Thread: I Finally Pulled The Trigger For An HD TV

I got it at HHGregg. They wanted $1241 but I negotiated down to $1169. It was on sale to begin with. It is set up and looks great.

Thanks for everyones advice through this procedure.

I did NOT get the warranty. ($279 for 3 years / $379 for 4 years - )



The factory warranty is 1 year parts and labor.


Amazon.com: Panasonic VIERA TC-P50G25 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RvFAGdBIL.@@AMEPARAM@@51RvFAGdBIL

Link fixed.

Does everyone agree on not taking the in-store warranty?

Not worth it... if the set last 3 years you made out find and will probably want the latest technology TV anyways.

I think its a matter of personal preference. I have a 4 year old DLP HD set that I never took the warranty out on and its still going good. I think branding could play into it too. I bought a very cheap hd set from walmart (sanoyo) and that TV didnt last more than 5 years before it busted. I think you'll be safe with a panny as long as your not constantly moving the tv around and it sits in one spot like mine does.

Square Deal and other warranty companies sell direct to consumer. If you check over at slick deals you can see what's cheap warranty wise. I bought a warranty for our JVC HD-ILA RPTV that had unlimited lamp replacements, didn't go extended warranty for my Panny plasma though.

Here is a link for no middle man extended warranty...


Square Trade Warranty 30% off Today (3/16/10) Only - SlickDeals.net Forums

Originally Posted by Digital Dude

Square Deal and other warranty companies sell direct to consumer. If you check over at slick deals you can see what's cheap warranty wise. I bought a warranty for our JVC HD-ILA RPTV that had unlimited lamp replacements, didn't go extended warranty for my Panny plasma though.

Here is a link for no middle man extended warranty...


Square Trade Warranty 30% off Today (3/16/10) Only - SlickDeals.net Forums

Wow! SquareTrade.com can give me the 3 year for $139 after the promo code (PICKEM) where HHGregg wanted $279. That seems slightly tempting now. Thanks for posting that.

Extenmded warranties are nothing more than revenue generators for electronics stores. The rise in extended warranty sales came about when competition in electronics stores ramped up to the point where there was nearly no profit in selling the product itself. Electronics stores had to find a way to make extra money. For a while a salesman's job depended on selling a certain percentage of warranty vs the merchandise sales. I know. I was there during the transition.

When I used to work in electronics sales, I was paid 17% commission on extended warranties. If I broke a certain plateau, that number jumped up to 21%! The other 79% was nearly all profit for the company. I think only 5% was set aside as the liability.

I was a pretty good sales person and could easily make my quota, but I felt like a theif or a swindler.

Warranties aren't always a bad deal, but for TVs, they should never be more than about $40-$60 for 3 additional years. At the very most they should cost no more than the going rate of a home service call. Best Buy used to do this through a third party in the 90s. $40 for TVs 28" and larger. $30 for TVs 27" and smaller. That's gone now because there wasn't enough profit!

It is a better idea, if you think of buying the warranty that costs 10-20% the price of the actual item to take that money, go to the nearest casino and bet it all on red. Your odds are better that you will come out ahead.

See ya
Tony

I disagree about the blanket, categorical nature of some of the assertions. I do agree that it doesn't make sense to get an extended warranty on a LCD, LED or plasma HDTV, especially these days. Early on, assuming burn-in would have been covered, then there is something to be said for having taken the extended warranty on the very first set of mainstream plasmas. And even today, I think you're playing with fire if you don't get an extended warranty on a RP DLP. Even if I had never used mine, the $150 I paid for it would have been worth it. As it is, it saved me at least that much with respect to the light-tunnel collapse.

Again, my objection is to the categorical assertions that include significant portions of what's offered, wherein extended warranties do make sense. There is a big difference between what is essentially a fully solid-state device and a device with lots of moving parts and other aspects that not only make failure more of a concern, but make repair (as opposed to junking it) a more viable approach to resolution.