It was already pulled from their store list on compusa.com: http://www.compusa.com/locations/store.asp

CompUSA put out a press release (warning! .doc file) http://image.compusa.com/retail/collateral/news_release/stratannounce.doc

I went by today and they expect the liquidators to show up tomorrow (Thursday) and start taking over.

Not a big surprise considering how mis-managed and poorly staffed it was. Not that MicroCenter's staff is any better.

Thank God! The space can now be used for something useful! Those stores are a complete mess!

Good riddance. The guys that worked there were tools...

the stores are crap. but now Best Buy can raise their prices even more

Yet another empty store front in Tysons... I wonder what they'll put in there next. Kind of a coincidence that it happened within months of Best Buy's relocation to that end of Route 7. A lot of stores around Tysons have closed down within the past year; there are more empty store fronts around here than I've ever seen in the past decade. Is this the prelude to Metro?

Fuck CompUSA. They've been here for a long time and I've never been enticed to spend a dime in that joint.

Looks like they closed alexandria one too

Tysons is a tough area for the smaller strip malls and stand alone stores. One new "No left turn" sign or blocked entrance by contstuction can kill a business.

When/if they ever start the dulles rail or whatever it will be, the stores will be doomed.

That area has been a mess forever, people are finally fed up enough to go elsewhere. Last time I was in the Tysons mall it was full of gang members roaming around looking macho.

Wow... they pulled ALL the NoVA stores. I liked going to the Fairfax store once in a while, but it was never crowded.

That's because micro center is 100x better (which is sad because MC is not all that)

I agree, the staff WERE tools. Like others are saying, at least there's MicroCenter...

10 years ago, CompUSA really was not a bad place to shop for computers and supplies, but the rise of big box electronics retailers, online sites like Dell and Buy.com, and the depth of information on the web killed specialty retailers. My last visit to CompUSA in Fair Lakes for an ink cartridge six weeks ago was a nightmare. The sales help is nearly impossible to find and determining whether an item was in stock took nearly 20 minutes.

The addition of things like video equipment and phones has a "me too" feel with BB and CC, without the depth of inventory SKUs. While I am not a huge fan of Micro Center, it is the only local place that I know of with the breadth of computer-related inventory, especially things like cables, parts and ink, and a good selection of software. The sales staff at MC is hit or miss, but it is close.

I wonder what will happen with all the people who gave them money for things like extended service warranties on PCs? Do you think they'll refund those or tell people "bring it to Richmond or Norfolk for service"?

They'll probably contract it out. It wouldn't be a total surprise if they paid geeks on call or someone in that vein to pick up the repairs.

So the customer will lose either way... all of those home pc repair places hire morons, and I know, I was one of those morons until last year.

I also used to work at a place that did contract work to fix stuff like that. They mostly did heavy-duty printers and scanners for businesses, but they could easily have adapted the business to fit pc repairs for warranties. The only thing I can't figure out is how shipping can stay cheap enough to allow it to profit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2007 11:02AM by RESton Peace.

They may figure that eating those costs (including perhaps a shipping option) is still preferable to keeping non-profitable stores open.

Then we don't know the exact reasons for the NoVA store closures. Reasons cited for closure included low performance, but also market saturation. Some of these locations could have been profitable, just not enough to keep open I guess.

Mac users will probably not like this... I think CompUSA and MC are the only two real outfits that carry Mac stuff (except for the Apple Store).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2007 11:09AM by pgens.

Following up on a comment up thread, are the Fair Lakes and Tysons stores now closed? If so, are they liquidating inventory, or just moving it to other retail locations and distribution centers?

are the Fair Lakes and Tysons stores now closed?

I drove by the Tysons one earlier today. It is still open, but there are signs on the door announcing "Closing Sale. All purchases are final. No returns or exchanges".

Tysons is a tough area for the smaller strip malls

One of the "future" Tysons metro stops will be located right outside of where the CompUSA is, I'd guess that those stores will be prime retail locations if that metro line ever gets built.

Tysons mall it was full of gang members roaming around looking macho.

LOL, some of you guys never fail to make me laugh when it comes to this Fairfax "gangster" hysteria nonsense. I'm in there quite a bit, and trust me it's still the same yuppie-jagoff crowd that's been going there for the past decade.

Don't bother checking out at least the Tysons store just yet. They have signs hanging up saying "Up to 20% off selected items" yet I could not find anything exciting on sale. It looks like they were taking away most of the big ticket items like LCD TVs... I asked what was going on and was told that no big sales this weekend - the store would be open until May or June. He was probably in denial, but that is what he said.

I am waiting for one of those "everything you can fit in your car for $100" sales to come the last day it is open

Won't be worth 2 shits.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/compusa/compusas-fire-sales-expected-to-suck-240290.php

Don't even bother.

I checked out one yesterday to see if they had any great sales. Nothing but an "ALL SALES FINAL" sign on the front window and a bunch of rage-filled employees:

- Two were standing in front of the store, smoking
- Two were standing around inside talking about jobs
- Two behind the service counter were having a staple fight
- Two were playing XBox
- One guy was standing behind the returns desk yelling at another employee about how they weren't getting some checks, and the other guy was going, "No fucking way!"
- Some lady with a clipboard was waving her hands and yelling at the manager or someone. Assume she was a liquidator.
- One guy was just sitting on the checkout counter, watching the world go buy.

Way I figure it, they won't have a sale, I'll just be able to go in early Saturday and shoplift whatever I want, and the employees won't give a shit.

That was the best laugh I've had all week, Haywwod. Good show.

When I was at the Tysons store yesterday, I heard the guy who answers the phone page the manager on three different occassions. When the "manager" approached the area in th front of the store to take the call, the guy would say "I offered to help but they insisted on speaking to a manager..." when the manager got on the phone, it was clear he was being bitched at, or at least asked questions he did not know the answer to - like "I bought an expensive Ipod and there is 6 months left on the service contract, where will I bring it to?" etc. He was frazzled.

I do not really blame the people working there for slacking. Why bust your butt when you will be out of a job anyway soon enough? Compusa was not a great career path move....

pgens Wrote:
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> Mac users will probably not like this... I think
> CompUSA and MC are the only two real outfits that
> carry Mac stuff (except for the Apple Store).


Best Buy sells macs/mac accessories now.

That kind of atmosphere sounds like any Best Buy, Circuit City or Home Depot on anu given Saturday.
Employees dont give a shit anymore when they know the store can be sold tomorrow.

I knew a worker at Compusa and he said it was a plantation mentality. The managers made good money to watch the workers like a hawk, while the workers got paid slave wages.

I worked for CompUSA for about 1 year as a PC Repair tech. THey actually gave me more comps and discounts then any other job.. I would see random bounes on my checks for being a good worker, ect. good discounts... In the end, i hated dealing with people who didn't know that "CLICK ME FOR A GOOD TIME" actually ment your computer is about to be fucked.

My buddy was talking about the general sales staff and checkout not the techs who knew something about pc's.

I'm trying to think of whether the computer store I tended to use was this CompUSA or a Micro Center. Is it the one that's down to the south of Vienna? In an L-shaped shoppinig center with a freestanding McDonalds? I think there was a craft store next to it. Software was mostly in the middle, books on the left and most of the hardware was in departments around the perimeter. Service dept on the right.

Yup, that's MicroCenter. It's the Pan Am shopping center you described.

I worked for CompUSA for two weeks in 2005. That place is insanely poorly managed, and they don't give half a shit about their staff. I worked a shift from 6PM to 2AM the night before a test (I was 16), and I was supposed to get off at 12AM. I told the managers my mom was waiting for me in the parking lot (no car), and they told me I wouldn't be leaving until the store was Grand Opening-ready. I have never been there where the store was Grand Opening-ready, and I needed sleep for the test (which I failed), so I quit on the spot.

Best decision I've ever made.

----------------
WHERE'S THE BEEF

I know how it is. I worked at Computer City at Price Club Plaza (where office depot is now) for a little while and they were the same way. They kept everyone way late for the dumbest reasons.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2007 01:30PM by pgens.

"the stores are crap. but now Best Buy can raise their prices even more"

Well Best Buy is going to have to compete with the internet. After I found Newegg, I never shop in the retail stores anymore for PC stuff. After I got Netflix a year and a half ago, I haven't purchased a single DVD. And with Amazon, I never by CDs at Best Buy either. Their "corner" on the market will basically be complete/finished PCs, And I'd rather buy those from Costco with their much better return policy (although that's apparently dropping to 90-days soon).

well I went there today, all the stuff is 10-30 % off plus any sales. Not a great deal yet, but i did get printer cartriges for 65 instead of 80 $.

CompUSA sucked ass. It was like a 1970s electronics hobby store that tried to function in the age of Best Buy and Circuit City. Somewhere along the way the store management couldn't figure out that average people used computers, not just geeks who were willing to put up with dirty stores and shitty sales people.

Fairfax MF---er Wrote:
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> CompUSA sucked ass. It was like a 1970s
> electronics hobby store that tried to function in
> the age of Best Buy and Circuit City. Somewhere
> along the way the store management couldn't figure
> out that average people used computers, not just
> geeks who were willing to put up with dirty stores
> and shitty sales people.

Interesting analogy. Though when I think of 70's hobby stores I tend think of Radio Shack. I'm surprised they're still in business to be honest.

Though when I think of 70's hobby stores I tend think of Radio Shack. I'm surprised they're still in business to be honest.

I agree, they're a weird company. "The Tandy Corporation". They're like the Scientologists of the retail tech world. Their stores have limited offerings, but they are still all over the place, and they have unnecessarily aggressive staff at most locations.

yo dawgggs. y'all up for a compusa raid? i'm talking about the one in fairfax, bunch of fucking assholes have it coming to them. how about this friday night around closing time? we will need two cars and at least five people. one car has three, two of them go inside and pull the heist, the other waits. in the other car, one person gets out on foot and will act as a witness and also use his walkie-talkie to radio the others if a cop or someone comes down that lane. the guy that is left in the car will also be away from us in the opposite direction of the guy who is standing guard and will also warn us of trouble. In the event of a shooting, or crisis he will pull up to the entrance and pick up the left behind dude who left the first car. As mentioned, we will need walkie-talkies, camouflage, guns, and a lot of luck. we can practice at one of your guys house the days before, basic drill stuff. i was in nam, so I got this down. Y'all in or what, and remember only shoot if you sense trouble. Aw what the hell, shoot the employees in the foot if you like.

mariokart Wrote:
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Way too long and dumb, don't read

TheMeeper Wrote:
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> mariokart Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> Way too long and dumb, don't read

I read your advice and read the first two sentences. And then I wish I had taken your advice and had not wasted the time reading even that. I think Cary should check the IP logs... I think mariofart and fairyfux are the same poster.

And so what if they are? Cary has no rules against posting under multiple names, as lame as it is.

I know it isn't against the rules, just an observation.

Cool, I was just observing your observation.

LOL I AM N OT FERFAX. OOH IF I WAS A JOLLY SOMETHING SOMETHING WHEEL SON THE TRAINGO GO AROUND AND ROUN.

They call it teh bust and run. I was in NAM '69 and Vice City, trust me.

CompUSA sucked ass.

What the fuck is wrong with you?
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