recent online purchasing success and failure stories please post here!

mrconos · 12-03-2005, 04:07 PM

Hey, I have read a lot of good things about one call on here, and have done some research on it and it consistently gets good write ups. Also, there are links directly to the one call website from the Toshiba website, so I assume if the company was not a reputable one a manufacturer would need direct customers to it. Add the fact that their prices are competitive and I feel like they might be the best way to go.

Quick question for anyone that deals with them...They currently have a good sale going on that ends on Dec 5th, but I don't think I will be ready to order before then... Are they the type of place that has sales often, or is there a good chance I won't get as good a price a couple weeks down the road.

Thanks,

Chris

Tom_NK · 12-03-2005, 08:16 PM

I was looking at purchasing a Sony recently and talked with a local Sony-authorized dealer/service center about pricing. I cited a price for the KDF-E50A10 on Abes of Maine.com to see if I could get them to come down in price a little (Abes has a great price on these). They said that they probably aren't a Sony Authorized Internet Dealer and that the warranty from Sony will automatically be voided should I buy from them. I called Sony and they said that every Authorized Service center, while required to service sets purchased from Sony authorized dealers, are not required to service sets purchased from other reputable on-line sites. In short, you may be SOL if your set goes down and it was not purchased from a seller specifically authorized by Sony.

In the terms of the local dealer, they lied to me. They said that Sony would refuse to honor the warranty, while in fact, it is them that refuses to honor the warranty.

The whole thing is mute point for me because I had already ordered my Panasonic PT-50LC14 from Buy.com too late to cancel....

Although I cancelled my Panny too late, I know the next time I look to make a purchase of a highly serviceable item, I will have to evaluate this aspect of Sony closely if considering their brand. I know for sure I won't do business with the local dealer.

Tom_NK · 12-03-2005, 08:49 PM

I purchased a Panasonic PT-50LC14 on Nov 25, 2005. It was listed as "In Stock." The order was "Sent to Warehouse" on Nov 29, 2005. After doing further research, I was very displeased to see all the tube problems people were having with the LC13 models. On Dec 1, 2005 (at 9AM) I cancelled my order from them. It was still listed as being "Sent to Warehouse". The next morning, it said it was "Sent to Warehouse" and "Cancellation Requested" was still on there from the previous day. That afternoon, the status changed to "Shipped". Since I haven't seen too many problems with the 2004 model, I think I'll go ahead and accept shipment whenever it arrives, however, I still have not been contacted to set up a delivery schedule. They have a "Track this Order" feature, but when I go to it, there is a message stating that no delivery information is available.

They have a phone support number they actually supply you after you order, 1-877-780-2464. This number is nowhere on their website. Be prepared to ask the Indian phone support person to spell the broken English word they are trying to say and to know nothing.

Buy.com could not tell me the shipping company name they are using, when the shipment left their dock, the location, contact information about the shipper, or the expected delivery date for my television. I wish I had researched Buy.com and the Panny TV as thoroughly as I had researched the Sony warranty issue, but then again.. and here's another kicker about Buy.com..

The advertisement on this Thanksgiving sale item stated:
"Retail Price is $2,499.95". With that, you would expect this was their normal price right? Well, If you go to the page for this TV (post-sale) you will see the normal price is $1,599. The sale price was $100 off their normal price. They intentionally mislead on how much of a discount off their normal prices they are giving you during a sale.

I believe that the TV has not truly shipped. I'll post when it finally arrives.

On a positive note, they apparently won't bill my credit card until I sign for the TV, meaning that if I get frustrated enough, I can simply refuse delivery.

At this point, I would not recommend Buy.com, with their out-sourced phone support, lack of responsiveness in e-mails, less than ethical sales strategies, and suspect honesty.

daleb · 12-03-2005, 09:24 PM

I've used buy.com for small purchases. They have a warehouse in CA so I can be taxed besides paying for shipping. Just not worth it.
So for small stuff they are ok...I would never use them for large purchases. Same goes for Amazon, and I've never had a big problem with them either. In fact, get a lot of deals through them.
But when it comes to big ticket items I go with the specialists if I can't find good deals locally.
There's a reason onecall, vanns, crutchfield, B&H Photo, etc. etc. get a lot of praise.

Tom_NK · 12-04-2005, 08:52 AM

I thought I'd share the link Sony directed me to regarding the dealers that are authorized to sell Sony products. See previous post about cautionary note on not buying from an authorized Sony dealer.

http://www.sonystyle.com/intershopro...ers/index.html

ymytvsucks · 12-06-2005, 01:10 AM

hello...
I recently purchased the toshiba 56mx195 from electronics express in nashville tn... To set this up I must mention I work in post production and am also a video editor, so i pay really close attention to the picture... I was really excited cause it was my first HD tv... I mainly got it for football and prime time shows like house and arrested development... I am using a comcast HD DVR box with HDMI out.... I was pretty happy with the picture quality but i noticed a nickel sized dark spot in the upper right corner of the screen... it became all i could see after a while... i contacted the sales person and he said lets swap out the set... so i did thinking all my problems were over

they had just begun... I hooked up the new set and immediately noticed a difference in contrast... so i put the settings back the ones i had on the last set to make sure... still the blacks were deeper... (maybe for the better) The real problem was the picture didn't seem to be as clear or sharp with the same show... I had previously recorded shrek and finding nemo in HD... they looked amazing before... with the new set there seemed to be an issue with the motion... like the tv wasn't refreshing correctly... i don't know if the 1080p upconverter or the pixel pure chip isn't operating correctly but something is wrong... I had the other editor that works with me come over and see if i was crazy or not... He immediatly agreed with what i was seeing and we both thought it was the tv... About an hour after he left the dvr crashed and would not turn back on... comcast said it was fried... So I naturally assumed it was the dvr... So since then i am on my 3rd dvr and still the same problems... I am assuming either i am crazy or the tv is bad... I can't keep swaping out the tv... so my next step is to take the dvr up to tweeter and see if the shows i recorded look better on some of their tv sets... I am pretty much losing my mind here... Is this something anyone has experienced and is it possible that the tv's vary that much from set to set... even if i am wrong about the picture quality i know the blacks are way darker... any information or ideas would be greatly appreciated... thank you for the help...

the tv with the dark smudge isn't looking so bad now...

the new tv has way more artifacting or blocking and trouble with motion refreshing... seems like for the most part the picture is made of blocks which makes it far from a clean sharp picture...

I thought this tv looked amazing for about a week and was excited to watch random shows that i would never watch cause they looked so good but now i can't stand to even look at it...

soulfish · 12-09-2005, 09:13 AM

Ordered a Sony 50A10. Three days later it's here. Same story, arrived in Michigan, perfect condition. If anyone cares, I tracked the shipping from West Virginia to my house. ABF motor frieght. Onecall must have merchandise available to ship from this side of the country since I don't think they would deliver from WA to WV to MI. Did I mention the picture is great?

babacah · 12-09-2005, 10:38 AM

Just got a JVC 61Z886 from Beach Camera. Easy transaction, arrived 4 days after I placed order with free shipping. $2350 delivered for a 61 inch was too good to pass up, I love the set and used my Amex to get an extra year of warranty for free.

Beach (same company as buydig) uses Manna to ship, they were very friendly and even though they quote a 5 hour delvery window unless you pay extra they told me when they were coming for no extra fee.

I do believe they have sold out of the 61" and increased proces on the 56" now so I pulled the trigger just in time. As I side not the SD picture is much better then I expected with this set and the HD is unreal.

Tom_NK · 12-09-2005, 07:41 PM

I did finally nag them enough to give me their primary carrier (bullet freight). Through them I was able to get in contact with Connections, a regional carrier that will be the final carrier for my TV. They misplaced the 50" set for a day, found it last night/early this morning, and will deliver it Monday. If all goes well from here on out, I'll finally have the TV on December 12th that I ordered on November 25th "In Stock" from Buy.com. Buy.com's site still shows the bullet tracking number with no status information.

I guess 17 days shipping from Buy.com is what you can expect.

I'll post if it doesn't get to me on Monday so I can extend the time from Buy.com.

I finally was able to post my negative comment about Buy.com on Bizrate yesterday. I wonder if Buy.com owns them.

Just to reiterate: Buy.com uses deceptive advertising practices when advertising a sale item. Buy.com advertises 3 to 7 days shipping on an In Stock item and it will likely be here 17 days later instead (more than twice the maximum estimate). Buy.com outsources all support and probably the maintenance of the website to India. Purchasing from them probably only improves quality of life for a small handful of Americans.

pwsii · 12-10-2005, 02:40 PM

Hey folks;

After months and months of reading your incisive comments and viewing a multitude of HD TVs at various stores, I finally took the plunge.

Last Saturday nite (12/3) I ordered a 32" Dell HD LCD from Costco.
No shipping charge, just taxes. Here's what's hard to believe. It was delivered late Tuesday (12/6). Couldn't believe it - 2 business days. Ended up costing a tad over $1600, including two years DELL warranty.

Took me all of 30 minutes to have it set up and what a pleasant surprise. No HD cable as yet, but WOW, the colors were more vibrant and true than what I expected. No problem with blacks, either. Yep, some of the images appeared somewhat "fuzzy", but I expected much worse. Thought my Sony had a decent picture, NOT[i]!

Was replacing a 20 year old Sony, but I wasn't prepared for the color clarity. Adelphia to install HD next week, which will be another pleasant surprise.

Have just begun to explore, however, can say without any doubt, this is one "special" TV. Easy access to the rear for hookups (it swings around on it's stable stand) including 2 HDMI inputs. No problem hooking up DVD with component wiring..

Played Moody Blues @ Royal Albert and was absolutely blown away!

Speakers are detachable, which was one of my deciding factors. Dell also gives you a couple of quality bases for the speakers, if you wish to detach them. Was impressed with the brackets to attach the speakers to the TV. Very professional, convenient and easy to install. Absolutely no shortcuts, where quality is concerned!!!

Was truly scared about the "delivery" aspect of purchasing a HD TV online.

Somehow, did not trust any of the online sellers, except for Crutchfield and found them to be way too expensive for the "Panny" I was interested in. With COSTCO's free shipping and fantastic return policy and DELL's reliability, my ultimate decision was a rather easy one.

Am now searching for the "proper" HDMI cable/DVD player.

Nice feeling to be completely satisfied, after spending so-o much for one component. Can't say enuf about both COSTCO & DELL.

They delivered!

noodle · 12-12-2005, 05:13 AM

hello all, i'm new to this forum and excited to share my experience with you all.
my first online TV purchase was around 1998 i had purchased a 47" rear projection panasonic from onecall.com i'd have to say my experience with onecall was not terrible. the price was excellent, but the delivery was so-so #it took over a week because it was trucked all the way from west coast. then they sent this old man on the truck with no help and all he did was litterally drop it on my sidewalk, i was very fortunate that day, a few houses over there was a moving truck moving someone into the house. i walked over and asked for help and sure enough they brought it up flawlessly. of course i gave them a nice tip. all in all the tv gave me great pleasure.

ok here's part 2
finally the panny was on it's last limb since i leave the set on practically 24-7.
so i done my research and decided to go with toshiba's hi def 1080P 56HM195
and i shopped till i dropped and i waited for the most reputable company to have it in inventory first and sure enough it was crutchfield.com . and am i ever glad to have purchased this TV through them. first off the price was competitive and they even matched the price of a competitor, 2nd they had it delivered by this trucking company that was 2nd to none, they have it so down pact they waste no time in and out and your tv is running in no more than 5 minutes from the time they ring the doorbell. ok here's the test for crutch, toshiba's 56HM195 has an incredible picture in my opinion, when the input is correct meaning hdtv and tuning it into HD discovery or any HD channel the picture is just amazing you just sit and stare in awe. but the problem which i experience was with the TV's tv guide program. it just didn't work i played phone tag with toshiba and timewarner to work it out and after a mth toshiba said they have a software update on a flash card. after i received the flash card and inserted the card the TV did not read it. and i tried other cards and to no avail the card reader was non functional. i even had a service tech come to take a look at the tv to confirm. and thats when i called crutchfield. and after explaining the story to the customer service he simply expressed sympathy in a very polite tone and offered to replace the set. WHOA! i was shocked and so i took advantage of the fact they would replace it and instead got an upgrade to the 56MX195 for 300 more. well i doubt any online company out there would even consider to exchange a 3000.00 tv set after 30 days and crutch did it without a fight. i will buy all my electronics through crutch! #1!!! thanx crutch!

mccabedoug · 12-13-2005, 12:52 PM

I purchased a JVC HD52G886 from 6ave.com. I did a lot of research before my purchase, including looking at vendors' Better Business Bureau participation and whether or not they are an authorized dealer. Those two things eliminate about 95+% of the online dealers. I also did what everyone else does like look at epinions.com, etc but those sites, I found, are where people go to complain (just my e-pinion

).

The purchase went flawlessly and I had the TV delivered on the day promised. Plus, it was the lowest price I found.

NY_Guy · 12-16-2005, 08:51 PM

Because I live in Manhattan, I did not want to pay NY sales tax AND shipping, since 90% of the online stores are in New York. The stores that would allow me to pick-up the unit (Sony KDF-E50A10) in Brooklyn, however, wanted cash, which meant I couldn't use my Visa card and get free extended warranty (1 year on top of manufacturer's), or $120 for 3 years or $190 for 5 years (which is much less expensive than any warranty company offers). Even the bulb is covered for two years and it costs me nothing (since I’ll pay off the balance). Plus I get miles with American Airlines.

So I tried buying out of state, but there were ALWAYS hidden charges-- either freight or that scammy "insurance" fee (freight includes insurance). I even ordered from one company in Florida, got an email receipt which showed the unit price and shipping, only to find out later they wanted an additional $153 for insurance. I cancelled that order.

I finally ordered from Amazon because their price came down ($1950), the shipping is reasonable ($150 for "white glove service"), there are no hidden fees, and I don't feel like I'm being constantly lied to. For example, you can buy extended warranty from any dealer for typically MUCH less than where the TV is purchased, though almost everyone tried to say otherwise. Amazon was also upfront about delivery dates, while many of the online stores hid the details (a statement in bold that orders typically shipped within 1-2 business days, until you checked the fine print in another part of the web site and found the “holiday exclusion,” which warned that it could take up to 3 weeks). I've bought a lot of stuff from Amazon over the years and have never been disappointed.

NY Guy

Tom_NK · 12-20-2005, 08:22 PM

Status Update:

The cancellation of my order on Nov. 31st did not go through and the unit "shipped" on December 1st. I filed a claim on the 15th for a lost shipment and I've just been informed by Buy.com that my claim has been denied, citing that I need to send the set to the manufacturer.

I replied to them that would be nice, if I had ever received the set. Yep, no set yet. It has now been 26 days since I ordered the set and have still not received it. It has been 19 days since the crooks charged my credit card. Just to help with searches, buy.com buy.com buy.com. Buyer beware of buy.com. I was going to receive the set ordered by buy.com if it ever showed, but now I'm going to reject it outright just on principal.

So far, I haven't seen any questionable additional charges on my credit card.

Gripp · 12-22-2005, 05:20 AM

I havent bought anything yet but planning too soon online. But before I do I have some questions. Where do I check to see if the online store is a sony authorized dealer? There are two online stores Im looking at, B&H and Electonic Express. I would go with crutchfield but the price is out of my limit, unless if anyone know if the price will drop to about $1500 in January?

12-03-2005, 04:07 PM	#136
mrconos High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 76	One Call Hey, I have read a lot of good things about one call on here, and have done some research on it and it consistently gets good write ups. Also, there are links directly to the one call website from the Toshiba website, so I assume if the company was not a reputable one a manufacturer would need direct customers to it. Add the fact that their prices are competitive and I feel like they might be the best way to go. Quick question for anyone that deals with them...They currently have a good sale going on that ends on Dec 5th, but I don't think I will be ready to order before then... Are they the type of place that has sales often, or is there a good chance I won't get as good a price a couple weeks down the road. Thanks, Chris

12-03-2005, 08:16 PM	#137
Tom_NK High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 30	Watch out with Sony purchases I was looking at purchasing a Sony recently and talked with a local Sony-authorized dealer/service center about pricing. I cited a price for the KDF-E50A10 on Abes of Maine.com to see if I could get them to come down in price a little (Abes has a great price on these). They said that they probably aren't a Sony Authorized Internet Dealer and that the warranty from Sony will automatically be voided should I buy from them. I called Sony and they said that every Authorized Service center, while required to service sets purchased from Sony authorized dealers, are not required to service sets purchased from other reputable on-line sites. In short, you may be SOL if your set goes down and it was not purchased from a seller specifically authorized by Sony. In the terms of the local dealer, they lied to me. They said that Sony would refuse to honor the warranty, while in fact, it is them that refuses to honor the warranty. The whole thing is mute point for me because I had already ordered my Panasonic PT-50LC14 from Buy.com too late to cancel.... Although I cancelled my Panny too late, I know the next time I look to make a purchase of a highly serviceable item, I will have to evaluate this aspect of Sony closely if considering their brand. I know for sure I won't do business with the local dealer.

12-03-2005, 08:49 PM	#138
Tom_NK High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 30	Buy.com - uggh I purchased a Panasonic PT-50LC14 on Nov 25, 2005. It was listed as "In Stock." The order was "Sent to Warehouse" on Nov 29, 2005. After doing further research, I was very displeased to see all the tube problems people were having with the LC13 models. On Dec 1, 2005 (at 9AM) I cancelled my order from them. It was still listed as being "Sent to Warehouse". The next morning, it said it was "Sent to Warehouse" and "Cancellation Requested" was still on there from the previous day. That afternoon, the status changed to "Shipped". Since I haven't seen too many problems with the 2004 model, I think I'll go ahead and accept shipment whenever it arrives, however, I still have not been contacted to set up a delivery schedule. They have a "Track this Order" feature, but when I go to it, there is a message stating that no delivery information is available. They have a phone support number they actually supply you after you order, 1-877-780-2464. This number is nowhere on their website. Be prepared to ask the Indian phone support person to spell the broken English word they are trying to say and to know nothing. Buy.com could not tell me the shipping company name they are using, when the shipment left their dock, the location, contact information about the shipper, or the expected delivery date for my television. I wish I had researched Buy.com and the Panny TV as thoroughly as I had researched the Sony warranty issue, but then again.. and here's another kicker about Buy.com.. The advertisement on this Thanksgiving sale item stated: "Retail Price is $2,499.95". With that, you would expect this was their normal price right? Well, If you go to the page for this TV (post-sale) you will see the normal price is $1,599. The sale price was $100 off their normal price. They intentionally mislead on how much of a discount off their normal prices they are giving you during a sale. I believe that the TV has not truly shipped. I'll post when it finally arrives. On a positive note, they apparently won't bill my credit card until I sign for the TV, meaning that if I get frustrated enough, I can simply refuse delivery. At this point, I would not recommend Buy.com, with their out-sourced phone support, lack of responsiveness in e-mails, less than ethical sales strategies, and suspect honesty.

12-03-2005, 09:24 PM	#139
daleb High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Clovis, CA Posts: 7,296	I've used buy.com for small purchases. They have a warehouse in CA so I can be taxed besides paying for shipping. Just not worth it. So for small stuff they are ok...I would never use them for large purchases. Same goes for Amazon, and I've never had a big problem with them either. In fact, get a lot of deals through them. But when it comes to big ticket items I go with the specialists if I can't find good deals locally. There's a reason onecall, vanns, crutchfield, B&H Photo, etc. etc. get a lot of praise. __________________ Samsung PN50A650 plasma, Arcam AVR350, Dali Ikon6 (Vokal2&OnWalls), Outlaw Audio LFM-1EX sub, Anti-Mode 8033B, Oppo Digital BDP-83, Polk XM Tuner, Furman Elite power conditioner

12-04-2005, 08:52 AM	#140
Tom_NK High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 30	Sony Authorized Internet Dealers I thought I'd share the link Sony directed me to regarding the dealers that are authorized to sell Sony products. See previous post about cautionary note on not buying from an authorized Sony dealer. http://www.sonystyle.com/intershopro...ers/index.html

12-06-2005, 01:10 AM	#141
ymytvsucks A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 12	56mx195 serious issues please HELP!!! hello... I recently purchased the toshiba 56mx195 from electronics express in nashville tn... To set this up I must mention I work in post production and am also a video editor, so i pay really close attention to the picture... I was really excited cause it was my first HD tv... I mainly got it for football and prime time shows like house and arrested development... I am using a comcast HD DVR box with HDMI out.... I was pretty happy with the picture quality but i noticed a nickel sized dark spot in the upper right corner of the screen... it became all i could see after a while... i contacted the sales person and he said lets swap out the set... so i did thinking all my problems were over they had just begun... I hooked up the new set and immediately noticed a difference in contrast... so i put the settings back the ones i had on the last set to make sure... still the blacks were deeper... (maybe for the better) The real problem was the picture didn't seem to be as clear or sharp with the same show... I had previously recorded shrek and finding nemo in HD... they looked amazing before... with the new set there seemed to be an issue with the motion... like the tv wasn't refreshing correctly... i don't know if the 1080p upconverter or the pixel pure chip isn't operating correctly but something is wrong... I had the other editor that works with me come over and see if i was crazy or not... He immediatly agreed with what i was seeing and we both thought it was the tv... About an hour after he left the dvr crashed and would not turn back on... comcast said it was fried... So I naturally assumed it was the dvr... So since then i am on my 3rd dvr and still the same problems... I am assuming either i am crazy or the tv is bad... I can't keep swaping out the tv... so my next step is to take the dvr up to tweeter and see if the shows i recorded look better on some of their tv sets... I am pretty much losing my mind here... Is this something anyone has experienced and is it possible that the tv's vary that much from set to set... even if i am wrong about the picture quality i know the blacks are way darker... any information or ideas would be greatly appreciated... thank you for the help... the tv with the dark smudge isn't looking so bad now... the new tv has way more artifacting or blocking and trouble with motion refreshing... seems like for the most part the picture is made of blocks which makes it far from a clean sharp picture... I thought this tv looked amazing for about a week and was excited to watch random shows that i would never watch cause they looked so good but now i can't stand to even look at it...

12-09-2005, 09:13 AM	#142
soulfish My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 9	One more vote for Onecall Ordered a Sony 50A10. Three days later it's here. Same story, arrived in Michigan, perfect condition. If anyone cares, I tracked the shipping from West Virginia to my house. ABF motor frieght. Onecall must have merchandise available to ship from this side of the country since I don't think they would deliver from WA to WV to MI. Did I mention the picture is great?

12-09-2005, 10:38 AM	#143
babacah My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 7	Just got a JVC 61Z886 from Beach Camera. Easy transaction, arrived 4 days after I placed order with free shipping. $2350 delivered for a 61 inch was too good to pass up, I love the set and used my Amex to get an extra year of warranty for free. Beach (same company as buydig) uses Manna to ship, they were very friendly and even though they quote a 5 hour delvery window unless you pay extra they told me when they were coming for no extra fee. I do believe they have sold out of the 61" and increased proces on the 56" now so I pulled the trigger just in time. As I side not the SD picture is much better then I expected with this set and the HD is unreal.

12-09-2005, 07:41 PM	#144
Tom_NK High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 30	Still waiting on TV purchased through Buy.com I did finally nag them enough to give me their primary carrier (bullet freight). Through them I was able to get in contact with Connections, a regional carrier that will be the final carrier for my TV. They misplaced the 50" set for a day, found it last night/early this morning, and will deliver it Monday. If all goes well from here on out, I'll finally have the TV on December 12th that I ordered on November 25th "In Stock" from Buy.com. Buy.com's site still shows the bullet tracking number with no status information. I guess 17 days shipping from Buy.com is what you can expect. I'll post if it doesn't get to me on Monday so I can extend the time from Buy.com. I finally was able to post my negative comment about Buy.com on Bizrate yesterday. I wonder if Buy.com owns them. Just to reiterate: Buy.com uses deceptive advertising practices when advertising a sale item. Buy.com advertises 3 to 7 days shipping on an In Stock item and it will likely be here 17 days later instead (more than twice the maximum estimate). Buy.com outsources all support and probably the maintenance of the website to India. Purchasing from them probably only improves quality of life for a small handful of Americans.

12-10-2005, 02:40 PM	#145
pwsii My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Age: 67 Posts: 5	Hey folks; After months and months of reading your incisive comments and viewing a multitude of HD TVs at various stores, I finally took the plunge. Last Saturday nite (12/3) I ordered a 32" Dell HD LCD from Costco. No shipping charge, just taxes. Here's what's hard to believe. It was delivered late Tuesday (12/6). Couldn't believe it - 2 business days. Ended up costing a tad over $1600, including two years DELL warranty. Took me all of 30 minutes to have it set up and what a pleasant surprise. No HD cable as yet, but WOW, the colors were more vibrant and true than what I expected. No problem with blacks, either. Yep, some of the images appeared somewhat "fuzzy", but I expected much worse. Thought my Sony had a decent picture, NOT[i]! Was replacing a 20 year old Sony, but I wasn't prepared for the color clarity. Adelphia to install HD next week, which will be another pleasant surprise. Have just begun to explore, however, can say without any doubt, this is one "special" TV. Easy access to the rear for hookups (it swings around on it's stable stand) including 2 HDMI inputs. No problem hooking up DVD with component wiring.. Played Moody Blues @ Royal Albert and was absolutely blown away! Speakers are detachable, which was one of my deciding factors. Dell also gives you a couple of quality bases for the speakers, if you wish to detach them. Was impressed with the brackets to attach the speakers to the TV. Very professional, convenient and easy to install. Absolutely no shortcuts, where quality is concerned!!! Was truly scared about the "delivery" aspect of purchasing a HD TV online. Somehow, did not trust any of the online sellers, except for Crutchfield and found them to be way too expensive for the "Panny" I was interested in. With COSTCO's free shipping and fantastic return policy and DELL's reliability, my ultimate decision was a rather easy one. Am now searching for the "proper" HDMI cable/DVD player. Nice feeling to be completely satisfied, after spending so-o much for one component. Can't say enuf about both COSTCO & DELL. They delivered!

12-12-2005, 05:13 AM	#146
noodle What is HD? Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 4	hello all, i'm new to this forum and excited to share my experience with you all. my first online TV purchase was around 1998 i had purchased a 47" rear projection panasonic from onecall.com i'd have to say my experience with onecall was not terrible. the price was excellent, but the delivery was so-so #it took over a week because it was trucked all the way from west coast. then they sent this old man on the truck with no help and all he did was litterally drop it on my sidewalk, i was very fortunate that day, a few houses over there was a moving truck moving someone into the house. i walked over and asked for help and sure enough they brought it up flawlessly. of course i gave them a nice tip. all in all the tv gave me great pleasure. ok here's part 2 finally the panny was on it's last limb since i leave the set on practically 24-7. so i done my research and decided to go with toshiba's hi def 1080P 56HM195 and i shopped till i dropped and i waited for the most reputable company to have it in inventory first and sure enough it was crutchfield.com . and am i ever glad to have purchased this TV through them. first off the price was competitive and they even matched the price of a competitor, 2nd they had it delivered by this trucking company that was 2nd to none, they have it so down pact they waste no time in and out and your tv is running in no more than 5 minutes from the time they ring the doorbell. ok here's the test for crutch, toshiba's 56HM195 has an incredible picture in my opinion, when the input is correct meaning hdtv and tuning it into HD discovery or any HD channel the picture is just amazing you just sit and stare in awe. but the problem which i experience was with the TV's tv guide program. it just didn't work i played phone tag with toshiba and timewarner to work it out and after a mth toshiba said they have a software update on a flash card. after i received the flash card and inserted the card the TV did not read it. and i tried other cards and to no avail the card reader was non functional. i even had a service tech come to take a look at the tv to confirm. and thats when i called crutchfield. and after explaining the story to the customer service he simply expressed sympathy in a very polite tone and offered to replace the set. WHOA! i was shocked and so i took advantage of the fact they would replace it and instead got an upgrade to the 56MX195 for 300 more. well i doubt any online company out there would even consider to exchange a 3000.00 tv set after 30 days and crutch did it without a fight. i will buy all my electronics through crutch! #1!!! thanx crutch!

12-13-2005, 12:52 PM	#147
mccabedoug HD Rules! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Douglas, MA Posts: 2	I purchased a JVC HD52G886 from 6ave.com. I did a lot of research before my purchase, including looking at vendors' Better Business Bureau participation and whether or not they are an authorized dealer. Those two things eliminate about 95+% of the online dealers. I also did what everyone else does like look at epinions.com, etc but those sites, I found, are where people go to complain (just my e-pinion ). The purchase went flawlessly and I had the TV delivered on the day promised. Plus, it was the lowest price I found.

12-16-2005, 08:51 PM	#148
NY_Guy My plasma is High Def. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 5	Finally threw in the towel and went with someone I trust Because I live in Manhattan, I did not want to pay NY sales tax AND shipping, since 90% of the online stores are in New York. The stores that would allow me to pick-up the unit (Sony KDF-E50A10) in Brooklyn, however, wanted cash, which meant I couldn't use my Visa card and get free extended warranty (1 year on top of manufacturer's), or $120 for 3 years or $190 for 5 years (which is much less expensive than any warranty company offers). Even the bulb is covered for two years and it costs me nothing (since I’ll pay off the balance). Plus I get miles with American Airlines. So I tried buying out of state, but there were ALWAYS hidden charges-- either freight or that scammy "insurance" fee (freight includes insurance). I even ordered from one company in Florida, got an email receipt which showed the unit price and shipping, only to find out later they wanted an additional $153 for insurance. I cancelled that order. I finally ordered from Amazon because their price came down ($1950), the shipping is reasonable ($150 for "white glove service"), there are no hidden fees, and I don't feel like I'm being constantly lied to. For example, you can buy extended warranty from any dealer for typically MUCH less than where the TV is purchased, though almost everyone tried to say otherwise. Amazon was also upfront about delivery dates, while many of the online stores hid the details (a statement in bold that orders typically shipped within 1-2 business days, until you checked the fine print in another part of the web site and found the “holiday exclusion,” which warned that it could take up to 3 weeks). I've bought a lot of stuff from Amazon over the years and have never been disappointed. NY Guy

12-20-2005, 08:22 PM	#149
Tom_NK High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 30	Buy.com - still no TV 26 days later. Status Update: The cancellation of my order on Nov. 31st did not go through and the unit "shipped" on December 1st. I filed a claim on the 15th for a lost shipment and I've just been informed by Buy.com that my claim has been denied, citing that I need to send the set to the manufacturer. I replied to them that would be nice, if I had ever received the set. Yep, no set yet. It has now been 26 days since I ordered the set and have still not received it. It has been 19 days since the crooks charged my credit card. Just to help with searches, buy.com buy.com buy.com. Buyer beware of buy.com. I was going to receive the set ordered by buy.com if it ever showed, but now I'm going to reject it outright just on principal. So far, I haven't seen any questionable additional charges on my credit card.

12-22-2005, 05:20 AM	#150
Gripp What is HD? Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3	I havent bought anything yet but planning too soon online. But before I do I have some questions. Where do I check to see if the online store is a sony authorized dealer? There are two online stores Im looking at, B&H and Electonic Express. I would go with crutchfield but the price is out of my limit, unless if anyone know if the price will drop to about $1500 in January? Last edited by Gripp; 12-22-2005 at 05:30 AM.