Robert bought an extended warranty from Circuit City, but they won’t honor it to repair his broken computer because they claim it has water damage. Robert writes, “As God is my witness, this computer has never seen water,” and he sent us the photos Circuit City sent him.
circuit city
Circuit City CEO Resigns
Circuit City’s CEO, possibly the last guy left who might have known how to install HDTV , stepped down yesterday. Philip J. Schoonover’s efforts to turn around the troubled electronics retailer, which included firing a bunch of long-time employees and replacing them with lower-paid workers without benefits, didn’t work out. What with the worsening economy and all, it just didn’t seem like a good time to be a CEO.
Can't Afford A Soda? Get A Circuit City Credit Card!
Reader Sue saw this sign at Circuit City and snapped a picture of it for us.
Circuit City Wastes Hours Of Your Time, Only To Sell You An Empty Box
Reader Chris spend hours trying to buy God of War 2 from Circuit City, only to get stuck with an empty box. Yuck!
Morning Deals
Highlights From Dealnews
- Graveyard Mall: Wooden Roll-top Desk Organizer for $9 + $6 s&h
- Amazon.com: Columbia Sportswear Men’s Shoes from $19 + $5 s&h
- Amazon.com: Green Mountain K-Cup 50-Packs for $9 + $6 s&h
Highlights From Dealhack
- Circuit City: Element FLX3711B 37-inch LCD HDTV $600
- American Express: Up to 5% Cash Back on Purchases with SimplyCash Business Card
- Geeks: Refurbished Dual AMD Opteron Rack Mount Servers from $200
Highlights From Buxr
- Hewlett Packard: $500 off $1399 HP Pavilion Notebooks w/ code NB0915
- Frys.com: Western Digital GreenPower 500GB Serial ATA/300 Hard Drive for $69.99 + shipping
- Edmund Scientific: $25 Off $50 or more w/ coupon code ES25
DirecTV Install Imbroglio Makes Longtime Customer Want To Destroy Furniture
While we’re waiting on our video boys to harvest the clip of Whoopie’s rant against DirecTV on The View this morning, here’s a little reader-submitted DirecTV install nightmare to tide you over. Andy used to think DirecTV was pretty good, but his experience trying to get them to hook up an HD/DVR to his TV has felt him feeling like he is “going to explode, or destroy pieces of furniture.”
Morning Deals
- 6PM.com: DC Brand Shoes $20 + S/H, all sizes/styles, 856 to choose from
- Nicorette: free pack of Nicorette White Ice Mint (warning, site is slow)
- Circuit City: Panasonic SH-FX85 Wireless Multi-Room Speaker Kit for $44.96, requires in-store pickup
Highlights From Buxr
- Hewlett Packard: $400 Off $999 or more for Desktop Purchase w/ coupon code: DT1158 (Good for 2250 uses)
- NewEgg: Targus Notebook Wireless Optical Mouse for $8.99 w/ Free shipping after $20 off coupon code: EMCAKAKAK
- Buy.com: Av Lab Solar Backpack Charger for $29.99 w/ Free shipping after rebate
Highlights From Dealhack
- Best Buy: Toshiba Satellite Dual Core Notebook PC $500
- Geeks.com: Canon Pixma iP6210D Color Inkjet Photo Printer $35 with Coupon
- Musicnotes.com: 20% or 30% off Guitar Guru Interactive Lessons with Coupons
Circuit City Says Rogue Firedog Was Wrong, Refunds $40 'Repair' Fee
Last week we wrote about a Circuit City customer who was charged $40 without warning for “repairs” to a brand new computer. We received several explanations from Circuit City insiders, both in the comments and through email, that the repair was mandatory—Acer and Circuit City had agreed that instead of pulling the PCs, the retailer’s Firedog techs would flash the BIOS in-store upon purchase. What was unclear was how or why this would fall under the Firedog “Quickstart” service, which is optional and includes things like removing shortcuts from your desktop and setting up your background. (Seriously, check it out here.) Yesterday we received the following interesting email from Circuit City HQ.
Circuit City Firedog Charges $40 To 'Fix' Computer You Just Bought
Update: Circuit City says the repair should have been free. Here’s their response. Travis writes that a friend of his just bought a new computer from Circuit City, and after turning down all of the Firedog’s “it won’t work unless you also buy this” offers, he noticed a $40 fee on his receipt. Turns out the associate claims he had to flash the computer’s BIOS or Vista wouldn’t work. Travis writes, “Regardless of the fact that Vista booted up just fine with out the update, he was more disturbed with the fact that Circuit City would sell him a computer that they knew didn’t work, or so they say.” So does Circuit City sell computers that don’t work without a preliminary repair, or do they lie in order to generate extra fees?
Mad Mag Reacts To Circuit City Ban
“We at MAD were shocked and confused by this entire incident — mainly because we had no idea that Circuit City even sells magazines. Nonetheless, we accept their apology but hold out hope that their gesture of a $20 gift card is only an opening offer.”
What Exactly Can You Buy With This Circuit City Coupon?
Reader Michael wants to know what exactly he is expected to buy with this Circuit City coupon? It’s for 8% off purchases over $199, but it excludes, um, lots of stuff.
Circuit City Sorry For Commanding Employees To Destroy Mad Mag's "Sucker City" Parody
After a thin-skinned Circuit City exec ordered stores carrying Mad Magazine to search and destroy all copies of a recent issue featuring a 4-page parody of “Sucker City,” someone with a brain stopped the madness. Here’s the surprisingly classy message we just got from corporate:
Circuit City Orders All Stores To Destroy Issue Of Mad Magazine Parodying "Sucker City"
Circuit City headquarters has ordered their stores to “destroy all copies” of the latest issue of Mad Magazine, according to an anonymous tipster. The retailer apparently isn’t amused by the 4-page spoof of “Sucker City.” Inside, Mad’s 1-page preview and headquarters’ response.
Bear Breaks Into Circuit City, Has As Much Luck Locating An Employee As You Do
Colorado Springs police say that the vandal who broke into a closed Circuit City wasn’t trying to steal electronics — it was a confused black bear.
Yikes: Blockbuster Dumps Plan To Buy Circuit City
Blockbuster has finished snooping around Circuit City’s medicine cabinet and the verdict is in: Blockbuster has changed its mind.
Circuit City Calls The Cops On Customer Who Tried To Redeem $40 DTV Coupon
Circuit City wouldn’t let Larry redeem his $40 digital transition converter box coupon unless he signed a credit slip agreeing to pay $40. Larry refused, and asked to cancel the transaction. Circuit City’s manager responded by calling the police before following Larry into the parking lot to write down his license plate number.
Circuit City Loses Even More Money: $164.8 Million
Circuit City reported yesterday that they’ve managed to lose $164.8 million in the first quarter, which is even more money than they managed to lose in the previous disastrous quarter. In fact, this will be their 5th straight losing quarter. Same-store sales, considered the most important indicator of the health of a retailer, dropped 11.3 percent. Ow!