Is it better to buy online? (1 Viewer)

[Marc Alexander]

I bought from OneCall, and my set died prematurely. OneCall is the best online retailer in my opinion, but they were able to offer me no help with my set (I even bought their extended service). They won't take it back even if you payed for shipping. You are forced to deal with the manufacturer from the time you accept delivery.

From OneCall's return policy

Any goods (except DSS and Televisions*) which prove to be defective within fifteen days of delivery may be credited or exchanged for a replacement of the same model.

*DSS and Televisions (mail order or retail) are always repaired directly through the manufacturer depending on that manufacturers policies.

I strongly recommend buying locally, or online from a B&M that you can return the set to the store if you are unhappy for any reason.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I have returned rptvs on 2 separate occasions--with Good Guys in 98 and Circuit City in 2001.

CC did want to know if the set was defective or not. This was not a condition of the return but just so they would know whether the set needed repair before they could sell it again.

In the case of the first set, the tv was not defective but just didn't have acceptable picture quality with the lousy cable system I had at the time.

The second set did have a grayscale issue but I also was very unhappy with some aspects of it's performance that could not be called outright defects.

Given the chances of shipping damage or just being unlucky enough to get a defective set, along with the spotty quality of local factory authorized warranty repair facilities it is worth a bit more to me to have the option of returning the set within 30 days.

In both cases I was treated very nicely when arranging the returns, the store sent out a truck to pick up the set and delivered the exchange set at the same time. With CC the new set (which was not in stock at the time I arranged the exchange) arrived a week earlier than expected.

Providing this kind of service costs the local dealer money, so I don't mind paying a bit more than online prices.

If I'd bought either set online, I'd have been stuck with an over $2000 source of constant irritation and frustration. Instead I paid a hundred or two more and had the peace of mind of knowing I wasn't stuck with a large investment that I wasn't happy with.

 

[MichaelFusick]

I can;t count the number of RPTV's I have had returned on me, that in the end where swapped out for somthing else because it was, too big, too small, poor out of box quality, Lemons, defective in some small way, or jsut outright not what the customer expected.

Buying from a place that cares if your happy is worth the extra money spent. And, since almost all places price match, there's really no good reason not to buy from and authorized B&M dealer locally.

When your not happy with an online purchase what do you do? With the costs envolved with these sets, wouldn't you want a back up plan in the event all is not perfect or as expected?