Tulsa World: Shop for best buys when purchasing new TV

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS

Home > Business

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Shop for best buys when purchasing new TV

By PHIL MULKINS World Action Line Editor
Published: 4/23/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 4/23/2009 4:37 AM

Dear Action Line: When is the best time to buy a new, last-year's model TV? I know August is the best time to get a new car, as dealers are making way for the new models from the factory, but I've never heard anything like this about TVs. — W.P., Tulsa.

March and April are the "build-out," model transition months when TV retailers need to get their older TV stocks off the shelves to make room for new models.

Test the water: Check the Tulsa World's classified ads and display advertising for television sales by area small appliance dealers. Look around at stores selling lots of televisions to see what you might want to own, picking up catalogs and brochures along the way. Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org — the electronic version of the product testing and rating magazine at tulsaworld.com/consumerreports. Or buy a copy of CR's "Electronics Buying Guide (Spring 2009)" for $10.99 plus $3.50 shipping and handling, at tulsaworld.com/CRelectronics or by calling (800) 500-9760, using code IP93C,S8881. Read reviews of current models. Check the price comparison sites PriceGrabber at tulsaworld.com/PriceGrabber, Shopping at tulsaworld.com/Shopping and Google at tulsaworld.com/ShopGoogle.

Call store vs. online: Many times, online retailers have special deals or availability windows for items low in stock, but only through their call-center personnel. You can also negotiate prices with live agents by calling e-commerce companies with on-site call centers.

Mailing lists: Receiving e-mail advertisements is usually annoying, but they actually pay off. Sign up for notification by e-commerce retailers who stage special sales through e-mail databases.

Council of Better Business Bureaus: Before making any purchase, record the company's URL, visit tulsaworld.com/CBBBbusCheck and click on "Phone, URL, e-mail." Type the URL into it and it tells you the company's rating (A through F), its street address and complaint history. Also, Bizrate at tulsaworld.com/Bizrate lists customer satisfaction ratings for 120,211 stores, and it's updated daily.

Product reviews: Check Buzzillions at tulsaworld.com/Buzzillions for product reviews on 5,108,799 products (the number revises upward each time you sign on) and Epinions at tulsaworld.com/Epinions for millions of product reviews, presented in "top 10" format.

Rebates: Even lowest prices can be lowered further by rebates from sites such as Ebates — tulsaworld.com/Ebates — that you have to join and reveal e-mail addresses to and create passwords for. But it's free. It gives you rebates from 1,000 retailers by mailing you a check every quarter for any rebates they might have issued since your purchase of their product. A similar site is MyPoints at tulsaworld.com/MyPoints.

Submit Action Line questions by calling 699-8888 or by e-mailing phil.mulkins@TulsaWorld.com or by mailing it to Tulsa World Action Line, PO Box 1770, Tulsa OK 74102-1770.

By PHIL MULKINS World Action Line Editor

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

2 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment sandimass, (4/25/2009 10:49:04 PM) Excellent article and very timely. I especially appreciate the product review websites - great savings in eliminating the need for another subscription to Consumer Reports. These columns are truly beneficial to the consumer by providing timely information and links to other helpful tools.
	Report Comment okie ridgerunner, Small Country Town State Line (5/4/2009 11:46:42 PM) Thank you for the worth while information.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.