pc software selection or poor quality store brand items? Not really.

no surprise here. last several years they rarely had what i would go there for or if they did it was always significantly higher than the same thing at best buy or other like stores. stopped going to one of my local stores 4 years ago when they had no idea what i was talking about when i asked where the pci ata controllers were. don't remember the last time i was in one of the stores.

"last several years they rarely had what i would go there for or if they did it was always significantly higher than the same thing at best buy or other like stores."
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Bring in an ad from a competing store with a cheaper price on the same product and CompUSA will meet or beat it, guaranteed. I for one will miss them here in the Pacific Northwest. Their nearest store to me will now be 350 miles away in Spokane. Their tech support is far superior to that of the Geek Squad at Best Buy. I'll miss them.

"...a competing ad."

Like how many other retailers are advertising computer hardware or software? BestBuy? Like they have good prices??? And they would not match online ads. Rendered that campaign rather toothless!

The reality is that just about everyone here seems to have had experiences just like everyone else's experience. High prices and limited availability. And with their high overhead, if you can't compete, you lose. And they are simply not competitive in many areas.

I still think that with serious reorganization and a real dedication that they could leverage their online presence with a local solution provider with reasonable (read : very competitive prices designed to have you come back rather than to avoid them at all costs!), but I fear that this is not about to happen.

I think what we are witnessing is simply the evolution of the high overhead brick and mortar establishments to the online experience and the category killer warehouse superstores like Fryes. And if you shop there, you had better be informed before you enter! And still...check online first! Online still beats their prices.

Good luck finding an employee though. Your local store must be better staffed than the locations in Orange County, CA because all the location I have been to recently seem deserted. A few years ago I went into the local CompUSA during December and walked through most of the store for the 30 minutes before a single employee greeted and there were about a dozen customers in the store. It being during the holidays and since I one of the few customers on the floor you would have though one of the employees would have been eager to see if I needed help. Nope. Crummy customer service plus high prices equals fast road to going out of business.

And saying some tech is better than Geek Squad isn't saying much. When I worked for Best Buy we had a tech who couldn't figure out how to use the a multi-meter to test a battery. When I borrowed their multi-meter to test the batteries in my mp3 player to see whether my batteries were dead he was shocked that you could do that.

Yes! This is certainly good news. Maybe if they weren't such a-holes, there would be more return customers.

Yea, they've always sucked. I remember one guy screaming at the top of his lungs about having to stand in a checkout line for 30 minutes on his lunch break.

Agreed! I bought a Sony laptop there a year ago, and took it back the next day due to some problems with proprietary Sony software and software I wanted to use.

I got back to the store and the manager told me there is a $200 restocking fee. I asked why it was so high and he told me that for the restocking fee to be waived the computer would have to be in the same condition as it was when I bought it, including the original software configuration. He told me that it was $200 because it took his technicians hours to restore the computer to it's original condition.

I sat the laptop on the counter, put the restore disc in and restored the computer to it's original configuration in 5 minutes. After the manager sheepishly agreed to waive the restocking fee, I asked if I could apply for that $2400 dollar an hour job.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

All these box stores drive me nuts. I go in and I know what I'm looking for, but I have to suffer 95db music, which makes me check the product name, run for the door, and order it online. (Same goes for restaurants — I'm not paying to endure your crappy, loud muzak.)

I worked in two similar stores and the only people who we ever made any money off of were the Mac chumps. You could price a fountain pen for $50, and as long as it had an Apple logo on it, they'd buy it without question. We laughed all the way to the bank (as does Steve Jobs).

Hahaha! The MUSIC was the source of your pain! Boy, you certainly have low standards! Personally, I don't go to such stores as a source of entertainment!

And 95 dB music bothered you? I would have been more concerned as to how you navigated the isles in your walker!

Yeah, I understand the issue with Apple, as these were the same stores that if you asked a 18 year old, none Apple, rep if they carried Apple, the ignorant mantra was "Apple sucks".

But then there are still folks who STILL haven't discovered that Macs are simply elegant PCs which are available for similar if not cheaper prices than many PCs.

But whatever you do, don't look around. Just proceed with the same 20 year old mantra that "Apple is incompatible" (as Apple went with TCPIP in 1993!) and "they are more expensive" (as they actually employed SCSI and plug and play that actually Worked as well as real integrated graphics and audio). Oh, and they worked.

Laughing at Apple? Yup, maybe that explains why so many PC manufacturers are getting out of the commoditized market and why Apple is succeeding. Who's laughing now?

No wonder the traditional PC folks continue to be confused. Its time for those dinosaurs to become extinct.

Edit:
As far as CompUSA brick and mortar is concerned, I found them to be near useless. Just about anything that I ever wanted had greater availability and cheaper prices online. And CompUSA has chosen to operate their online and stores as completely separate entities without allowing any cross functionality - such as deliveries, returns, etc - further alienating any need for the store.

And has anyone ever tried to navigate their phone system!? Talk about dysfunctional! Even when you try to reach the local store, more often than not, you end up talking to some ditz in their call center who has not info regarding stock or availability at the store.

And they never successfully became a local solution provider for real services - meaning server and network and application configuration, etc. for small businesses, etc.
They could have built this aspect up to compliment the online distribution of goods. Oh well.

And archaic system that does not leverage the availability of a 'click and mortar' business model has simply further dated them.

um, 95 db is fairly loud, I don't care what age you are.

95 dB is OSHA limited to 4 hours max exposure per day! And every employee could sue for damages! The average person listens to their radio and iPod louder!

CompUSA would have been shut down!

The maximum level allowed for 8 hours of exposure is 90 dB, almost half the perceived level of 95 dB (and remember CompUSA is open MORE than 8 hours, and some would be exposed longer!) And 90 dB is the lowest OSHA has any tables for!

So do you think there is a bit of hyperbole being employed???? Duh!

even in a 5.1 movie theatre amps are aligned to 80 db per channel at reference point 7(dolby cp650/500) about 85db combined. most movies play much lower around 5-5.5 .

The point is that the original claim of muzak at 95dB is completely bogus!
The poor bugger should have simply turned his hearing aid down.

And despite contesting the issue of SPLs in the store, I still have nothing good to say about CompUSA...

GOOD!

I worked there about 10 years ago in NE Philly, and because of the way they did things and the employees got treated, I vowed it to be my LAST retail Job Ever!!!

People used to come in there looking for an argument.

Management rarely backed the employees.

And to this day, NOTHING is ever priced. They just have those stupid codes.

Hate to see people loose jobs, but they will find their lives much less stressful after.

SLINC: http://mysite.verizon.net/slinkys_delsol

They recently closed their B&M store where I live, took away all my "in store only" specials, especially the "free after rebate" deals (I used to save a lot of $$$ on those). I guess only the privileged few will get to take advantage of those now. I have to admit, that's was my main reason for shopping there. Hmmm, maybe that's why they're closing so many stores. hehe

In Portland Oregon, it amazes me that we do not have a single "big box" computer supply store ANYWHERE downtown. We are a city of 1.5 million! You have to travel 20+ miles to find a frys or compusa or bestbuy.

hmmmm..... business idea?

Fine by me. I HATE driving in downtown Portland. I would gladly travel 20 miles if it means I'll have an easier time finding parking and not driving through a maze.

*Shrug* There are 20 parking garages. I never have a problem.

But yeah it's designed not to be car friendly. Cars bad, public transportation good, mkay?

Portland has been against big box stores for a long time. they have only recently given the nod for urban sprawl. anyway, why do you really need a store if you get get it online cheaper? Frys has the instore stuff, but it's usually junk. compusa is almost always overpriced on anything. only reason I ever went there was its proximity.

"the retailer also said it received a $440 million cash infusion from an unnamed source"

Wow, sounds like someone finally paid for Windows Vista Ultimate!

That's not very funny at all.