Bargain Hunting Blog

Circuit City Liquidation and Closing Sale

Circuit City is having a going out of business sale.  All 567 Circuit City stores will start selling products at liquidation and clearance sale prices immediately.  According to the Cirtuit City website (which is no longer open for shopping), the liquidation sales will start in some stores as early as Saturday, January 17.  These sales will run as long as it takes to sell all inventory.  When all the inventory is sold the store will be closed.  store locator >> 

This Circuit City liquidation sale will have many great deals, but shop with care.  A liquidation sale does not automatically mean the lowest price available.  During liquidations, retailers know that there is a tendency to be impatient and impulsive, so some prices may not be real bargains.  Take your time, and do some research before buying.  This will insure that you don't get taken advantage of.  Always keep in mind that the purpose of these sales is to generate as much money as possible in order to pay down the company's debt.  If they can sell a hot item at a higher price, they will certainly try.  Also, don't be afraid to negotiate price.

Here are a few things you should know about the Circuit City liquidation sale..

• All sales are final, no returns, or refunds are available.

• Circuit City gift cards will still be honored.

• Delivery service is not available.

• Installation and repair services are not available.

• Extended warranties will continue to be provided by the third-party that issued the warranty.

• A Circuit City Advantage warranty can be purchased for liquidation sale products. This service is provided by a third-party and will not be affected by Circuit City's closing.

• Circuit City's price matching guarantee is not available.

Upcoming Sales Tax Holidays

Shopping online is not the only way to avoid paying sales tax. In the near future, many states are having sales tax suspension periods. This means that select products you buy within the state will be tax free. With back to school shopping just getting underway and everyone feeling the economic pinch, this news comes at the perfect time. Here is a list of upcoming sales tax holidays I found on the MSN finance pages.

State	Holiday	Tax savings*	Eligible products (cost is per item unless otherwise noted)
Connecticut	Aug. 17-23	6%	Clothing and footwear worth $300 or less.
Georgia	Oct. 2-5	4%	Energy-efficient and water-saving products worth $1,500 or less.
Texas	Aug. 15-17	6.25%	Clothing and backpacks worth $100 or less.
Virginia	Oct. 10-13	4%	Energy-efficient products worth $2,500 or less.
Washington,  D.C.	Aug. 2-10	6%	Clothing and school supplies worth $100 or less.
Washington,  D.C.	Nov. 21-Dec. 2	6%	Clothing worth $100 or less.
West Virginia	Sept. 1-7	6%	Energy-efficient products worth $2,500 or less.

Offline Sales Starting Early This Summer

I was out walking around this weekend getting roasted by the New York City heat. It’s a hot, humid, strangely aromatic heat that you need to be here to really hate. Anyway in between short thunderstorms I hopped in and out of a bunch of national retail stores. In doing so I was a shocked to see how many big sales were going on. You name it shoes, clothes, electronics, furniture, everything was on sale. It seemed like all the major retailers and even the small boutiques were having some sort of sale. I know, it's a week before the 4th of July, so that could explain some of it, but certainly all of it. So the good news is if you’ve got some disposable income (if you do I’m jealous), now seems like the right to get some shopping done. The bad news is that the economy is obviously slow and likely getting slower if stores are having huge sales, so early in the summer.

New Sales Tax For New York Residents

Traditionally online shoppers have not had to pay sales tax if the online merchant they are buying from did not have a physical presence in their state. New York State has recently passed a law that attempts to change this for New York residents. The new law specifically targets online merchants that use New York based affiliates to help them sell products. Though these New York affiliates (deal sites, price comparison sites, etc.) are not owned or operated by the merchant, the new law treats them as if they were, thus forcing a sales tax assessment.

Dubbed "The Amazon Tax" this new law seeks to fill what some legislators have for years called a sales tax loophole. This so called loophole has allowed online merchants to avoid the complications of charging and paying state sales tax. Over the years this has benefited companies like Amazon.com, Overstock.com, and many more by providing incentive for customers to make online purchases instead of in store purchases. Plus online shoppers have saved a bundle by not paying state sales tax when buying from these merchants.

What does this new law mean for New York online shoppers? Well, New Yorkers will immediately start paying New York sales tax at online stores that have previously not charged them sales tax. For example, Amazon.com started charging sales tax to New York residents on June 1.

Don’t’ lose hope yet fellow New York shoppers, because this isn't over. Amazon has in the last few days called the law "unconstitutional" and is taking its case to the courts. Stay tuned!