Can an end to another era be upon us? CompUSA is closing more than half its stores as it tries once again to become profitable in the volatile electronics industry. To some, this may not seem like a shock.

CompUSA is the original big-box computer store -- the store that helped put ComputerLand, BusinessLand, and lots of other smaller computer retailers out of business in the then-rapidly expanding computer business. With its huge buying power, it was able to offer discounts on anything related to PCs. To many people, those discounts seem to disappear over the years -- but if you understood how to get them, you could get some very good bargains at CompUSA.

In recent years, the bargains seem to have become fewer. I noticed that similarly configured computers, for instance, are often within 5 cents when comparing Comp-USA with Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy, Office Max and even Radio Shack and Wal-Mart. Even the online prices weren't too different, once you figured in the cost of shipping. CompUSA prices still are generally competitive; the company just doesn't seem superpriced as it did in previous decades.

If the company's recent bad times are not because it has been offering uncompetitive pricing, could convenience be the issue?

Frankly, I started visiting the store less often after it moved to the grand-glorious new mall farther from the center of town. Between the extra time and the extra gas, it didn't make sense to go there for the small purchases anymore. But I'd have to assume that it's more convenient for some people; otherwise the company wouldn't have moved. And moving a single store can't be blamed for the woes of an entire chain.

Sure, I could buy from some other company online, but next-day delivery isn't quite like getting my hands on a product immediately -- and it's certainly harder to compare products without getting hands-on. OK, we'll attribute some portion of the company's problem to the growth of Internet shopping, which could be siphoning customers away, but CompUSA has a Web site, too.

In my opinion, the real problem is that the buyer's experience in a CompUSA store is not very good -- not good enough to want to come back, anyway. The sales people and management are not the problem. They seem about as knowledgeable as any I've seen. It's just that there's no such thing as a short visit to a CompUSA store. There are way too many system problems that frustrate a buyer and keep him from getting out quickly.

I've had to wait in multiple lines in a single visit because I wanted to use a gift card and make a purchase on a corporate account. I've had to go to multiple systems to get price checks, and have been frustrated by trying to purchase an advertised item, only to be told that the store didn't order that item, and was offered a substitute (which wasn't up to the same specification). My worst experience was when I had to return a computer that didn't work out of the box -- because it took me hours of working with company representatives to keep the special financing deal that was part of the initial system purchase. No matter how smart and friendly a company's rep is, she can't make up for the lost hours.

If only CompUSA corporate management had realized that satisfied customers come back -- even if it doesn't have the lowest prices -- the chain would probably be thriving, instead of closing its stores.