I recently purchased a Toshiba 52HM84 at a very attractive price from a major online/catalog electronics and computer retailer who, unfortunately, does not honor refunds, exchanges, or replacements for this product (and many others) if things aren't right.
The TV didn't work properly right out of the box. It took a month and 3 attempts by the Service Center to get the dang thing up and running; the $300 I "saved" thru this purchase was more than offset by the $400 in lost wages to deal with the hassle, plus all the aggravation and frustration.
From this day forward, I will only purchase computer and electronic gear from legitimate retailers who stand behind their products. It's worth the extra bucks.
Hi Steve.. Who did you purchase this from? I just did something similar, and will be receiving it on Friday...hopefully no probs.
Anonymous
Posted on
Sorry you got burned, Steve. It doesn't happen to most people, but since it happened to you it's easy to see why you feel the way you do.
Some brick and morter retailers will protect their storefront reputations for 30 days. After that you're on your own with the factory warranty just like you are with an online purchase from day 1 when the merchandise arrives.
Although the tax savings are offset by the shipping fee, countless people are still saving 20 to 35 percent when purchasing from online warehouses. It's just a fact.
I bought it from MacMall (6/3/05) for $1799, not the cheapest price from an online retailer, but pretty good. I've bought perhaps $10K worth of computer gear from them over the years, with no problems, so figured they'd be a good outlet for this purchase. I paid a premium for shipping ($291) thru an alledgedly "expert" shipper of delicate electronic gear. The delivered item appeared to externally be in good condition, but I have no way of knowing whether the TV got dropped, bonked, or proinked while it was on the pallet.
The really interesting thing is this: The current price of this identical TV thru MacMall is today $2500; so I have to ask, "just what did I really buy?" MacMall insists I bought a brand-new, fresh-in-the-box, never used or abused unit, but I wonder.
To Anonymous:
The fact of the matter is this: Purchasing this stuff thru online "warehouses" ( I understand many of these dealers are nothing more than a room in an apartment) is basically gambling. I agree that most of the time, these purchases will probably work out OK. But if they don't, the nightmare begins.
Far as I'm concerned, I'm now more than willing to pay extra for the "insurance policy premium" at a BB, CC, Costco, Sears, etc to minimize the hassle. Those of you who want to roll the dice and see what comes up are more than welcome to. But do your homework, study the thing first.