Sale Watch - Possible Store Closings

There is a lot of buzz about finance in the news lately so here is a list of stores in trouble. Some of these stores will be closing multiple locations, others might just be closing. Either way it's a chance for a savy shopper to find some great sales, that being said I would absolutely not buy a gift card from the following places:

Closing:
Circuit City
Linens N' Things
Meryns
Sharper Image

Closing some locations and/or in serious financial trouble:
Ann Taylor
Catherine's
Eddie Bauer
Fashion Bug
Gap
Kmart
Lane Bryant
Pacific Sunwear
Sears
Starbucks
Timberland
Zales

Also:
Sprint Nextel cellphones are in big trouble. My first cell phone was with Sprint. I left them for Verizon. I have to say that I absolutley *love* Verizon. Not only does Verizon work in the teenie tiny town I am from (where my parents still live), but they have better customer service, better plans, and of course better coverage than Sprint.

One of my good friends in DC had a gift card for Circuit City and has had the worst time trying to redeem it. The store she went to first refused to honor her gift card and then told her they no longer carried what she needed. She ended up with nothing but a headache. They did tell her that they will be accepting gift cards until the end of March, but they gave her the impression that that might not be the case without actually saying so.

If you have gift cards for any of the stores on this list I would use them *NOW* because you never know what tomorrow will bring and while I think we are in store for better times ahead not all of these stores will still be around when the tough times are over, so better to be safe than sorry with your gift cards.

I think once our economy rights itself it will be a great time for local businesses to find and /or keep their niches in the market and it will be exciting times for savy business people.