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Ordering A Television Online - Risks, Experiences, Recommendations?

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DEO3

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My wife and I are looking to replace our old rear projection CRT unit with a new plasma television. I typically buy everything online, but something as large and expensive as a new television gives me pause. After researching a number of different brands and models I've come across countless stories of people experiencing problems with their sets. Of course the vast majority of people will have a trouble free experience with their new television, but I still feer that I may be the 1 in 20 who finds something wrong with his set and needs to... well, that's actually that's my concern, if you buy a television online from a place like Amazon or something, what exactly do you do if there's a problem? You can't exactly just walk your 50+ inch television down to the local post office and say 'return to sender'.

But still, when the price is hundreds of dollars cheaper and there's no sales tax, ordering online just feels like a no brainer.
 
Ordered a TV off Amazon last year and had a flawless experience. It was $300 less than retail, no tax and free shipping (Prime), and the guys who delivered it were pros.

So yeah, don't be worried.
 
I ordered a 52 inch sharp aquas from Newegg and a 50 inch Samsung from amazon both came flawless i had no problems at all.
 
Amazon

I ordered my 40" Samsung (LN40A650) HDTV there last year. I live on the second floor of an apartment and the delivery guy carried it up my stairs and everything for me. They also wait around for a bit so you can plug it in and see if it works (though I guess this may depend on who you get and how much time they have). He offered to take away the box and everything for me too, though I said no in case I needed to return it.

You'll save so much money from Amazon when all is said and done. It was like $400-500 cheaper (maybe even more) than buying it from a retail store. And you get free shipping and free delivery and don't have to pay tax. I experienced their return process too: there was a problem early on with that model of TV's where they powered off by themselves (it ended up being a Samsung firmware issue) and Amazon replaced it with no questions asked. The delivery guy brings you your replacement TV and takes back your old one at the same time. Very simple process.
 
I had the same concern. Was amazon going to wrap it in cardboard and send it through the post office?

No, they have a special delivery crew that sets it up for you.

Unfortunately, amazon no longer does 30 day price matches, which saves me an extra 150$. In all, my TV was 600$ cheaper than best buy, not even including the lack of sales tax and the free shipping.
 
Ordered off of OneCall previously.


I highly recommend them if they have what you are looking for. Also, pay attention to their site when it comes time for replacement models to appear (or if a model is being discontinued altogether). There prices are pretty good to begin with, but when they close out stuff ... price is fantastic.

Plus, they normally have free delivery.
 
Unfortunately Amazon has some distribution center in my state, so I have to pay tax. :(
Otherwise, still a great online retailer.

I ordered a Sharp Aquos from an online dealer a few years ago and had a good experience (I no longer remember who from though).
 
I ordered my TV from crutchfield.com and it was such an easy process. When the delivery day arrived, they brought the TV into my house, unboxed it, put it on my TV stand and then took away all the packaging.
 
I just had a 60" Kuro delivered. Ordered it from abes of maine. I paid an extra $80 or something to upgraded shipping. I suggest doing the same. Apparently (I wasn't there) they inspected the TV for physical damage.

I'd have no qualms doing it again.
 
I ordered a TV off Amazon. They set it up for me, turned it on and made sure it worked.

The shipping took a bit longer than I would have liked.

Make sure you buy it from a reputable site.
 
Go to a store like Best Buy or whatever and look around. Write down the model numbers of televisions you like. Write notes about them. Like what you liked about the TV and what you didn't like about the TV. Then go to sites like Amazon or Newegg and buy it from there.
 
Depends my experience with CC and my panny 26 HDTV was a nightmare because the morons somehow screwed up my ordering so I had to reorder with no discount and then do a clearing with the credit card company to get it shipped. Most of the time like ordering a monitor it's great when you get a dealer who knows how to handle these things. Just make sure when you order a tv or display it's exactly what you want and the shipping isn't crappy.
 
Crisis said:
Go to a store like Best Buy or whatever and look around. Write down the model numbers of televisions you like. Write notes about them. Like what you liked about the TV and what you didn't like about the TV. Then go to sites like Amazon or Newegg and buy it from there.

this is actually the worst way to shop for a TV. The setting used in store are horrible for TVs. You are honestly better off reading sites like AVS forum to figure out which TVs are objectively the best.
 
Purchased my 40" Samsung from Abes of Maine last year. They had the cheapest price at the time and decent reviews. I bought the TV and had it within a week with FedEx delivery. TV was in perfect condition and still runs flawlessly.
 
StoOgE said:
this is actually the worst way to shop for a TV. The setting used in store are horrible for TVs. You are honestly better off reading sites like AVS forum to figure out which TVs are objectively the best.

I would agree except that the store employees let me set the television when I went "shopping" for one.
 
Crisis said:
Go to a store like Best Buy or whatever and look around. Write down the model numbers of televisions you like. Write notes about them. Like what you liked about the TV and what you didn't like about the TV. Then go to sites like Amazon or Newegg and buy it from there.

some big box stores have model numbers exclusive to them, i.e. Best Buy. While you wont find the exact model number from an online retailer, you can safe guess a similar model.

I ordered my 50" Pioneer tv from Visual Apex. Great service, great prices. The tv will just be dropshipped from the nearest warehouse to where you live. In most cases, the same warehouse that big box retailers ship from too. Just make sure when your tv arrives to inspect it IMMEDIATELY. Read the online store's policy on inspection/damages etc..
 
ElectricBlue187 said:
Newegg has a pretty good track record of taking care of it's customers but they might not have the cheapest TV's either.


I bought my second plasma from Newegg and it arrived absolutely shattered. I gave them a call about 10 minutes after the driver left and they took excellent care of the situation. They contacted UPS to come and get the broken unit and shipped me out a replacement and upgraded the delievery to White Glove service at no additional charge. They also reduced the price of the replacement to its current value and saved me another $150. I am very satisfied and will recommend hem in an instant.
 
i ordered a 46" HDTV from amazon in 2006 and it's still going strong! order from amazon (for an item shipped BY amazon, not a 3rd party retailer) and you'll be good to go!
 
i got my 50" pio plasma from amazon, and a smaller samsung lcd online from there as well, no problems with either tv
 
Bought a 42 in Panasonic last year for Christmas. Thought we got a good deal. Amazon had the same deal, during a regular day (no sales) a few weeks later. I would have done it differently.
 
Well after posting this thread I ended up ordering my Samsung 50B560 from Amazon Sunday night, it shipped on Monday and arrived this morning. I'm very happy with the whole process; from the price, to the extremey quick delivery (I was expecting it to take a week or so), to the cool delivery guy, to the fucking incredible tv.
 
Whatever you do, don't order from Amazon, unless you want a great price, free delivery and excellent after sales service.

Best to go to Best Buy and ask a salesman to recommend the best set for Blue Rays. Also buy the warranty.
 
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