Tiger Direct.ca PT500U in Canada @ fair price! Canadian Tiger experiences? (1 Viewer)

[Chris PC]

Just wondering a couple of things.

Does anyone have experience with Tiger Direct.ca in general? What about their warranty coverage? Extended warranty?

What exactly are Tiger Direct doing anyways? They are a company that operates in both the US and Canada. They sell US projectors in Canada. Does that mean that I have to send my Panasonic PT500U back to the US for service? Or do I send it to Tiger Direct.ca? Doubtfull that Panasonic Canada covers the warranty. What about the extended warranty coverages Tiger Direct offer? Any good?

I will call Tiger Direct.ca tomorrow and see what I can learn, but in the meantime, does anyone have any personal feedback? And also, has anybody bought an extended warranty from Tiger Direct.ca?

My decisions are based on the fact that I'm hoping to one day upgrade my Panny L200 projector to one of either:

1) Hitachi PJ-TX100 if its available to Canadians in Canada in one way or another for a competitive Canadian $ price vs the Sanyo Z2 or Panny 500. This projector supposedly has very good contrast and optics, better CR than Z2 or PT500. Again, "supposedly". These are from reports from people in Japan and Europe, UK. The Hitachi PJ-TX100 is out in Japan tomorrow, Tuesday June 8th, same day as the North American SCTV DVD release, no relation, just coincidence . The Hitachi 100 is slated to arrive in Canada and the US hopefully within the next one or two months. It is already selling in Europe and the UK for prices (in USD) comparable to what the Z2 and Panny 500 sell for in the US. So far its anyone's guess as to "exactly" what the Hitachi will sell for within Canada and the US....if its priced higher than the Z2 and 500 then I may pass on it regardless of its improvements.

2) Sanyo Z2. Available in Canada with 3 year Canadian warranty. No peak-a-boo scanlines.

3) Panasonic PT500U. Available in Canada through Tiger Direct.ca. Possibly longer bulb life than Sanyo Z2.

The Panasonic has been the last on my list only because it hasn't been readily available in Canada. If I can buy the 500 from Tiger Direct and for all intents and purposes be buying it from within Canada, so that I have Canadian warranty coverage, or at least that Tiger Direct looks after warranty coverage in the US for me (shipping back and forth etc) then its an option again.

thanx in advance for any info,

 

[Kirk Patrick]

i bought an external usb drive from them and had a very good experience including a follow-up call a couple of weeks after the purchase to see if i was happy and to give me the name of my personal account rep

i knew them from when i lived in the states...they have been somewhere between a component supplier (motherboards, memory, drives) and a seller of refurbed and closed out stuff

they have some good prices and some good stuff

as i say, the usb drive buying experience was excellent all the way...in fact i was kind of surprised since they are a canadian company, that they were so customer oriented

i hope it was'nt a one-week burst of enthusiasm after a hot sales pep talk!

for myself, i would probably give them a try, but definitely read every word of their sales terms regarding warranty and returns etc

 

[brentl]

Lots of Grey market stuff, with questionable warranties. Beware of the many rebates, and confirm if thay are legit.

Looked at buying my PB6100 from them until I got a better price through my sister. Benq is one of few MFGers that warranty both countries as the same!

B

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Very reputable. I've bought many, many items from them over the last year. For most things, the warranty is for the US (Gray market) and not Canada. So buy their extended warranty as that is for Canada. During the first year, you have to ship the unit to the US for repair. You are still well ahead of the game even with the additional warranty costs.

Regards

 

[Chris PC]

Hmmm...and its not on their website a week and already it goes from $2697 to $2839 CDN...lol...yeah, just teasing me. No surprise, Tiger Direct has done that to the L300 several times and I'm not talking about NEW vs OPEN BOX. Oh well, there's always the Z2 with 3 year Canuck warranty.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Their prices fluctuate with the currency ...

Regards

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I've purchased several items from them with excellent results. I might lean towards the Z2 though just to be sure and its one I've seen in person (I also own the 1HD). Try www.avdeals.ca and see what they can do as far as price matching etc.

 

[NickSo]

Though not from my own experience, TigerDirect.ca seems to be used by many without problems...

Tigerdirect.com on the other hand, has had a reputation for being a very shady retailer.

 

[Kirk Patrick]

nickso said:



i agree with nickso, when i lived in the states they were definitely somewhat shady with all kinds of dancing merchandise which is why i was so surprised when the deal up here turned out so well

i would definitely advise that all the fine print be read before making any substantial purchase

but they are worth a look, i have been eyeing their laptops and would definitely consider buying from them

 

[Chris PC]

Yeah, I understand currency fluctuates, but I checked the dollar over the last few weeks and it didn't match the price difference. Anyways...its not the end of the world, just not on par with the Z2. If that 3 year Canadian warranty covered the bulb for part of it, like one year or at the very least, 1000 or 1500 hours, then maybe it'd be an obvious choice. I wonder if the price of the PT500 and Z2 may drop some over the next little while as we approach "new model" season.

 

[Marc H]

I had to match their price on a plasma today. Good price. Pioneer Canada told me that they would definitely NOT honour any warranties implied by TigerDirect.Ca. They are not an authorized dealer. I don't know about Panasonic Canada though.

 

[Iver]

I was wondering about that also. If the price was based on the value of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar, it would go down, not increase 5%.

I don't follow the exchange rate closely, but the recent trend has been for the Canadian dollar to strengthen against U.S. $

 

[Larry Hoffman]

Keep in mind that shipping is free to much, if not all, of Canada. Also, if you are interested in the Z2, it can be ordered from Canadian distribution. You would then have a Canadian warranty. The NEC products can also be sourced locally. Just call in and discuss this with a rep rather than ordering through the web. Not all projector manufacturers sell through distributors that Tiger can source from though, so. for example, Tiger cannot get the Infocus home theater projectors, just the presentation ones.
Tiger can source many products from Canadian sources that are not advertised on the web site.

*I am a TigerDirect.ca corporate rep. I am being very careful not to post any postitive or negative opinions about TigerDirect since I'm sure it would be frowned upon for me to do so. I just thought that you all might find this information informative.

Larry

 

[Chris PC]

Can TigerDirect.ca get Hitachi projectors like the PJ-TX100?

 

[Larry Hoffman]

Hi Chris,

I'll check for you tomorrow and see if any of our suppliers carry that model. We can get Hitachi projectors though, so it is a good possibility.

Larry.

 

[Chris PC]

Thats cool. It'll take a while to find out about. Only just recently has the street price in Canada been elluded to, and the US street price isn't out there yet. Its not out in Canada and the US yet. Its available from Japan as of June 15th, and also, it is possible to get the unit from Europe or the UK.

 

[Larry Hoffman]

I'll see what my supplier says. I'll let you know if there is a ETA for it's availability in Canada.

Larry

 

[Marc H]

I checked with Panasonic Canada and they won't honour the warranty on the L500. Sorry.

 

[Larry Hoffman]

No they won't. The Panasonic is U.S. For warranty you would have to call Panasonic in the States. Keep in mind though, that it is also quite a bit cheaper than if you bought it locally. You have a choice, pay more for it or take the chance of having to ship it to the U.S. for repair during the first year. Remember that if it arrives damaged, TigerDirect.ca will take it back and either ship a replacement or just credit your account.

Tiger does not deal with distributors that handle this product in Canada, so we wouldn't be able to source it locally. We can get the Sanyo Z2 though.

Chris, I asked about the Hitachi PJ-TX100. It seems it will be quite awhile till it is available here. Hitachi hasn't mentioned this model to it's distributors here as yet.

Larry

 

[Chris PC]

Thought so. It'll be a while. Thanx for the info.