Tell me about buying a TV online

[dalej42]

I'm giving strong consideration to buying my next tv online, probably from Amazon.

Anyone done this? I'm looking between for something around 42-50 inches.

How does delivery work? Does it just get delivered like I order a book from Amazon? If so, that wouldn't work since there is no way I can carry it myself from our apartment's package delivery area all the way to the freight elevator and then from the elevator into my apartment.

[Dewey Finn]

I did this several years ago. At the time (and perhaps now), Amazon included "white-glove" delivery with the purchase of these things. Two guys delivered it on a truck and brought it into my apartment, unboxed it and set it up on my TV table. The price was several hundred less than Best Buy for the same model TV.

[jacobsta811]

Depends on the size and weight. If they can, they'll ship it UPS or FedEx (most 42" and smaller probably go this way). That would go through however normal packages are in your building. Just get a neighbor to help carry it or something, an LCD, and especially and LED-LCD, won't actually be *that* heavy in a 42" or even a larger one.
If it is too heavy it goes freight - that can include the "white glove" they unbox it for you, but it doesn't have to - it should say on the page with the TV.

[ftg]

Some things to check:

Reviews, of course. But it need to be on the list. Pay attention in particular to the most negative reviews. Some can be filtered out due to bad buying choice or such. But if several people say the sound is crappy or that it died within 6 months, move on. (And never buy the cheapo brands. Colby and all that.) If there aren't many reviews for a model since it's new, check on reviews for similar models by the same maker.

The specs. Find and download the product manuals. Make sure it has the connections, features, etc. you want. Be completely informed.

Make a decision on your ethics of going to a store and look at the models and then buying online. Don't want to start a debate, but be aware this is a decision you want to be comfortable living with.

I've bought one from Amazon. Smaller one, but it went okay. I know others who've done it. Lot's of people do. A small fraction have a problem with delivery or some such. Life is full of small risks.

Amazon is quite good at taking care of problem returns for an item of this scale.

[Quimby]

I bought my 60" Sharp via Amazon and it was a good experience. In my case it was not delivered by Fed Ex or UPS but rather a local company that (according to the guys that brought it) only delivered TVs. They also delivered the stand I bought along with it. It was a while ago so I don't remember all the specifics but I remember it going much much smoother than I feared it would since I kind of ordered the TV on an impulse.

[Fear Itself]

I bought my 42" TV from Sam's Club online, because it wouldn't fit in my car. It was delivered by FedEx and was in perfect condition.

[Belowjob2.0]

I bought a 42 inch Vizio a couple of years ago from Dell. High def, beautiful picture, great sound. I use it as a computer monitor.

Pilot freight was the delivery company, and they were supposed to bring it to my complex rental office where they receive packages. They claimed that they attempted delivery, but no one was in the rental office. After a couple of days of this, I called up Pilot's warehouse, drove down and picked it up from the loading dock myself.

As for carrying it to your apartment, you may be able to buy or rent a furniture dolly.

Home Depot and Uhaul also rent hand trucks. Might work better than a dolly. YMMV.

[Farmer Jane]

Amazon. That's what I did. If it's freight, they'll carry it up. If not, you should be able to with a friend. And it should have those plastic things on the box, too, to help grip/slide on the floor.

Amazon will also offer 30 day returns for most of their electronics.

[dalej42]

Here is the set I'm looking at.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

Originally Posted by Dewey Finn

I did this several years ago. At the time (and perhaps now), Amazon included "white-glove" delivery with the purchase of these things. Two guys delivered it on a truck and brought it into my apartment, unboxed it and set it up on my TV table. The price was several hundred less than Best Buy for the same model TV.

This was exactly my experience as well. Everything went perfectly.

One additional piece of advice: check the Amazon listing every day for a few weeks. The prices tend to fluctuate. One day it was down about a hundred dollars for some reason. That's the day I bought it.

[Dewey Finn]

When I bought mine, the price dropped by over a hundred dollars after I placed the order but before it was delivered. So I called Amazon. It wasn't automatic, but I was able to get the new price for my order.

[benbo1]

I've had good experiences with ABTonline.com. I think they're in Illinois. Both tvs came in original packaging, delivered fast, worked fine, no problems.

[benbo1]

Originally Posted by benbo1

I've had good experiences with ABTonline.com. I think they're in Illinois. Both tvs came in original packaging, delivered fast, worked fine, no problems.

It's 'abt.com' instead of what I wrote above

[Kiros]

I bought my last TV (a 47" LG) from Newegg a couple of years back, and had no issues with the experience. I'm extremely likely to use either Newegg or Amazon again in a few years when I get my next TV. I'd be willing to pay a little bit more to get it at a Best Buy or other in-person location, but the difference tends to be more in the $300+ range, so... *shrugs*

[Munch]

Originally Posted by dalej42

Here is the set I'm looking at.

Make sure you go through and read the entire thread on that set over on AVSForum. That's a far more important step than reading reviews on Amazon.

[Curiosity Kills Her]

Definitely second AVSForum, and I'll up the ante by telling you to make Monoprice your new favorite cord, cable and accessory store.

I got my 61" Samsung from Crutchfield ... 4 years ago, maybe? It was shipped freight, and they also delivered the stand I'd ordered. They brought the tv in, unboxed it and took the box. I had to call someone over to help lift the television onto the stand once I got it put together. I was very satisfied with the experience.

[AngelSoft]

You know, if you don't mind waiting a few months, hit up Amazon for their black friday sales. Last year there were a lot of great tvs like 50% off.

[amaguri]

I bought a 42" plasma from Amazon. A delivery guy brought it in, unboxed it, plugged it in and had me check to make sure everything was in good shape and fully operational, then I signed some papers and that was that. Totally painless!

[Munch]

Originally Posted by AngelSoft

You know, if you don't mind waiting a few months, hit up Amazon for their black friday sales. Last year there were a lot of great tvs like 50% off.

Yup - if you're looking for a deal and can wait, you'll get far more television for your $700 if you wait for Black Friday (or Cyber Monday, or whatever).

[sachertorte]

We bought a 50" from Amazon several years ago. Delivery was fine and they brought it up the stairs to the room we wanted it in.

Even better was Amazon credited us when the price dropped a few days later. (Had to call them or something, I don't remember.)

They even credited us a second time when the price dropped AGAIN a few days after that. Obviously, there is a limit to the price drop guarantee (if they even have that anymore). But I'm certainly not complaining.

[Quimby]

Originally Posted by Kiros

I'd be willing to pay a little bit more to get it at a Best Buy or other in-person location, but the difference tends to be more in the $300+ range, so... *shrugs*

When I bought mine, there was literally a $900 difference between Amazon and Best Buy. It was a no brainer.

[jacobsta811]

As far as actual experiences buying, I've had 5 HDTV experiences online.
1) From geeks.com, I bought a refurbished 37" LCD Vizio tv. Shipped UPS, arrived at my front door fine, worked great. I sold it 5 years later to get a larger TV with more HDMI inputs.
2) From ecost.com, I ordered a refurbished 47" Westinghouse TV. Shipped UPS. Arrived broken, but not UPS's fault - idiots at factory actually repackaged the TV upside down, leaving all the packing materials at the top (ie foam blocks), and the top of the TV screen itself sitting against the bottom of the box
3) From ecost.com, I did an exchange of #2. TV arrived UPS and worked fine (packaged correctly). TV itself was crap though - bad speakers, crappy color & brightness.
4) From newegg.com, I ordered a 42" TCL LCD tv. Shipped UPS. TV never arrived at all - tracking data showed it was "damaged in shipping" and was sent back to the retailer before I ever saw it. Got a full refund, but had to wait until the TV actually got back to newegg and they processed it.
5) From walmart.com, I got a 42" Refurbished Vizio HDTV. Shipped it site-to-store. TV arrived at the store and works great, but Walmart just left the TV on a pallet in the Layaway area where anybody could have walked off with it.

[Munch]

Originally Posted by jacobsta811

2) From ecost.com, I ordered a refurbished 47" Westinghouse TV. Shipped UPS. Arrived broken, but not UPS's fault - idiots at factory actually repackaged the TV upside down, leaving all the packing materials at the top (ie foam blocks), and the top of the TV screen itself sitting against the bottom of the box
3) From ecost.com, I did an exchange of #2. TV arrived UPS and worked fine (packaged correctly). TV itself was crap though - bad speakers, crappy color & brightness.

Can you tell us more about this? This has always been my concern - having to return it. I've read enough AVSForums to know that returns are really common and not a nightmare, but I never see the details.

(FYI: I think I got that same Westinghouse from ecost.com. Lasted about 2.5 years before the color and blindness went to complete shit. That's about what I expected though - the reviews for it said it was a risk.)

[jacobsta811]

From ecost.com, I had to call them up and get a return UPS label emailed to me. Gave them my CC# again so they would cross ship me a new TV before the old one got back (and because the website showed the TV out of stock - they had to manually create the order). Note that ecost didn't offer/allow refunds - only replacement.
Put the UPS shipping label back on and drove the TV to the nearest UPS store. New TV arrived and worked fine, old TV arrived back at Ecost and they removed the second charge from my CC#.