TV saga

Some of you probably have heard, but the last few months I've had a bit of a TV saga. I've been in the market for a 42 inch TV. After about 6 months of research, I decided on a 42 inch plasma TV. I did some shopping around, and ended up going to HHGregg because they're on commission and one can haggle a bit on prices. I looked for a while and asked the sales person a bunch of questions about plasma TVs, one of which was about burn-in. The sales person said "There isn't a burn in problem." I ended up buying a Samsung plasma TV and got them to throw in delivery for free.

I got the TV in time to watch the NFL draft. I watched that, and then watched a Milwaukee Brewers game vs the Houston Astros. That night, the burn in was bad enough that I could still read "on-the-clock" on the screen (from the draft) and the scoreboard from the baseball game (MIL 3 HOU 0 was easily readable). I called up Samsung, and the guy said "Yes, there are burn-in issues, and no, they won't go away." Now I talked to Tom, and he said he has burn-in on his screen, but it goes away. Well, I wasn't gonna take any chances and decided to exercise HHGregg's 10 day return policy (I said it was because the glare was bad, which also was true). I ended up paying for delivery, but it beats living with a TV I'm not happy with. I decide to go LCD or bust.

So I did some additional research on LCD TV's, and decide to go with a 42 inch Toshiba. Got some prices off the internet, namely from Amazon.com. Went back to HHGregg and found the same model, and their price was about $150 more than the Amazon price. I asked the sales guy if they'd match the price, and he goes to find his manager. The manager, who looks like he's probably 23 years old, is dressed in a full black suit and a bright yellow tie. This guy is the epitome of the used car salesman (picture Karen's cousin Brian in this outfit, and you've pretty much got it). He comes over and starts going on about stuff like "oh, we can hardly keep this TV in stock" and "boy, this is a popular model." I'm not impressed (I think he noticed), all the while thinking, yeah, but I know Amazon has it in stock.

Chris the sales manager ends up saying, "I'm gonna take care of you... I'll match the price for ya." I was a little surprised at how easy it was, but hey, it worked out. I end up adding a $30 off coupon (ironically, which I got from my last TV purchase) of which he put up a little bit of resistance to but let it go too. I end up taking the TV home in my car (that ride was the longest and most nervous ride of my life!) and I'm watching it right now.

So the final score:

Amazon
TV Price: $1474
Tax: 0
Shipping: $60
Total: $1534

HHGregg
TV Price: $1620
Special Chris discount: $-146
Coupon: -$30
Shipping: (took home myself)
Tax: $94
Total: $1538