Red Dog

My mom is interested in getting 2 new TVs: a 42" HD plasma and a 32" HD LCD. We went to a couple local stores near where she lives and couldn't extract any discount off their listed prices. I was hoping to get some kind of discount since she wanted 2 set.

Prices for the same sets are considerably lower on-line acc'd to pricegrabber.com (even when you factor in shipping costs). Anybody have any experiences, good and bad, ordering plasmas or lcds online? Recommended etaliers? What is the delivery method? Do they just ship them and that's it (not that this is a problem as I can hook up the sets myself)?

chipmac

I have no experience other to say that if you purchase online you need to make sure they are an authorized retailer. Many time the prices are so low online because they're not authorized to sell these brands. This can bite you in the ass later as far as warranty coverage is concerned.

uberjoe

Your mom kicks ass.

Spiky

Got a 42" plasma from costco.com. Shipped freight, white glove. If you aren't familiar with "white glove", this generally means they bring it into your home (even apartment) and unbox it for you. Gives you ample chance to check for shipping damage before they leave. I'd look for it for an online plasma purchase.

BDB

Ordered one from dell.com no problems the panasonic 42" Plasma..

Couple of friends ordered the same panny from visualapex.com who have rave reviews over on avsforum.com

Deftones

The Dell plasmas and LCDs just dropped in price. It might be worth looking into because you might also be able to find a 10% of coupon floating around.

Red Dog

Yeah - I still need to check whether Costco carries the models she wants.

Red Dog

Interesting - that is one of the tvs she is interested in.

Question - the Dell is a Panasonic? I don't see an indication of that.

Deftones

I think they are Panny sets, rebadged as Dell.

Lampei

One place I'd *highly* recommend (and many others at AVSforum would also) is www.TVAuthority.com Apparently they have retailer stores in California, but they've got great prices on electronics (I purchased my 56" Sammy DLP from them before Superbowl and their customer service was awesome the whole way through).

dkny75

I also ordered my 50" Sammy DLP from TVAuthority.com. Quick delivery, great customer service and some of the most knowledgable salespeople you'll find. I highly recommend them and when I decide to upgrade my TV or anything else in the future, I'll go to them first.

Red Dog

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, they don't carry one of the TVs we're interested in.

juicerocket

Ordered our Panny plasma from www.visualapex.com.

Incredible customer service, I highly recommend them.

Lampei

Try doing a chat with them (if you haven't already). They may be able to get it in stock (and at a lower price than most).

Sloth911

www.tvauthority.com has good prices and the BEST online return policy for 5-star items.

BDB

sorry the panny I got is not a dell..

Dell were selling Panasonic's last year, well late 03, and thru a wonderful price mistake I got it for 2105. of course now its below 1600 for the ED set, but I don't care.

broadwayblue

I second VA. They have about the best customer service I've ever encountered. A year ago I purchased 2 ED plasmas (42PWD7UY) from them for my office. When they arrived we took one out of the box to check it out. Several weeks later when we were ready to install them we noticed...to my horror that the other one had been shattered during shipping. I was very concerned that i'd be responsible as they clearly state that all damaged items must be reported within 72 hours. Well imagine my pleasant surprise when I called them and without so much as pleading, begging, or screaming, they told me that they would ship me a replacement unit THAT NIGHT! Without so much as seeing the damaged one. Several days later the replacement arrived...in working condition.

I've since recommended VA to several of my friends and co-workers...and all have had similar positive experiences with them.

Pwman

I ordered my 51 in Sony from Onecall it was hundreds cheaper than anywhere else. Only problem was it was delivered to the front door and I had to bring it in with a friend. They were up front about it so no problem and I saved big $. The biggest thing is to be sure of the shipping charges, what type of shipping and also some retailers make u pay tax and some don't. I also agree that you should only buy from "authorized ' retailers or if there is a problem it could be harder to fix. Keep an eye out for companies that price match like CIrcuit City. You can get great deals if they match and give you the 10 % extra off

Draven

I got my Toshiba 50" RPTV from Onecall as well. With a 4 year warranty and delivery to my garage it was the same price as Best Buy without a warranty and no delivery.

They called me the night before the TV showed up to talk to me about it - it was in the dead of winter so they advised I open the box up and let the TV sit for an hour, told me some other tips, etc...it was a great experience. I highly recommend them.

rexinnih

Bought a Sony 51" from Onecall last year and had a great experience. Very informative on the phone and great pricing.

BruZZi

Dell uses Samsung glass on their Plasmas Models.


I also recommend Visual Apex and TV Authority.

Red Dog

Any word on Plasmaconcepts.com?

RockStrongo

I got my 61in Sammy DLP from onecall.com.....basic free shipping where they dropped it off at my porch, but didnt bring it in.

My girlfriend and I brought it in, unboxed it and put it on the stand...no issues at all and it saved me about $1k over the prices in store.

If there had been an issue in shipping, they would have replaced it.