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Where To Buy Your Plasma or
LCD TV.
The best place to buy your plasma or LCD TV
really depends on you. If you search the various on-line stores you can
certainly beat the high street price by quite a bit. If you look
somewhere like Ebay you can sometimes cut a bit more off of that.
If you were buying something that is £50 in the shops,
£40 in web stores and £30 on Ebay
you could perhaps
justify the risk as being worth it for the gain. But if the TV your
after is £1000 and Ebay sellers have it for £800
then of course you have to consider what to most people is an enormous
risk. Personally for items such as this I would steer well clear of the
likes of Ebay unless you know the seller and trust them completely. And
please, please, please do NOT rely on PayPal
Seller Protection!
One method that has worked for me on several occasions is to visit the
major brands on-line, who also have a high street presence. Find the
best price for the TV you want then ring the store and ask if they will
match it. They often do! And then often knock some more off if you take
the extended
warranty. Nice.
 Recently
I purchased a Samsung from Currys. The price was
£999 + £200 for the appropriate
stand. They had an
on-line price of £799. I rang the store and told them that I
was after a Plasma TV
but that I was worried about it going
wrong and
wondered and hoped that they did an extended warranty for my peace of
mind(grin). The sales person was salivating by now at the prospect of
an extended warranty sale and a pat on the back from his manager. I
then popped the question about matching the on-line price. After
checking with the manager he came back and said it would be no problem
at all.
Remember that at this stage I have not said I will be buying the
extended warranty, merely I have expressed a strong interest. Off I go
to the store and note they have got an 'in store only' offer for a half
price stand when purchased with a £999 or more TV. So I
thought I would be cheeky and ask, because it was a £999 TV
although admittedly I was only paying £799. No problem came
the reply. So to summarise I know have the on-line price
(£200 less), the in store only offer on the stand
(£100 saving). I said to the sales person that I really
appreciated his help and time and that I was ready to buy it all from
him.
He then said, “and of course you want the extended warranty
as well?”. I said I would love the extended warranty because
he explained all the benefits so clearly that I would be a fool not to
take it. Unfortunately I think I have already spent too much and would
just like the TV and stand. Off he trotted to see the manager and comes
back with (are you ready for this) a £50 discount off of the
TV if I take the extended warranty (about £279 if I remember
correctly). And I would be able to pay for the extended warranty,
interest free at £6.99 a month.
I put my hand on my
chin as if deep in
thought and said well perhaps if
I could have a year interest free on the TV instead of 6 months I could
stretch to it? Off he went and came back with a, “no problem
sir. Shall I do the paper work?” I replied,
“Definitely you have been most helpful. I shall be writing to
your manager to tell him so as well.” And in case you are
wondering I did.
So just a little bit of thought and planning and I have got
£350 off the store price, equivalent to £150 off
the internet price, a sales person to ring if I get stuck and the
backing of a major high street retailer. And in case you think I am a
“big meanie” let me point out that the sales person
was chuffed to bits with the sale. He even phoned me after delivery to
check I was happy with it. Currys is a big company and who really cares
about them. I am sure that on the same day they sold hundreds of TVs
without any discount.
And in case you are wondering I have had the repairman out twice in 6
months. I think the moral is to shop around, do your research, make a
plan and buy were you are most comfortable.
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