Comments on: I Would Never Buy an HDTV From a Brick-And-Mortar Again

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:34:00 +0000

I totally disagree with you Don.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:34:00 +0000

I totally disagree with you Don.

By: Grout Repair Bucks County

Grout Repair Bucks County — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 06:22:00 +0000

I thought it was going to be some boring old site, but I’m glad I visited.

By: Avid tech user

Avid tech user — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 04:46:00 +0000

I just bought one last week from Best Buy, a 55″ Toshiba for $999. I’m sorry but it’s a lot easier to go in the store and actually see all the tvs, all the inputs, etc etc… When I research stuff online (every singhle other thing I buy is online, tvs are the only thing I buy from stores other than food) it takes days of comparing back and forth across 100s of sites, half of them with poorly made lists of only half the features/inputs the tv actually has…

By: Gannon

Gannon — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:22:00 +0000

Killing off your local dealers who would otherwise support you with service and knowledge is simply stupid.

The ones who DON’T provide service, support, and knowledge may need to die off, but those who DO provide it all need to be protected and kept in business.

If you think you can get all you need on-line, you are in another universe than mine. The information gleaned here is incomplete at best…and sometimes SO inaccurate as to be libelous!

Cheers,
John J. Gannon
Detroit

By: Tareghian

Tareghian — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:05:00 +0000

this guy is an idiot, i have taken the time to read two of his columns and it seems he doesnt have the slightest clue as to what he says. I doubt his career will last long.

By: Tareghian

Tareghian — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 19:05:00 +0000

this guy is an idiot, i have taken the time to read two of his columns and it seems he doesnt have the slightest clue as to what he says. I doubt his career will last long.

By: Don @buying locally

Don @buying locally — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 23:56:00 +0000

DEAD PIXELS. If you purchase your HDTV online and have dead pixels, chances are you will pay the extra amount of shipping the item back even though it is under warranty. Always remember to read the fine print about dead pixels when purchasing online.

By: Don @buying locally

Don @buying locally — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 23:56:00 +0000

By: NuG050

NuG050 — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:13:00 +0000

The problem with mail-order isn’t the transporting of said item (which I totally agree that it’s no different in transporting to the store and to your house), it’s usually the visual aspects. With a BM store, you can physically adjust and alter settings to see if it can achieve a certain look you are trying to achieve. And if not, at least you can visually see the differences between models. Just because the box says it has 1000000000000000:1 contrast ratio doesn’t mean you’ll notice it against another model that has 100000000000000:1 (I’m exaggerating).

Now, if you’ve already spotted what you want, then by all means, you can order online without any issues. But for me, personally, I’d like to know that I can physically bring in the item if I have issues and not have to send it back.

By: NuG050

NuG050 — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:13:00 +0000

By: NuG050

NuG050 — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 23:13:00 +0000

By: Poop

Poop — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:48:00 +0000

I strongly disagree. If you are buying an expensive and bulky item like an HDTV or a washer/dryer it’s better to do it from a B&M store.

I bought my Pioneer Kuro at Best Buy because they were able to match the lowest online price I have heard of at that point. If you speak to a manager, you can usually bring down the price signficantly. Plus, you get all kinds of rewards points. In addition, buying a plasma with its fragile glass screen you need an easy way to bring it back if something goes wrong. I also felt it was important to get a service plan is something were to go wrong. Have fun trying to mail it back to Newegg in Montana!

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:33:00 +0000

I totally agree with you Don.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:14:00 +0000

Service and support would concern me. Shipping costs too. What happens if it arrives DOA? Is the Internet retailer an authorized retailer or gray market? Sometimes Amazon is selling TVs at great prices because they didn’t sell well through traditional channels or weren’t well received in the marketplace; i.e. lots of bad reviews and too many returns — so the manufacturer cuts a deal with Amazon to blow them out. Also, are you getting the latest models online. Lots of things to think about before I’d abandon going to Fry’s.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:14:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:05:00 +0000

Generally speaking, I’d be inclined to agree with you. However, as a semi-recent east-coaster transplanted into L.A. , I will share my not-so-secret discovery with you.. FRYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To say I’m like a kid in a candy store @ Fry’s is an understatement. The one thing that amazes me about Fry’s is their prices. Even pre-promotion, there are a plethora of mainstream items there that are easily the same price, if not CHEAPER then mainstream online stores (amazon, newegg, tigerdirect, etc.).

Of course, there are cons, like tax (although in CA, you have to pay tax on many large online retailers sites too). And having to pick things up. But the nice thing is being able to return it without dealing with shipping and return costs (if applicable).

There are many.. many instances, in my still-new romance w/ Fry’s where their price can not be touched by websites. Ex. LG 47le5400. They recently had this 47″ LED HDTV for 599. , that’s 40% cheaper then the NEXT CHEAPEST ONLINE PRICE. If Fry’s was a dude, I’d happily turn gay.

By: Nick Ferraro

Nick Ferraro — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:35:00 +0000

Your arguement that my transporting the tv from the store is just as bad as a shipper is flat out wrong. What you are not considering is that the buyer is much more concerned for the welfare of that tv that he or she just shelled out big bucks for. We are very concerned that it gets home safe and sound. It’s not likely to be rolling around in the back of a beat up pick-up truck. It’s going to be carefully loaded and driven just as carefully home. Can’t say the same for a run of the mill shipper. They have no such attachment or concern.

By: Cynyr

Cynyr — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:02:00 +0000

It’s not getting the warranty honored, it’s the 2 weeks without the TV. Now if I was looking at a $1700 that would be a different story, but on a ~$600 LCD why wait around for 2 weeks if things are broken or missing.

Missing the stand from the box? from an online retailer, thats a 2-3 day wait. From a B&M, how ever long the drive is x2.

By: blakespot

blakespot — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Back in December 2005 I purchased a Pioneer PDP-5060, a superb 720p 50-inch plasma TV that I have no intention of replacing anytime soon. I could have bought it for the retail price of $6,000 down at Best Buy, but I mail-ordered it from one of the more respected vendors for $4,300. This is what arrived:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/2378475584/in/set-72157604335012785/

Came on a palette via a shipping company. No problems, no regrets. Buying from a brick & mortar is ridiculous. Just do some research and find a vendor that the TV maker will honor warranty when sold from. (That’s not everyone.)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:57:00 +0000

I could not have said it better. Walmart and Target (gasp!!) for example are all about consumer efficiency. Returns and exchanges are pretty quick. I bring it in, say it doesn’t work, I either get my money back, an exchange or store credit toward a different model (within the scope of a few hours at the most).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:45:00 +0000

I prefer brick-and-mortar. If you’ve ever gotten anything DOA (dead on arrival), you might understand why.

By: Exstatica

Exstatica — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:22:00 +0000

Costco, the best place to buy one, if you don’t have one around, well I guess go online.

By: Freddy C.

Freddy C. — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:01:00 +0000

I agree with the comment about ease of return. That’s the only reason that I would get it from an actual store instead online.

By: Freddy C.

Freddy C. — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:01:00 +0000

I agree with the comment about ease of return. That’s the only reason that I would get it from an actual store instead online.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:54:00 +0000

The only reason I see to buy from local store is being able to return / exchange the tv if anything is wrong with the tv.
If they deliver the tv from amazon to my front door and screen is cracked, it’s a really big hassle to get it replaced. Mail it back, wait, they mail one back to you, you wait. You could potentially be without the new tv for 2 weeks.
Some online retailers make returns very difficult.
I don’t mind paying a few bucks extra for convenience.
I also want to see the picture quality. I can’t stand LCD screens, I prefer plasma’s.
But I also google calibrated settings of a tv and change the stores settings.
Color accuracy and quality is way more important than getting the largest, cheapest tv online.
Not to mention, if we All buy online, soon there won’t be any stores to go to, nor work at.

By: Cynyr

Cynyr — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:32:00 +0000

I would and did. Why?
Same day no shipping return if something was missing or broken. Also when I drove it home I did so rather carefully and made sure the box wasn’t “swaying around”(hard to fit a 37″ tv in a saturn wagon). Should the box have been missing the powercord (not that i don’t have a pile of those around these days), I could have simply driven 15 minutes, and had the problem sorted out via a real live in the flesh person. Like you I had very little interest in actually seeing the TV before i paid for it, but seeing the box was in good shape was comforting. My TV was the same price with shipping as it was at the brick and motor store.

By: Cynyr

Cynyr — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:32:00 +0000