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Ghosts of Black Fridays Past

jaymacfla

By jaymacfla
in 2017

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stewarta4

stewarta4

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Remember Bed, Bath and Beyond? Well this store is the ghoulish neighbor to Circuit City....apparently their appeal to the masses was beyond their control.

Bed Bath and Beyond is still a very popular and happening place here in Cincinnati...although I'm not sure why. I've always found it to be soooooo over priced.

 

 

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Kanyon71

Kanyon71

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Take a left past Circuit City and once you pass the loading dock you can round the corner to another strip of shops that completely empty. You then find yourself making a right turn and you see the sign to yet another large box strip mall and the sign that indicates that a Tiger Direct is nearby.  Still noticeable is the Office Depot Building even with the letters removed. Then in the next photos you see a store that sticks out to create a nice windbreak for shoppers. That is Tiger Direct/CompUSA. This store was the first place I stood in line for an actual computer back when the CompUSA folks would greet you with tickets and hot chocolate. They were the true pioneers of the safe and sane approach to Black Friday.

Wow that's crazy man. I don't think I've seen a shopping center that large and nice looking that empty before. What's the deal with it? Usually a story when you see something like this. Most of the CC buildings around us have been re-purposed now (last one in immediate area turned into a Jo Anne's Fabic. TON'S of empty K Mart buildings though if anyone is in the market lol.

Ah, yes, Service Merchandise. I was actually thinking of them just the other day. I was shopping for a wedding gift, and SM was always the go to place for wedding/shower gifts :).

Ya it was always one of those neat concepts that I thought was cool to go into, kind of makes me wonder if the concept would work today with the way things have changed.

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tyreejames

tyreejames

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Bed Bath and Beyond is still a very popular and happening place here in Cincinnati...although I'm not sure why. I've always found it to be soooooo over priced.

 

 

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Bed Bath & Beyond is still big here in South Jersey too. I never step foot in there without a coupon and they constantly send them. They are one of the only places local to me that sells the trash bags for my can and the coupon makes it an even sweeter deal.

jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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I believe the Service Merchandise concept was ahead of its time and misunderstood. I have a catalog from another Merchandise Outlet which also reminded me of some of your S&H and Top Value stamps stores

 

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bossy1

bossy1

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Anybody remember Hills...I loved it. They had great Christmas items, in fact all my ornaments are from there and still look like new.The prices were good and people were helpful..I truly miss having them around as an option.

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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Here is the next scary entry in abandoned buildings. This is the Circuit City located in Orange Park Florida. This is one of the traditional circuit plug buildings that were so famous in their commercials.4518b28866e2c7df8d874b6054466a27.jpgfc1925604ba1c3405bc404aedd07b987.jpgaf1fa95133e6bed2f9337665699d92fe.jpgda0feb784dd7f6a4c8130a57f31560c0.jpgf77702580bcc5ff352ddaca5cb3c21a6.jpg780ec7cefdad9a20276efdba09ded50a.jpg

 

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HanShotFirst

HanShotFirst

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Ah, Service Merchandise. I loved that store.   I bought my first good quality Hoover vacuum there many years ago and just two years ago had to replace it.  

 

Memphis also had Fred P. Gattas stores that were similar in structure to Service Merchandise.  My mother, aunts and grandmother would always head there on Black Friday every year for gifts for the grandkids.  Mostly jewelry for the grand girls.  

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jesusluvu

jesusluvu

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Take a left past Circuit City and once you pass the loading dock you can round the corner to another strip of shops that completely empty. You then find yourself making a right turn and you see the sign to yet another large box strip mall and the sign that indicates that a Tiger Direct is nearby. Still noticeable is the Office Depot Building even with the letters removed. Then in the next photos you see a store that sticks out to create a nice windbreak for shoppers. That is Tiger Direct/CompUSA. This store was the first place I stood in line for an actual computer back when the CompUSA folks would greet you with tickets and hot chocolate. They were the true pioneers of the safe and sane approach to Black Friday.

Wow!!!!! Throw back Thursday...... We still have bed bath and beyond here but there not as busy when I go by

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Kanyon71

Kanyon71

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I love stuff like this. We used to have an appliance chain here called Highland appliance. When they went out of business my parents bought the contents of some of the stores from the bankruptcy auction (post merchandise liquidation), I was charged with getting them emptied out and moved to one of our stores to sort through. Was really cool exploring the buildings and finding things that had long been forgotten. Found lots of stuff in the return/repair department, I was able to fix a lot of the things which we then resold. These types of pics bring back a lot of memories.

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jesusluvu

jesusluvu

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These days liquidation companies sell off merchandise and then truck in items that don't belong in the store to sell

 

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Yes and the quality is horrible. My grandmother still has furniture since I was a kid and it is in good condition. I have been out on my own for 14 years an have change my living room 2 times and about to do it again next year. 

jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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HHGregg. How many Black Fridays have you avoided this place because the art of the haggle was not in your blood? This was the very example of the type of store that you would visit to look at the TVs but would never purchase. This location in Regency is now being developed into one of those prosperity churches.

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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The mystery closure. It has been abandoned for so long that no trace of it is recognizable as it's former self. It was located directly to the left of HHGregg. Any ideas?

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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Dress Barn? Was this a bad choice when naming an article of clothing that you would be proud of when purchasing? Either way, it is closed now and one of the many victims of an ever changing retail environment. Do you know of any still around and thriving?

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jewleyp

jewleyp

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I miss driving by the neighborhood yogurt store on Thanksgiving morning and taking their paper with the Black Friday ads.....heeheeehee.... 

 

The former Circuit City place is now a Toys R Us by me ..... shades of ghosts past? 

 

Loved Service Merchandise ! My dad would shop there when he was single for myself and my sister for our presents .  I think he could find a kind women to help him there ! LOL  I still use the crystal candy dish that I got from him one Christmas still ! 

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stewarta4

stewarta4

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Dress Barn? Was this a bad choice when naming an article of clothing that you would be proud of when purchasing? Either way, it is closed now and one of the many victims of an ever changing retail environment. Do you know of any still around and thriving?

They actually just built a brand new one a few months ago here in Cincinnati and built a brand new Payless Shoes beside it...I was completely shocked because I thought these were both long gone or close to long gone 

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jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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The once mighty anchor of the regency mall, Sears, is now a Halloween outlet store as well as a place to store your big rig after a long haul. 10-4 good buddy...roll on to the next casualty...

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Kanyon71

Kanyon71

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Just read that the Kmart I grew up shopping in and going to for BF is shutting down the start of the year. Also read it's going to be torn down right away and is being turned into a Kroger. Another one bites the dust.

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TazErase

TazErase

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It wasn't that long ago. Ten years ago to be exact that you could wade through a Black Friday ad laden newspaper and see the plethora of stores which offered the only way back then to entice you into their stores. The online experience was just beginning to show itself as a way to entice customers, but back then it was secret sales that pointed you to the brick and mortar store. Those were some exciting times and you started to see wacky campers stay a night or two out in the cold for a $199 computer.

 

Fast forward ten years and the playing field is considerably narrower. Some giants of the day in their specialties have shuttered their doors for good and others are a mere shadow of themselves and are on life support. In the next few days, I will be visiting some of these stores and reflecting upon their significance to the shopping experience. I will be snapping a few pictures as well, and invite all of you to do the same. But for now the roll call: 

 

Circuit City: Gone 2009

CompUSA: Gone

HHGregg: Gone

KMart: Almost gone

Sears: Almost gone

OfficeMax: Swallowed By Office Depot

TigerDirect: Almost gone Online only

Montgomery Ward: Gone 2001

Sam Goody/Musicland: Gone

K B Toys: Gone

Borders: Gone

Coconuts and Camelot Music: swallowed by FYE 

EBGames and Rhino: swallowed by Gamestop 

Sound Advice: Gone

 

 

Do you have any favorite memories of these places? Please feel free to mention any that were local favorites of yours. Do you have any new stores opening in your area that might participate in Black Friday? We are seeing a rise in the super dollar market so Ollie's is new to the area and reminds me of Big Lots.

 

 

 

 

Sad... Gander Mountain can be added to that list as well. They closed all the stores near me, and many more nationwide. Sadest loss of them all was Circuit City. After that, Best Buy and Walmart didn't have the competition to hold the really great sales any more. 

jaymacfla

jaymacfla

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Sad... Gander Mountain can be added to that list as well. They closed all the stores near me, and many more nationwide. Sadest loss of them all was Circuit City. After that, Best Buy and Walmart didn't have the competition to hold the really great sales any more.

True, I was going to take a picture of that sad building yesterday. Back in 2007, many considered Circuit City to be the competitor of Best Buy. So much so that Best Buy even built stores to compete with them during that time frame. I had argued back then that Walmart was the real competitor. If we turn back the clock 10 years you will see that Walmart and Best Buy competed with each other and had Secret sales while Circuit City was left behind with mail-in rebates which turned off many customers.

 

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mgreen

mgreen

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Used to shop at office max and circuit city too! Now I'm a staples girl. Hard to find an office depot that's close. I don't shop much at best buy either since circuit city closed. I guess there is more competition for their type of products nowadays.

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Edited by mgreen
Kanyon71

Kanyon71

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True, I was going to take a picture of that sad building yesterday. Back in 2007, many considered Circuit City to be the competitor of Best Buy. So much so that Best Buy even built stores to compete with them during that time frame. I had argued back then that Walmart was the real competitor. If we turn back the clock 10 years you will see that Walmart and Best Buy competed with each other and had Secret sales while Circuit City was left behind with mail-in rebates which turned off many customers.

 

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Rebates like that are the worst. Stop playing the hold the money longer game and just give the money off right then. I will pay a little more for something so I don't have to deal with a rebate.

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tracy0504

tracy0504

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Rebates like that are the worst. Stop playing the hold the money longer game and just give the money off right then. I will pay a little more for something so I don't have to deal with a rebate.

I avoid mail-in rebates like the plague if possible...especially if I am on a tight budget I want my discount now not 30 days or more from now so I agree...

 

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