• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, January 20, 2009 11 AM

Circuit City, alas, won't be around to participate in the flat-screen pricing wars but its liquidation appears to be generating some of its own heat. "What happened to 30%? Lies!" shouted customer Gabriel Ifrah, 52, at a Circuit City in Los Angeles yesterday, where most items were priced at 10% off.

Indeed, tensions have been running high at many of the chain's 567 U.S. stores, reports Andrea Chang, with customers apparently expecting much lower prices on the merchandise than they are seeing so far. Several Times readers wrote in emails and blog comments that they were being "scammed."

Circuit City appointed a group of professional liquidators to run its going-out-of-business sales, which includes setting sale prices. Most big-ticket items were marked down only 10% Monday. Less pricey items -- such as wiring and video games -- were priced at 20% or 30% off. "It's not like we can go out there and go to the deepest discounts right off the bat," says Billy Nichols, svp and director of merchandising at Great American Group, one of four liquidators involved in Circuit City's closeout.

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