The Rise and Fall of CompUSA, the Computer Superstore That Ruled PC Retail and Suddenly Vanished

Comments · 49

• DA

  @davidcole240 · 1 month ago

  Micro Center is basically the only National Chain Computer Store

  11

• KE

  @kevinlsims7330 · 1 month ago

  My 1st PC That I Built Came From CompUSA ! It Was An Athlon X2 With A 40GB HDD Running Windows XP! The Only Copy Of Windows That I Actually Owned! Then I Found Ultimate XP By Johnny And Black XP Which Were Upgraded For Free To Windows 7 even Though They Were Pirated Copies!

  12

• CH

  @chrishoesel · 1 month ago

  I worked at CompScrewUSA in 1996.  Got shafted out of 50K in training sales commissions by my manager due to a "technicality" (I didn't involve a corporate sales exec in the sale, I sold 100's of thousands in training directly to a friend's father who owned a business) The 50K was distributed to the sales team....  Retail portion was cool, and I spent most of my paychecks there.  Went overseas for a few years.  When I returned, it was gone.

  1

• ST

  @SteveNoblin · 1 month ago

  I miss this store. I you needed it they had it and it was right around the corner!

  4

• CH

  @christophersmedley2740 · 1 month ago (edited)

  I remember the CompUSA store in Beachwood, Ohio. My family had a Compaq fixed and upgraded there, and I got some multimedia software there including Microsoft Ancient Lands, a DOS typing program, and a DOS Hubble Space Telescope picture CD-ROM from my Dad buying them when he and I shopped there when I was a kid. I remember seeing a DOS reference program called Computerworks but my never bought it. I can't find it online anywhere, not even eBay. The store closed in 2006 I think.

• MA

  @marveloussoftware1417 · 1 month ago

  I remember walking down the game isle looking for games that were reduced to $20. I could always find one.

  1

• MI

  @MirrorResultToQc-ShootBurnTorn · 1 month ago (edited)

  The equivalent in Quebec was Microbytes (however without being as big), where my father bought our first PC in the early 90s, then stores also dead. The PC with a 486 cpu. The first time I played to Doom on this PC. My Super Nintendo console had bitten the dust. I used this PC to connect to some BBS in my town.

  3

• TH

  @thereverendcoyote · 1 month ago

  I used to work at CompUSA's Overland Park, KS store. Started as a cashier and left as the return to vendor coordinator. I deployed to Iraq as the end of 2003. When I came back my store was closed down. I was "transferred to corporate so they could stay complaint with federal law (It's illegal to fire some while they are deployed.) When I got back I was given a choice if I wanted to transfer stores. Wichita, KS and Des Monies, IA stores where still open. Both stores where over 90 miles away from where I lived. Wasn't worth transferring. I miss working there. I liked what I was doing and my coworkers where great. The staff even had a World of Warcraft guild named after a coworker that had a serious motorcycle accident.

  1

• BB

  @bbold1975 · 3 weeks ago

  I was there. The Apple Store within compusa was always my fave

• RP

  @rp1645 · 1 month ago

  What I LIKED about the Stores 😊 was the &quot;CLASSES&quot; they put on, for a small fee, you could get a basic understanding of how to use, the (WORD) or build a (spreed sheet)<br>So for someone like me when the (386) was bussing, 😊 the Teachers were very patient with you, EXPLAINING from first Turn on, to how to get to what you wanted to do, they titeled the classes, 😊 they spent time over the class time limit to make sure you understand what you bought, and how to do the BASICS 😊 it helped me tremendously 😊in my personal opinion 😊❤😊

  1

• WI

  @wiredhot1965 · 1 month ago

  this was my fav, stores

  1

• AR

  @ArnoldZiffel3354 · 1 month ago

  Being a pc guy, COMPUSA was my favorite store in the world.