I am SHOCKED!

Not to mention I can almost guarantee that if approached about this, any liquidator or sales associated would immediate claim that the 5% is a mistake and not the final price...so couldn't this technically be construed as false advertising and/or bait and switch?

Or does it even really matter due to them going out of business?

What do you mean? This is accurate. You get 5% off the list price, but you have to add back in the 4% liquidator's fee.

@Smooooth: Sadly there is a small chance your comment is correct! Instead of charging the fee to Circuit City they are going after the customers for it.

i'm taking this seriously by not shopping there..unless they have 42" (Sony, Toshiba, etc) HDTV's for $500 :)

You are just paying for the restocking fees ahead of time.... I thought we all did it?? right?? RIGHT??!!

(shooockkkeedd)

@Smooooth: thank you for that... I really did not know liquidators could pass on the cost to the customers...

@Gokuhouse: I know little about the policies that are in place when liquidators get their claws into pricing, but shouldn't any extra fees be listed somewhere? I would definitely make the argument that any sale advertisement can be taken at face value when there is no "fine print". If there is a 4% "liquidator fee" attached to this sale, the sign should read 1% off, not 5%. Any average customer coming in looking for a deal is going to read this as 5% off the price listed.

Apparently Circuit City doesn't sell calculators? Or cell phones, or anything else that has a calculator built in.

What I trained myself to do was guess at these to do them quickly. Round up to $1000 and take 10%, or $100. Half of that (5%) is $50. So the price ought to be around $950, which is a little high, but the actual sale price is higher, so it's not right. I can do the guess faster than using a calculator. But I rounded up about 1%, so it's close to the ~$940 it should be if I take the fudge back out.

This is a good technique to teach kids.

The stores use crazy prices like 989.99 so you can't easily do them in your head. So many 9, 8, 6, etc digits.

Doesn't surprise me. Maybe if the suits at Circuit City could do basic math, they wouldn't be underwater right now. FFS, I can't remember *any* good deals at any Circuit City/Best Buy I've ever been to; 95% of the time, their prices were hilariously close to retail, and it was easy to get a better deal on a similar (or identical) product at just about any other big-box retailer that *didn't* specialize in electronics. (Target, Wal-Mart, hell... even Sears!)

No tears for Circuit City here, although it sucks that the workers are losing their jobs.

That 5% is an adjustable rate. It's like 1% now, but in 5 years will jump up to 5%. So it's a hell of a deal.

This reminds me of one of my biggest retail pet peeves. For example, an item is 20% off, then an additional 10%, but the dumbass sales person tells you it's 30% off.

.5 % OFF!
Was $998.95
You pay $993.95*

* Additional 4% liquidator's fee & 10% discount fee & tax due at register

@MeSoHornsby: Why complain? 30% off the top is in your favor...

My guess that someone in Bush's fiscal responsibility department must be doing the calculations for discounts at Circuit City.

@MeSoHornsby: I am usually ok with that scenario. If they want to give me 30% versus 20 and % broken up, I should come out ahead.

@Geekybiker: They don't give you 30% off, though, they just are too dumb to realize that 20% off then 10% off is not the same as 30% off.

@Trencher93: I've alway taken the $989.99 - 10% of that is just moving the decimal back 1 spot to the left, so $98.99 which we'll round to $99. Divide by 2? $49.50, rounded to $50. $990-$50 is $940.

Same with tipping, 15% of $100 is obviously $15, divide that by 2 is $7.50 for a $50 bill, or divide THAT by 2 is $3.75 for a $25, so on and so forth.

If you are out looking for a great deal to be had, you should know basic math. Plain and simple.

@MeSoHornsby: I'm kinda confused by your logic, if you took 30% off of an item, you get a better deal, whats to complain about?

$300 TV- 20% is $60, so $240. An additional 10% off of $240 is $24, so in total, you get $84 off.

30% would be $90 off, that's not a pet peeve, it's a bonus! If they say it's 30%, by DARN, hold them to it!

@Trencher93:

"This is a good technique to teach kids."

Yes, simple division is a good "technique" to teach kids. Why don't we round up all the children into rooms, where someone trained in this "technique" advises the children how to use it. Perhaps later the children can be tested on it.

What a BRILLIANT idea!

Is it possible that the sign is just poorly written, but correct? Could it be that they mean $979.96 THEN take 5% off?

On second thought, no.

So, who buys stuff from these liquidation "sales"?

@verucalise: I think his point is that the salesperson says it's 30% off, but the number on the tag is really 20%, then 10% (probably because it was reduced at two separate times). So you're not getting the better deal that the salesperson is claiming you get.

Ok, here's the deal, that 5% should be taken off that tag and replaced with "Clearance" All clearance items in circuit city's inventory system end with a .96 and the liquidators will not lower the price of any clearance item beyond what it was already set in the system. So that tag should also have something about being a display item and or used, and or last one, and or missing something etc. etc. Sounds like a case of one of the new 15 year old employees they hired in to save the company only to tell them they would be losing their job, not that they care.

@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy-->: Or you know, the way of doing basic math without a calculator... a pencil.

well at least the second one is a lot closer.

@verucalise: I tip 20%, so I use the "decimal point to the left, multiply by 2" method. And since I work in DC, if I go out to an actual restaurant for lunch, I just double the 10% sales tax.

I agree with you though, people need to learn more of these tips to spot deals or easily figure out if they are being ripped off like in this picture.

@AliyaBabasaur: That's a great idea. Now someone should also invent a book with sample problems in it so the kids can practice! This is gold, Jerry, GOLD!

Is that strange code at the bottom of the picture supposed to mean hilarious?

Heh...

@medusasbedhead: So THIS is why they thought they were making a profit in the past. Some exec came into a board meeting saying "Hey guys! Our profits are up 5% this quarter!"

I feel bad for the employees too, but look at it this way. Circuit City stores are usually located in somewhat medium to large commercial areas, like around malls, plazas, etc. The employees, if they feel that their skills cannot get them a better career, can probably find another retail job in that same area. Many retailers have such high turnover that they hire constantly. Where there is a Circuit City, there is usually a Best Buy, a Toys 'R' Us, a Walmart, a Target, or some other similar retail store. The employees should be okay.

@medusasbedhead:
Aren't their prices by definition exactly retail?

@rpm773: People may laugh at this comment, but you KNOW that somewhere, an executive is thinking, "Adjustable rate sales. That's not a bad idea..."

Hey guys, lay off here, seriously. This is actually a repeat of everything you've ALREADY been complaining about with Circuit City - the employees.

The liquidator has a schedule of store areas and the price discount that will be applied to each of the different -types- of product (Desktops 5%, laptops 5%, televisions 5-10%, dvd/blu-ray players 10-15%, CD's, paper products 10%, etc) and they delegate these lists to the store managers, who in turn assign associates to go along with sale tags, black markers, and (hopefully) calculators. It is THEN up to these employees to get the math done and mark it properly. I bet if you follow the employee around who did this one, you'll find a bevy of other miscalculated prices.

True, the manager should probably have spotted this, and they should correct it immediately if brought to their attention - something which the OP did not suggest that he had done.

I'm glad you're all having a good laugh here at the bumbling buffoons that must be in charge of the liquidation, but seriously I have been in the manager's shoes who had to check some 2,200 sale tags. If only ONE got through their notice, that's commendable

@verucalise: He's saying you're only getting the $84 but the salesman tells you you're getting "30%" because he's too much of an idiot to realize its only technically like 23%

@SabreDC: And I guess they don't realize that customers can easily calculate 10% of a price by moving the decimal, then calculate 5% by cutting the 10% in half.

Linens N'Things is doing this as well...I found something priced at $69.99 marked as 20% off and the final price is $59.99.

I don't know if it's stupidity on the part of the staff, or their sly way of getting the customer to pay more than they should be paying.

I pity anyone who just tagged the "neat sale price calculator" as a favorite.

I like how the signs are preying on people whose instincts to buy are triggered primarily by the perception of a big percentage price cut rather than on whether or not they feel that the final price they pay is worth it for what they end up getting. It's kind of like saying, "wow, I got a 3% mortgage", but still owing the bank $950,000 back on the loan when you're working at McDonalds.

I don't care so much about whether or not the liquidator got the math right. I'd care about if the price they cut it to was a fair price. (Not saying it is, mind you.)

@Killians1978:

So nice of you to shill for these liquidators, but this one group goes far and beyond the call of duty to rip people off. You probably didn't pay attention to the CompUSA debacle, but suffice it to say that either you worked against the consumers, or you have no clue how badly that incident worked out.

I got kicked out of a Spencer Gifts onces for getting in a yelling match with the manager. He banned me from ever coming into the store again!

They had a table of shirts with a sign that said "33% off", and all were actually only 25% off. I told him how legally, since the sign is up, he is obligated to sell the shirts for the 33% off...and he just didnt' get it, he insisted that the price on the shirt is the price on the shirt, and they won't adjust it.

@Killians1978:

And for every goofy screwup in their favor there will be one more in our favor.

I saw a Mark Levinson Amp for $580 on a close out sale in a liquidation store because either some idiot slipped a decimal point or the store had no farking clue what they were selling.

NO, I did not buy the Amp. Somebody else grabbed it before the mistake was realized.

@IHaveAFreezeRay: If it were just simple math errors you would think they would swing both ways, yet they never seem to go in the favor of the customer do they?

@Corporate-Shill:

Sure, it's possible. But if he's going to be so snotty about being a retail manager, he shouldn't expect sympathy, and he shouldn't expect that the reality consumers know matches the perfect operation that only exists in his head.

I've been behind the curtain, and while I've taken escalations for all manner of jerky customers, for every unreasonable customer you've got an equally dumb and "entitled" manager out there to match.

@kittenfoo: That's how I figure out tips!

@se7a7n7: Suckers.

@verucalise: Lord, I still can't believe how many people I know still can't figure out taxes and tips when handed a bill. (These are working professionals in their 30's.)

(I flunked a few of my math classes in school, but at least I know about the decimal point rule.)

@SabreDC: I just figure out $2 for every $10 the bill is. Somehow that's easier for me than moving the decimal point and multiplying by 2. Weird.

@Trencher93: I just thought "the difference is $10, and $10 is 1% of $1000".