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You have to realize that there is a middle market here. Trading companies will buy up inventory from bankrupt companies and resell them through their establish

by ssharp 18y ago

You have to realize that there is a middle market here. Trading companies will buy up inventory from bankrupt companies and resell them through their established channels. From Circuit City's standpoint, it's better to unload all that inventory in one major deal than to try to stay open and sell them to consumers. So for merchandise like electronics, which is easily resold, you're not going to see any deals. They'll mark the prices up to retail ("normal" price is typically discounted) and then take 20-30% off which is what they normally take off anyway. The deals are going to the companies buying this stuff up in bulk.

RobGR 18y ago
That doesn't really make sense, why doesn't Circuit City do what the trading companies are doing but cut out the middle man ? After all Circuit City's stores should be a fine "established channel". And why would the trading companies by from Circuit City when they could contact the manufacturers directly ? I don't think there is a rational reason involving trading companies or some other established channels for Circuit City's pricing; instead, consider the possibility that Circuit City is run by idiots. Occam's razor dictates that idiocy is more likely explanation here. It also is consistent with the reasons they are going out of business in the first place. That said, I also suspect that there is a large downturn in consumer buying, and it might shake out even retailers that aren't run by idiots.