plasmas purchased over the net...

[signals34]

I'm thinking of buying my plasma on line...Is this a good idea? Prices look great, but not sure about trusting them...Are there any reliable ,trust worthy on line sites?

 

[Dan]

I had very good luck with www.dtvcity.com. The web site is thorough, the prices are competitive, the salesmen on the phone knowledgable and it came in less than 48 hrs from Atlanta to DC. www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com has good recommendations on what to look for in an etailer. My 50"panasonic saved me $3K vs. Circuit City and Best Buy and the shipping was less than the sales tax.

 

[signals34]

Thanks, Dtvcity does look like a good site. They have a good return policy,good prices,warranty package etc.... I'm also looking at a 50" panny...7uy. How do you like yours? Happy?

 

[JJNab]

Hi Signals,

FWIW, I just bought a DLP from a local dealer. I shopped the internet first, and used prices I got there (from factory authorized internet dealers only) to negotiate a better deal. I was very quickly glad that I stayed local, because the tv has a problem that is necessitating an exchange. Because I stayed local, the exchange will cost me no headache and only a $40 delivery and pickup fee. I have to think that sending a huge tv back to an internet dealer would be a giant, expensive headache. My feeling is that I would not hesitate to buy a smaller item on the internet, but for a large tv, no way. I'd also say that if you do go with the internet, you might want to stick with an authorized dealer like One Call or Vanns. One Call essentially has great unadvertised sales with their "find the best price" feature. This appears to rotate to different items over time: that is, you'll see a tv at list price for weeks, then suddenly it'll have the "best price available" search option, and when you click it you end up with a huge discount.

Just my $0.02. Good luck, JJ

 

[zumbo]

Hi Signals,

FWIW, I just bought a DLP from a local dealer. I shopped the internet first, and used prices I got there (from factory authorized internet dealers only) to negotiate a better deal. I was very quickly glad that I stayed local, because the tv has a problem that is necessitating an exchange. Because I stayed local, the exchange will cost me no headache and only a $40 delivery and pickup fee. I have to think that sending a huge tv back to an internet dealer would be a giant, expensive headache. My feeling is that I would not hesitate to buy a smaller item on the internet, but for a large tv, no way. I'd also say that if you do go with the internet, you might want to stick with an authorized dealer like One Call or Vanns. One Call essentially has great unadvertised sales with their "find the best price" feature. This appears to rotate to different items over time: that is, you'll see a tv at list price for weeks, then suddenly it'll have the "best price available" search option, and when you click it you end up with a huge discount.

Just my $0.02. Good luck, JJ

I agree!

 

[RLA]

Hi
Just a small warning
Many if not most of the higher end monitor manufactures don't authorize there products to be sold online,this is called grey market goods and
often even though dealers say there are warrantys there are not
It is also possible that you will receive "B" stock from these dealers
Its better to pay a little more and stay local.Most of the manufactures that I deal with offer 1 year in home warrantys.A little peace of mind is worth a little extra $$ IMOHO

 

[sjdgpt]

I went mail order for the audio equipment from a 30 year old mail order firm with complete factory warranties. And why not, if the box is light enough to be UPS'd, was designed to be UPS'd, why not let it be UPS'd. And besides CC/BB (the only game in town) basically only sell entry level equipment, not what I wanted, and the closest real dealer is 90 miles away, and refused to stay open an hour extra for a instore transaction or ship my desired equipment.

The big CRT? That came from Circuit City. A little internet price shopping and they matched the 'net price and with a little hangling (I live 3 miles away from the store) I got free delivery with an appointment for the delivery.

Why CC? Because if the 194 lb sucker was dead upon arrival, there was no way I wanted to try and pack it up and send it back to the seller.

My feelings are the same with any TV... plasma, LCD, CRT. Buy local if at all possible, regardless of the price. Freight companies are just not set up to handle consumer shipments of these products, and much of the shipping damage is hidden and is a significant problem to resolve.

 

[Rob Babcock]

A member of another audio forum I frequent sent me a parcell with dead weight and 8 G-force detectors as part of an experiment. It was a smallish box loaded with a half dozen magazines and some other stuff for ballast. Two of the 500 G indicators had been tripped in shipping! Do you want your plasma set subjected to that?

 

[sjdgpt]

You should see what the frieght companies can do if they are really eager to ruin your day.....

Forklift entrance and exit wounds...... hidden with fresh shrinkwrap and a new foam exterior.

Contents of a pallet, repalletized, reshrinkwrapped with black shrinkwrap..... all boxes are upside down.

Single pallet of goods being delivered in a refrigerator box.

And a delivery driver that is working overtime, so could you please hurry up and sign the delivery bill so he can get home...... and oops, you signed the bill, sorry, hidden damage.