Top Money Saving Tip for Buying TV and Getting HD!

SavingTide

Dear Fellow Moneysaver,

If you are considering buying a High-Definition TV in time for the World Cup I hope the following tip helps you, even if you decide against the particular TV I purchased (The TV you buy is clearly down to your personal needs / requirements).

FIRSTLY SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As you will have seen, many companies are offering special deals (e.g. Currys £10 per England goal - hopefully woth more than £10 :rotfl:)

So it's a great time to buy if, like me, you have been considering a TV for some time.

I decided I wanted a 42" TV with 1080p capability - not essential for viewing HD - it only needs to be "HD Ready", but a good way of 'future proffing' your purchase as its quite likely that in a few years time more broadcasts will use. Its also essential if you want to view a Playstation, XBox or a Blueray movie at its best.

I have been a Sky customer for some time, and also decided to take the plunge for their HD service (Possibly only for the required 12 months) as it would be a shame not to be able to see other channels as well. But if you only want to watch the football you do not necessarily need it and can use freeview HD: But it is worth noting that in some cases you may need to get your roof aerial upgraded to use it (Which clearly will be another expense: This was true for me, which is why I decided it was better value to pay for the Sky HD+ at £10 per month - yes, it is pricey, but I will enjoy it!)

So here is my guide to how I grabbed my bargain.

My Guide to Grabbing a TV Bargain

1) Decide what you want
Its important to first consider the sort of TV (Plasama LCD size etc), so you will not be swayed by any sales talk when you visit the store.

2) Shop Around
Look in many stores as you can (Currys. Euronics Comet), as they are offering some good bargains. I settled for Comet. Why? Well they were the only ones offering 0 % finance. After all, its not cheap despite the bargains and I have nothing excpet a 10 per cent depoist to pay for 9 months. As usual, rememebr to pay off in full when the period expires or you will get seriously whacked for interest in your interest free deal!

3) Identify the bargain
I found a brialliant TV in Comet. A Panasonic TX-P42020B, for £549 with HD 1080p and everything else I worked out that I needed in step 1) And the saving was advertised as a whopping £450!

4) Check the review and online price
OK, maybe it looks too good to be true, so its worth going online to check it out, especially if it looks too good to be true. In my case, to some extent it was too good to be true, as it was available elsewhere for £599, but nothing cheaper, so it was still a saving of £50 compared to the best price available. Also check reviews - adimittedly there were not too many for this TV, but I found no really negative review, and given Panasonic has a good reputation I was sold.

5) Check with the online store
Now go to the same store's online site - sometimes they can be cheaper. In this case they were not (also at £549), BUT they had free delivery, not offered at the local store. Next use the chat line to tell them that you got a quote at the local store, but would like to buy online - the online store does not offer 0 %, but could they do anything to help? This way they will offer you an extra discount. I was offered another £32 off if I bought with them that day - they will give you a code in this case which you owuld use to purchase at the online store.

6) Now go back to the local store
I still wanted my 0% finance, so I went back to my local store to ask if they could match it (including free delivery). RESULT: YES- you will have to give them your offer code, but I now got my saving + my 0 per cent deal (there will be an arrangement fee - in my case £15)

7) Now Get your SKY HD
SKY are offering a special deal if you buy a TV and subscirbe to HD+ at the same time. Its called the SKY HD+ Starter Kit. You are eligible as long as you do not currently subscribe to SKY HD+ (Either exisiting Sky subscribers or news ones)
The offer costs £30 in store and gives you £50 cashback and of course a free HD+ box, so that's overall a saving of £20. You must use this, as if you order directly from Sky (and are an exsiting Sky subscriber) you will be hit with an £60 installation charge (A recent new present from Sky for its exisiting customers. So that's another £60 saving!
NB: Its important that once you get your "Sarter Kit" DO NOT TRY TO ACTIVIATE IT ONLONE. If you do, you might end up haivng to pay the installation charge. Istead, use the telephone number given in your Starter Kit.

So let's see, altogether I have saved (Compared with just buying the TV at say, Amazon and ordering my HD+ subscription directly)

TV: £82 Saving
Sky £60 + £20 =£80

A total saving of £162!! For a 42" plasma TV from Panasonic - not bad!

And I have 0 per cent finance so have nothing to pay until February. (Which did cost £15, but still a saving of £147)
:beer:
Bring on the footie -and I have no worries about going bankrupt, well not until February anyway

Hope you find this helpful fellow footie and/or TV fans!!

sillywilly

Seems too good to be true. I am not sure how you managed to get them in store to match their online price from the same company?

Does that mean you got the TV for £517 + credit arrangement so £532?

BTW - can't find that model online at all?

SavingTide

sillywilly wrote: »

Seems too good to be true. I am not sure how you managed to get them in store to match their online price from the same company?

Does that mean you got the TV for £517 + credit arrangement so £532?

BTW - can't find that model online at all?

That's correct, £32 off the marked price, so £517, so clearly if you do not need the 0 % per cent that you would get.

I simply asked online if they had any special offers (as I was considering buying elsewhere, though in the case with their same retail outlet, I guess the same principle holds regardless. As with all such offers, it will probably depend upon who you get and timing, and it might be that other stores (e.g. Currys) will not offer- but certainly worth asking.

Here's the link to the TV that I bought (But as I said, you could try this with other TVs you like)
http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/629006/PANASONIC-TX-P42U20B

Good luck!

CharlieBilly

Dont forget Plasmas use a lot of energy unlike LCD or even LED LCD tv's

SavingTide

I meant to add, I think the reason that I got them to match the offer is quite simple: They knew (or supposed) that if they did not match the offer I would take my business elsewhere - which I probably would have (though must admit really wanted to get the 0 per cent finance -Currys sometime also offer 0 per cent, strangely not at the moment!)

SavingTide

Yes, I was aware of that. but new models now have energy saving features than the older plasmas, so its not as a big an issue for me (compared with the value I will get from the TV. Will just have to make sure my family turns it off when not in use. I doubt in pracitse if it makes a massive difference.

But if you prefer LCD, then see my step 1) and the same advice applies!! (As I said in my post, I am not trying to recommend any particular TV, just showing you what is possible)

Lube

Most sources are only 1080i including sky/virgin/freeview HD only/freesat only source that isnt is blue-ray and most tv can use 1080i (720p) rather than slightly more 1080p tv

sillywilly

Can't be bad - getting a TV like that for £53 delivered!
Could you explain about the finance deal they gave you? Can you pay off a bit every month. The remainder after paying off the first £53 would be £53.22 a month over 9 months.

Which at £13.30 a week is pretty manageable.

It is just that I have never bought anything on finance - credit cards - yes but finance no.

I just hate having big debts hanging over my head. Any advice would be useful - cheers.

SavingTide

Just on this energy consumption quesiton:
Just checked, the one I bought consumes:

258/0.7watts :in use/powered-down power consumption

Yes, that's more than a new LCD on average, but probably comparable to an older LCD model (and it was not an issue with them_ So unless you have the TV on constantly, I doubt you will see a massive hit on your electriciy bills. (certianly as a % of your total bill)

But I agree; If your prime concern is to cut energy bills, then go for an LCD!

SavingTide

sillywilly wrote: »

Can't be bad - getting a TV like that for £53 delivered!
Could you explain about the finance deal they gave you? Can you pay off a bit every month. The remainder after paying off the first £53 would be £53.22 a month over 9 months.

Which at £13.30 a week is pretty manageable.

It is just that I have never bought anything on finance - credit cards - yes but finance no.

I just hate having big debts hanging over my head. Any advice would be useful - cheers.

No problem SW re: How finacne deal works (hey, maybe I should ask Martin for a job here

Yes: you have the option to pay off a little per month (Possibly per week as well, but did not ask this). So if you want to keep your final payment manageable that is the thing to do.

I personally prefer putting the money aside, (say in an instant access savings acount which you feed monthly) and leaving that so I can access it when the time comes to pay it off. That way you have nothing to pay and will not suffer the shock when the terrible day comes of having to pay for it (oh yes, and you will get the extra interest earned, OK that is pretty small, but you can buy yourself a pints of beer with it )

SavingTide

Lube wrote: »

Most sources are only 1080i including sky/virgin/freeview HD only/freesat only source that isnt is blue-ray and most tv can use 1080i (720p) rather than slightly more 1080p tv

Yes, I said that you did not need 1080p to get the same quality HD in my post! I am not a technical expert, so I could be wrong, but I asked around quite widely and all the experts agreed 1080p was useful to have if you want to future proof your TV -at least compared to a TV not capabable of 1080 (i or p)

I researched it quite a lot before buying: Its a good idea, as you will find the salespeople often have very poor knowledge (often insisting that you need 1080p to get a better picture from the Sky HD transmission, which is clearly not true)

Though I am not a technical expert, think I now know more than many of the salesmen:eek: