What are the risks of buying a refurbished LCD from sharp? Are the returns primarily software and defective parts or would I be guaranteed a sceen with just enough defective pixels to be under their replacement coverage? The difference is like $500 or 15-20% so we aren't talking about nickels!
I think you have a little misconception about refurbished products. see, usually a refurbished product was bought by someone, but then returned within the 30-day thing or whatever. although they may have returned it, its usually for absurb reasons. these ive seen as the most common reasons: tv was to large or small, tv was edtv instead of hdtv or vice versa, there is a scratch on the back of the set, and the most common reason...the buyer found another product he was more satisfied with. so, in my humble opinion, i think refurbished products are the way to go, although just make sure you're buying from a good site. (also keep in mind there is a difference between refurbished and "open box")