....going to http://www.pricegrabber.com or http://www.pricerunner.com. Those sites have ratings of the vendors. Sure, there can be "shill" posts praising the vendors that were actually placed by the vendors themselves, and there can also be bogus complaints that were actually placed by the competition. Look out for patterns in the language, comments that sound more like advertising than a real person's experience, that kind of thing.
One very important thing with all online electronics vendors is to make sure they're offering you products intended for sale in the US. Often prices that seem unusually low are for products known as "gray market goods," which were intended for sale in other countries. Sometimes these products are perfectly fine and you can save some money, but other times there can be differences. Additionally, gray market goods would not be covered by a warranty.
I want to buy a 42 inch plasma and have seen the lower prices advertised on-line. Im sold, but i dont know how to tell if the company is reputable. I have looked at DTV city and Plasma Depot, but neither is mentioned in CNET's reviews. I have not been able to reach anyone by phone at DTV city, so its probably not a good choice. Also, I dont know if the reviews I read are by people within the company or actual customers. Any help, tricks, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is my first major onine purchase and dont want to get ripped off.
Thank you,
Steve

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