Anybody deal with "East Coast TV's"?

dkf314

It amazing how hard ECTV defends itself as a vendor of choice and yet they continue to do this. In my earlier post on this thread, I detailed my experience Jimmy and his deceptive tactics in trying to up sell me on an extended warranty. It left such a negative impression with me that I almost cancelled my order. It's ok for ECTV to try to sell you an extended warranty, but when you use deceptive tactics it denigrates your business.

I'm not sure what the story with ECTV is, but when I posted my experience, I got a call from Tony who sounded very concern with my posting. They were very concern about my posting that I had to pay for shipping insurance to protect my purchase. They did not realize that their lie was going to be publicized and could be taken as fact by others. Jimmy told me that I would need to pay for shipping insurance if I did not buy their extended warranty. Looks like the same story line here, but instead of shipping insurance, it's curbside delivery.

So now, the question now is ... Is this a policy change for ECTV? Do you only do a curbside delivery instead of an in house delivery as most vendors do?

In my case, ECTV lived up to their commitments and I have my TV. But this posting makes me wonder if I was just lucky with my purchase.

ECTV ... take a look at this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hxX_...layer_embedded

ECTV ... If you continue to do this, why bother defending yourself on this board? For every step forward that you make on this board, you'll take 2 steps back whenever stories like this comes out.

Here's the link again in case you missed it the first time ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hxX_...layer_embedded

IGExpandingPan

Pretty much. At present, so long as you have a cable box, a Blu-Ray, surround sound , and you want them under the TV, 4 inches is MORE THAN thin enough. I just moved my cable box away from that location, I'm thinking about moving the DVD-r, but I still have the receiver under the TV. In part I'm already wired for it, in part I don't want to muck about to change the volume in case I can't find the remote.
If they made companion 1 inch wall mount amps, and 1 inch BD players, I can totally see it. With good IR support you can get away with putting your gear elsewhere, but this is limited to people who own their house.

IGExpandingPan

The responsibility of the shipping insurance varies. There is no clear cut rule in the freight world but there are acronyms. For consumers the popular convention is the vendor covers insurance, which is included in the price. There are exceptions in the E-tail world, but this is mainly for things that cost squat to produce that have a high markup.

For an HDTV, it just makes sense to insure everything.

For ECTV it's confusing since the front page advertises free "white glove" as a promotional deal (blow out) with TV order, which is obviously not the case if you're out of area. While "reasonable" it's not advertised as such on the front page, nor is there a little "*" stating restrictions apply.

But it sounds like they were trying to nickle and dime you.

Rich Gallagher

But U.S. Appliance's free shipping is curbside delivery. To get the shipment brought into the house, U.S. Appliance charges $90 extra, bringing the total coast to $1309. I paid a total of $1259, including in-house delivery. The $50 saving isn't a big deal, but it was more than enough to cover the tip I gave to the deliverymen to carry my old TV out to my garage.

Rich

Rich Gallagher

Warranty coverage is governed by the terms of the warranty itself. With Panasonic, where the product is bought is a non-issue as long as the product was manufactured for sale in North America. In other words, the warranty says nothing about authorized dealers, so I have the same warranty coverage as if I had purchased it from an authorized Panasonic dealer. That said, I agree that a dealer should not claim to be an authorized dealer if that is not the case.

As I said, I do have an issue with how East Coast represents its shipping policies. There is a clear implication that shipping is free to all of the states it services, but if you search further on the web site you will find a map which shows that free shipping applies only to parts of New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Maryland. They should make that crystal-clear.

I have no issues with my personal experience with the East Coast guy I spoke to on the phone. He offered me an extended warranty (Mack), which I declined and there was no hard sell. I was on the phone with him for a minute or so. The next call I got was from the trucking company to let me know when I could expect delivery.

It's pretty clear that East Coast is a fairly new business, and if they are smart they will take the criticisms posted here to heart.

Rich

JRP3

I never had a problem seeing that I was not in their service area. When you click on "Pay upon delivery and inspection" the terms are laid out with a coverage map, and there is also a link to the map at the bottom of their main page. Other than having the map on the main page it couldn't be more clear as far as I can tell.

EastCoastTVS

The messenger service brought this large 63" down to this customers basement, we also upgraded this customer to overnight delivery, we try very hard to satisfy every customer

__________________
Customer Service at East Coast TVs

EastCoastTVS

We are exited to see these new ultra slim TVs, it adds vigor to the market and encourages consumers to replace thier old flat panels for new ultra slim ones

__________________
Customer Service at East Coast TVs

PFC5

It doesn't encourage me to replace my plasma with a thinner model, but that is just me. Once it gets under 4" thin, it really matters very little as a matter of function and space savings. If it is going to be on the stand instead of wall mounting, it matters even less.

However I can see why YOU (and other retailers) would be excited if people keep replacing existing flat panels with each thinner model though. That way you guys keep selling the same people new HDTVs.

__________________
Denon AVR-887
Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs)
All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr)
Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35
For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841
Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS
RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+
SA 3250HD
47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom)
Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support)
Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers
The_Cable_Game
Take the high ground and be happier
PSN: PFC5

IGExpandingPan

Do you have any sales data to support this assertion of vigor? Seriously how well are the ultra-thin selling?

Anyhow thinness is pretty trivial in contrast to weight, and I'll grant you the ultra thin models tend to be in the 50 pound bracket. But given the price premium on 1 inch sub 1 inch models, odds are it would be more cost effective to contract for a hole in the wall rather than spending double on a panel. Apartment dwellers obviously don't have this option.

4 inches is just dandy. Once it's on the wall, it's out of the way and you have freedom to do whatever you want elsewhere. If it's not on the wall, you still need a stand that can accommodate 50lbs+, and that takes at least a 12 inch base plus furniture, furniture that odds are are going to house a DVD or Blu-Ray, cable box, surround sound.

stan p.

Contrary to the recent negative posts about ECTVs, I have had a satisfactory business exchange with them and am now in possession of a new Panasonic G15 50in plasma tv. There was a glitch in the delivery process resulting in them changing delivery agents and refunding me $61 because of a drop in the on line price during the interim. With the new delivery company it was 4 days between order verification and delivery. Delivery arrangements were executed promptly with follow-up calls from the trucking office and from the delivery truck driver 1/2 hour before arrival as promised. The truck was on time and the boxed tv was brought to my door on a dolly. The shipping carton was carried into my living room, opened and the tv plugged in to make it functioned. I was asked if I was satisfied with the tv and only then requested to sign off on the shipment and make payment. The invoice was incorrect, listing the original vs the adjusted price, but the amount was still the lowest on the internet, so I paid with plastic to give me product protection. The delivery team double checked to made sure I had all the accessories, picked up the packing materials, helped tidy up the room and left as quietly as they has come. I subsequently notified ECTV of the invoice error and my account was immediately credited for the difference. Jeffery, at ECTV, has made every effort to be accommodating. With their improved delivery service, I would recommend giving ECTVs a try.
Their business plan of "look before you pay" plus lowest prices gives consumers store like options. Stan P.

IGExpandingPan

You are correct, as long as the item isn't a return or grey market Panasonic does have you covered. But the funny thing is they did claim to be an authorized dealer, up until I pointed this out to Sony and NJ AG.

But here's the thing, it's not really possible for the end user to establish whether a given serial number is North American, or was a refurbished unit. These things can be forged, and it's quite trivial to do so. If I wanted I'm sure I could plop out something using the 3of9 font that looks reasonable on an inkjet. I know you can "register" on a given site, but unless they do some checksum test or compare with a database, the end user could be none the wiser. Heck, there are a plethera of legit serial numbers you can find, and if you can work out the math you could, hypotheicaly, create valid serials.

On my Toshiba the box serial can be removed with ease and sticked on something else, like the owners manual.

Agreed, page one lists blow out deal free white glove shipping. They, at the very least, need to add "restrictions apply" and a link. This is a moderate complaint.

What isn't trivial is two cases where they tried to upsell the extended warranty and explained the free shipping was a condition of the warranty.

Yes, they are new, but the BBB lists them as being older. I should talk to them. The current ECTV claim was they ran another business before this that didn't deal with the public, but won't provide those details.

IGExpandingPan

They are not the lowest price on the internet. Presently US-Appliances enjoys that honor, and is a trusted dealer on nexttag.

ETA: For this Panny.

daleb

It's just a logical transition. Soon all models will be slimmer. It is just a new development in 'packaging' which typically has little to do with performance (better or worse).
Style has it's place, but rarely if ever supersedes quality or performance for most of us. If you can get both in the same display, and it fits your budget you have winner.

Some of the newest BD players are almost pancakes, and some of those are very good performers too. But that 'feature' is soon forgotten when one is looking at an Oppo Digital.
Ironically, the older Toshiba HD DVD players were often favored for their bulk and heft, which was perceived by many as 'build quality'.

__________________
Samsung PN50A650 plasma, Arcam AVR350, Dali Ikon6 (Vokal2&OnWalls), Outlaw Audio LFM-1EX sub, Anti-Mode 8033B, Oppo Digital BDP-83SE, Roku Digital, Furman Elite power conditioner

PFC5

I actually think those edge lit LEDs are worse than the regular (with local dimming) LED backlit models, and one of the reasons they went with edge lit is to make it thinner so I would say that PQ & function was sacrificed for style & being thinner in this case.

No doubt over time they will get thinner, but i wouldn't pay a dime more for it to get any thinner myself.

__________________
Denon AVR-887
Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs)
All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr)
Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35
For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841
Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS
RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+
SA 3250HD
47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom)
Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support)
Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers
The_Cable_Game
Take the high ground and be happier
PSN: PFC5