I am considering buying a big screen TV over the internet. I see that two places are offering an 80" Sharp TV for $4540 including shipping. Does anyone here experience with All Time TVs or The Buy Squad or any other discounter on the internet with such a purchase? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice.

3 words.

BUY IT FROM AMAZON.

ok, 4 words.

davidson;841926056 said:

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3 words.

Buy it from amazon.

Ok, 4 words.

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qft.

CAL6371;841926041 said:

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I am considering buying a big screen TV over the internet. I see that two places are offering an 80" Sharp TV for $4540 including shipping. Does anyone here experience with All Time TVs or The Buy Squad or any other discounter on the internet with such a purchase? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice.

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I recommend Amazon, but hurry because they will start collecting CA sales tax in the next few weeks. Amazon has a good return policy and, if you're so inclined, the square trade extended warranties are a good price.

Davidson;841926056 said:

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3 words.

BUY IT FROM AMAZON.

ok, 4 words.

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Seconded. I'm about to pull the trigger on a 65". The only place other than Amazon I'd consider buying from is Costco.

BearGoggles;841926067 said:

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I recommend Amazon, but hurry because they will start collecting CA sales tax in the next few weeks. Amazon has a good return policy and, if you're so inclined, the square trade extended warranties are a good price.

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I bought mine from Best Buy about a year ago, a 60 inch Plasma, and they are having fire sales, they threw in a Blue Ray machine, etc.

I bought my 42 incher 3 years ago from Amazon.

They schedule a specfic time to deliver it, and they have two guys carry it in and offer to install it.

ditto Amazon. easiest and best online transaction ever, 52' flat screen delivered.

I agree with the others. Amazon is the way to go. Bought my tv about 5 years ago. It was $300 cheaper than Best Buy/Circuit City, plus no tax and free courier shipping. No brainer.

Davidson;841926056 said:

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3 words.

BUY IT FROM AMAZON.

ok, 4 words.

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Amazon contracts with a company that will deliver it during a specific time (you can pick from several options), set it up and make sure it works so that they can send it back if it does not (they will take the packing if you want, but will tell you to keep it for possible returns)... FREE.


Also, I ordered a 55" and then saw that 60" dropped in price, and Amazon took back the 55" mid delivery, and sent the 60" without any problems.


The only thing I would watch for is to make sure the order is FILLED (it can be sold by a 3rd party) by Amazon, and not some 3rd party (3rd party CS through Amazon can be hit or miss).

BearGoggles;841926067 said:

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I recommend Amazon, but hurry because they will start collecting CA sales tax in the next few weeks. Amazon has a good return policy and, if you're so inclined, the square trade extended warranties are a good price.

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Somehow Amazon will manage to push more substandard B&M retailers out of business... rightfully.

The only time I buy from a "Best Buy" type place (including local) is when I need it THAT day... The prices are high, and the service almost universally is HORRIBLE focusing on making a single sale over getting me to come back. (hello $200 HDMI thread).


Now, BECAUSE of this change in how places like Ca will collect Tax, Amazon is shooting for same day delivery. The last thing Local B&M, who wanted Amazon to collect Tax, needed was to be competing on having an item "today". Pwned.

If you are anywhere near a Video Only, I would urge you to give them a try.

http://www.videoonly.com/

I haven't purchased from them, but a friend of mine has purchased from them a 55" Panasonic plasma, a 58" Samsung plasma, then recently a 70" Sharp LCD (edge-lit LED), and now he is exchanging the Sharp (for full credit) with a Panasonic 65" plasma. The friend says they are knowledgeable and their prices are as good as and often better than Amazon.

About the TVs themselves, I have watched many football games and movies on his TVs. The 55" Panasonic was my favorite. The Samsung, even after careful calibration, I thought was inferior to the Panasonic picture. He went with the Sharp LCD for reduced energy consumption and heat, but after three weeks neither of us got used to the reduced contrast and reduced viewing angle of LCD. There were generally no problems with motion, but he did point out one motion problem that I was able to see (I forgot what he called it). He was on the fence for the past week, but the final straw was when the TV started spontaneously re-booting sporadically. So he went back to Video Only and found the 65" Panasonic plasma, and he is even getting money back on the deal.

I've been to Video-Only a couple of times, and I personally feel its sales reps talk out of their behind trying to convince you you're getting the best and/or cheapest deal anywhere.

I've purchased 7 TV's in the last 4-5 years, and I'm frugal! I agree with other posters that Amazon is a great place to buy TV's, but some of the best deals I've found are from Fry's Electronics. Late last year, I bought two 55" Sony 3D HDTV's on sale from Fry's at nearly half the price of other online or in-store retailers.

Fry's has amazing TV deals that change weekly. My recommendation: go to Fry's website on Friday and take a look at their ads. This week Fry's is selling an LG 50" plasma for $399... although I personally would recommend LCD's.

TouchedTheAxeIn82;841926186 said:

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If you are anywhere near a Video Only, I would urge you to give them a try.

http://www.videoonly.com/

I haven't purchased from them, but a friend of mine has purchased from them a 55" Panasonic plasma, a 58" Samsung plasma, then recently a 70" Sharp LCD (edge-lit LED), and now he is exchanging the Sharp (for full credit) with a Panasonic 65" plasma. The friend says they are knowledgeable and their prices are as good as and often better than Amazon.

About the TVs themselves, I have watched many football games and movies on his TVs. The 55" Panasonic was my favorite. The Samsung, even after careful calibration, I thought was inferior to the Panasonic picture. He went with the Sharp LCD for reduced energy consumption and heat, but after three weeks neither of us got used to the reduced contrast and reduced viewing angle of LCD. There were generally no problems with motion, but he did point out one motion problem that I was able to see (I forgot what he called it). He was on the fence for the past week, but the final straw was when the TV started spontaneously re-booting sporadically. So he went back to Video Only and found the 65" Panasonic plasma, and he is even getting money back on the deal.

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Here's a link to Fry's weekly ads... sales start every Friday.

http://frys.com/ads

NOTE: I do not work for Fry's, nor do I personally know anyone who works for Fry's. I'm just a frugal buyer who likes good deals.

If you want a "good deal" you shouldn't just focus on price and % discount.

Regardless, Amazon will be the cheapest option, especially with no tax and free shipping.

If the TV you want isn't the cheapest on Amazon, you want the wrong TV.

TouchedTheAxeIn82;841926186 said:

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About the TVs themselves, I have watched many football games and movies on his TVs. The 55" Panasonic was my favorite. The Samsung, even after careful calibration, I thought was inferior to the Panasonic picture. He went with the Sharp LCD for reduced energy consumption and heat, but after three weeks neither of us got used to the reduced contrast and reduced viewing angle of LCD. There were generally no problems with motion, but he did point out one motion problem that I was able to see (I forgot what he called it). He was on the fence for the past week, but the final straw was when the TV started spontaneously re-booting sporadically. So he went back to Video Only and found the 65" Panasonic plasma, and he is even getting money back on the deal.

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I do think LCD vs plasma is one of the more important questions to ask yourself in buying a new TV, especially at 50"+. Some people don't care, but I find the plasma screens to be far superior for watching sports and movies -- less pixelation/contrast and darker blacks do it for me. Just my $0.02 though, some people prefer the LCD picture, and I would encourage anyone to go to a local store and look before buying online. It's more painful to arrange a return with an online store.

As far as stores, I agree that Amazon offers the best combination of price, delivery, reputation/ease-of-RMA from CA while there's no sales tax. For Panasonic plasma TVs in particular, you might also try US-Appliance.com. They often run great sales with prices better than Amazon. Like Amazon, they don't just ship UPS, they use a special cargo delivery service for TVs. Well, at least they did a couple of years ago when I bought 50" Panasonic TVs from both Amazon and US-Appliance.

You can watch for the best deals on DealNews.com:
http://dealnews.com/c164/Electronics/TVs/Plasma-TVs/

Check out Costco. Not sure they have 80-inch TV's, but I've seen 65's. Their prices are hard to beat, especially if you can find a model on sale.

I haven't bought a new HDTV since 2008, but the two times I did buy (2006 and 2008, both Samsungs) I bought through Onecall.com. At the time they had a great selection with great prices and generally free shipping. I recall looking at Amazon at the time and not being impressed, but from the responses in this thread it seems like they've really stepped up their game.

Just thought I mention that my Samsung LED with the Smart Hub is super. We have the mlb.tv app on it among other apps.

I purchased a 55" LED TV from Paul's TV last year. I was generally pleased. However, they use a local shipper here in Colorado. When they called to schedule delivery they said that they don't allow their driver/deliverer to go up any stairs and I live in a second story apartment. When the driver showed up, he ignored his bosses and helped me carry it upstairs. Not sure if this "no stairs" thing is typical but something to be aware of.

Six months I bought a 60" Sharp LED internet ready TV from Costco. I could not be happier with it. The $1800 price was very competitive at the time, but it looks like prices have dropped even further since then.

Phantomfan;841926135 said:

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The only thing I would watch for is to make sure the order is FILLED (it can be sold by a 3rd party) by Amazon, and not some 3rd party (3rd party CS through Amazon can be hit or miss).

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This guy bought an HDTV from a 3rd-party vendor on Amazon.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57490026-501465/amazon-customer-receives-gun-instead-of-tv/

I Check slickdeals if I don't have a specific model or size in mind.

Golden One;841926237 said:

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Check out Costco. Not sure they have 80-inch TV's, but I've seen 65's. Their prices are hard to beat, especially if you can find a model on sale.

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The costco by me did have the 80 inch model when I was there a few days ago. The original post asked about an internent purchase, but I agree that Costco can't be beat for return policy and offering a very good price (not necessarily as good as amazon). However, if you want the convenience of having it now, it is reasonable option. They also have a good deal with square trade for waranties.

Golden One;841926237 said:

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Check out Costco. Not sure they have 80-inch TV's, but I've seen 65's. Their prices are hard to beat, especially if you can find a model on sale.

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Costco has free 2-year warranties on all TVs purchased which amazon and best buy can't match.

I would suggest giving visualapex (http://www.visualapex.com/) a look. I haven't bought from them in a while because I haven't bought a new TV but when the time comes I'll be going to them first. I got my 42" Panny plasma from them back in 2005 and could not be happier with the price and experience.

[EDIT] Actually, after looking at the site, it seems they only sell "professional" plasmas now (intended for signage) nowadays. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing... the one I got is a professional model, and you lose a lot of potentially unnecessary features for a lower price. But, in general, most people are going to want to get consumer units, unless they are building a dedicated home theater in which case the pro models are very attractive.