wedge

As has been brought up here before, I work at Best Buy. I'm looking to move on to a new job but still haven't made all the employee discount purchases I have wanted. I do not want to keep this job just because of the discount because I swore I'd never do that.
I'm looking into buying either the Panasonic progressive scan (RP56?), the Sony progressive 700 model, or possibly a 5 disc changer. I've noticed people here mentioning they got things much cheaper online than in stores and that online price would be similar to my discount from what I have seen. What are some good reliable stores with cheap prices online? What kind of shipping charges do they have? How quick do they get stuff to you? Do they have easy return policies? Just wondering because I'd like to move on as quickly as possible. Thanks.

Master J

If you don't mind waiting a bit, I would look at ecost.com, onecall, oade brothers, and J and R audio. Other than ecost you are going to have to call the other three up to get the best prices. At alot of places you buy online though product availability is very hit or miss. Sometimes it ships quickly...other times you have to wait a few weeks. Definitely ask them before you order.

Also, don't forget there is something to be said about having a valid warrnanty if anything goes wrong. Alot of electronics are not under warranty if bought online. Also if something does break you will have to send your unit back compared to just taking it back to your local retailer.

Master J

So there is no confusion, I want everyone to know that I DO NOT work at any of the stores mentioned above

J

edclem

i've only ordered electronics (HT, anyway) online from two shops:
1. Crutchfield (excellent service, low shipping charges, no questions asked/no charge return policy (except on large TV's / tower speakers))
2. Hifi.com (great service, good return policy, ok prices, good equipment)

Master J

Crutchfield is a very good retailer, and you can be guaranteed the best service anywhere from mail order when you deal with them. All the products they sell have full warranties and they deal with any problems in a good manner.

Their prices are somewhat higher then everyone else but if you catch them when new product lines are coming in, there are some decent prices to be had. If the price is right, for me the extra service is well worth the extra money.

J

GMLSKIS

The only online retailer I have ever done business with for Electronic buys is Crutchfield. They are not the cheapest but are very reliable and satisfaction guaranteed I believe for 30 days.

Pato1

My best online electronic purchasing experiences*:
Crutchfield, Hificiti.com, soundcity.com, J & R, AOKnet.com
accessories4less.com

Purchased Onkyo receiver from Hificiti.com, saved $1k off retail price on my 989
Purchased most of my car audio from Crutchfield
Soundcity has good selection of HT stuff ; ok prices on their website but if you call, you can haggle the prices quite a bit.
J & R is pretty reliable and you can also bargain with them too.
Acc4less has good prices on speaker wires, cables, etc.
AOKNet - reliable and variety of HT equipment

Worst: Any NYC electronic vendor (with exception of J & R).

*Usual disclaimers for the above stores.

Mike Meeks

BestPriceAudioVideo.com - Low prices, fast shipping. Bought JBL S312, S38, S-Center spks. over the past 6 months this year.

OneCall.com - Purchased a Atlantic Technology speaker package back in 1999. Great price. Excellent service. One of the tweeters were defective. Onecall relaced entire spk. within a week. Make sure you call them in order to get best price though.

Soundcity.com - They usually have some good sales on their homepage. Picked up some good Atlantic Technology surr. spks. and AKG headphones. Fast shipping.

Crutchfield.com - Have to agree with Master J. Prices are high, but every now and then they have some great specials. Components I've picked up over the years have been Sony 32 Trinitron, Sony DVD player (DVP-300S) and an Onkyo TS-DX575 receiver. And their customer service is the best. Period. I received a telephone call from them a month after purchasing the Sony TV wanting to know if everything was okay.

With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, we should be able to find some good online audio/video deals. Maybe even a decent widescreen HDTV/DTV for under $2,000.

steve f

ONECALL is very reliable, but you'll often have to call and ask for their best price, don't just look on their website and assume that the price you see is the selling price. OneCall is an authorized dealer for most of the stuff carried and is the internet side of a large brick and mortar electronics store.

CONSUMER DIRECT is also a very good place to shop, but they don't have as wide a selection as OneCall. They are reliable and generally have very good prices.

Xytraguptorh

I also want to chime in about Onecall and Crutchfield. I ordered my RPTV from Onecall and had no problems.

My favorite online retailer, by far, is Crutchfield. They have a great return policy and also provide support after the purchase. They have a toll free number that's open 16 hours per day if you have any problems or questions about your purchase. The people I've talked to actually seem fairly knowledgable and go out of their way to help you if you need it. Like others have said, their prices are sometimes higher (though not a lot IMO), but I think it's worth it. Also, everything I've ordered has arrived at my home 2 days after purchasing online.

nekobus

I like also like Crutchfield. They are not the cheapest, but their shipping rates are very good, they have great service and an excellent return policy. jandr and hifi.com are also good.

The thing I don't like about Onecall is their "you bought it-you own it" return policy:

"Our return policy is not to accept merchandise for return except in factory sealed, unopened cartons, unless the merchandise is defective."

For major electronics, I prefer a more liberal return policy and have been able to either beat or get very close to Onecall's prices with other vendors.

Cheddarmuff

Try www.wholesaleconnection.com their prices are out of this world. They are a bare bones retailer, however, I nor any of my friends have ever had a problem ordering from them.

I just got a Toshiba 57" Widescreen from them for $2500!!