Circuit City has announced that their stores will close for good as of March 8th.

Ahead of their original schedule, all of the final Circuit City stores will close this coming Sunday, March 8th.  Originally they were scheduled to close at the end of March, and that was then moved up to March 15th, but due to the success of their liquidation sales, that has been moved up again by a week.

As we originally posted, the Circuit City liquidation sale was brought on by the weakened economy, and they simply so no other solution but to close all of their stores after 60 years in business.  While they had always had a mixed reputation with consumers due to pricing, policies and practices, it is never a pleasant thing to see a company go out of business.

Proving once more that Amazon wants to be your “go to” store for everything, they are now accepting trade-ins on used video games.

In an unexpected turn of events, Amazon has opened up a video game trade-in store where you can trade in your used games for Amazon gift cards.  You simply tell them what games you have to trade-in, they tell you a total value, give you a pre-paid mailing label for you to send them in, and once they receive them you will get an Amazon gift card that you may use on any products you want.

What they will do with the games is a mystery as Adam Ostrow of Mashable accurately pointed out, Amazon does not currently have a used video game store.  Perhaps they will be opening one, or are they selling them to other retailers?  It is anyone’s guess at this point.

Currently you can trade-in games for the following systems.

• Microsoft Xbox
• Microsoft Xbox 360
• Nintendo DS
• Nintendo Game Boy Advance
• Nintendo GameCube
• Sony Playstation 2
• Sony Playstation 3
• Sony PSP
• Nintendo Wii

While you might get more money selling them on your own through eBay or Amazon’s used option, this removes a lot of work and headaches for you.  Certainly this is a new option for a lot of people with growing video game collections.

Circuit City has take to their website to give everyone a better idea of what exactly their liquidation means to consumers that have been shopping with them.

As we reported yesterday, the major electronics retailer, started in 1949, has added information on their website to clarify how exactly their liquidation sale will be handled, what it means for people who bought extended warranties through them and more.  The most important point is that sales are beginning today in some stores, but each location will be handled seperately by the liquidation managers, so don’t be surprised if you walk in to one of their stores today and the sale has not yet begun.  If your nearest location has not yet started, it should any time now as all stores should be closed by the end of March.

Possibly the best news to come out of the information they posted was that their extended warranties they sold in the stores are actually handled by a third-party company, Assurant Solutions, and they are in no way involved with the closures.  They will continue to sell new plans through out the closure period for the stores, but make sure you weigh if they are really worth the extra amount you have to pay for them, as we have warned you before.

Not too surprisingly, all sales made during this time period will be final, so make sure you check over all purchases thoroughly before leaving the store.  You don’t want any nasty surprises a week or two down the road when you finally set up whatever it is you purchased.

Gift cards are being honored for their full amount, but if you do not use them by the time of the final closures, they will be worth nothing.  Make sure if you have any laying around that you use them immediately so that you don’t lose out.

All in all there weren’t too many surprises in what they said, but good to have some actual hard facts from the company since so many rumors have been running around since the announcement yesterday.

After only two months in bankruptcy protection, Circuit City has announced they will be closing their doors for good.

According to the New York Times, Circuit City is awaiting final approval from a federal bankruptcy judge, but they may begin liquidating their 567 stores as early as tomorrow, Saturday January 17th.  With those stores closing down, the company will also close out all 30,000 of their employees.

While it may be tempting to run out and partake in this liquidation sale, do use caution.  Remember there will be no returns, it is unlikely any warranties you bought through the company will be honored after they close and, if you have gift cards, make sure to use them as quickly as possible.

While Circuit City has had a spotty reputation, it is always sad to see this many people losing their jobs, and this many more empty store fronts across the United States.

Now that you’re recovered from your Christmas dinner stupor, now is the time to hunt for those after Christmas bargains.

With the economy not in the best of shape, retailers did not have the sales success they had hoped for during the sales period leading up to the 25th.  It appears that starting today all of the major retailers will be having enormous sales to help make up some of the lost difference, and this can only benefit people looking for deals on electronics.  To give you an idea of how severe these discounts will be, some people are now referring to it as “Black Friday 2″.

Circuit City

It is well known that Circuit City is in financial trouble, so make doubly sure not to purchase an extended warranty through them.  For outright purchases, they should have some amazing deals across all over their product lines such as HDTVs, computers, video cameras, video games and more.

Target

The sales at Target will begin on the 26th and be in every department, and they have no set end date, but will be on a “while supplies last” format.  Expect to find heavy discounts in DVDs and HDTVs.

Walmart

Apparently Walmart is going to be having huge sales, but they are hiding the details pretty close to the vest. The only thing that seems certain is the sales will be both for in-store and online, and there will be a heavy focus on HDTVs.  It looks like the sale will begin on Sunday the 28th.

Make sure to check all of your favorite retailers to see what kind of sales they are having on this day.

Now with all of your Christmas bounty unwrapped, don’t forget there are some things you need to do quickly!

After all the excitement of unwrapping gifts is over, there is still some work you need to do with all of your new gadgets, computers, gift cards and so on.

Gift Cards

As we recently discussed in Are Gift Cards A Safe Gift This Holiday Season, these are uncertain economic times, and those cards may not be worth the plastic they are made out of if you don’t act quickly.  First you need to see if the company the card is for has published any news about bankruptcy or going out of business.  Even if they haven’t, do not throw them in the back of a drawer and forget about them, use them as quickly as possible just to be safe.

Rebates

With all of the sales going on this holiday season, some items required you to mail-in for your rebates.  Make sure to sit down and do this as soon as possible so you don’t lost out on them.  Believe us, there is nothing the companies would like you to do more than to put it off and forget to mail it in.

Returns

Most stores have limited return windows, and while doing it on the 26th may not sound appealing, you need to do it as quickly as possible for the same reason you have to worry about the gift cards.  And if they only want to issue you store credit, use it immediately, do not wait!

Warranty Cards

Did your new electronics come with a mail-in warranty card?  Just like with the rebates, the companies are hoping you forget to send that in.  Make sure to sit down and fill it out immediately, and get it mailed in.  Even if it is an online registration, do it as soon as you can to make sure you don’t lose out.

Walmart has launched over a hundred items at bargain prices on their website today in the lead up to the final push for the holiday season.

The items are heavily discounted and feature a good mix of toys for young children… and toys for the older ones, too. (also known as “adults”)  The majority of the prices bring them into line with the everyday prices of online retailers like Amazon, but they are still good deals.  With their free Site To Store shipping on the majority of the items, you can have them shipped to your favorite Walmart location and pick them up the next time you are in the store.

Some of the better deals include

• Garmin nuvi 760 Portable GPS w/ 4.3″ Screen, Spoken Street Names, Bluetooth, MP3 Player & FM Transmitter – $246
• PlayStation 3 Holiday Value Bundle with a Blu-ray remote, game, Hancock Blu-ray and an additional Blu-ray movie – $459
• Toshiba Regza 46″ 1080p LCD TV, 46RV530U – $999
• Philips Progressive Scan DVD Player w/ 1080p Upconversion, DVP3982/37 – $49.00

There is a lot more items to be had, and many rumors are circulating that you can expect to see more sales like this from multiple retailers between now and Christmas.

Gadget lovers can be some of the hardest people to buy for on any person’s holiday gift giving list.  However, never fear, there is some help out there to aid you in figuring out what to buy them!

It isn’t just people hunting for allusive toys each holiday shopping season that get stumped, but it also adults who can’t find that just so right gift.  Online auction seller eBay has been releasing lists of how various sectors performed for them this year, and the gadgets area is very telling of what people are looking for this year.

1. Nintendo Wii: 2,056,866 related items sold
2. Microsoft Xbox360: 1,297,903 related items sold
3. Sony PSP: 350,591 related items sold
4. iPod Touch: 281,361 related items sold
5. Nintendo Wii Fit: 266,584 related items sold
6. Apple iPhone 3G: 212,837 related items sold
7. BlackBerry Pearl: 207,688 related items sold
8. BlackBerry Curve: 193,788 related items sold
9. Sony Playstation 3: 103,333 related items sold
10. Guitar Hero III: 98,159 related items sold
11. Halo 3: 91,067 related items sold
12. Grand Theft Auto IV: 43,005 related items sold
13. MacBook Air: 12,423 related items sold
14. Guitar Hero Aerosmith: 3,749 related items sold
15. Rock Band 2’s: 1,650 related items sold

The Nintendo Wii topping the list isn’t that surprising seeing as after two full years of release, you still can’t just walk into a store and buy one.  The rest of the list is a bit of a hodge podge, but it gives you a good idea of what people are looking for if you are just stumped for what to find someone this year.

The clock is ticking down rapidly, and parts of the country are bitterly cold, so how do you wrap up all of your holiday shopping in time?

Each year online shopping seems to catch on more, but it still amazes me how many people don’t think to go online for their shopping.  Why fight the crowds?  Why go out in the cold?  Why pay full list prices for items?

This was one of the most amazing things to me when I had to go to our local Hastings yesterday to sell some old games I wanted to get rid of.  As I wandered the store I saw a copy of the newest version of The Nightmare Before Christmas marked at $29.99. If you go over to Amazon, it is $20.99.  If you belong to their Amazon Prime shipping where you get unlimited 2nd Day Air shipping for $79 a year, and you add in the fact you don’t pay tax with most online stores, you see how far ahead you come out.

It’s not just DVD type media that you can find these sort of better deals on.  Hasbro released an AT-TE Tank toy that is huge, and at Wal-Mart in my town it is $99.96 plus tax.  Amazon has it for $90.51 with free shipping, Big Bad Toy Store has it for $70.00 plus $19.09 shipping for a total of $89.09.  Sure you’re talking savings of $9 – $10, but you are also talking about saving time, gas and frustration.  Travelling somewhere for the holidays?  Have the gifts shipped directly to your destination so you don’t have to contend with them in the car, on the plane or on the train.

In short, online shopping solves a lot of issues for you, one of the biggest being time.  All of us here at StarterTech do almst 100% holiday shopping online, and have for years.  We couldn’t be happier, and we certainly don’t miss fighting the crowds out in the stores.

Owners of iPhones just got a nice holiday gift from Amazon: price comparing via their built-in camera.

Adam Ostrow of Mashable alerts us to the news that iPhone owners can now use their cameras to find similar products online via Amazon.  Named Amazon Remembers, all you have to do when you see an item you would like to purchase, be it in a store elsewhere, all you need to do is tap the Remembers icon at the bottom of the Amazon app.  This will activate your camera and allow you to take a picture of the item.  Once done, the image will be uploaded to Amazon where members of the Amazon Mechanical Turk team will try to locate the item for you, or one similar.  All you need to do then is log in to your account from a computer and you will find your image along with the items that Amazon also found for you.

Due to the service being conducted by humans, as that is how Mechnical Turk works, your results won’t happen instantly.  It could still help you to find items that you can’t quite identify, remember items you want and hopefully assist you in finding your desired purchases cheaper.

iPod Touch users unfortunately won’t get the benefit of the Remembers function as they don’t have a camera built-in, but it will still give you easy access to shopping Amazon wherever you happen to be with Wi-Fi.

Not surprisingly, the application is a free download from the iTunes App Store (iTunes link), so it won’t cost you anything to give this new tool a try out.