Where's the best place

[TheCalvinator24]

to buy an HDTV?

Big store like BestBuy or Fry's?

Sears? Wal*Mart?

Specialty store (such as Kellum & Sons in Dallas)?

[silverscreenselect]

to buy an HDTV?

Big store like BestBuy or Fry's?

Sears? Wal*Mart?

Specialty store (such as Kellum & Sons in Dallas)?

I'd go with someplace like a Best Buy or Fry's. You'll get a quality name brand at a reasonable price. I'm very leery of the brands and models that Wal Mart or warehouse stores carry, and specialty stores tend to carry pricier more upscale models that don't always give you that much better value for the money.

Go with quality name brands like Toshiba, Mitsubishi or Hitachi and make sure whatever you're getting is 1080p.

[Bob Juch]

to buy an HDTV?

Big store like BestBuy or Fry's?

Sears? Wal*Mart?

Specialty store (such as Kellum & Sons in Dallas)?

Amazon.com. That's where the one I just bought is coming from.

[kayrharris]

LCDTV.com has a great selection and good prices as well. No shipping or tax. I got a Sharp Aquos from them last
year.

[TheCalvinator24]

LCDTV.com has a great selection and good prices as well. No shipping or tax. I got a Sharp Aquos from them last
year.

I don't find any selection on that site. All I am finding are some articles.

[kayrharris]

http://lcdtvs.com/


guess that "s" makes a difference, huh? Sorry....

[peacock2121]

Sting says the best place is where you can pick it up. Don't have it shipped to your house.

[mellytu74]

Sometime this year, we are getting an HDTV from Boscov's, a local department store.

They have a terrific selection of name brands (Toshiba, Hitachi, Sony) and the prices are as good as Best Buy.

[Catfish]

We bought ours at Costco. The guy said even if we dropped it and broke it bringing home, we could bring it back. He said even if we got it home and changed our minds for no reason, we could bring it back.

[tlynn78]

Costco's return policy rocks. ROCKS. My niece was there with me one day and picked up a movie she wanted. Then she went home to CO. Her mom came to visit and brought the movie back, because she'd found it for much less. So we happened to be driving by Costco and I say, "stop and I'll run in and try to return the movie" She says, you don't have your purse. I say, I'll try anyway. So I go in with the movie. No receipt, no id, no Costco card. Imagine my sister's surprise when I came out with the cash!


t.

[mellytu74]

We have no Costcos near us, as far as I can tell.

[Catfish]

We have no Costcos near us, as far as I can tell.

Hey, Mel!

I saw one while we were going from Newtown to Valley Forge Mountain on Friday Dec 26 (I waved when I went by the 476 junction). It was right next to 276 on the south side of the highway.

Love,

[tlynn78]

You could try Costco.com


t.

[silverscreenselect]

We have no Costcos near us, as far as I can tell.

I personally would never buy an expensive item like an HDTV from a warehouse club. They sell different models from what are offered at the mass retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City. The ostensible reason for this is so the main retailers don't have to match prices. The feature packages are similar, but I have a gut feeling that they just don't use the same quality components they do in their other models, which is why there's often a price break. And needless to say if you ever need any technical advice from a warehouse club, you're out of luck.

If you are patient and get a good idea of what the going prices are for the type model you want, you can get practically the same deal from a mainstream retailer.

[Catfish]

We have no Costcos near us, as far as I can tell.

I personally would never buy an expensive item like an HDTV from a warehouse club. They sell different models from what are offered at the mass retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City. The ostensible reason for this is so the main retailers don't have to match prices. The feature packages are similar, but I have a gut feeling that they just don't use the same quality components they do in their other models, which is why there's often a price break. And needless to say if you ever need any technical advice from a warehouse club, you're out of luck.

If you are patient and get a good idea of what the going prices are for the type model you want, you can get practically the same deal from a mainstream retailer.

Costco has a free service for tech support on any tech-type product purchased there. And again, if you get your Costco product home and don't want it anymore, you can bring it back. As far as I can tell, having been told by numerous Costco workers, there's no time limit. The guy at Costco spent about an hour with us answering innumerable questions. Granted, we intentionally went at a non-busy time. He even offered to let us call him when we got home. And while we went off to buy toilet paper and socks, he loaded up all the tech purchases we wanted and had them waiting by the register. This in addition to the ongoing concierge service. I've never had such good service at Best Buy. My husband hates Circuit City because of bad customer service experiences there. Also granted, customer service by necessity varies from store to store. We've had our new TV and Blue-ray player for over a month and are very happy with them.

[Bob Juch]

We have no Costcos near us, as far as I can tell.

I personally would never buy an expensive item like an HDTV from a warehouse club. They sell different models from what are offered at the mass retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City. The ostensible reason for this is so the main retailers don't have to match prices. The feature packages are similar, but I have a gut feeling that they just don't use the same quality components they do in their other models, which is why there's often a price break. And needless to say if you ever need any technical advice from a warehouse club, you're out of luck.

If you are patient and get a good idea of what the going prices are for the type model you want, you can get practically the same deal from a mainstream retailer.

That's not always true. Yes, they do sell some cheaper models but they also have the standard ones. Walmart* sell the cheaper models as well.

Never buy a Sony "V' or "W" model!

[Estonut]

And again, if you get your Costco product home and don't want it anymore, you can bring it back. As far as I can tell, having been told by numerous Costco workers, there's no time limit.

That used to be true, but they amended their return policy last year.

It is now:

We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD/MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

They were having problems with people buying big-screen TVs, watching 2 or 3 Super Bowls on them and then returning them years later. Their return policy still kicks ass over most anyone else.

[Catfish]

And again, if you get your Costco product home and don't want it anymore, you can bring it back. As far as I can tell, having been told by numerous Costco workers, there's no time limit.

That used to be true, but they amended their return policy last year.

It is now:

We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD/MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

They were having problems with people buying big-screen TVs, watching 2 or 3 Super Bowls on them and then returning them years later. Their return policy still kicks ass over most anyone else.

Thanks. Yes, now I recall a gray paper with a large "90" on it among the papers I didn't read. So we still have till mid February to break it, decide we don't like it, or to watch the Super Bowl and decide we don't want it anymore (hee-hee on the last one).

[geoffil]

You can go to shopzilla.com or shoplocal.com. These websites find the prices for stores near you for most items. It helps save a lot of time and money by doing the comparison shopping for you.

[dimmzy]

My TV came from Best Buy and they had a superb delivery service. I know some people have said that it's better to pick it up, but mine was too big (and the ice on the ground too hard).

I actually prefer to buy appliances locally. I had a Maytag washer and the repair guy said that the warranties are better for the local stores because some of the chains (like Walmart) grind down their suppliers so much that it's not worth it to give good warranties. I saved $300 on my repair, even though technically, they could have argued I wasn't under warranty anymore.

[minimetoo26]

Consumer Reports usually recommends Amazon or Crutchfield.com for electronics purchases. I browsed the Crutchfield site to get reviews and recommendations, then purchased from Crutchfield through Amazon for the same price, but I didn't need to set up a new account that way. This was for a 5-disc CD changer, and they're getting harder to find, so it was easier to do that way. Both sites offer free shipping on some items

Now I'm looking for a Sony camcorder and a Canon Powershot camera, and I'm browsing Crutchfield for recommendations, but I'll check local stores for sales since those items are more ubiquitous. I have a few months to find the best deals.

[silverscreenselect]

I actually prefer to buy appliances locally. I had a Maytag washer and the repair guy said that the warranties are better for the local stores because some of the chains (like Walmart) grind down their suppliers so much that it's not worth it to give good warranties. I saved $300 on my repair, even though technically, they could have argued I wasn't under warranty anymore.

Your warranty comes from the manufacturer. So if you have a Maytag washer, the warranty comes from Maytag (now Whirlpool) who dispatches a service tech who is under contract to Maytag and charges them contract labor rates, regardless of whether you bought the washer from Walmart, Best Buy or Joe's Appliances.

If you buy an extended warranty, that does come from the retailer but in reality all the retailer does is get a cut for selling the warranty. The warranty is issued by a third party administrator who works with a lot of retailers and negotiates their own rates with service techs across the country. The tech is again paid the same rate for all warranty work through that administrator regardless of whether the warranty was sold by Walmart, Best Buy or Joe's Appliances.

It is true that some but not all local appliance (and electronics) stores will stand behind their merchandise beyond what the manufacturer's warranty provides. They contract individually with repair people to do the work (or have their own repair techs on staff). This may either be a formal policy with a written extension of the manufacturer's warranty by the store or an informal policy. Stores that do this tend to offer higher end merchandise (alternatively they may offer refurbed or reconditioned merchandise that would often come with no manufacturer's warranty and they essentially have to stand behind the merchandise or people won't buy it).