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 Humpty
Dumpty image from Bigstock 
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10-15
years ago
I used to spend a lot of time and money
at the local CompUSA store in Tampa.
The big box computer retailer was a dream come
true - endless stacks of computers, accessories
and software at reasonable prices. I liked it so
well I wound up up buying stock in the
company which I held for several
years. Fortunately I sold it (and even
made a decent profit on it) before the tide
turned against them, as it would soon after
against giant electronics retailer Circuit
City. When
I found myself skipping trips to CompUSA to take
advantage of even lower prices (and no sales tax)
at online discount retailers like NewEgg
and Amazon (who also delivered right to my
door), I figured it was just a matter of time before
the high overhead big box stores would find
themselves in a non-competitive position
that they would not be able to escape from. So, I
sold out and in ensuing years watched CompUSA go
through a series of desperate moves and ownership
changes, none of which stemmed the flow of
blood. It
was an online retailer, Systemax (operators
of TigerDirect.com), who was the last owner
of the CompUSA stores. A year after they bought
the remnants of CompUSA in 2008, they also
acquired the Circuit City name in liquidation and
kept that brand alive briefly as an online
only retailer. Systemax finally decided it
made more sense to brand all of their operations
under one one name - the one they started
with - TigerDirect. So, that banner is now on
their online operation as well as a handful of
retail stores (including one of the old CompUSA
outlets here in Tampa). That
means the only thing of value left from two
former retail juggernauts - CompUSA and Circuit
City is the domain names and associated trademarks.
Systemax has hired IP auctioneer Hilco
Streambank to sell off those
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assets.
The CompUSA packages includes 141
associated domain names, led by CompUSA.com,
and the Circuit City package has 138 associated
domain names, including CircuitCity.com. Unlike
open bidding auctions, this sale requires
interested parties to submit
private offers that will be
reviewed, with the best of those then selected
for further discussion and negotiation.
Hilco said they expect the process to result in
an offer being selected and a transaction closed
within 30 days of submission. Hilco has
set an August 15, 2013 deadline for
initial bids to be submitted. If
you have ever wanted to try to put Humpty
Dumpty back together again - this could be
your chance!
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