Circuit City selling Macs again
Earlier this month we reported that Macs might make a comeback at Circuit City, and sure 'nuff, reader Bob tipped us off to Macs appearing at Circuit City's website, as well as select locations. Apple has their own section under the Notebook Computers category, and CC seems to carry all flavors of both the MacBook and MacBook Pro, but no desktop models (at least online). Can't say we blame them, since notebooks have reportedly been outselling desktops since 2005, and even as early as 2003.While I'm still sitting on the fence as to whether I think Circuit City carrying Macs again is a good thing (I was working there when they screwed it up the first time), check out their new Mac section, and who knows: maybe they'll even be doing a 'get a free printer if you jump through our hoops!' rebate one of these Sundays.
Update: Seems Circuit City has just added the Mac mini and the iMac to their site's inventory. Thanks Patrick!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hal said 1:11PM on 9-23-2006
I will be glad to see Macs at Circuit City. There is no place within almost 100 miles to by Macs in my area. I've talked to friends at work about getting Macs but they cannot unless the make a major road trip.
I've always thought Palm Desert, CA would be perfect for an Apple store. It is close to my home. We have millions of annual visitors just looking for places to spend money. And the best reason of all is that if they were able to put it on the corner of El Paseo Drive and Portola Avenue, Bill Gates would have to drive right by it to get to his country club home in the desert--or make a special trip around to avoid it.
Circuit City is a start but c'mon Apple! Put an Apple store in Palm Desert.
Hal
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Kyle said 1:20PM on 9-23-2006
I use to/ still kinda work there. I hated that we didnt sell macs, i was in love with them. I finally bought one and am hoping that the employee discount is not as good as the student discount I got. Well hopefully they will start selling the quality products more than those cheap ACER laptops, i get the chills just hearing that word...
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greatslack said 2:44PM on 9-23-2006
How do you screw up selling macs? Put them on a table and they will sell themselves.
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Gandhi said 3:12PM on 9-23-2006
"How do you screw up selling Macs?"
By have uninformed employees telling the wrong, or misleading, information on the software capabilities on a Mac, and the average Joe then thinking a Mac is not for him. I saw this happen all the time at the local CompUSSR when I was drooling over the Mac notebooks.
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mrtotes said 5:09PM on 9-23-2006
My local PC World has an iBook (yes still!) and iMac ICD and a Mini hooked up to Samsung display. It all looked rather shabby. I did my duty as a Mac User (sad I know) and opened up PhotoBooth, iTunes and iDVD on the iMac leaving it looking far neater than the 'your pictures folder contains no images screen saver' it was on when I arrived. As I walked away from the machines I watched an employee come over and shutdown everything I'd opened returning it to the desktop. Considering that the PCs all around had some kind of attractive display it is rather easy not to sell Macs even if they are on the table. My only victory was that I suspect she did see that I set the screen saver to 'never'.
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Scott-O-Rama said 6:12PM on 9-23-2006
What really needs to happen is both Circuit City and Best Buy need to start selling Mac software if they are going to carry Macs.
Think of the average Joe Consumer: "Well yeah, the Macbook seems like a really great computer for me. What sort of software do you have for it? None? Show me that Windows laptop again."
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Query said 7:27PM on 9-23-2006
They also sell the remotes, too. :-P
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Apple-Remote-Control-for-iPod-or-iMac-G5-MA128GA/sem/rpsm/oid/137557/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
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jason said 11:22PM on 9-23-2006
To those of you that say you have no place to buy a mac...
www.apple.com
www.macconnection.com
etc... I am sure I could keeep going.
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Gisch said 8:27PM on 9-24-2006
I just wish that Best Buy would put Apples into all of our stores, including software. It always felt wierd when we carried the Minis in store, to only carry Office, but no other Mac software. Also, it'd make it so that I wouldn't have to drive at least 30 minutes in any direction to get to the nearest place carrying Mac software to get it.
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Drew said 12:44AM on 9-24-2006
@#6
We do. Online.
I work at CIrcuit City, and while we do not carry macs in the store yet, I have personally sold three or four in the past week through our internet warehouse. I own a Mac and I have been told by our store director that when we start selling Macs, I will be in charge of training all salespeople on the Macs.
Oh on another note, I used to work at the Apple Store out at La Cantera in San Antonio. Great employees, snobby ass customers. Got old, fast.
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Drew said 12:44AM on 9-24-2006
Ah forgot the link for the software.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Software/sem/rpsm/catOid/-12996/Ntk/All/Ntt/Mac/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do
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Hal said 1:05AM on 9-24-2006
To #8:
I'm sure a lot of people are happy to buy there computer online but for first time buyers there is nothing like a hands-on experience. They want to see it, touch it, talk to the salespeople and take it home with them. It's like buying a car except you don't have to keep being badgered by the salesmen and shuttled into different offices. And, if you don't have a computer, how are supposed to buy it online?
Hal
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Tim O'Bryan said 1:22AM on 9-24-2006
The only reasion retail (other than Apple stores) have a problem selling Macs is the lack of interest.
As a company Best Buy has sold Macs SINCE the blue iMac. In stores? Not really...
It's a halfway problem between customers and employees. There are SO many employees that are so biased towards AMD or Intel and Microsoft or Windows or something... and they HATE Macs. For what good reason? None. When your company carries a product and your salespeople purposely don't sell it because they don't like it... the company won't provide it anymore.
Personally I love macs, I sold the HELL out of Mac Minis when my store carried them and I still sell the hell out of MacBooks and MBPs when the time is right. However when we have Geek Squad agents that turn away customers because they don't know how to open the case to do a memory upgrade, you've got a problem. That's no shot at Geek Squad--I wouldn't like a computer that put me out of a job either. If 'everyone' used Macs, computer techs wouldn't have much work to do.
From a current Best Buy employee to all CC employees... good luck with it, push them as much as you can but keep in mind you've got to offer it to the right person or they'll look at you like you're crazy.
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Patrick McCarron said 10:54AM on 9-24-2006
I found some more today.
Mac Minis:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Desktop-Computers/sem/rpsm/catOid/-12962/Ntk/All/Ntt/mac/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do
iMacs:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Desktop-Computers/sem/rpsm/catOid/-12962/Ntk/All/Ntt/imac/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do
No Mac Pros sadly.
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NewMexiKen said 11:43AM on 9-24-2006
For those not near an Apple store like all of us in New Mexico, and who don't like dealing with Best Buy or Circuit City (worse than the guy who sells out of the back end of a truck in my opinion), how about Amazon. I got my iMac dual-core in January with a $150 rebate — $1544 instead of $1699 (and no sales tax). They've got the 24-inch for $1849 after rebate.
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Bob said 2:50PM on 9-24-2006
The local circuit city stores that are selling the Macs (there is one in Richmond, VA) have an onsite Apple Rep, along with Circuit City trained salespeople, to assist in the Apple sales. I see this as very good step forward for Circuit City and the consumers.
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