Comparative Reality

Let's see...I last purchased something from Circuit City...thinking...10 years ago? Something like that. We bought some speakers and a new receiver/amplifier. Which I replaced earlier this year (not the speakers; they're still fine).

Actually, I think I bought a video game from them, but from their online store. That probably doesn't count.

I last went into one of their stores to check out a digital camera, about a year ago. They didn't have the model that I wanted, but they had the previous one. So I looked at that, and it helped me make a decision, but they were selling the old model at the same price that I could by the new model at an online site.

Mark Evanier does a good job of summarizing the issue:

Anyone who's ever shopped at one knows the reason they're in trouble. It's the same thing that doomed the Good Guys chain. And Egghead Software. And caused CompUSA to close most of its outlets. It's the same problem that destroys most chains that sell technology. Someone says, "We have to keep labor costs low," and doesn't realize or care that this invariably results in too many employees who — I'm going to put this in bold — don't know a damn thing about the stuff they sell.
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But crummy service has killed the brick-and-mortar end of that market. Everyone's learned that if you're not going to get personal attention from a salesperson who knows the product line, you might as well buy it on the Internet. It's cheaper and you don't even have to carry it out to your car.

Except in that one case 10 years (or so) ago, I never trusted the salespeople at Circuit City to know more than I did, or to not try to sell me the most expensive items available, regardless of what would actually make sense for me to buy. Instead of getting useful advice, the salesperson would just point to an expensive model and say, "Well, that one's good." And that would be the high water mark as far as their suggestions went.

So, no, I'm not mourning them at all. Similarly, I wouldn't be too upset if Home Depot decided to go out of business.