It would be hard to find a tech enthusiast who shed a tear over CompUSA’s recent announcement that it was shuttering its stores. For me, the news brought a sense of relief, as it meant that the CompUSA at 57th Street and Broadway would finally be put out of its misery.

I visited the store this week to pay my last respects. It was the Land of Misfit Electronics. I found wheezing printers, disemboweled PCs, grimy office equipment that had been hauled out of the manager’s office for liquidation, and “today only!” tags advertising great deals on the actual shelving—in case you want to recreate the thrill of CompUSA in your own home, I suppose. They were essentially inviting customers to loot the place for a small fee.

A depressing scene, for sure, but the thing is, it was no more depressing than usual. As the only computer retailer in my neighborhood, the Broadway CompUSA was my grudging choice when I needed that particular cable or adapter right away. Of course, they never had that particular cable or adapter, so I would just wander through dank aisles of “ergonomic” wrist rests and grade-F CD-Rs.

Eventually, I’d forget what I came in for, and so I’d go home and read a book, or play a board game—anything without a screen. Trying to use a computer after going to CompUSA was like trying to eat a quarter-pounder after your school field trip to the slaughterhouse.¹

So even though the current liquidation sale is a sad scene, I didn’t see any atrocity against tech that would have felt out of place in CompUSA before the collapse. Even the LCD television with a shattered screen—a sticker warned the consumer of “minor damage”—wouldn’t have made me blink if I saw it on the shelf a year ago. In fact, I would have been impressed that they were only asking $100 for it. Defective pieces of crap usually fell more in the $200-$300 range, at least when they were on sale.

I think what upsets a nerd most about a place like CompUSA, “The Computer SUPERstore,” is that it gives technology a bad name. Those of who grew up loving computers take it as a personal slight when a corporation abuses our wonderful machines, so full of potential, for their crass purposes. We like companies to profit from technology, just not when they do it through extended warranties, restocking fees, exorbitant (and incompetent) technical support, bait-and-switch rebates, etc.

CompUSA didn’t invent all of the underhanded tactics that plague the electronics retail world, but if there was a scam to be run, rest assured they were running it. And when they did, they made computers look bad to novices who had no way of knowing better. I took that personally.

It’s unseemly to take pleasure in an event that results in many decent people losing their jobs, so I’ll just say that I take satisfaction in the fact that CompUSA is dead. Very pleasurable satisfaction.

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1. Your school took field trips to the slaughterhouse, right? ↑