New HDTV Purchase

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Sat Nov 03, 2007 6:53 pm

VLSmooth wrote:Samsung 1080p 20000:1 LNT4669 $2299 Free Shipping Frys.com
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/777945

Tempting... I'll look at one tomorrow!

Not on display yet

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:51 am

Four Best Buy 10% off coupons on one page ( pdf )
Source: http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/778307/

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:40 pm

Current plan (need to double-check sequence):

Price match Best Buy ($3299.99) to Sears ($2799.99)
Price = [$3299.99 - ($3299.99-$2799.99)*1.1] = $2749.99
Use a 10% off Best Buy coupon
Price = $2749.99 * 0.9 = $2474.99
Make sure I get it before 11 am for 4% back in RewardZone credit
Equivalent Price = $2474.99 * 0.96 = $2375.99

Hopefully my final plan will be lower.

Unfortunately, the Sears price expires tomorrow, so I'd have to jump on it if I want this.

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:01 pm

Reminders to self:

remember there's 5% tax here for buying through a brick-and-mortar (BM) retailer.

Post by **Jonathan** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:10 pm

Buy everything in Oregon! No sales tax!

quantus · Post by **quantus** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 12:03 am

Dwindlehop wrote:Buy everything in Oregon! No sales tax!

Can I just have everything shipped to you then and then you bring it here?

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:21 am

Summary: Choices...

Go to Best Buy tomorrow before 11 am and gamble on the price dropping in 60 days
Screw it and buy it cheaper from Circuit City tomorrow
Wait longer

Details
Went to Best Buy tonight and clarified things with the rep

Price match and coupons are exclusive
Since the price match is worth more ($550) than the 10% coupon ($330), so the price becomes $2749.99. This is ~$2887.49 after 5% tax.
Reward Zone points always apply at the price paid
... hence they always stack. This drops the equivalent price to $2887.49 - ($2749.99 * 0.04) or ~$2777.49. However it takes ~30-40 days for the credit to show up. According to the representative, this is to exceed the money-back refund guarantee, preventing people from getting free Best Buy gift certificates. Furthermore, they expire 3 months after issue, and are issued automatically based on threshold (configurable between $250, $500, and $1000).
The 60-day price match guarantee applies to all local brick-and-mortar (B&M) retailers
... including stores that are not Best Buy. However, the bonus 10% savings only applies once, at the beginning.
B&M Best Buy does NOT provide free shipping
The free shipping online is only to the doorstep. B&M only provides free in-store pickup or $80 delivery and setup, nothing in-between. If I get shipping, the total jumps to at least $2857.49 without tax.

Other than Best Buy Tidbits

Circuit City has the TV for $2645
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/779768
... expires tomorrow, cheaper than Best Buy, doesn't come with the 60-day price match guarantee, Best Buy will not match the additional 10% coupon, and is in-store pickup only. This is ~$2777.25 after 5% tax. This also does not tie up cash in Best Buy gift certificates.
Amazon has it for $2787.87
This includes free shipping and handling and no tax.
Samsung 52" 1080P LCD HDTV LNT-5265F for $2069.99 + tax after PM at Sears
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/779786
This is an incredible deal, but doesn't apply to me since the screen is glossy (damn you Samsung!). Although, I could try buying it for my parents...
Amazon: Samsung LNT5271F 52" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV: $2,859.98: Free Shipping
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNT5271F- ... 000U9XMCE/
Another glossy screen, but another great deal for those that don't mind and want a higher end display than the 5265f.

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 5:00 am

Edit: VLSmooth: Moved summary to the original post (OP)

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 5:56 am

Details

Arrived at Best Buy (BB) at 9:55 am
* with 18 other people in front of me
* before the doors opened, there were ~25 people
Made a beeline for the TV section
* snagged Deepak, a TV sales representative
* Deepak was training a newbie from the Gainesville BB
* Also got Stets, a senior representative, to help out
Handled price matching
* explained Sears $2799.99 price
* explained Circuit City's $2645 price (according to the fine-print, instant discounts SHOULD apply)
* got approval to price match to Circuit City (!!!)
* confirmed that the 10% coupons could not be using with price matching
* confirmed that I could price match up to 60 days after purchase (expires early January)
Handled Reward Zone (RZ)
* asked about the BB RZ Mastercard (MC) for 6% instead of 4% rewards before 11 am
* got instantly approved and issued a temporary ID for usage today after some paperwork
* confirmed that the card has no annual/dormancy fees
* confirmed that the card automatically cancels after a year of disuse
* confirmed that the card automatically provides 18-month 0% financing
Handled delivery and learned that...
* ...the earliest delivery date is Saturday, 2007-11-17
* ...the TV would arrive at the store Thursday night
* ...I could pick it up earlier and refund the $80 delivery/installation fee
* will ask a co-worker friend with a Ford F-150 to help
* will invite said person to dinner at least
Declined the $349.99 4-year warranty
* learned that the free 30-day BB protection is extended to 30 days after Christmas for holidays
* confirmed that I can return it, no questions asked, by late January, with no re-stocking fee
* learned that the warranty could be fully refunded separately in 30 days (still no soup for warranty)
Was rung out at 10:43 am
* rushed over to Cadillac to diagnose a seat belt problem
* was stuck there over 2.5 hours (sucked)
* was slapped with a bill for $250.38 to order parts
* was told to come back in a week and pay ~$120 more for labor
* realized I didn't have a receipt from BB
* stopped at Famous Dave's and got some awesome BBQ takeout
* ate then shortly was overcome by the sweet unconsciousness of sleep
Headed back to BB @ ~9:40 pm
* got a receipt from a customer service representative (forgot his name)
* noticed that the 10% price match difference bonus wasn't applied
* was referred to the Magnolia room to fix it
* talked with Sean in the Magnolia room and got refunded $64.68
* learned that the BB RZ MC requires a minimum of 1% a month for the first 18 months to incur no fees
* was recommended to auto-pay from my Citibank to my BB RZ MC
* went back to customer service and was helped by Emily
* printed out another receipt but it was identical
* went with Emily back to the Magnolia room
* found Sean and got an updated receipt
Came back home
* refreshed
* enjoyed BBQ leftovers
* typed this up
To do: follow-up on the new BB RZ MC
* set-up an online account
* set-up online bill payment from my Citibank card to the new one
* retro-actively apply my double points before 11 am to this card (new membership)
BIG THANKS to BB's Representatives
* Deepak "like six-pack", morning sales representative
* Stets, morning senior representative that made everything smooth
* Un-named Gainesville BB representative that I helped with credit advice and talked about football with
* Sean, evening magnolia room representative, that quickly refunded me the price match bonus
* Emily, very cute brunette evening "<something> expert" that helped me get an updated receipt
* all of them were extremely helpful and cordial

Hopefully this thread will help others when they buy new TVs.

Edit: VLSmooth: Updated formatting

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:12 am

So did you get

a) deepak's number
b) stets's number
c) sean's number
d) emily's number

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:19 am

Sadly, I only have Deepak's business card since he gave me one when I asked his name. The others didn't seem to have cards on them, which didn't really matter, expect for Emily's. Not that I would've done anything with it >_>

As for keeping track of names, it really helps to know them when trying to get information, and apparently it makes people nicer to you if they aren't already. Plus, as my sister told me, it assigns accountability in case anything goes wrong.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:21 am

SCORE!@!

Deepak has a six pack you can go BLB:B:EB:BELBELBE:BE:EB:E:B on right?

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 6:27 am

Since you sound interested, I perhaps can introduce you to him!

(the "like six-pack" is what he said after I asked his name, referring to how to pronounce it)

Vyrosama · Post by **Vyrosama** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:22 am

Dave wrote:SCORE!@!

Deepak has a six pack you can go BLB:B:EB:BELBELBE:BE:EB:E:B on right?

I know I"m going to be sorry for asking...but what does that acronym stand for...

And Vinny, once you have the TV you should go visit BB and look for Emily...talk to her about how you really appreciated her helping you and then either

a: ask her out for a treat like cake or ice cream at a local coffee shop when she has time during her next break

b: tell her the reason that you are there that day is now that you have such a big tv...you need a good library of movies to go with it and start a conversation on what movies she'd recommend and what type of movies she likes (avoid anime unless she seems like a closet anime freak...) and then go from there...

VLSmooth · Post by **VLSmooth** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 9:16 am

That wouldn't be awkward, of course not

(then again, a self-defeatist attitude is generally bad as well...)

However, yes, I stand by my statement that she was very cute.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 3:57 pm

* went with Emily back to the Magnolia room

Is Emily like some kind of stripper or something?