Just make sure you can put your hands on whatever it is your buying first... if you find something worth buying... and use a credit card to be still safer. one you know you can contest if things fall apart.
I bought into the trade in & up program they had for loudspakers some years ago. I aimed for the BW N802s and began with a much lower end BW speaker set. Trading in and up for about 3 years, and on the verge of getting the 802s, I dropped in to see if they had the right color in stock or should I place my order earlier? they had lost the BW line altogether! Consequently, no mo' BW for me.
I also saw the story on the HD calibration which I had initially been interested in having done on my FPJ by Best Buys Geek Squad. After a few calls to Best Buy, and no return call confirmation I gave up on it. Actually, I'm glad I did knowing the general knowledge level of most of the BB employees.
I've asked numerous times about SACD for instance, trying to locate where their SACD discs are and only get questioning looks or a "What's SACD?". reply.
Two years ago just before Xmas I bought a TV for my Bedroom. While I was waiting for them to bring it up to the front to load it in the truck, they brought up the wrong TV 3 times! Each time it was a completely different brand or model TV! it took 2 hours, and a district manager ultimately to get me the right one. To their credit, they did further discount the set to me too for the inconvienence.
Finding qualified knowledgeable electronic people to deal with, and at affordable prices, is certainly a task. I've no problem paying a bit more for the straight scoop with these sorts however the increased allotment they ask for generally, isn't just a bit more... it's a lot more. it's understandable, although not justifiable... and that's the real shame of it. For them and us. |
Tweeter's going out of business. I think they originally planned to file bankruptcy and reorganize, but I saw a news article yesterday that said they were closing for good. I went to my local Hi-Fi Buys (a tweeter company) a couple of weeks ago and they had already been scavanged of everything good. My local Circuit City's are also closing and I managed to get a Squeezebox Duet there for 40% off. Looks like tough times for the big box stores. |
Tweeter was under Chapter 11 bankruptcy (re-organization) and then overnight they shifted to Chapter 7 (liquidation) and requested that all employees, warranty holders, customers w deposits, etc be put in line w all other unsecured creditors, which in practical terms means they will get diddly-squat. Some state AGs are opposing that move and it remains to be seen what will eventually happen. If they bring a liquidator in, its unlikely that there will be any "real deals", IME. |
The Tweeter stores in Boston and the one in R.I. closed their doors five days ahead of schedule and they still had plenty of stock on the floor. |
A guy I know bought a Martin Logan center for like $600 which was almost like giving it away. |
Tweeter bought up United Audio in Chicago a few yrs. ago and run it into the ground, great. United Audio was a Chicago institution since I was a kid back in the 70's. |
"If they bring a liquidator in, its unlikely that there will be any "real deals", IME."
So basically a "liquidator" would mean prices about 20%-30% off retail, right? (lol) Sounds about right. |
The Tweeter near me went to a liquidator and they were only offering a 10% discount. Then they closed the doors 2 weeks later and took the remaining stock, which was a lot because people around here know 10% is not that good of a deal... |
Well I'm not intimately familiar with how the liquidation process all works. But I know this much. They're sure as heck aren't going to donate the stuff charity, or trade it to arms dealers in the middle east!
Heck, there's deals on the net for this stuff to compete with for heavens sake! they'd have to be pretty aggressive, price-wise, to move the merchandise on a retail store front level, ya think? I mean there's no option left is there?
OH WAIT! They could be planning to sell it wholesale as a supplier to dealers on the net, actually - assuming they got a good enough price on the bulk of it. Actually, now that I think about it. That's probably what they'll do. They'll probably be able to undercut most of the wholesale suppliers out there in distributing product to E-tailers to re sell that route. I bet that's what's going to happen to at least the bulk of the remaining stock. Makes sense to me. |
IME, if they sell it out of the store they will start at 10- 20% off full MSRP and work their way down from there. By the time they get to a realistic discount from street price, there will only be bones left on the carcass! Its kind of like flea-bay where you see used stuff selling for more than average street price. Lots of advertising to draw in the suck...I mean customers! |
I read somewhere that Tweeter was planning a reverse takeover of Hooters. |
I've had nothing but bad luck dealing with "liquidators". |
"IME, if they sell it out of the stores they will start at 10- 20% off full MSRP and work their way down from there. By the time they get to a realistic discount from street price, there will only be bones left on the carcass!"
Again, I'm not intimate with the liquidation process on this level. However, I guarantee you that no retailer, etailer, or even complete imbecile would pay 10-20% off retail to stock ANY audio/video merchandise for re-sell! Why when they can get the same or similar products for 50%-30% off retail, or sometimes better for AV! Heck, internet sales alone beat your numbers to death. So, no, a liquidator would not even consider offering such, I'm sure.
I would venture to guess that a liquidator could only really re-sell the products, and not the actual business name and operations itself. Could be wrong, but even if they could, who would buy up a dying turkey of an enterprise, even the name, to try to salvage something? Too much advertising marketing and footwork for a liquidator. They likely want to turn a buck and get out! - get on to the next deal down the road, I'm sure.
No I'd be more inclined to think they would be offering more like "pennies on the dollar" for the merchandise, in one big buy out, actually! This makes much much more sense. I would actually be shocked if they offered more than 30-35% of acutal retail value, or equivalence, for the merchandise alone on the deal. Again, I'm no expert by any stretch.
Anyone got any experience with such to comment? |
By liquidator, I mean someone who goes in and sells the stuff out of the retail locations. They hire kids to stand on the street with those big yellow and black signs and buy ads in the papers. They will gradually cut prices 10% at a time, and they depend on what I would call charitably call uneducated consumers. This is what has been done at numerous retail chains including recently one of those linens places. By the time they get to a price that beats the internet there is usually nothing of any value left. Now I don't know if that's what they will do, but I wouldn't be surprised. |
well, looks like they're not re-opening the doors at Tweeter after all. I also bet you that they're going to RIP OFF THE EMPLOYEE'S AND WHOEVER ELSE BOUGHT STUFF ON ORDER! ..that stinketh.
Well, that's business...and in this case, looks like Tweeter's "giving the business" to it's people!!! Wow.
Well I guess there are no garantee's in this life - except never having a season in professional sports where some high profile player gets arrested, and of course T.O. having a blow up and fall out with Jerry Jones, and getting eventually kicked off the Cowboy's.
But besides all of that, it can all happen in retail, seems like.
So, I guess the liquidation company is going to have a little "garage sale" of sorts in some warehouse eventually. Lol. Yep, they sure musta got a screamin' deal on the stuff. Maybe there'll be a deal or two. Or even better, if you were a former Tweeter employee, maybe you can buy a bunch of that stuff back for a "package deal", then sell it a piece at a time on ebay, trying to get your money back from the paycheck they stiffed ya for in the fist place! - doh! |
about 12 or 18 months ago tweeter closed a bunch (all?) of their Southern California stores. I went down to one near San Diego and found the "deals" to be pretty weak. I think it was on the order 20% off MSRP.
I did talk to one of the guys working there and they said they had another few weeks at that location, after which the store would be closed and the inventory moved to another retail location. I don't know if this is standard practice, but considering that each employee has a cost, the practice does make sense to consolidate the number of open store fronts. |
