Yeah, Engadget was reporting yesterday that prices would be MSRP at first and possibly decrease after that, but no guarantees.

I have no sympathy for the company. IMO it's the worst electronics store chain I've ever been in, and I think part of the problem was the cut-throat environment in which the employees had to operate. Commission drove them to some pretty shady practices, including misinforming customers and unhealthily competing with their coworkers.

I have two stories:

Back in 2000 or 2001 I was looking into buying a Tivo. There were a few models and the one I wanted wasn't sold in most stores, so I called my local CC and asked the salesman if they had that specific model. He said they did, and after I confirmed it was the exact model I wanted, he gave me his name and told me to ask for him when I got to the store (presumably so he could get the commission for the $300 sale). That's fine, but when I got to the store, I found that they did not carry the model I wanted. What the hell was this guy thinking, that I'd buy the other model anyway, and even though he clearly lied to me I'd still give him the commission on the product I didn't want? Ugh.

Second story. I had friends who worked at CC in high school (around '98), and they told me about how a guy came into the store to buy a flat screen TV. Of course, being the late 90's, it was insanely expensive, so the commission would probably be very juicy. Well apparently a salesman spent about 30 minutes with the guy, and finally sold him on one (had to have been in the tens of thousands). The salesperson told the man to meet him at the front. I'm not certain what transpired next, but somehow another employee was able to sneak in and claim the commission for themselves. That is not the kind of store I want to shop at.

Circuit City, I will not miss thee.