Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Buying a Plasma online

May 16, 2005 12:19PM PDT

I am all but ready to pull the trigger on a new Panasonic plasma and want to get some advice/experience about using some of the online stores to buy the plasma. What is your opinion on DTVcity or PlasmaDepot? They both offer warranties from Warrentech and other reputable firms and are considered licensed retailers by the major manufacturers. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Buying a plasma online
Aug 19, 2005 11:45AM PDT

Hi
I just purchased a plasma tv from DTVcity they were
very good to deal with i purchased a Sony KDE-50XS955
the price was $1500.00 less than any store not online
they were not the cheapest online but they have the
best service delivery was excellent and if their is any damage during shipping they will send out a new
unit immediatelly and also they had the best price for a 5YR warranty

good luck

- Collapse -
Bestbuyplasma
Aug 21, 2005 10:06AM PDT

I got my Panasonic 7UY from Best Buy Plasma, they had a great price plus a no interest credit option. No problems, everything went smoothly.

- Collapse -
Watch Who You Deal With....
Aug 26, 2005 4:26PM PDT

...I originally started to order from Bestpricecamera.com. They are a complete rip-off outfit. The way they work is to advertise an absurdly low price on every unit and then charge you for things that come with the TV, like a pedestal, etc. They are total crooks.

On a very positive note, however, I ordered my Sony KDE-42XS955 from Vanns.com and they were a complete pleasure to deal with. The unit arrived in pefect condition 5 days after I ordered it and I got e-mail confirmations of each stage of the delivery. Totally delightful folks. Knowledgeable and easy to deal with. Most important of all, reputable and honorable! Doesn't hurt that they are an authorized Sony dealer either.

Highly recommended!

- Collapse -
You are all taking a chance!!!!!!!!!
Aug 27, 2005 11:28AM PDT

When you deal with these "fly by night" companies there is no guarantee that they will be around when something happens. Do yourself a favor and find a small company to deal with locally.

- Collapse -
Not In All Cases.....
Aug 27, 2005 1:28PM PDT

...Vanns.com has been around since 1961 and is located in Montana where, it seems civility and honor are in a bit more abundance than in those horrible internet places in NYC and Brooklyn (and I live in NYC, so I guess I can say that...lol).

And, as I said, they are an "authorized Sony dealership." All I can say is that I never had better service or follow through from anyone, anywhere on any purchase I've ever made. I saw no reason to spend upwards of $4,500 (plus tax and shipping) for a unit that I could get from Vanns for $3,499 (no tax, no shipping!).

I guess we all have to do what we feel comfortable with. As they say "YMMV."

- Collapse -
I second Vanns
Aug 29, 2005 8:55AM PDT

Vanns.com is one of the best (if not the best) internet retailer for electronics. I've never seen anyone post a complaint of any serious merit about them. They may not be the cheapest but they'll be close and you can rest easy knowing your money is in good hands.

Bear in mind that returns are never easy (if at all possible) on purchases like TV sets with any net retailer, so be sure you're buying what you really want!

- Collapse -
DO NOT BUY from BUTTERFLYPHOTO.com
Aug 29, 2005 7:30AM PDT

They are Horrible! we ordered a philips Plasma from them in August 2005. 1) they called us, I thought to thank us and then tried to sell us MORE Things! 2) they completly lied about shipping. It was supposed to be here last week - never came. We have been emailing and calling (they promised it would be here wednesday) I called today (monday) to get the fedex tracking number and the guy said 'he didn't know when we would get it (the tracking number) or the TV' and said that was all he could tell me. I said that they have $2500 of ours and we would like to know and they said 'too bad'...so rude and horrible!!!!!

- Collapse -
NEVFER....EVER Buy From Online Places Located In Brooklyn...
Aug 29, 2005 8:04AM PDT

...They are all rip-offs. Most have fake addresses and sell refrbished merchandise. They are the epitome of garbage. The people who work there are all Russian mafia crooks.

I trust you told the guy you were canceling the order and that you'd call the Brooklyn DA's office if they even thought of charging your credit card!!!

Next, call your credit card company and be sure to tell them that you refuse to authorize any charges from that company. If they've already charged your credit card, call them back, tape the phone call (that's legal in NY without informing the other person) and after the person has assured you that the charge will be reversed, get his name, employee ID number (if he has one) and then inform him that you have taped this call and that if the charge is not reversed in 48 hours you'll proceed with a criminal complaint.

- Collapse -
Reply to buying in Brooklyn
Sep 21, 2005 5:47AM PDT

I second your opinion. I found great prices for the Panny Th-42PHD7UY so I took the chance and ordered. The first place indicated that the unit was on backorder so it would be delivered in a week. After a week, no plasma. I called and they said it's still backordered so I just cancelled the order. The second indicated that it was in stock on-line so I took another chance. Got an email cancelling my order because it was on backorder. So I figured 3 is the charm and ordered from another vendor which sounded good when I called for order confirmation who indicated that I'll get delivery status via email within one business day. Waiting 3 days and nothing. Emailed them..no response. Called and they said it's in the process and that I should have info any day. Waited another 2 days and nothing so I go so fed up I called to cancel which they informed me they can't since it's already been shipped. I said I haven't heard or seen any status. Long of the story I finally did get the monitor in great condition but I will never go through that again. Be sure to go to the Better Business website and see if there are any complaints filed for the company you are considering. I did this after the fact and found several complaints as well noticed that this company does business under 5 different names on-line. Crazy so do your research!

- Collapse -
Addendum, In Addition To NEVER Getting Near Any Place ...
Sep 21, 2005 6:27AM PDT

...In Brooklyn, NEVER, NEVER, EVER deal with any place that does not list an honest to god physical address in a known shopping area.

You'll be very sorry if you do.

- Collapse -
Avoid Brooklyn like the plague
Oct 16, 2005 7:40AM PDT

I third that opinion. I had a nightmare experience with PCandPlasma.com, but fortunately came out without having to contest any credit card charges or take legal action. Incidentally, they are related to a firm known as Five Stars Electronics, which has a less-than-stellar reputation.

I didn't buy from them, but PC Connection appears to have a solid reputation. The one I *did* end up with is Vector Computer, which is local to me in Southern California. They actually had the unit I wanted in stock at an unbelievable price, so I jumped on the opportunity. There was no problem with gray-market, open-box, or stripped merchandise, and I was able to inspect the unit and take it right home (no shipping worries). BTW, their website is plasmatv4less.com.

One effort which yielded good results was checking the Panasonic website for local resellers. I had thought these outfits would be too pricey, but I started calling them after the online fiasco and was pleasantly surprised with the prices and information they presented. One tip about the search utility - it appears to be limited to a 15-mile radius around the given zip code, so try several somewhat distant ones in your area for more hits.

- Collapse -
Samsung HL-R5087W online buy
Sep 21, 2005 10:16PM PDT

does anybody know, where i should buy the Samsung HL-R5087W???

which online store is good, which one got the cheapest price.....i found all those stores, but which one should i choose? i don't want anything used or refurbished! i wanna buy with confident.

thanks for help

- Collapse -
Try Vanns.com....
Sep 22, 2005 12:10AM PDT

....They are totally reputable and reliable.