Circuit City Closing Sale: Undercover Investigation

UPDATE Thursday 1/29/09

Two weeks into its liquidation sale, Circuit City is now advertising Plasma TV's at 25% off, and Digital Cameras at 20% off.  LCD TV's have not been reduced that much, however.

At these newly reduced prices, you may start to find deals better than at competing stores. But be sure to compare before you buy: you may still find a lower price somewhere else...and you can return it if it doesn't work.

What follows is our undercover examination of Circuit City's deals a week ago, when electronics were all marked at just 10% off.  Some of these prices may now be lower.
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Original Report

By now we've all heard Circuit City, the nation's second largest electronics chain, is going out of business.

The sale signs are up at Circuit City locations everywhere. But are you really getting a deal? Wait till you see what we found inside.

We Check out the Deals

The signs in the window make it sound like the sale of the century: "Liquidation Sale"..... "Everything Must Go."

But some shoppers we stopped said they were disappointed by what they found inside.

A man identifying himself as "JP" said "I saw you're supposed to get 30% off somewhere, but you get inside and some stuff is 10% off, some is 20%, there really isn't a lot of savings yet."

So we decided to take a hidden camera inside a Circuit City store.

What we Found

At first, it looked good: 20% off all CD's and DVD's. But when we checked the electronics, its was another story.

Just 10% off digital cameras, games like Guitar Hero, and LCD and Plasma TV's.

Plus, that 10% discount is off full list price, not the most recent sale price.  That means you may find a better deal somewhere else: And we did.

We Compare Prices

• A Samsung 46 inch LCD TV, Model #LN46A850: Originally $2,599, now on sale for $2,339...but we found the exact model on Best Buy's website for $2,099....$300 less.
• A Vizio 42 inch LCD TV, Model #SV420XVT1A: Was $1,199, now marked down to $1,079...but we found the same model number TV at Target for just $1,029... $50 less.
• And a Panasonic 50 inch TV, Model #TH-50P80U: Was $1,399, now $1,259...but both Amazon.com and Beach Camera had it for less than $1,000, almost $300 less, and at Beach you even get free shipping!

One of the companies running the sale defends the prices....telling the Los Angeles Times "we have commitments to banks and creditors who are expecting a certain return."

But you're not committed to shop at these prices...especially since all sales are final, with no returns.

Some Good News

Liquidators say the discounts will increase as the sale goes on, which means that in a couple of weeks you may find much better deals...if anything's left.

Also, the really good news is that current Circuit City Advantage Plans--their extended warranty -- will still be honored, as will Gift Cards. For more information about warranties, Gift Cards, and other aspects of the closing, please click the link above.

As always, don't waste your money. I'm John Matarese.