Circuit City. Linens ’N Things. Bombay Co. They’re all out of business, their stores shuttered, many employees laid off.

But according to their old Web sites, they’re all still selling, or planning to sell, the same stuff they always did – everything from digital picture frames to leopard-print rugs.

How can this be? Didn’t these companies shut down?

Typically, when a company goes out of business by way of bankruptcy, other companies buy its assets – everything from cash registers and furniture to unsold merchandise. Also for sale are assets like the company’s name, logo and Web site – some experts say a name still has value even if the company has gone belly up.

That’s why a store chain’s Web site can live on – and can even look largely unchanged – after the company has gone under. Here are some questions and answers about these phantom retailers.

What are the old sites of out-of-business store chains doing?

Electronics retailer Circuit City, which closed down the last of its 567 stores in March, is one of the most prominent names that’s gone under. Online retailer Systemax Inc. bought the Circuit City brand and Web site, www.circuitcity.com, in May. The company sells the same types of products that Circuit City did, such as flat-panel televisions, computers and the Nintendo Wii, and says on its site it offers a wider selection than Circuit City had in its stores or online.

The Linens ’N Things brand also is still selling. The home goods retailer went out of business this winter and in February a company called LNT Acquisition LLC bought the Web site LNT.com and the Linens ’N Things brand name. It still sells items once found in the chain’s stores.

How is it the company dies, but the name survives?

Like an unused cash register or unsold merchandise, companies buy up the names in bankruptcy, often for very little money. In the case of Circuit City, Systemax bought the fallen company’s trademarks, domain names, customer lists and other information related to the online business for $14 million in cash plus a share of future revenue over 30 months.

Companies in bankruptcy protection want to come up with as much money as they can, so they’ll take whatever they can get for their assets.

Why would other companies want to buy up these brands?

The allure is all in the name and how consumers feel about the brand, said New York-based retail consultant Walter Loeb.

Circuit City, for example, is a brand that’s been around for decades and that people trust, he said.

“There is value in the brand,” Loeb said. “People are buying it up and hope to have customers come to them based on the recognition.”