I just wanted to spread the word to anyone that has not really thought about one important issue with buying a Hi-Def television online and through auctions.The purpose of this is to inform about the facts of manufacter warranties and not to discredit anyone that sells or purchases tv's from any auction or online retailer.

When deciding if you want to buy from auction or reseller online, you have to know exactly what the specific manufactuer requires for your warranty to be valid. Sharp for example will not honor a warranty if the tv was purchased from auction in most cases. They do a case by case determination to see if  it was a private person that auctioned it, a store and what kind of store, etc. They honor the warranty for the original purchaser only, so if you buy a used tv under warranty, it will not transer to you. If you ever need to have the tv replaced, which they do because I had a defective tv out of the box, you have to have the original receipt or invoice for them to issue a Buy Back on the tv. In some cases you have to even prove it was a gift, if it trully was. If you buy from an authorized seller of Sharp tv's, the warranty is fine, however if they are not authorized sellers, they may not grant warranty service, and you can read that on their website.Any online retailer will post that on the website if they are authorized to sell a specific manufacterer.

I purchased two LCD's online and had no problems with any of the transactions. You can shave off more than a few hundred dollars when buying from an online store. Make sure they accept a return on a tv. The majority restrict returns to tv's 20" and under, some no returns at all, any problems after you get it, you have to call for warranty service. Some do have a complete return policy, and they are not limited to Best Buy. There are online retailers with excellent prices that will take back and replace defective tv's without charge.Most make you pay for return shipping if they accept it, but there are some.that do not.

Also read the shipping method. You want to first see if they ship private carrier instead of UPS, DHL, etc. A private trucking or carrier makes fewer stops, less people handling the tv and they treat the item better. I have purchased a 1080p Sharp tv at $500 less than what could be found at a local store and got $50 shipping through a private trucking service they used exclusively as part of their standard shipping. I also could have paid $100 for white glove service and setup, which is still a steal.

Trust me I know these things because I asked a lot of questions before I bought mine. I know someone that had a big problem with another manufacturer after buying from an innocent and legit online store.

I have also seen personally how DHL and UPS treat expensive tv's.One, the box is sliced down the front 3/4 of the way, styrofoam supports sticking out of the bottom because the tape was ripped off from them dragging the box when they move it, front of the box was pushed in. Another tv was in the truck, laying face down , huge letters say " Do not Lay Flat". He dragged it off the truck and put it on his shoulder like bushel basket.The warning labels are there because the LCD panel or the Plasma glass can get damaged or broken. I immediately refused the delivery.

Keep these things in mind before you lay a chunk of cash out. These tv's look gorgeous but they are not quality controlled as you think they are, and the manufacturer's do send out tv's that have display problems. Every factory has certain specifications that are deemed accpetible, even though they may not be for you. Take in consideration for one example, that stuck or dead pixels on an LCD are a fact of the technology ans can be distractive and really annoying to someone.You can certainly have more than one when you take it out of the box, but even one stuck white pixel can be irritating when you see it glow through a dark scene and it's not accpetable to me spending that much money. This is where the return policy is great because you can exchange it if it bother's you. If you have to use the warranty because you can't return it, most LCD makers will not exchange a set unless you have a certain number of pixels stuck or dead, within a certain distance from each other and within a certain area of the panel.

Just giving everyone a little heads up

If this was helpful to know, please vote for it. 

Thanks.