# Gordon Brothers buys CompUSA, will close stores



## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

http://www.reuters.com/article/consumerproducts-SP/idUSN0734134020071210
Could be some bargain computers on the market in the near future. We have no CompUSA's here in Zero Beach so I won't be able to take advantage.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

Be sad to see them go as they did have one of the better inventories of in frame parts. There are some independents around, but they don't seem to do as good of a job stocking their shelves.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

I'll be sad to see CompUSA go. Admittedly, they've gone downhill over the past few years, but were still better than CC or BB for hardware.

I live in hopes that Fry's will buy the Charlotte store.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Back in the early 90s they were called SoftWarehouse and they were in Miami somewhere. I remember it was a long drive from Boca Raton. When I moved to California there were no electronics or computer stores in the entire Coachella Valley or San Bernardino metropolitan area, I had to go either to CompUSA in the City of Industry, about 90 miles, or to Computer City in San Diego, about the same distance. 

I was thrilled when they opened CompUSA in San Bernardino, only about 50 miles from my house. 

Of course that was in 1995 and they just never kept pace. Sad thing was when they closed that store out I still couldn't find anything I wanted to buy, even at half price.


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

They closed all the stores in my area earlier this year. I say good ridence. I stopped shopping with them years ago when thy made their return policy overly restrictive.


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## SDizzle (Jan 1, 2007)

They closed the 2 stores in Sac earlier this year. I say good ridence as well. They were overpriced, and their stores and inventory kept dropping! Fry's is better.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

What did it for me was they way you were treated like a criminal when you wanted to buy anything. The supplies were all under lock and key, and you had to give them all your personal information even if you paid cash.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

The only reason I ever went to CompUSA was because it happened to be closer for me .. They've now closed and I go to either Fry's (13 miles) or Best Buy (6 miles). I actually prefer online these days, though.


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## photostudent (Nov 8, 2007)

CompUSA closed here in Raleigh also. They would run a big ad every other week and never have any of the good deals when I arrived. I found out from a fellow that worked there that they would only put a couple of their "loss leaders" on the floor, no matter how many they had. He got sick of customers yelling at him about this and quit. We now have TigerDirect who do not run such "bait and switch" ads. Their prices are decent but they have onerous return and rebate proceedures.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Not too many years ago, Tiger direct had horrible ratings. They've since cleaned up their act insofar as advertising and delivery are concerned, although the one time I ordered something from them, I had a very bad experience, which made me avoid them ever since.
For me, online shopping normally means Amazon and Newegg. I've ordered cables from Impact Acoustics, a video card from Zipzoomfly, and an HDMI switch from Monoprice. I returned the switch because my Toshiba HD-A2 would lose the HDCP handshake after a few minutes of run time. No problem with the return - full refund except for shipping.


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## neuronbob (Apr 12, 2003)

CompUSA here in the Cleveland area shut down most of its stores. There's stlll MicroCenter and, since I'm a Mac users, the local Apple Store for hardware and software. I must say, though, that online is preferable to any of those places.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Sirshagg said:


> They closed all the stores in my area earlier this year. I say good ridence. I stopped shopping with them years ago when thy made their return policy overly restrictive.


It was their horrible rebate program that did it for me ...


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## CoriBright (May 30, 2002)

Agree with all the posts here, and our CompUSA in Henderson closed last year. There is still one in Vegas up on Sahara but it's too far and both Frys and Best Buy are much closer. I still have a CUSA store card, but haven't used it for months, their prices are just too high. We lost a Circuit City in their recent round of closures as well. That didn't matter much, I think I went in there just once in 11 years.

It's Newegg and Amazon for me.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Yeah, you've got that cool Fry's down by the airport, why would you go to CompUSA?


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

Doug Brott said:


> I actually prefer online these days, though.


I agree. I can shop naked then.


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

Lord Vader said:


> I agree. I can shop naked then.


Oh, thanks for that thought .. :nono2: :lol:


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

The one CompUSA here in the Buffalo area closed in May. Ironically 60 miles down the road in Rochester, they just redid the store with more home theater hardware. Last time I was there they were pushing audio/video gear much more then computers and computer hardware. They had the most impressive Blu-Ray demo I have ever seen though.


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## moonman (Oct 27, 2004)

Drew2k said:


> It was their horrible rebate program that did it for me ...


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Me too...took me 8 months to get my rebate on a UPS...after many complaints they finally made good..twice! I vowed never again to buy anything that did not have any "instant" rebate...seems like all their sale items
came with a useless mnf's coupon.


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

compusa gone THANK GOD!!! They forgot all about customer service.


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## Kevin Dupuy (Nov 29, 2006)

I like the CompUSA down here in Baton Rouge, as it's basically the only good store out of the other two stores (BB and CC).

Oh well.


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

tomcrown1 said:


> compusa gone THANK GOD!!! They forgot all about customer service.


That implies they knew about it in the first place.


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## mightythor88 (Sep 22, 2007)

I saw this link on gizmodo - 20% on firewires might be of some interest to people here.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/exc...oing+out+of-business-discount-list-332890.php


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

moonman said:


> ----------
> Me too...took me 8 months to get my rebate on a UPS...after many complaints they finally made good..twice! I vowed never again to buy anything that did not have any "instant" rebate...seems like all their sale items
> came with a useless mnf's coupon.


Rebate programs are a king sized pain! Why does it take a rebate processor 8 - 10 weeks to proccess a request, when all the requested documentation is provided to them?

Looking at the ads in the Sunday supplements: Office Depot and Staples border on deceptive advertising with their after rebate prices in large type and a footnote in extremely small print explaining the rebate.

It's like car dealers, who advertise ridiculously low prices on new cars, and in an almost unreadable footnote disclose that the price is after a $5,00 downpayment, $3000 tradein allowance and factory rebate to dealer, plus the stipulation it applies to one vehicle they have in stock that is the least desireable (bare bones entry level).

It all smacks of dishonesty. When I encounter deals like these, I'm reminded of the old stories of dealing with a Persian rug merchant -- you haggle over price while sharing cups of Turkish coffee -- with one exception. At least, with the rug merchant, you knew you were going to settle on something less than the asking price.


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## AndyFL (Dec 21, 2007)

THey've slowly started the discounts at my local locaiton......no real good deals yet though. Watch for mis-marked items though...I got them to honor a $19.99 price on a $59 Apple Magsafe adapter.


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## Pinion413 (Oct 21, 2007)

I won't exactly be sad to see them gone. One I started buying parts online, I was always slightly miffed to go into their stores and see the prices they tried to charge for everything. Their clueless help (at least at the two in my area) didn't exactly help either. 

CC, Staples, and BB will do in a pinch, otherwise Newegg has been my shop of choice for years now.


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## HIPAR (May 15, 2005)

What kind of business do the Gorden Brothers operate? How does one make money by buying a troubled business for the purpose of closing it?

--- CHAS


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## Pinion413 (Oct 21, 2007)

HIPAR said:


> How does one make money by buying a troubled business for the purpose of closing it?


Liquidation, I believe.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

HIPAR said:


> What kind of business do the Gorden Brothers operate? How does one make money by buying a troubled business for the purpose of closing it?
> 
> --- CHAS


Gordon Brothers is a firm that performs "inventory and asset redeployment, capital solutions, asset management and advisory services, specializing in retail and consumer goods." Translated, they perform acquisitions of troubled firms, and either find buyers for them, sell them off piecemeal, or liquidate them.


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