I went over to my local Circuit City yesterday to look around. Of the five items I looked into, four were considerably higher priced than on the internet. One was about the same. Typical.

In the past I've only found true bargains at "going out of business" sales on the more unusual items - and always near the very end of the sale - like the final weekend. For instance at CompUSA I purchased some computer battery backups for $35 that were on the net for $80. And at Tweeter I purchased a 1000' spool of high end dual RG-6 for about 90% off internet pricing.

As to recognizable mainstream gear, forget it. My experience has been that popular name brand equipment sells out long before the closeout price is discounted enough to make the offering a true bargain. Unfortunately there are plenty of saps and willing suckers who simply don't know the value of the merchandise being unloaded at a typical "going out of business" sale.

What this means is that too many people are foolish enough to buy before the vast majority of these items actually become a bargain. And these same buyers too quickly forget that they're purchasing this merchandise from a bankrupt company. That means no returns, no (store) warranties, tough luck if it doesn't work out, fit right, etc., you're stuck with it.

At "going out of business sales" shopping early means you paid too much. Shopping late means you might get a bargain on a crumb. Not shopping there at all might be the best deal. You get to keep your money.