Consumer Reports took a look at the so-called deals that people are flocking to at Circuit City — and again found that prices are higher than they would have been had the store not been liquidated. Judging by the photos of enormous crowds that are showing up in our Flickr pool — people still think that liquidation sales are bargains.

Consumer Reports says:

For example, at the liquidation, a 50-inch Panasonic plasma TV was discounted to $1,800, a $200 savings. That might sound like a bargain, but if you check the circular you’ll see that Circuit City had planned to cut the price this week by $500. What’s more, we found the same model online for $1,365, including free shipping.

An HP all-in-one printer, at the liquidation for $270, was scheduled to be on sale for $150. And we found it as low as $135 online. A Garmin GPS system, discounted to $225, was $160 in the circular and $141 online.

Despite the modest discounts, the checkout counter was mobbed. We repeatedly overheard salespeople telling customers that they had run out of merchandise. Shoppers were undeterred by signs proclaiming that all sales are final; that the store no longer was accepting the Circuit City credit cards, personal checks, or coupons; and that it wouldn’t match competitors’ prices.

They did find a few deals on items that are rarely on sale, such as the Nintendo Wii Guitar Hero World Tour bundle — but ultimately decided that the sale just wasn’t worth it.

Meanwhile, Flickr pool member lanenem provided us with these photos of the liquidation mob. Sad.

Good deals hard to find at Circuit City’s liquidation sale [Consumer Reports]
(Photo:lanenem)

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