recent online purchasing success and failure stories please post here!

Top_Speed

I went with: www.dependableaudiovideo.com (in NJ)

Tony was my salesman, very nice guy. They have a defective policy on shipping where if your set is damaged or defective (I think 10 days after receive) they will pay the return freight and re-send you a new set no questions. There prices are way better than Abe's and all the others on here mentioned by quite a margin. All products are A-stock with full Mfg. warranty. My Mitsu 73827 shipping box looked just like it came from the factory assemblies finish-line.

Cheers!

maicaw

Article about the New York Online camera "dealer" in yesterday's NYTimes Camera Dealers Feel the Web's Wrath

pictures of the "businesses" in

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Wiley

Online buyers beware these companies (all of which are inter-related) have filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
My sister gave me a belated gift card for the above and, as there is no brick and mortar store in my area, I made an online purchase of some DVDs using the gift card. After much stalling around, not sending the stuff, saying the stuff was ready for shipment, yada yada yada, they sent me a email today:

quote:

Thank you for contacting the Musicland online customer service
department. Due to our recent voluntary chapter 11 filing we are
temporarily unable to respond to your email or process any new orders
and returns. Please know that Musicland (Sam Goody and Suncoast) is not
going out of business. For additional information regarding the filing
please visit our website at www.musicland.com and click on
reorganization. We appreciate your patience and ask that you check with
us again next week for updated information.

As we go through the reorganization process your patience is very much
appreciated.

Thank you! (unquote)

This email came from Suncoast, I'll be surprised if I ever see any of the stuff I ordered, and post this as a warning for others who may think of doing business with them.

Wiley

jvid

I got my DLP about a year ago from LCDTVS.COM. The first unit was damaged when it arrived but was not noticeable from the outside. Had a few problems exchanging, a process that delayed by about 6 weeks me getting up and running. That being said, I have recentley found a problem with how TOSHIBA looks at the purchase date when warranty is needed.

Toshiba wil NOT replace a lamp that has been in service for 2 weeks past the warranty date and an estimated 1500 hrs. That's less that 25% of the low end of their estimated 6-8k hrs for lamp life. Toshiba will NOT even consider the fact that the order date of my set was almost 2 months earlier than when I put it in service. The stand behind their warranty...they stand behind their process...but they will not stand behind their product or the customer.

To make matters even worse, Toshiba does not, nor do any of their dealers have lamps in stock! All replacement lamps are on a factory back order! HUM maybe an indication that lamps are a problem me thinks. I might be back up and running by...??? Toshiba does not seem to care when that might be.

At the time I purchased HD I felt that TOSHIBA DLP was the way to go even though the lamp was a concern. The savings ordering via online was worth the process, but I hear that now some Best Buys will match on line prices.

I do not regret my decission about DLP, but after the way I have been treated by Toshiba I will recomend that anybody considering the jump into HD look very seriously at what/how lamps and service are handled. Those of us that got in earlier can only help new buyers knowledgeable about this poor quality service.

J

nightrider237

I was eyeballing the Hitachi HD-51F710S for a few weeks before Christmas and thought it would sure look good under my Christmas tree even though I didn't have one, so I looked online,in stores you know the usual routine one set against the other ,technology,price,size etc..Well Christmas week CC had a sale on their site and was best price I could come up with and then on the 22nd(Dec)there was a 10% off coupon for CC on MSN and that knocked it to even lower price that was all it took to ring my bell and quit procrastinating($1349 tax,title and shipping). I started to shake though because I Hated CC and B(bandits)B. I'm here to tell you it was probally the best online shopping experience I've had in 5 years. I called for delivery thinking it would probally be Christmas 2007 before It got here. I used debit card on 22nd and it was sitting in my LR on noon of the 24th absolutely perfect condition,not one scratch,fresh out of box,flipping through my dtv channels(not HD yet). This set is absolutely Awesome by the way(Loaded with features and stunning picture) and Hitachi service is bar none the best. I called their online service for some stupid user Question I had and they sent tech to make sure everything was perfect----It was----It was the old dtv rec I had and the operator-me--Just finished watching NFL playoffs in HD (after new dish and receiver install from dtv special. Thats another story! So there it is guys sometimes suprises come in mysterious ways. Back to my new HDTV!!!!!!!

RichDLP

I was all set to buy my new Samsung HL-R5067W DLP set from my local Best Buy when I saw the price at Amazon. $1709 with free shipping and no tax (that was last week - it's up to $1799 now, I believe). That was over $500 less than the lowest sale price at Best Buy (and lower than any other online price I found) so I figured I'd take my chances. Amazon.com doesn't accept returns on these, so it's risky, but given that I knew this was the set I wanted and Samsung has an at-home warranty, I went for it.

The TV arrived just three days after ordering. The shipper was great about contacting us to setup a delivery window and the guys delivering the TV were friendly and professional. The box looked untouched - perfect condition. They setup the TV and we plugged in both the cable box and DVD to be sure everything was working as expected. After about 10 minutes of testing, I signed off and that was that. Hopefully my luck will continue. I love this set!

As others have mentioned, it took a huge price difference to make me go "web" instead of local, but $500 is a LOT of money. My particular experience with Amazon was flawless.

Also, for those considering it, there are one or two feedback posts on Amazon about the fact that they aren't an authorized dealer. I wrote to Amazon prior to purchasing and they assured me, in writing, that they are an authorized dealer and that Samsung would honor my full US warranty. Amazon didn't get where they are by tricking people.

YMMV. Good luck!

bkazepis

I dont know if I posted this before or just thought about it...anywho.....

I bought a Toshiba 62HM195 from TV Authority. They were great in every aspect of the transaction, from follow up phone calls to delivering on the day I requested. The only complaint I have is they had some phone system problems for a couple of weeks (they said they had a new T1 installed) and it was frustrating getting in contact with them a few times. Why you would upgrade your phone system during the height of holiday buying season is another question. Other than that, great price, not the lowest not the highest, but if you want great service you need to pay a little more than the lowest bare bones companies price. TV Authority is slightly higher than the lowest but service is heads above the others.

My two cents.

NRASP

ONECALL has it all. They shipped on time with no damage. The price was the best , and there support staff are very helpfull and friendly. I had the Samsung DLP Projection TV
HLR5667 shipped to Ohio . Great Company.

dpnaugle

I have been checking prices on the Sony 55 KDF E55A20 for the past couple months. Crutchfield, JR, Best Buy, Circuit City, and on and on and on. The best Price ive seen is JR for 2299 + shipping = 2477 to my door. Then out of the blue last Saturday Circuit City shows up online for 2199. I was on the phone and ordering it as soon as I saw that price. The service tech was a joke. Hard to understand and asked me the same questions several times. After about an hour he tells me he lost the order and we had to start over. I about lost my mind; incompetence to the extreme. There was a reason however, some one really wanted me to get the best price possible b/c after chewing this guy out for a couple of minutes he apologized and offered me an additional 10% off 2199. I gave him my cc number and had it delivered to my door the next day for 2153 tax included. How’s that for a good experience. When Circuit City called to ask about my experience I felt bad ripping the guy but had to stick it a lil. He really sucked but turned out good for me.

PS this TV Rocks.

DN

jdmac29

I purchased my sony kdfe42a10 back in 12/05, delivery was about 6 business days, I remember the box had this shock gauge(it was red) apparently if the box was dropped or shaken it would show some sort of color, well it was fine not a scratch on the box or anything. Great service they negotiated on the price, no tax and no shipping charges. I was a little bit cautious but honestly you don't know how BB or CC treats this stuff once it hits the warehouse. I have had no problems with my tv so I am well pleased and would order a large item again from them.

jisner

Ordered the Samsung HL-R4667W from OneCall for $1499. Couldn't beat the price, about $500 less than Circuit City and Best Buy. Its since gone up a bit on OneCall, but still a good deal. Anyways, the TV was on backorder when I purchased. It came in stock about 10 days later, and I had it two days after that. ABF shipping guy was really nice too, no problems with the delivery or the packing. No complaints about OneCall!

badger59

If you find an online source you're thinking of buying from, call the manufacturer and ask if they are an authorized retailer. If thay are not authorized ask the manufacturer if their warranty will be honored if you purchase from the online retailer. You can find the mfr. contact number at their website. This should eliminate one major concern of buying online.

scherrman

Why doesn't anyone try buying from a small private business. Most can compete with the price and offer superior service. I work at a family owned business and we carry JVC televisions and I love them. I know that we price our TV's at the same price or lower than any large discount store. Nothing wrong with buying from the big stores but maybe give your local dealer a shot.

daleb

Smaller stores do not have the inventory or variety of a larger store. Granted, once you settle on specific brand or model it would make sense to look locally for an smaller authorized retailer for pricing. Probably get more knowledgeable sales info and less BS besides.
I guess we just need to be retrained into thinking that way.

As far as shopping online, I don't really see that either for big ticket items, unless it's just too great a deal to pass up. Many stores like Amazon are just middle-men to other retailers.

Although, others like Vann's and Onecall actually did start out as very reputable small businesses, and became very successful on internet orders, and still deliver good service.

All I can suggest is more advertising (expensive, I know) so you get more attention. It is all about overcoming a mindset of today's consumers who want a one-stop, quick and easy for all their purchases. With little emphasis on value or service. It's a sign of the times, and not necessarily a good sign IMO.

__________________
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

maicaw

I just purchase a small RV from a dealer 2000 miles away based on his excellent web page information and the fact that a very large local dealer for the same mfg would not stock the unit - not enough profit - but would special order it at $2000 more. I'm retired and the $500 gas and a weeks drive seemed like a nice mini road trip - The dealer turned out to be in a very small rural town, was exceptionally helpful and friendly - a family business - the 70 yr old owner, a older salesman , some family and a tech or two were all there was - He's advertising his business from the web page - I doubt his local walk-in trade amounts to enough to cover overhead - I presume some other person is handling his Web presence - he was uncomfortable with email -preferred phone -- but it's working for him - he turned in his new car Ford franchise recently - I wish him all the best with his on-line based business from his small town RV Lot.

A case for the small local guy beating out the big box - big markup guy by using the internet to advertise.

__________________
--------------signature -------
My HDTV equipment is certified organic - mostly plastic
No genetically modified electrons or photons are used in it's operation
RocketMan -- Tambourine Man -- Lucy {userName=1},{P/w=1}