Beware Circuit City closeout deals: No refunds on broken gear
Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:49PM EST
See Comments (2410)
Stories are pouring in from outraged shoppers who thought they could get a great deal on equipment from Circuit City as part of its fire sale liquidation. The problem: Circuit City won't let you open sealed boxes to inspect merchandise before you take it home -- and all sales are final. No returns. No exchanges. That's not so great if the gear is hopelessly broken.
One Minnesota family spent $1,500 on a 50-inch plasma TV and found the glass shattered once they got it home. The store refused to take back the TV and instead referred the issue to Circuit City headquarters, where no one answered the phone. The family is checking with Panasonic, the manufacturer, to see if it's covered under warranty.
A similar problem happened to a Boston customer, who paid $1,100 for what turned out to be a totally busted Samsung TV. She got a refund from her credit card company, but only after a local TV station made inquiries on her behalf. Be warned: Consumerist says that getting credit card companies to help you out may be difficult in cases like this where a bankruptcy is involved. (As I understand the specifics of the Circuit City case, normally your credit card company will just "charge back" the merchant in question, but in this case the merchant is going out of business and has federal bankruptcy protection during the process.)
It's not just big ticket items that can be dead on arrival. Consider this $7.50 "bargain" video game purchased from a Circuit City store, which appears to have been chewed up by a robot.
No doubt there are still some good deals to be found in these liquidating stores, but remember that, now more than ever, "buyer beware" is the rule of the day.
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Comments on Beware Circuit City closeout deals: No refunds on broken gear
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67 Posted by pscard on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:20PM EDT Report Abuse
What's to stop Circuit City from knowingly selling defective merchandise?
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68 Posted by makemywine on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:04PM EDT Report Abuse
Retail sales are ALWAYS buyer be ware....NOW MORE THAN EVER, if you are going to buy from companies going bankrupt buy and be prepared for stories like this or DON"T BUY from them!!!!
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69 Posted by skidfamily123 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:26PM EDT Report Abuse
I cross checked their prices on the internet and their "clearance" deals were more expensive than the average internet price. They are ripping off everybody that comes into their store!
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70 Posted by razekc on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:31PM EDT Report Abuse
Common sense should apply here - why would you ever buy an item without seeing it first, especially a big ticket item? Do I agree with what CC is doing no, but it is clearly posted throughout the stores that there will be no refunds.
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71 Posted by capahance on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:17PM EDT Report Abuse
Yes! All they did was mark up the prices ... the prices were lower before they went out of business. Its a hoax when liquidators come in. I ran outta of that store for my life. And now I'm glad if u cant return broken ish. Good riddance!
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72 Posted by ghensley_63 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:08PM EDT Report Abuse
I understand the "No Refund" but why won't they let people check boxes before they purchase? Sounds funny to me.
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73 Posted by cyroz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:33PM EDT Report Abuse
The Circuit ----- ty 50-75% off is a joke. You can go to Best Buy of all places and pay regular price and get it cheaper...and Best Buy is EXPENSIVE! Fry's needs to go nationwide. I feel sorry for consumers without a Fry's nearby.
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74 Posted by docmike2007 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse
I went the "sale" the first weekend. What a waste of time. Of course, you have the idiots stampeding to the wall of TVs pulling off the floor samples for a whopping 10% off a price already marked up! The same TV was selling across the street at Best Buy for less! Anyone who buys this crap and gets screwed deserves it.
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75 Posted by greg_talbot1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:13PM EDT Report Abuse
I don't know why anyone expected anything different from Circuit City. Everything of consequence I ever bought there was defective in some way, and that's why I haven't bought anything from them in over 20+ years--and assuming others had the same experience, is why they are now out of business.
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76 Posted by emolsky on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:54PM EDT Report Abuse
And as far as a hoax goes this is also untrue. The prices were marked back to the original price. Unfortunately people failed to realize how good a deal our sales were and took for granted the much lower prices that we had before liquidation. There was however no mark up on inventory, they were just restored to the original price.
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77 Posted by sherrybaby181 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:19PM EDT Report Abuse
Here's another rip-off story about CC. Purchased a printer on Black Friday with a rebate. Filed the rebate on-line, they claim they received it and mailed me a rebate 1/21/09. I have sent them several e-mail telling them I haven't receive it yet. They told me to wait another month and if I don't receive it by then, they will cancel the rebate and issue me another. What are the chances I see this. NEVER!!!!!! They deserve to go out of business.
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78 Posted by musiq0007 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:30PM EDT Report Abuse
As a former Supervisor in Circuit during the liquidation, I can tell you there ARE signs everywhere. In addition we have a check it table were you can test all merchandise, even sealed, before you leave the store just in case. If you test the item before you leave the store, chances are they will exchange for you if it doesnt work. Just make sure you do it inside the store, all you have to do is ask. And as far as prices, all liquidators go by msrp. That means the discount comes from the ticketed price. So at first they arent cheap.
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79 Posted by michaelschuk on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:18PM EDT Report Abuse
I have no problem with no refunds but to not let you inspect the product B-4 you leave the store is over the top.....
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80 Posted by selamgirmu on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:12PM EDT Report Abuse
I bought some items two weeks before Circuit City went out of business; but I could not get them returned two days after the close out!
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81 Posted by stork2474 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:45PM EDT Report Abuse
Circuit City sucks, don't get suckered with a rebate offer from them.
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82 Posted by sundaisy007 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:48PM EDT Report Abuse
From the looks of things, none of you have been apart of a store closing it's doors. I worked for Goody's and the way things work are...Circuit City is no longer owned by the corporation. The liquidation company they go through owns them now and also makes the rules. So if you get pissed because you can get a flat screen tv at a better price somewhere else or you can't open the box to see the product and what condition it's in, don't be pissed at CC. Now I understand clearly why so many people are such pricks when a store is closing down. You don't understand the process, now hopefully you do.
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83 Posted by craig.tsil on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:30PM EDT Report Abuse
BUYERS BEWARE!!! I was almost "duped" as well when going to make the big screen purchase on sale for 30% off. I'm glad I had been in the store the week before the sale began and was looking at the $1,200 dollar big screen prior to the sale because when I returned the next week to grab the big guy for what should have been $1,200 minus 30% (- $360)for a grand total of $840...it was now marked at $1,300. WTF? Why $100 more than BEFORE it went on sale I asked? No one would give me an answer. I didn't need one...I already knew the answer. It was like all the other corporations in the US. FRAUD FRAUD FRAUD. Refuse to buy from large corporations. BUY LOCAL, BUY SMALL, SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY. It may cost more locally but in the long run everyone will benefit.
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84 Posted by the_real_berserker on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:06PM EDT Report Abuse
They "wont allow you to open sealed boxes"? Forget that - bring your own packing knife and insist on opening and powering up any items before you pay for them. That's the only way to protect yourself against this.
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85 Posted by chadgarceau on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:21PM EDT Report Abuse
People really need to learn how to read. In every store there are clearly marked signs EVERYWHERE that say no refunds no returns. ALL SALES ARE FINAL! I personally am not a fan of the store but you know the risks of shopping liquidation, its basically a glorified yard sale. When was the last time you returned something to a yard sale. People are just mad because they got burned when they were trying to benefit from the companies hardship. Most people know the risks and are just crying about it. Take responsibility for your own actions people. You took a gamble on your equipment and lost.Sorry.
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66 Posted by captainkirk312 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:17PM EDT Report Abuse
If it's like most of these sales, they have sold their inventory to liquidators who then mark it up to clear it out. My general impression of these companies is that they are about as reputable as Miss Cleo and the Psychic Friends Network (sorry Dionne). Personally, I ain't buyin' no big ticket item they won't let me test out in the store. THAT speaks volumes for whoever is running their dog and pony show.