Getting The Best HDTV Price
Greg Tarr,
May 29, 2008
5 min read
Readers often ask how to obtain the best price on a new HDTV. The HD Guru shares his retail secrets here based on his vast national and regional consumer electronics management experience.
Among the differing types of stores that sell consumer electronics are 1) those that have posted fixed shelf prices, don’t offer price matching policies and pay employees salaries as opposed to commissions (i.e.: Wal-Mart and various “warehouse”clubs) 2) those that match competitors’ prices (with various restrictions), have salaried sales people and generally have posted fixed shelf prices (Best Buy , for example) and 3) those that have commissioned sales people and a “negotiable” sales floor.
The third group tends to be local and regional chains. They are your best bet to get the hottest deal. (If you don’t know how the salespeople are paid, call and ask; the store personnel will tell you. Most commissioned sales floors are negotiable.)
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First, do your homework. Decide how much you want to spend, what size screen you want within your budget and the display technology you’d prefer (LCD, LED, plasma, DLP rear projector). The HD Guru’s seating distance chart http://hdgurucom.wpengine.com/?p=6 can help you pick the optimum screen size. Research on-line reviews to help you narrow your choices.
Next, take a look at the set(s) in person. Pick stores in the first and second group, avoiding the “commissioned sales” retailers, for reasons that will be explained later. Also, check the Best Buy and Circuit City prices for that week.
Finally, do some on-line price checking. The Pricegrabber ads on the right side of the HD Guru’s web page are a good place to start. Other shopping sites include Amazon. Com, and Frys.com. In order to calculate total delivered price, check shipping costs and determine if local sales tax applies.
Once you’ve determined the make and model set you want and have the best on-line prices, it’s time to get the best deal from your local store.
When the commissioned salesperson at your local store approaches, deliver the following: “I have already decided the make and model of the HDTV I want to purchase. I am now shopping for the best price. I want a (your brand here), model (your model number here). You have it tagged at $$$, I can get it for $$$. Can you beat the price?”
This makes the commissioned salesperson’s job really easy. While the commission decreases as the price drops, he or she has invested zero time in the transaction, which makes it a “found sale” requiring only a lower price than the one you’ve quoted. Compare that with having to spend an hour or more with a “just looking” customer and you’ll understand why the salesperson will be willing to see your bid and lower it.
You may be asked the source of your retail price, which you should divulge. It’s a good idea to have a backup price and retailer in the event the salesperson claims your first retailer is not an authorized dealer (Frys.com, jandr.com and national retailers Best Buy and CircuitCity.com are all authorized dealers for the brands they sell).
If the salesperson beats the price, you have several options depending upon what your time is worth: You may make the deal, content that at the moment you have the cheapest price, or you may want to shop another store, or another branch of the same chain, since many “negotiating floor” chains have a policy that requires sales people to beat the price of another store in the same chain, figuring the company would rather make the sale than let it go to another chain.
If you have the time and want to make the effort you can keep going until you reach the point where the other store will just match (or refuse) the best price you have on hand.
Often, when a store beats your best price and you respond by telling the salesperson that you want to keep shopping, the response might be, “What price do you need to buy the set right now?” Have that price in mind to close the deal, unless you really like shopping!
A few more tips
All salespeople try to recoup lost profits (and commissions) by offering add on services (delivery, installation, extended warranties) and accessories (i.e. expensive HDMI cables). Avoid the latter. If you want the store to deliver the set, determine the charge prior to negotiating price. Learn the store’s return policies and make sure you accept the terms before buying the set.
If a set with hidden damage is not returnable for an immediate replacement, insist that the one you buy is unpacked for your inspection and make sure it works before taking it home.
The HD Guru is not a big advocate of extended warranties, especially if they cost more that 10% of the price of the set. Keep in mind that many gold and/or platinum credit card providers (American Express, MasterCard, ) will double the manufacturer’s warranty for free (check terms and conditions with the respective credit card companies). Most top name brand HDTVs come with a one-year parts and labor factory warranty.
The HD GURU has written extensively about the futility of buying high priced HDMI cables. You can purchase a perfectly good one on-line for under $3 dollars, or get one at a discount store like Wal-mart for around $20.00. If you want to purchase one when you buy the set, it should be easy to negotiate the price since they all have huge margins.
Remember: in a “negotiating floor” consumer electronics store, you can bargain the price of any item, not just the HDTV!
Copyright ©2008 Gary Merson/HD Guru. All rights reserved. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.
85 Comments
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Moral of the story,
Be a smart shopper
Research at BM stores. Get those lazy salesperson to do the work for you
Review TVsat BM stores
Economy is not good. Get the lowest price possible
Shop online. Like amazon. They are more professional.
Buy online, get free shipping, get tax free.
Enjoy your TV.
I hate these sales persons. These guys have no clue on TVs but try to dump TVs for max profit. I always go to these stores to look at TVs, spend a lot of time with these dump salespersons and then buy online. That makes me soo happy. These dod heads are soo nice until you buy TVs and are soo rude once you buy it. I want every guy in US to do this same thing so that these dumb sales guys loose their job and do some real stuff. Come on guys, online is the way to go. Look at amazon. 2008 is online. Dump these BM stores and buy online
I love how even the guru himself thinks all salespeople try to tack on things just because we want to make extra money. Then again The Guru (and most of you) dont actually sell TV’s. He just makes a living writing about them. And he’s entitled to his opinion as we all are. However without people selling them, he’d have no need to write about them. So take it easy on us…we do on you.
No company loses profits on TV’s and stays in business long. They don’t need to recoup that much no matter how great of a deal you get. But after taking 100 or so calls in an actual store. About TV’s that are broken out of warranty, and hearing people complain about how expensive it’s going to be to fix it. You really start to see the value in warranties/service plans. Sure, not everyone is going to need them. But when you do, you’ll be glad you have it.
Also, I guess when we sell surround sound we’re just “tacking” things on. Or when we sell Blu-ray with a 1080p TV we’re “tacking” things on. Seriously?
This is why you go to a doctor when you have a heart attack…and not blindly searching for your answers on webmd.
–No offense directly to the Guru. But some of us offer those things to protect our customers and our own eardrums later.
Marco you missed the all important 4th customer type. Surprising that you missed it.
Type 4 – The customer who has read everything from everywhere. They’ve talked to “Sales Reps” at your big box stores. And have either become more confused, got bad advice, or are incapable of finding the right information. They believe everything in Wikipedia and everything told to them by a CC or BB “order taker”. Yet they think they know it all. They firmly believe Comcast delivers in full 1080p same as DirectTV. They think Bluray is something from the Empire Strikes Back and surround sound is nothing more then Quadrophonics at best.
Thats about 80% of the customers in the area I used to work.
Also I completely disagree with your first comment. I would not sell a “customer any product.” I’d sell them what they wanted and if they had to wait a week or two for it to come in then so be it. And I rarely sold anything at “retail” Generalizations like that are generally bad.
As far as warranties I’ve had many customers spend more on their systems then they did on their car. 50k was not unusual and I’ve seen some whole house systems cost as much as the house. I wouldnt sell warranties on the cheaper sets because cost wise it didn’t make sense for them. But when people are spending an avg of 5,000 a trip I dont think 10% of their cost for 5 years covering everything is a bad deal.
Ok, we live in America.
Sales Reps will sell you any product for the highest price they can, no matter how many other product artifacts are required to sell the initial product. That’s there Job, and they are pretty good at this.
Customers are three types.
1. I know exactly what I want because I have spent time figuring out everything there is o know about the initial product. They should also know what additional product artifacts they want. They should know exactly what they want to pay for all of it or any part of it.
2. This customer doesn’t know squat. He is exactly why we have professional sales reps. There are some products you just can’t know everything about. Your sales rep is there to help, but these customers should acknowledge to pay for such service and usually do one way or another. If they can’t take the time to read before shopping, they probably don’t know how to deal with Sales Reps either. They are what the Sales Rep look as the golden goose.
3. The customer who is just browsing, because there wife is in another department. They are there to pass time because they have so much to waste. Even though there intensions are good, they end up getting in everyone’s way. The chance of them really buying something is about 10%. They waste everyone’s time while there wasting there own.
My point is, either be educated enough to get your best price by buying online or watching and waiting with the sales until you get what you want. THAT’S called CAPITALISM.
At the same time, Sales Rep’s have their place too and nothing derogatory should be said about them or their profession. There are customers that need them, and want to pay for their service. So kudos’ to the Sales Rep who will even go and help after work. Not everything in this world is tied to money, some is just excellent service. A rare commodity these days.
And last, but not least, the warranties. These are good for those who don’t have gold/silver credit cards and or bad credit. If you fall in here, and you feel you have bad luck, buy the extended warranties.
For everyone else, ignore the extended warranties. Most times they are way overpriced and are just a tool to regain lost sales $$$. I might buy one on a car, but not on a $2000.00 TV, which will now cost that much more and I don’t even know if I will need it. Extended warranties play of fear. A true American once said “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself”.
One last thing, some people need to take Blog edicate 101. Blogs are not the right place to bring your life problems and spill them all over in a rude manor just because you don’t agree with someone else. Like we have all heard, these people need to “Grow Up”.
MP
MisterX: The Magnolia that I purchased my TV from is an outside of BB store.
Chris: I am very loyal to a salesperson who tries to make some effort to give me a deal. The salesperson who I ended up buying from told me the price is guaranteed for 60 days. I will never bother with that. I don’t mind seeing salespeople make money and help rejuvenate our economy. I asked the first salesperson to drop the price by only $100 lower than the local competition and he declined. If he said yes, the deal would’ve been done right then. Once the second salesperson accepted my offer, I was done shopping. This was a 720p and was being discontinued and I was sure they just wanted to liquidate their inventory because everyone wanted a 1080p and I wasn’t sure how much better the Elite is and that’s why I lowered my offer.
I completely understand the difficulty and the limitation by the manufacturers for setting up all the TV’s correctly. The problem is asking to make any changes to the exiting setup seemed complicated and would take a long time. I felt that I am the only one that cared about picture quality so didn’t want them to go through the hassle just for me. Otherwise, all TV’s would be set somewhat descent because consumers would demand it all the time. In some cases, the two TV’s would be in separate rooms. I think if I want to see a good comparison in the future, I would just have to ask and pay a little more. That’s fare.
Thank you guys for responding, it was very informative.
JD……. The store I worked at had a 720p feed coming from DirectTV and Comcast and routed to all the TV’s on the wall. Your cable providers do not offer 1080p. They try and trick a lot of people with the whole 1080i bit. But as we all know it pretty much looks the same as 720p.
However when I worked at the store it was very important for us to get some of our TV’s hooked up to Bluray (or HD-DVD at that time) so customers could see the difference at a full 1080p. This went for our higher end Pioneers and Sony’s mostly. That also helped with the Plasma/LCD arguements.
Here’s why we didnt tune everything optimally. We left things at the factory default. This is usually a fair setting and a great way to compare manufacturers. Even though you can adjust hue, tint, contrast, backlight etc… on a given TV. It’s not going to make a low-end Panasonic look like a high-end Pioneer.
But the reason a lot of your big box stores dont convert is simple. Money! Chances are their HD streams are being sent from a central point and all their TV’s are wired through component cables. Switching it all over to HDMI would be expensive. Especially in a high end store. How can we sell you the high end cables if the great signal were showing you is going through a $10 cable we bought on the net?
See there are consolations I will give. Buying the $350 cable vs buying the $10 one. The quality difference is usually unnoticeable. Now granted the build quality is better and the cable is less likely to snap or have connectors break off. But it’s not worth $340 more by any means.
Where I wont give consolations is buying a shoddy TV to begin with. Or the going back and forth trying to knock down the price by a few dimes. It wastes time and eventually we’ll just get sick of dealing with you. And you’ll get sick of us too. It always goes both ways.
What I hated most was agreeing to someones deal (offer) then after that having them go give that offer to another store. If you did that you had burned your bridge with me and you were more then welcome to go look at Walmarts HD sets playing The Little Mermaid at 480i.
If its a Magnolia inside a BestBuy they are not commissioned.No excuse for not having the displays showing 720p programming but there have been instances in my store, where the weather has wreaked havoc on our Directv signal and our OTA antenna. Only thing we can do to the settings is the what the manufacturer recommends. Which is take it out the box and hang it on the wall.We have about 100 tv’s on the wall in my store and calibrating or optimizing every single tv is just not feasable. If you came to me and wanted to see the best picture, I would of done 2 things, 1. Hook up a Blu-ray, 2. Put the tv in Optimum mode.
Its arguable whether you would see a difference in 1080vs720 especially in the Pioneer’s but thats a whole other argument lol.
There are different lvl’s of customer service regardless of the industry and there will be times where the store is willing to take the deal. I personally because I am not on commission will just about take any reasonable deal. I hope your enjoying your Pioneer Elite, very good choice in television JD.
When I decided to buy my Pioneer Elite after doing extensive research on my own, I went to Magnolia and I spoke to a commissioned salesperson. I had two questions for him; what signal are they using to demo their TV’s, Blu-ray or 720p, and how were their TV’s calibrated. You read all the reviews but then you want to see it in person. Not a single store in my area was setup correctly to allow you to view the true picture quality and do some comparison on these high end TV’s. No way to know if 1080p was $2000 better than 720p. The salesperson was friendly and tried to help but couldn’t give me what I needed. I knew about the product more than he did and I just wanted to see it with a good signal and optimal setting. The signal was horrible and no attempt what so ever was made to make the picture quality look descent. I expect more from a high end store than B&M store. I made him an offer of $100 less than the competition and he declined it. The next day, I went to their website and found the email to their most seasoned salesperson and sent him an email with an offer for $200 below the competitor’s price. He accepted it and I picked up the TV few days later. He made the easiest sale ever and I got the deal I wanted.
The question is, and hopes some of the commissioned salespeople at high end store can answer, why doesn’t anyone bother to try to calibrate these high end TV’s so the type of customers they attract, high end consumers, can have a way to see what they are shelling out top dollar for? Many of the settings are available on many websites like CNET and AVS Forum. Is that too much to ask for? I will be willing to pay more for that kind of service.
As a person who works in a big retail chain and in a leadership position I see the “online” price shopper everyday.
If your just shopping price go to WalMart or SamsClub. Although our listed prices are negotiable I will never sell a product at cost. If a customer states they are buying online, I simply ask them “what are you doing in my store, wasting the time of my salespeople?” I guess I’m old fashioned in a sense where I value the knowledge and experience of my sales people.
Commissioned or not, most of the people in the customer service industry really do enjoy helping people.
I agree with a previous post that buying a extended warranty on some items, (Audio) isnt worth it but on tv’s it should be a no brainer with the way these tvs nowadays seem to breakdown.
The information on Cnets website is invaluable but in this case this may be the worst entry I’ve ever read.
I dont fault the consumers for trying to get the best deal but at the sametime dont waste my time trying to get help when your online retailer cant help you or when your on hold for hours with someone with a Indian accent.
Accessories as a whole are typically overpriced but what isnt nowadays. If you want to buy $3 Hdmi cables for your $2500 tv online go nuts!
This venomous exchange has left me with the conclusion that it’s best to buy online.
I was a commisioned salesman for 2 years and I have seen numerous people purchase and not purchased extended warranties. I have seen many of the people return with smiles on their faces because they did purchase the extended warranty. I have also seen many people who bought those warranties never return. I get a warranty depending on the product (not brand, they all break the same) I buy and the money that I spend. We all have car insurance, but not all of us have collision insurance. Insurance just as a warranty is a gamble. It is that simple. It is a gamble, sometimes you win sometimes you lose. That is my 2 cents on extended warranties.
As for nickel and dime-ing the salesman/store for the lowest cost I am for it. The store/salesman is there to get as much money from you as it can as well as you are trying not to give them as much money. It is called capitalism, free markets. I never feel bad when I knew I am screwing someone, nor does the person who screwed me. The rich live off the back of the poor. We should not be screwing each other but figuring out ways to screw the rich. How can I feel bad that I screwed the salesman out of any amount of money? If the salesman get hosed it is his fault. First he took the job, second he kept the job, and third he is not as smart as I am to get a better price. Don’t like the deal tell me to walk. Forth, he should complain to the company he works for to pay him a high commission or high base wage. We fight for pennies while the owners of the companies play with the dollars. If he does not make enough money from me then he should start a union and get the store to pay him higher commission. Sure that may raise prices but that is how the economy works. I am not saying I agree with it I am just saying that this is how it works.
I am entitled, just as any person who has or ever will person something, to get the best deal I can. If you have a weak will and a big heart you are going to pay more at the store for it. Let us be open and honest about it. Consumer does not want to spend too much money and the salesperson wants to makes as much money as they can.
I think telling the salesman that you are going to buy the extended warranty to get a better price on the product, whether you return the warranty or not is a great idea. People are upset that we are screwing over a salesman for $22 or whatever amount…. Just remember the poor Chinese person gets paid $22 a month to make the product. It is the poor Chinese person we should feel sorry for. The salesperson that drives around in a fancy car and has all the fancy gear, whether they do or don’t, can feed themselves, the Chinese person cannot. There are people starving in Africa and you want me to feel sorry for you because you lost money on a business transaction, look at the bigger picture.
Wow, amazing responses here. My take on it:
I was a commissioned salesman in the retail music business. Commission was 1.9% so yeah, we worked our tails off. I have no problem with someone coming in and saying “I know what I want, can you beat it?”. At least that’s straightforward – I’ll take that any day over the wanker that’s going to take up my time and then buy across town. People trying to get the lowest price are NOT evil – it’s called being a smart consumer. Some businesses include an extra level of sales support, others don’t. I was often asked by the buyer to go to a customers house to set up their equipment; this service was not offered by our company and I told customers that I could do it on my own at a flat rate of $50 (it was the 1980’s at the time).
Some of you guys seem like prima donnas, resentful that customers would dare try to seek the lowest price. Is that to say that you don’t try to do the same when you’re shopping for yourselves? Most folks are not trying to take $ out of your pocket; of course there are jerks who would waste your time, and you should send them packing, they’re just not worth it. I’m not talking about value-added extras like your personal consulting on behalf of the customer but I think some folks here expect their customers to come in and bow before them, and that just isn’t going to happen. Hopefully, the good folk will appreciate your expertise and you’ll even develop a long-term relationship with a customer who will return to you time and again, as they once did for me.
Be sure to make sure the commissioned people will price match. I work at a company where we don’t price match, customers get pissed off all the time and storm out.
I just purchased a Sharp 32″ LCD (on 5/24) and got the price I wanted on it by comaparing pricing on the internet first. Then I call the store negiated the price I was willing to pay. Saved about $600 on the set. This articale is very good instructional on how to get the best price. Everything he stated in the articale is how I did it when I purchased my LCD.
I’ve read all the arguements to both sides and wanted to get a word in if I could. I was a commissioned sales guy for a Small Chain that sold electronics such as TV’s, Surround, etc… And you are all kinda right in a way.
I always looked out for my customers best interest. Just because I’d get an extra $100 for selling one TV over another doesn’t mean I sold it. I’d do what was right by the customer everytime. I also didn’t buy into the “Sell whats in stock” mantra. I would negotiate with a customer and give them a better deal then they’d get at a big box. I’d sweeten it more if they were getting sound, or a warranty, cables etc…
What I would not do is go below cost or lose myself or the company money. I didn’t need to make $100 on every sale if I could make $75 and sell 3 times as much. Which can be done by not wasting time squabbling over a few dollars. (which is normally what it comes down to)
I would help my customers on the phone, or have them stop in with questions. I was their guy when they needed things.
But with that in mind I do have kids to feed and a life to live. So these guys coming in with Internet pricing from some weird place Ive never heard of. I’d tell them straight up. Go buy it there then. I can’t touch that price. What I can do is give you a better price then you’ll find at any retailer within 50 miles and I’ll guarantee that price for 60 days. If they said yes, great. If they said No, great! Neither of us wasted any more time then we had to.
Yes there are bad salespeople, but thats why they make other stores to shop at. There are bad customers and thats why they make other stores for them to shop at. In the end. If a customer feels they got a good deal. And the salesperson doesn’t get raped and goes home with a fair commission everyone is happy and should be.
On warranties…They can be beneficial or they can be a waste. Depends on the price and whats covered and for how long. Consumer Reports is a waste on pretty much everything but cars these days. Receivers are covered for 5-10 years so no one needs an extended on them. Speakers it depends on the price. As far as TV’s go. Almost everytime they are worth it in periods of 3 years or more. Less then that I wouldnt waste your time or money. Plus with some chains you get benefits with a longer term you wont get on the shorter ones. Free bulb replacements for projections, a tech to come out once a year and check over things for you etc…Either way stay away from cheap TV’s. I won’t name names but you know what I’m talking about. If it seems to good to be true it probably is. A lot of them don’t even make replacement parts for their TV’s and have no service available after your 90 days or 1 year. It pays to get a better TV with a long term plan.
Message to the salespeople. If you have a bad customer who is too demanding and is just shopping back and forth to keep the price going lower and lower to where as it doesn’t make sense financially for you or the company. FIRE YOUR CUSTOMER! They have Walmarts so people like that can go buy a 3rd tier manufacturers product. They aren’t good business. They will rack your brain for knowledge and take your time and go buy online anyway.
For the customers. Commissioned salespeople are not all bad. And I truly believe on average we care more about the customer then your big box stores. Our jobs and lives depend on it. We want you to be happy and come back. But within reason. If you arent being reasonable about it go shop somewhere else that is more fitted to your needs.
Sorry it was long-winded but you all have valid points. And we’ve all been screwed at some point in time. Play nice kids.
If the price is the same everywhere, then it is good service that earns the sale.
And as for being experts – come’on. You might get a few hours here and there to have a play with a set during a quiet day – or at best get half a day of propaganda.. err.. product training from one of the manufacturers.. but surely classing the average TV salesman as an expert is pure fantasy. Sure, you see a lot of sets and you know which ones are returned the mos often but experts is a bit rich.
Now I’ll qualify that by agreeing that some salespeople do know their stuff – mainly because their interest may lie in the field they work in – but having said this, I would go on to suggest that this is more coincidence than anything.
I’ll go even further and give you that some salespeople are *less motivated* by commission/sales targets. What I won’t do is accept that a salesperson is going to look after a customer to the degree that it affects the salesperson’s or the store’s personal finances!
The only person who has the buyer’s interest *completely* at heart is the buyer. Surely this is not rocket science!
To a savvy customer, salespeople are just one of a number of information tools that must be critically assessed. This is the same for forums, reviews and idle comments from those you know, even this blog!
Now having said this, if one salesperson is particularly helpful or insightful I will always go back to him/her to make the deal. What I won’t do – ever – is take a financial hit for this courtesy I am extending.
yes. there are sales guys out there who only sell an item based upon how much they will make on it. but what they don’t understand is that they stand to make alot more bu taking care of the customers needs. I had received many referrals that way. and the people who work at those commission based stores most always keep the customer’s needs in mind. it’s when you walk into the big box stores where some snot nosed kid gets told by his manager at a Saturday morning meeting to push a particular tv because it is on special is when you get sold what will make them the most money. don’t abuse the experts, they are very valuable and will go out of their way to help you.
Interesting discussion. Are there sales types out there who only think of their commission when dealing with customers/clients? Sure. Are there also sales types who actually determine their client’s needs, and then make a recommendation based on those needs? Yes. Some people absolutely despise sales people because of a fear of being taken advantage of, which is not an irrational emotion. However, there are many people in sales who are professional and do what is right for their client, not what is right for the sales guy.
I’m in a profession that is 100% commission, and I manage quite a lot of money for my clients. I can assure you that my focus is on doing the best for my clients. Give the sales guys (especially at retail stores) a break. Their job isn’t easy, their pay ain’t all that, and most are trying their best to help you. If you get intimidated by the sales guy at a Best Buy or Circuit City (or wherever) you’re actually pretty lame – you probably also get your ass handed to you when you buy a car.
hmmmmm……let me think…..A SUNROOM!!! even then I can’t deny that the pioneer elite won’t work. it’s a sweet tv! congrats. but if everyone bought one then us sales guys would be happy because they are awesome. I’m not trying to tell people to buy a tv at full price just to make us sales guys happy, I’m simply arguing that this article is very wrong when it comes to telling people what to do. it is very misleading. it is a pet peeve of mine as well. people pay for service and should. as for education, there is no formal education for selling home theater stuff, but i bet you not everyone can design and install a full distributed audio system with hd distribution and control. I can, can you.
I don’t want to turn this into a pissing contest. when you see day in and day out dozens of tv’s in dozens of applications you tend to figure out what tv’s work better than others in a particular application. I never sold a tv based on commission, I sold them based upon the customers needs. sounds like you had a few experiences with horrible sales people. I am truly sorry.
and if you think all sales people are not experts on what they sell, you are sadly mistaken, mate.
@ Justin.
Milwaukee electronics retailers. There’s a ton around if you look. My favorite is Flanner’s in Brookfield, across Bluemound rd. from Brookfield Square. There’s also Grand TV and Appliance, a little further west down bluemound rd, and there’s Colders at HWY 100 and 94 and there’s American TV at 164 and 94.
Dschiavone, seems you were having a go at my comments: I have a Kuro. Name an application it isn’t good for, mate. :-)
And seriously, why on earth would I listen to a salesperson’s opinion. You aren’t actually experts on what you sell, you are experts at selling stuff.
Any body with half a brain researches their purchases themselves. See, when you do your own research it is unbiased. The TV with the biggest commission doesn’t rate a mention.
And anyway, what kind of an education do you need to be a salesperson, exactly?
Still LMFAO
Anyone who purposely destroys a product right before an extended warranty is about to expire is a weasle and a thief. I know that the warranty policy cannot prevent people from doing it, so in some people minds it makes it okay.
Deep down though, folks know it’s wrong and if they truly see nothing wrong with it, then they have more issues to deal with about being an honorable person than dealing with some TV warranty.
I work at a electronics chain, no commission, and the only reason I suggest warrenties is because EVERY day…a customer comes in with a claim number…sometimes written on a napkin. They get to pick out a new TV. Why? Because you can’t replace the screen like you could an old tube, when a pixel freezes (sony). You can’t get a new power supply after just two years (on a panasonic)…I could go on.
Research the web all you want. I see folks getting brand new TV’s for free each and every day. Why? You can’t fix these damn things. You can’t replace the “tube” and the parts are not available after months, not years.
And I DO hear from the customers stuck dealing with factory service and refurbs from top brands…they come back in and tell me they wish they had bought an extended warranty.
But ask the folks as they watch a new tv loaded in their SUV. Ask THEM what they think.
i uses to work at a nice camera store and people were coming all the time wanting an online price. i told them straight up to go buy it there. i told them if they buy it from, they can walk in to talk to me if they had a problem. buying it online can be cheaper, but depending on what you get, i would rather buy somewhere local. at least i can complain in person to the manager.
i’ll say this about extended warranties.if you buy an extended warranty at circuit city or best buy, many have performance guarantees. meaning that even though the tv works, the color may be off or something happens that diminshes the performance. with the warrenty, they’ll come out to service that t.v. many warranties states if they can’t get it working properly, then they’ll replace it with the same of of equal value. so many times a person has a good chance of getting a new tv.
i’ll tell you once thing. if i buy and extended warrantee and it’s about to end, i’ll make sure my tv get some type of power surge that will damage it pretty good, i’ll make sure that i’ll use that extended service.
well, well, well. someone has actually sounded even more incompetent than everyone else! you are in total control. Right. I will bet you any amount of money that if you walk into any store and ask for a tv below cost because joe shmoe.com has the tv for that price, I wonder how long it will take them to tell you that they can’t do it for that price. REMEMBER, you are a consumer, if you want to buy it cheap, buy it online where you don’t waste someone’s time. because I can think of a few people who will gracefully, politely, and in a friendly way tell you to go pound salt because it isn’t worth their time to sell you the tv you chose your self (which is probably wrong for your application) for 5 bucks. As for those websites, they do not have any brick and mortar overhead. so they can sell their stuff at that price. do you want those pro av stores there when you need something like lets say installation? if everyone were to buy all of their stuff online, those brick and mortar stores eventually will go under and will not be there when you want them to be.
Chew on that…….
@Keith:
Next time you’re out shopping, observe the interactions between the customers and the salespeople. Note how the nicer customers get the better treatment. Know why? Because salespeople, commissioned or no, are PEOPLE. If you’re treating them like something unpleasant you found on the bottom of your shoe, you’re bound to get the impression that they’re all douchebags; treat them like one, and I guarantee you’ll be treated like one in return.
Any store managers out there care to weigh in on how “the customer is always right” is a big, steaming, fallacious pile of BS? Keith, companies are starting to wise up to customers like you, and they’re slowly starting to quit taking it. You want that salesman’s head on a platter? You SERIOUSLY expect his manager to fire or punish him because you feel you didn’t get rock star treatment? Brother, they’re laughing at you behind your back, and they are definitely talking smack about you when you leave. Whether they’re right to do it or not, the fact is that that salesman is making the store money, which makes him, his time, and his job satisfaction more valuable than your cheap-customer snit.
The grammar nazi in me can’t resist this one last snark: “found out” and “heartbeat” don’t get hyphens.
Finally, no, Keith, I have never been a commissioned salesperson. Emphasis on PERSON.
LMFAO
Salespeople are there to serve. Remember this when you are shopping.
Salespeople’s job is to sell a product for as much profit as possible – both personal and for their employer. Remember this when you are shopping.
You are the customer and you are in TOTAL CONTROL of the sale. Remember this when you are shopping.
Salespeople have chosen to be salespeople. Remember this when you are shopping.
In the eyes of a salesperson, your needs will NEVER outweigh those of the salesperson’s. Remember this when you are shopping.
…
Please note that I am not suggesting sales people should be treated poorly as a matter of course. I’m suggesting you do exactly what the salesperson is doing: Be as nice as you have to be to get what you want.
In my experience, to get the very best price you need to burn at least one bridge. So, my final tip: Never go to where you want to actually purchase a set until you have gauged the market elsewhere.
See, if salespeople where upfront about street prices and always sold items at the cheapest possible price (which actually goes directly against how our market system works!) all of these tips wouldn’t be necessary.
Welcome to capitalism.
Wow! A few of the Punks on this post are full of enough BS to make a seasoned professional want to pack up and choose a different industry. If you think that you know it all and do not need any of the assistance of a seasoned PRO then….install your own darn HDTV and Surround Sound…..fill your own cavities…. build your own house……represent yourself in Court…….and while you are at it…….remove your own appendix when it begins to fail! Have fun Mr. DIY!
Re: Justin
Posted on 29th May, 2008
Any idea as to how to find a non-chain-type store where I may be able to haggle over a price? All I know about are the big chain stores: Best Buy, Circuit City (both alliterations, oddly enough), et al. If any readers are in Wisconsin (Milwaukee area), please reply with some suggestions!
Try Flanner’s in Brookfield…very knowledgable people and I’m pretty sure that they are commissioned based. You can also try American TV & Appliance…I’m not 100% sure if they are commissioned sales people but they will definitely either match or beat a competitor’s price. Hope this helps.
Why pay sales tax? When you buy online, most of the time you don’t have to pay sales tax. If I buy a $2500 tv then I am saving $175.
Hmm… Wasting salespeople’s time just to buy an item a few bucks cheaper online, negotiating a deal that includes the warranty and then returning the warranty later, and grinding the price down to the point that the commission is nearly nothing and STILL expecting world class customer service from a salesperson who’s practically working for free at that point.
Sounds like the customers are slimier than the salespeople in a lot of cases.
@ john
THANK YOU!
Oh, and P.S.
If you’re going to buy an Apple computer, and keep it longer than 1 year (or 2 if you buy on a Gold MasterCard etc. as I do), BUY APPLECARE! Trust me, products are NOT built the same way as they used to be!!
As someone who works in the Apple Retail Channel (but not for Apple themselves), we get this a lot too. Put it this way: if you’re happy to do your own research, I’ll pretty much sell you a product for any $$ above cost, so long as you a) cost me nothing in time (as this article advocates) and b) the product is not in constraint (i.e. don’t expect a discount on the latest Apple machine when we can’t get enough stock and c) don’t expect any advice / service down the line that is ‘above the call of duty’. Yep, that means if you made an error in your product selection because you didn’t ask my advice, I can’t help you. If you need a hand working something out, I’ll give you Apple’s number.
There are two types of customer in EVERY retail setting. The one who knows exactly what they need, and wants nothing from me but to purchase the product, and those that need my advice.
I firmly believe that the former is entitled to haggle to the levels described in this article. The latter is not. If you want my advice and knowledge, you pay for it… (this really shouldn’t be rocket science).
And as for the people who waste time at one store, always intending to buy the cheapest price online? You are the scum of the earth. What you are doing is unethical – unless you are in a shop owned by the MANUFACTURER – ergo a marketing expense for them (think Sony, Apple USA, etc).
And no, I’m not on commission.
@ keith
I bet you are one of those people who look to squeeze every drop of service out of someone for the lowest price. but that aside, all commission salesman are douche bags huh. remember that when you walk into a high end av chain next time. or maybe you are better off buying everything off the internet at the lowest price so you can sleep well at night. and as for going out to a customers house to help them hook up their tv, it’s not pathetic…..IT”S SERVICE. you know, that thing where you are nice to someone to have them think of you when they need some other piece of electronics for their home. I guess you just don’t understand the value of customer service.
It looks like opinions are pretty split 50-50 over Extended Warranties on this page. I agree with GETTING THEM! I’ll admit, I work for a major chain store in NZ and even as an employee, I buy them. One of the reasons is the obvious extended period of time during which you get your expensive appliance fixed. We even have a deal that if its a small apliance, you get a straight replacement off the shelf, and that’s for 5 years!! The other reason depends on where you live. Where I live, most of the stuff has to get sent away to another city to get fixed and that costs a fortune, the extended warranty saves you that hassle.
That’s my view as a Buyer.
As a salesperson, I absoloutely hate customers who think that I am only out to empty their bank account and that they are spending all that money on something they don’t want. If you didn’t what quality why not shop at a Warehouse store? Commission staff will always work that extra bit to provide quality service and people who live in NZ will know the difference between Smiths City and Noel Leeming for example. If you have done the research on T.V. prices and know what you want then I also suggest you look at the constant issues that most people report about with every item there is on the market, lest you should be a statistic.
For something that costs $2500+ I think an extended
warrantee is a good idea.
When my set was almost out of the extended warrantee, I called in and had a tech come out
to check out a very minor convergence issue which was rectified as well as getting a “mini” IFS
calibration at the same time.
The receipt for that service added greatly to the resale of the set when it was time for it to go as it indicated the set was well within factory specs.
Buy the warranty? Right. Tell that to Consumer Reports and every other consumer advocacy group on the planet.
Much research has been done on the subject, and they’ve found that buying an extended warranty is a TOTAL waste of money. Don’t take my word for it though: Google the subject.
I’m sure most people reading this already know that though.
Good commission salespeople are the cream of the crop. They are the folks that can guide the novice to the right product, be it a tv, washing machine or a new roof. Treat them with respect and they will do the absolute best job of getting you the right product for a fair price.
By the way, extended warranties ARE WORTH THE BUCKS!
Nothing these days holds up like it should. When somebody tells you not to purchase the warranty, be sure to get their phone number, so that you can call them to do the repair when the product goes bad.
Yes, as you have guessed by now, I am a commission sales person and proud of it. By the way, I receive calls every day from customers whose Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic and Mitsubishi tv is anywhere from a week to two years out of manufactures warranty and just died, and the repair will cost them a arm and a leg AND their first born.
Buy the warranty.
dschiavone: them’s the brakes. You don’t like the rules then go play another game.
If I ever found-out a sales person had that attitude toward me as a customer, I’d be talking to the manager in a heart-beat demanding his head on a platter. If you showed me less respect the next time I came through the door, I’d just give the sale to one of your compadres. I wonder how your boss would feel view the decrease in sales that resulted from your s attitude?
Given that, as you claim, you make only a few dollars on each sale, I’d say it’s pretty pathetic of you to go out to a person’s house afterward and help them setup their TV. All in all your comments have only served to reinforce for me that commissioned salesmen are total douchebags.
sorry if i sound bitter. i was one of those guys. and I hated customers like that. if you bought a tv from me and paid the sticker price, I would give you the red carpet treatment. do you know how many hdtv’s I have seen running off of a 480i picture because cox or some other cable company set things up wrong. I have gone out to several customers houses after work ( my time ) to help them hook up their tv’s. did I charge them, no. because that was the level of service and expertise they expected when they walked in the door of my store. just as an example…….. a sony 46xbr4……I made 22 dollars. and that was the commission i made off a tv sale. would you want to work commission when people want to take money out of your pocket? next time you walk into a commission store, pay regular price and ask for service, not a great deal, and you might get what you paid for.
MH: Only if it’s cheddar.
dschaivone: You sure sound bitter. Would you like some cheese with that?
YOU GUYS MAKE ME SICK!!!!! I can’t believe you would condone taking money out of someone’s pocket. do you realize that most sales guys or gals on commission make on average 15-35 dollars on a tv sale these days. so go ahead, try to haggle on price and expect the red carpet treatment from your sales person and see what happens next time you walk through the door. If you came to me and asked me to sell you a tv a few dollars below what my company paid for it, you can bet that when you call 45 minutes later when you don’t understand how to configure your cable box to output 1080i for your recent “great buy” or how to program your 5 remotes to work everything with only one that I will tell you to call the manufacture and let you sit on death hold for hours only to get frustrated with the level of service you are getting. so go ahead…… get the best deal you can. and as for extended warranties…..just freaking get them!!! they will save your butt more than once, especially if you buy a cheap flat panel or rear pro. *nudge, nudge.
Also, get the warranty right away then bargain like crazy on the other items. They will be more willing to bargain because you are getting the warranty. Then come back the next day and return just the warrenty :)
Note: Visa also permits you to purchase an extended warrantee thru them for some card plans, see.
“Visa Performance Guarantee Pricing – non-computer products”
http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/credit/visa_signature_benefits_wm.html
The price for the additional 3 years, to 5 years for a purchase of $ 2,001.00 – 2,500.99 is:
$ 267.99
Note also, this may not be available on all VISA cards, only those that VISA handles directly not through the bank, If you are interested you have to ask your bank and possibly change to another one that does offer this service.
Any idea as to how to find a non-chain-type store where I may be able to haggle over a price? All I know about are the big chain stores: Best Buy, Circuit City (both alliterations, oddly enough), et al. If any readers are in Wisconsin (Milwaukee area), please reply with some suggestions!
$12 at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007MWE2S
Works perfectly with my Panasonic 42″ and Xbox 360.