How come Circuit City never has advertised items in stock?

[digtempest]

I went to CC yesterday about an hour after they opened to buy Nintendo DS. Their ad mentioned a free crarrying case and a free Mario game. Well, they didn't have the case and the sales clerk found(1 copy left)the free game. She told me that they expect more carrying cases on Wed. Also she told to go to the customer service desk to purchase the DS and tell them about the carrying case. Well, after wating about 8 minutes in line, I said screw this and left. Maybe it's a sign from God telling to buy a PSP instead. They never to seem to have sales/advertised games. They advertised Midway Acrade T. 2 the week it came out and the sales clerk told me it will be out next year. LIAR! Sonic Mega Collection + was advertised for $15 one time and they didn't have any. The list goes on and on...

[atari_wizard]

How come Circuit City never has advertised items in stock?

i know what you mean. sometimes limited time advertisement deal is what makes most people go for the gusto. sometimes they do better in sales, then they thought possible. when i was working at target, they'd always do the same thing. they would have 15-20 spongebob clocks on hand (which were on ad) and like 40 guests trying to pick one up. then sometimes they would order way too many and end up sending like half of them back.

i would say, go back on wednesday and see if they have them in stock. if they don't, then maybe thats your sign. good luck. :)

[davepesc]

I've pretty much given up on Circuit City. You are right that they never have advertised items in stock and their sales associates are the pushiest I've seen, right up there with Radio Shack.

Funny though, tell one of those aggressive clerks that you're there for a sale item and they run away like you have flesh-eating bacteria.

[ddockery]

Simple... sale items make less money, but get your ass in the store!

[boatofcar]

That's right, stay away from Circuit City. More games for me the next time a $4.99 sale comes around.

[goatdan]

I was told this by a Circuit City manager once...

When new big things come out, Circuit City will often price them below cost to ensure they are the lowest price in town. Then, they'll put up a nice big display and only put in (if any) a few copies. The game sells out, Circuit City says, "Sorry!" but you're still there and looking around, and if you decide to go to Best Buy and do a price match, Best Buy loses money on each game sold.

So, for CC it is a win-win-win situation. You get in their store to shop, you may buy something else, and if you buy it, some other store will lose the money.

Shady, yet smart. I've given up even going to Circuit City when they have great advertised deals. I just take it to Best Buy and get it there.

[ClubNinja]

I have a new love for Circuit City after yesterday. I bought a $479 TV for $299 because it was mis-marked. Could've happened anywhere, but still, Circuit City is a new friend of mine.

[Zexmaix]

I just don't do retail. Solves all problems. All retail stores are overpriced, you have to pay tax, and put up with some annoying/pushy sales people. Heck, I used to work retail, but that still doesn't mean I can't despise the system.

[Half Japanese]

I just quit CC, (or rather, I'm going in today to do so) and the whole "sales item not in stock" is just as annoying for us as it is for you. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at an ad on Saturday night putting out tags and think to myself...."shit, we've got like two of these." What makes matters worse is, and I can't speak for all CC stores, but they've started putting systems in the back, from DS/PSP to the larger systems (oddly enough, never the Gamecube), meaning each time someone wants one, we have to sell it to them sight unseen and then send them up to customer service to receive it, or just save it on a ticket for them and let them ring it up at the front.

The correct procedure (though, thanks to our 1985 computer systems, difficult) is to special order the item for the customer, as in the carrying case (can't special order DVDs/CDs/Movies/Games) and either have it shipped directly to their house or have it come in the store for pickup later on. You have my word that they CAN and SHOULD do this, but whether or not they're that fucking lazy will be given a time to shine here.

As far as the "running from people buying stuff on sale" bit, I can see how that might happen in some of the computer/tv/audio depts., since the warranty numbers hit those people harder, but I've never run away from someone just looking for the sale item. The people I run away from are one of the following: pushy, rude, smelly. If there's one group I despise, it's the overwhelming number of people that come in for absolute shit that's cheap or free after rebates. They know this stuff is in high demand/low supply but they expect us to have it anyway.

Good thing is, in today's "price match" economy, you can go just about anywhere and get the same deal.

[digtempest]

Also, one positive thing about C. City- (if you bring in an ad from a rival), the clerk for whatever read can't seem to understand the ad's price, you might get even a lower price. This helps on those musical titles that a CD verison, CD/DVD, Dual Disc. This happened to me only once.

[Bluteg]

Yes, Circuit City did pricematch 110%. I'm not sure if they still do to this day however.