Picking over the Bones at Circuit City

Circuit City is dead, and I was at the wake.

I had a $65 credit from a malfunctioning VCR. With an extended warranty, silly me, I had thought it would be repaired or replaced. Instead I got a store credit, which wouldn't cover the cost of a new VCR player. I tried for a year to use up that damned credit, but I could always find what I wanted elsewhere (hello, Staples!) for far less.

So I found myself at Circuit City in its final, closing days, picking through the bones.

I did well: six DVDs, an MP3 player and case, two computer games, and, okay, a box of chocolate-covered raisins, plus a combination lock, 100 shipping envelopes, and enough paper clips to last a lifetime - they were selling off all their office supplies.

We pretty much know why Circuit City failed: lack of service. You could never find anyone in the store to help you who knew anything, and without customer service, you may as well scour the internet for the cheapest prices.

So as the store was being dismantled and the shellshocked soon-to-be-unemployed workers were going through the motions, we were looking for bargains, picking through the departed one's belongings.

It was depressing as hell.