So, when you last upgraded your television... (phone, conversion, LCD)

[Voebe]

I'm just curious, because I went through such annoyances in trying to replace my dead television. I wanted to get something used, cheap, on Craigslist. First, I was puzzled that there weren't more things posted, and more cheaply, considering that Phoenix is a large city. Surprised that so many people were still trying to unload old tube TVs. And I had, twice, people go back and forth with me, everything was agreed on, I proposed a time to come by, which they said was fine. And that day, having arranged my schedule to accommodate them, when I was just confirming, and getting the exact address - they stopped answering emails, stopped answering their phones. Infuriating.


So, I'm curious:
How did you get rid of your last TV? Dump it? Sell it? Give it to a friend?
How did you buy your current TV? Research it carefully and track it down? Stop in casually at Best Buy? Cruise Goodwill? Find something on Ebay or CL?

[LBTRS]

Bought it at Costco just like I have for the last 15 years.

[AZgarden]

I sold mine on Craig's List and bought a new one at Best Buy. They had a fantastic sale going on...

[Zippyman]

Slickdeals.com to buy & craigslist to sell. I wouldnt buy a used lcd tv, many of them have issues with power supplies failing & no repair parts available. Dont pay much & buy the extended squaretrade warranty so youre covered beyond the (short) factory warranty.

[Wally Sconce]

What's a TV

Is that something you plug your PC into?

[pbenjamin]

Bought one of the last plasmas available, from Best Buy, moved the existing TV into the guest house, gave the guest house TV to my son.

[phx1205]

Originally Posted by Voebe

How did you get rid of your last TV? Dump it? Sell it? Give it to a friend?

Donate to St Vincent De Paul

Originally Posted by Voebe

How did you buy your current TV? Research it carefully and track it down? Stop in casually at Best Buy? Cruise Goodwill? Find something on Ebay or CL?

Actually bought the same model a friend had, it was exactly what I wanted and knew it was good.

[Bummer]

Lots of Great Priced TVs online . . .

As an example, Woot: Daily Deals for Electronics, Computers, Home, Tools, Garden, Sport, Accessories, Kids, Shirt, Wine, & more frequently has great deals on LCD/LED TVs. Much wiser and safer than buying a used and/or unknown from a stranger on Craigslist.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

Slickdeals.com to buy & craigslist to sell. I wouldnt buy a used lcd tv, many of them have issues with power supplies failing & no repair parts available. Dont pay much & buy the extended squaretrade warranty so youre covered beyond the (short) factory warranty.

This^^ (BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY so long as the price is good). But many times Costco is the price leader especially around the holidays.

I'm not one to buy extended warranties as more-often-than-not, it is a waste of $$. But TV's in 2015 basically don't have serviceable parts. You get a free extra year warranty at Costco and they negotiate a killer deal on the extended warranty. So if you get a 3 year warranty that is added to the 2 year that Costco offers for free, you have a strong chance that you will be using that warranty. If it happens, you will get what you paid back to buy a new one.

Also, don't buy some brand name you cannot pronounce. The hierarchy of TV's are as follows. 1.) Korean brands (LG and Samsung). 2.) Japanese brands (like Sony and Sharp). 3.) Taiwanese manufactured brands like Philips and JVC. Vizio takes from all three panel makers and may add its own power supply, upconversion etc and is a solid choice. Costco doesn't normally sell junk as they have to back it up for the extra year of warranty. They buy by the trainload only when they steal them. It's why BB doesn't price match Costco. Costco has a cost plus 10% model on those TV's they negotiated well on. Not so on Costco.com. No deals on their website only in store. Slickdeals.com certainly can find the lost leaders from big box stores and is another good source of finding a deal.

The problem with buying on Craiglist is it could be stolen, or showing signs of problems (handshaking issues, bad pixels, etc). Also, people only remember what they paid. So in comparison to 2015, they paid way too much. The think 50% off of what they paid is a good price. NOPE!

Finally, TV's have come a long way in the contrast and black level category. If you buy a 2009 model that is used it might look perfect watching football but terrible watching a love scene in a movie. That's because you cannot flash black; black is the absence of light. Poor LCD's from not-so-many years ago result in unacceptable black levels. Meaning the LCD's don't bend enough to block the light OR they used compact florescent (versus LCD backlight with variable iris). Therefore an old tube set will beat the pants off earlier generation LCD's and Plasma's in the black level department (unless you are buying a Pioneer which was several thousand $$'s more of a premium).

To the OP. Go to Costco and buy a 42" 1080P LED backlight for around $375. Buy the extended warranty and consider that "cheap".

[observer53]

Originally Posted by phx1205

Donate to St Vincent De Paul

I would think it would depend on whether the old TV still worked. St Vincent De Paul won't take an old tube TV that doesn't work.