Circuit City has been in liquidation mode for about a month. In the beginning, many shoppers were complaining about poor prices and even poorer policies (broken? Too bad). Now that some of the dustbunnies have settled, are there deals to be had? We trekked out to our local CC for a bit of scrounging.

You may be surprised, but there is some product (and shelving!) left. One employee said she had no clue when she would join the growing ranks of the unemployed. "When we're done, I guess," she said. So prices may go down. It's just a question of how much.

 

For instance, if you're waiting until the last minute to finally score that big-screen TV, don't expect a great deal. Most of the units we saw were floor models, and even those weren't being sold at respectable prices. There were Sonys and Samsungs and Mitsubishis; plenty of good brands. However, the floor models averaged a measly $100 off everyday prices elsewhere.

Also, if you see a fancy-schmancy floor model and it's not on, stay away. We can't say for sure if there's anything wrong with those models. However, if you buy a broken product, there are no takebacks; you'll end up with one mighty big paperweight. It's the rules of liquidation. Yes, it's Thunderdome. If the set was a few hundred, we might be willing to chance it; however, 100 bucks barely gets us off the couch. 

It wasn't all open boxes, though. There were plenty of models still nestled tightly inside the box. However, those models, which included Sony's KDL-40V4100 ($975) and Samsung's LN40A650 ($1,275) averaged a mere $20 off average web prices (which often include delivery).

Big screens aside, we did find a few other tech deals. Take some of these items and prices with a grain of salt, though; they will vary from store to store. The bottom line: Get out there while the getting's good.

Speaking of TV, a lot of people are staring at static right now. Thanks, early DTV switch! Those scrambling for a converter box might want to check their local CC store. The ones near us had stacks of DTV converter boxes. We're not entirely sure if the store will accept the government-issued coupons, but the Zenith DTT900 was in stock, in bulk, and only $45. That doesn't seem like a great deal compared to some other boxes out there, but this one is highly rated and hard to find.

If you're into hard to find electronics, you might be interested in snagging an MSNTV 2. Remember those? Maybe you remember it as WebTV. The company is still cranking out the boxes, but they aren't very easy to come by at retail. For those collectors of all things bulky and old, Circuit City was ready to oblige. The box, when hooked to your TV and home network, allows users to surf channels and the web simultaneously. We saw a few floating around the web; none are as cheap as Circuit City's current $91.19 asking price.

Some products might be a bit more useful, like the Epson EX30 projector. With a 3LCD, 3-chip optical engine, the unit boasts a 800 x 600 resolution, a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and plenty of inputs. The lack of an HDMI connection and the 5.8-pound weight is a bit of a drag, but the $385 asking price is nice and light on the wallet. The cheapest we found the unit elsewhere was for $100 more at TigerDirect.

One of the most surprising deals was on the Bose 3-2-1 GS III system. This home-theater-in-a-box package includes two speakers and the company's own Acoustimass module, as well as a DVD/CD player with an HDMI output and video upscaling. Bose sells it for $999, but CC had it for $300 less.

There are plenty of media deals, if you're willing to wade through the CDs and DVDs. There are tons of titles, but don't expect any type of organization, of course.

All CDs are 40 percent off, which can ease the pain of having to purchase Hannah Montana or the High School Musical 2 soundtrack. CC had the cheapest price for both, at $8.39. Of course, there were plenty of adult titles too. Blu-ray offerings weren't all that spectacular, but some of the standard-def DVDs were a steal (House Party 2 for $4!). PlayStation Portable users might also want to scarf up UMD titles; they were there and also 40 percent off.

There are also plenty of video games, although most might be impulse buy titles. At 30 percent off, there were some good deals and some really poor ones. Our local stores had no PS3 titles games left, and maybe one or two for the Wii. However, titles such as Space Chimps for the 360, were about $14, which is almost a $10 savings over other retailers. The sale is also a good opportunity to increase your PSP and/or PS2 collection. For instance, we saw plenty of Grand Theft Auto titles in the $14 range. 

For those willing to tinker, there are plenty of "as is" items as well. One outstanding "sale" item was the Compaq Presario CQ60, which had a bad hard drive, but a $522 price tag. Also, we saw plenty of cables for 50 percent off -- cables that started at $90. We'll stick with MonoPrice.com, thanks.

None of the deals weren't worth beating down your fellow shoppers, but you might snag something in the rubble. Overall, it was just kind of sad. Another retailer bites the dust, leaving behind another empty storefront. Thankfully, we had a Snickers to take solace in -- and it was 40 percent off.

Have you been sniffing out deals at your local Circuit City? Have you bought or been eyeing anything specific? Sound off in the comments section below.
 

[Image credit: Header image from Flickr user F33. Used via Creative Commons.]