TV & Home Theater

[jnachtig]

Hello All

My TV (55" rear projection LED) and sound system (5.1 Panasonic out of box speakers) are tragically out of date so I am looking to upgrade in the next few months to a new top of the line system.    After much research on-line and in-person I have pretty much decided on the following

Samsung PN64D8000 Plasma HDTV

Panasonic DMP-BDT210 Blu-Ray Player

for speakers I am still deciding between

Demon AVR-1912 receiver with a set of 5 B&W speakers (684B x2, 686, HTM61B, and ASW61STB)

or

Aperion Itimus wired ($1500 + receiver) or wireless 5.1 ($2500 no receiver required) system, not sold at best buy but it is a CNET editors choice

My local Best Buy is in the process of renovating to include a Magnolia sub-store, but it will not be done until April, I am not sure if I will wait that long.   There is a store about 30 minutes away so I will probably end up buying there.

All told I anticipate the total cost being at Best Buy for everything including the speakers at about $7300.  This does not include the service plans and any sales I might wait for.   For a similar system from Amazon and/or direct from the manufacturer websites at about $6000.   The big differences are the TV ($800 difference) and the speaker system ($400 difference).   I anticipate I can close the gap by waiting for a sale on the TV.

I assume an extra $200 for installation and $1000 for the BTSP for everything although I can't find pricing on that. 

So all in on best buy will be $8500 worst case (probably $8000 if I wait for a sale) and online it will be $6000.

But the Best Buy includes delivery, installation, hauling away the old stuff, and an extended service plan. 

I have always received excellent service from Best Buy myself and my family has also.  They upgraded my Dad's TV during Christmas 2 years ago because they promised it (physical store) and were then out of stock so they upgraded to the next higher model (240Hz instead of 120Hz) at no charge.  It should be noted that was a store in Colorado and I am buying in California.

So now to the question.   I would normally buy from Best Buy in spite of the money difference because of the service, installation, and insurance.  Also I would have a physical store to get any problems resolved at.  I have been researching this decision and part of that research was reading there message boards.  Now I realize that people usually don't post nice things, for every complaint is probably thousands of good transactions, but the overall theme on these boards seems to one of poor service.  Since that is what I would be paying the premium for I am concerned.  Add to that the well covered breakdown in service at Christmas and you are starting to see a trend.

I don't expect problems not to happen, I am paying a premium so that if problems do arise, they are resolved in a quick, concise, and equitable manner.  From reading these boards it seems that while the moderators on this forum are empowered to resolve issues, the regular 1-800 operators don't seem to have the same skills and the phone system itself seems to be broken (dropped calls, long waits, etc.).

So I am putting this out to the board.  Is an extra $2000 worth what Best Buy adds (installation, service, removal of old system, BTSP, etc).   I am looking for both positive and negative feedback so if you have had a good or bad experience I encourage you to post.  I also encourage the BB employees to post if you wish and give me the pitch, I appreciate people who are willing to advocate for their companies and positions so feel free to post.

Thanks for your opinions in advance

John

[Jimmienomam]

I will comment more on this later, but coming to a BBY forum to ask will get you a lot of bias. There are very few people that come here that aren't in 1 of 2 categories.

1) people who really like BBY enough to come here and help

2) people that despise BBY enough that they come here to tell everyone.

The rest just have a problem and once fixed leave the boards.

Just something to keep in mind

[jnachtig]

Agreed, I am expecting feedback from the edges, but nothing in the middle.

That is ok, you can learn a lot by listening to the arguments on both sides.

I look forward to reading your comments on the question at hand.

Thanks

John

[grif32]

I have spent a lot of money at Best Buy (roughly 8K last year 2011), with that said, if you can save $2000 on the above by buying on-line then you would be crazy not to.

I have bought a few TV's on-line (amazon) and never had an issue.  They are great about getting a replacement if needed. So don't let that scare you.  I bought my last Panny Plasma at Best Buy without issue as well with their delivery.

I never found any of the Best Buy employee's in my area worth anything.  The lack the knowledge of putting a HT together without issues.  I am always getting calls of people needing things fixed because of a Geek Squad or whatever it's called hooking things up incorrectly.

But I have heard stories of Best Buy's having very good workers.  So you really have to ask yourself if you think they are worth the $2K you can save on line.  IMHO I would say no..

[DarkWingDUCK]

"Trim the fat" is a term I use when giving explanations to my customers.  I am currently working in a Magnolia store about to undergo renovations as well.

A little education goes a long way.  When it comes to speakers it helps to know what, and how long you are being covered under the stores service plan.  Speakers and receivers are different than regular products like TVs.  Take for example, a B&W loudspeaker comes with a 5 year warranty from the manufacturer.  If you are going to purchase a service plan on each speaker it will still be fixed by the manufacturer and shipped to them. The service plan on these speakers literally extend the length of the warranty. 

For example: B&W gives you 5 years warranty, you buy the 4yr Black Tie Protection for $XXX, you get a total of 9 years warranty on those speakers.  This same rule applies to an AV receiver like Denon, Pioneer Elite, Etc.  Hopefully your local Magnolia rep explained this to you, and gave you all of the options.  If 5 yrs is satisfactory for you, you can save hundreds.  Personally I did not get extra service plans for my Klipsch WF-35 set, but I did extend the options on my Marantz SR5005 receiver.  Anything that generates heat I will usually get some sort of warranty for.

My point is, there are ways to save money and close the gap.  I recommend speaking to your local MHT rep and discuss ways of "trimming the fat" if you are very interested in saving some money.  I am sure they would be more than willing to give you this information as opposed to losing your business to a faceless online vendor.

[jnachtig]

Thanks everyone for the feedback

[Jimmienomam]

Sorry, I've been busy.

I'll keep this short though. I am a huge advocate for in store purchases as returns and product is at hand. On a side note it does provide jobs for the local community also.

But that all has a price. I do think you could get it all cheaper online. Remember for most large TVs BBY also has 60 day PM. With that large of a margin I would probably go for online.

But keep in mind that if you want extende warranties heed the above posters suggestions

[grif32]

If you really want an extended warranty (IMHO waste of money) I would go through Square Trade and save a boat load of money there as well.

I am all about supporting local business but when you can save $2K then to me it's a no brainer.  If Best Buy wants to keep you as a customer then they would work on the price with you.

[Jimmienomam]

Squaretrade used to be awesome, but they are severely cutting back on their warranty services.

Not saying they are horrible now, but they are no where near what they were

[grif32]

Really?  I don't buy warranties but I have never heard anything bad about them ever..  Everyone I talk to that has had an issue and buy a warranty has had zero issues and everything gone smoothly...

They just won the Stevie Award in 2011 for the best customer service & sales

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11021375/1/squaretrade-wins-2011-stevie-worlds-premier-business-award.....