Online Buyers Checklist

What to know and ask before buying a new TV or Home Theater Online

Use the checklist below to make sure your getting what you paid for, and that there are no ‘scams’ lurking behind the sale or price.  These are the most important questions to ask a potential seller when purchasing a TV over the internet.  MAKE SURE the Company you are considering a purchase from will put everything below in writing on your invoice, or they have it written in their policies, otherwise it is your word against theirs when it comes time to a credit card dispute.  If a store comes in close to internet pricing, do not forget taxes, your liability to move the screen yourself, and watch out for their extremely overpriced accessories, that’s where they make their money! 

Take a moment to read the documents and use the checklist below to help you better understand the scams and how they work.  A few minutes of education can save you a lot of potential heartache and issues in the long run.  

1 - Product

Is it guaranteed brand new and factory sealed?

Is this product U.S. designated, and not a grey market unit intended for sale in other countries?  (If it is grey market, your warranty is void.  You also want to make sure it is not a returned unit, refurbished product, or opened for any reason.)

2 - Shipping & Delivery

What is the total cost, including shipping, shipping insurance, handling, or any other fees delivered to me? 

How long does it take and do I get a “no later than” delivery date?  (It should take no more than 5-7 business days at most, any longer and there is a scam behind it to overcharge for faster delivery, or hopes they will get a price drop before it ships.)

Can I inspect the screen with the driver, and refuse it if there is damage?

Once refused, will you ship me a new screen out immediately, and provide me with tracking within 24 hours, guaranteed so there are no other delays in receiving my screen?

When the TV arrives, is it delivered to my curb, or my doorstep?

 When the driver or terminal calls me, is it a 2-3 hour window, or a 5-8 hour window guarantee?

(We have shipped section in BOLD, because it is one of the most important questions you need answered in detail.  This is where 90% of the hidden fees and scams come from!)

3 - Warranty

 Does it come with the full U.S. manufacturer’s warranty?  Will you put this in writing on my invoice?  (If it does not, any extended warranty offered is bogus, as they all require 90 days valid manufacturer warranty for the extended warranty to be in place)

What happens if I have a claim?  Do you offer any tech support, or do I have to call the manufacturer?

4 - What is in the box?  Manufacturer Supplied Accessories 

Do you guarantee this product comes with all manufacturer supplied accessories, including the table/desk stand, remote control, manuals, power cord, etc? (And extra DLP bulb on Sony XBR projection units.  We have people calling us everyday trying to buy products that should have come with their screens, and now the seller is ‘holding them hostage’ at ridiculous pricing.)

 Do they provide a list of the ‘box contents’ in their ad?

5 - Accessory Pricing & Markups

Are you getting overcharged for cheap quality accessories or just overcharged in general?  Profits are no longer in screens or main audio/visual components.  For most companies profits are in accessories like extended warranties, cables, surge protection, cleaning kits, mounting solutions, and installation. Recently there was an article published in the Times about brick and mortar stores such as Best Buy/Circuit City.  Their margins are built on accessory sales.  This is the SAME exact business model has been in place for online dealers for years.  If you buy right, good quality cables will help improve your picture, the right mounting solution and/or extended warranty will help to protect your screen, and protect your wallet from what will be some very costly repairs on today’s technology (Don’t forget that without warranty, you need to take your screen to the repair center).  Get the best OUT THE DOOR package deal on what you need. 

6 - Extended Warranties

If you’re looking at an extended warranty:  Who provides this warranty?

Is it guaranteed on-site service regardless of where you live?

What if the screen can not be fixed?

How long have they been in business, and what does their warranty policy cover?  

Does the company selling the screen give any guarantee against extended warranty claim denials? 

Does the warranty start at date of purchase, or is it 2/3/5 years after the manufacturer warranty?  (These are all important questions—why buy an extended warranty if the company could be out of business in a few years, or if they deny your claim for any bogus reason, where does that leave you with the warranty you purchased?)

ONLINE BUYERS GUIDE

Checklist for buying a new TV Online

(Or possibly in a store)

 Buyer Beware

Get ready for what can turn out to be the most frustrating purchase you will ever make online.  The scams/games on the market are not just from ‘shady looking’ outfits, they are coming from some of the “Top Rated” sellers on eBay and shopping sites.  Use the “Buyers Checklist” provided above.  Print this form and use it when you speak with other potential vendors for your purchase.  Know this information BEFORE you decide to spend your hard earned money, and use our checklist below to make sure you’re asking ALL the right questions before you buy:

Feedback / Ratings Knowledge

Do not just go by a sellers “rating” in terms of Feedback Amount on eBay, or “stars” on one of the famous shopping sites such as Dealtime, Pricegrabber, etc.

Reason:  First, the “new eBay” is full of users (at least in the Electronics category) that hide important information in small print.  People click to buy the product, and when they find out the advertised pricing is missing other ‘fees’, they attempt to cancel---and that’s when the eBay user ‘blackmails’ the user for positive feedback.  They tell the user they will ‘let them out of the sale’ if they leave positive feedback, and so the game begins.  Make sure you read the feedback and look for info on hidden fees, overcharging after the sale, etc.  Those shopping websites that look like they are comparing pricing to show you the best deals, are really only giving you a listing of the companies that pay to advertise on their websites.  Just because a company is not listed on Pricegrabber, Dealtime, Shopping.com, etc does not mean they don’t have a good price!  It just means they do not pay to advertise there.  Furthermore, ANYONE can leave feedback for any seller on those sites, and that is exactly what many of these sellers do.  They leave themselves positive feedback every day to overshadow the negatives.  Take notice many negatives are a few paragraphs long, and how positives are one line responses?

Shipping Misunderstandings

 Just because someone lists a great screen price, and a cheap shipping price, it doesn’t mean they are done with you, or that is your total price!

Reason:  Most of the companies advertising on the internet in the electronics arena today are hiding other fees you need to pay before they ship anything!  The most notorious is “MANDATORY SHIPPING INSURANCE” that can add 10% or more to your total order!  Many companies are using basic shipping to save money, which hurts you in the end.  Leaving screens at the curbside for owners to bring in, and worst of all expecting folks to sit around for a 6-9 hour period for a delivery that could happen at anytime are very popular.  We have had customers come to us to make a purchase because they waited around all day, and the driver never showed for their delivery, what a waste of a day!  If the driver does show up and you’re not home, they will charge you up to $100+ for a re-delivery attempt on your TV screen.  If you cancel the order, they will subject you to a 15-20% restocking fee. 

Are you getting New, Warranted Products, INCLUDING everything the manufacturer put in the box???

Keep your eyes open.  They start claiming it’s new, and then you get refurbished goods that were fixed from the manufacturer.  Perhaps you’re getting “Grey Market” goods which are products that are labeled for use in another country, and suppose to ship out of the US, but ended up staying here.  Manufacturers put discounts on these products to alleviate shipping charges to other countries.  The PROBLEM is when they come back to the US; they are NOT covered under warrantee in the US by the manufacturer!  After you’re done getting a guarantee in writing that you are getting brand new US goods with full warranty, you need to make sure they are FACTORY SEALED. 

The second biggest scam aside from shipping games is opening the box of your new TV, and stealing products out of the box.  We hear about it all day long, people call us trying to buy remotes and BASE STANDS!  90% of the flat panel LCD’s and Plasmas come with a base stand to set the screen on a piece of furniture—without it, you can not set the screen anywhere.  Some of these companies are stealing your products right out of the box. 

Additional Notes

Most customers focus on the TV sale itself and completely disregard or forget about accessories.  Take this into account as you may end up kicking yourself later!  If you buy just the TV online to save yourself some money and then go into a brick and mortar store to buy accessories, you end up negating the savings you may have had on items such as the HDMI cabling, wall mount, surge suppressor, or extended warranty.  These are all items that are sold at high markups and you generally will pay much more to buy them retail.

Before you make any purchase, please give us a call in our offices toll free and let us know what we can do to earn your business.  We will do our absolute best to give you the best out the door price and unparalleled service.