Everyone seems to agree– this year will be the year of the cheap big-screen tv. The only question remains… will anyone buy them?
The New York Times says that DisplaySearch, a market research firm, says that so-called “Black Friday” prices “could go as low as $400 for a 32-inch LCD, and $600 for a 42-inch plasma set — about $200 off current prices.”
From the NYT:
Many retailers are cutting costs because they expect a lighter selling season. Best Buy announced that it would hire 16,000 to 20,000 seasonal employees, a hefty drop from last year’s 26,000 seasonal hires.
Best Buy’s comparable-store sales in September dropped 2 percent from the year before. “We’ll see less traffic,” Brian Dunn, Best Buy’s president, said. “We’ll grow our share by offering the right solution, product and service. We’re not looking to get every dime out of you. If a customer just wants the lowest price on a TV set, we’ll give it to them with a smile.”
And to increase the likelihood that customers will pull out their wallets, several manufacturers, including Panasonic and Sharp, are working with retailers to offer extended financing with either same-as-cash interest or deferred payment plans.
Some believe that bundling items, like a flat-screen TV with a Blu-ray player or an audio system, will provide that extra value that will push consumers to buy.
Best Buy will offer a bundle “targeted to middle America,” Mr. Dunn said.
Hefty Discounts Could Arrive on Big-Screen TVs, but Buyers May Be Resistant [NYT]
(Photo: Clean Wal-Mart )
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Already got a 42inch LCD so no need to buy another and especially not from Best Buy. Vanns and Amazon have had the best prices in my opinion.
@Raekwon: I just checked Vanns prices and they are terrible (right now at least). I’ve been shopping recently and I think Newegg and Buy.com are the place to go.
@smurph0404: when I bought my 60″ I printed off the page from Amazon and got a price match at HHgregg… saved almost $500.
@Raekwon: Im waiting for a cheap 19″ CRT. Someday…
Always incentivized to buy, never to same…
@jscott73: Always incentivized to buy, never to save…
Really do need an edit option…
@jscott73:
Consumption is the lifeblood of the worldwide economy. You want to create momentum toward higher wages, more employment, and more robust production. Saving is deflationary and unproductive; the ideal environment provides consumers with the products they need today based on the income they’ll earn tomorrow. It motivates investors to take risks on what is perceived to be an endless horizon of good ideas worthy of capitalization. Cash savings are a bet that things are uncertain and untrustworthy, which is not what an economy desires.
@ADismalScience: Some of us, like me, are young and still attempting to procure their own personal wealth. Others, like me, were foolish and wanted to move out of their parents’ house as fast as possible. Those, like me, didn’t exactly have a financial backing to do so, and are just barely breaking right now.
So, in summary, I would LIKE to spend, and buy myself all the gadgets I want, and move out of the crummy apartment I have, but I am financially unable to do so. I need to save so I can spend when I have the means.
@blackmage439: “… barely breaking EVEN right now.”
@ADismalScience:
I think what you’re saying in essence is that what’s good for the individual is bad for the economy.
@Parapraxis: Which really raises the question of what an economy is *for*. Is it purely for generating big numbers, or does the happiness of people participating in the economy matter? In the U.S. we tend to fixate more on the big numbers, compared to other industrialized countries.
@Parapraxis:
And how is saving good for the individual?
@ADismalScience: Freedom, freedom from debt, freedom from worry, freedom from work…oh wait those are the three main things that make our economy go. Without those “freedoms” we have indebted cheap labor worrying about losing their jobs and being happy with corporate crumbs and whose main concern is what’s on tv tonight and can I afford what they are trying to sell me.
@jscott73:
Yes, you’re a regular William Wallace with a stack of fiat making 50 bps in a US-chartered financial institution.
@ADismalScience: Just so we’re clear here, you’re suggesting investing for the future has no value, and that you should not only have no savings, but have a negative balance – be mired in debt?
That’s a pretty long walk to be taking over a pond with ice that thin. Sure you don’t want to reconsider?
@ADismalScience: Not being constantly at the mercy of banks and finance companies, and not constantly giving away good money in the form of interest payments is good for anyone.
Until you’re out of debt and have money saved you don’t really control your own life. Someone else can always yank the rug out from under you whenever they like just by jacking up your interest rate or calling in your loan.
@Orv:
How does saving fiat currency make you independent of banks and finance companies? The Fed can always yank the rug out from under you. Markets can yank the rug out from under you. “Savings” are false protection against market downturns.
The most anyone needs is a 6-12 months of living expenses set aside. Apart from that, cash savings are a waste of time.
@ADismalScience: I agree that keeping money in cash is a bad idea unless you need it in less than five years. I consider money invested in the markets to be “savings,” too. Where I disagree is with the idea that going into debt is somehow good for consumers. Our current financial crisis is largely because people have taken on unsustainable levels of debt.
@ADismalScience: Short term, and on an individual basis, it’s good to have what Dave Ramsey calls “a shock absorber between you and life”. If you sit on your money forever, it loses value, but short term savings and emergency funds are valuable assets.
Or do you want to argue that it’s better to run up credit card debt, default, and never pay anybody back?
@Trai_Dep: I think he means you should either be invested in markets or puschasing on *good* credit. rather than holding cash. I happen to whole-heartedly agree.
Sure, nobody should be ‘mired’ in debt but there is a reason that no business is 100% cash financed. It’s just smarter to borrow others’ money. You can be more productive because there are always richer folks out there looking for a good ROI.
As an individual, tell me why it is a bad idea to purchase a TV at 0% APR for 48 months or a car at 0% APR for 70 months. You avoid a large immediate cash outlay and benefit from inflation eroding the present value of your purchase.
What’s not to like?
@god_forbids: The fact that in financing that car over 70 months you will be REQUIRED to carry insurance on it. This is an added cost that can be quite expensive. It also protects you from an unexpected job loss or illness that may leave you without a car if you did not have it paid off. If the ITEM you purchased is paid for that is a debt you do not have in the future. It allows you to retire earlier, meaning you can enjoy life, instead of being a 70 year old working to maintain a stupid lifestyle based on things you truly cant afford
@jscott73: Really do need an edit option…
A one-time use, time expired edit option (say 5 minutes) would be ideal to correct spelling and typos without inviting thread hijacking and confusion caused by redirection of a poster to alter a provocative statement they posted earlier in the day/week/etc.
@jscott73:
Yes, companies are trying to encourage people to buy the products they sell. In other shocking news, the sun rose in the East this morning.
I’d be tempted to get a 36-42″ LCD that can handle 1080p, but I think I’ll wait a bit. I already two nice flat screens, one that does 1080i and the other does 1080p at a smaller screen size (24″) so I’m already set.
@mariospants: 1080p is unnecessary on anything less than a 42″ screen. 720p will save you a hundred or so dollars and there won’t be any visible difference.
@Methusalah: I think that 24″ would be more like a computer monitor where resolution makes a huge difference at that size. More screen real estate is quite visible, and you generally sit closer to a computer monitor than a TV.
@nate4096: That’s only true if you’re sitting as close to it as you would a computer monitor. Most people don’t sit that close to their TVs. If you have the more typical setup with the TV on one side of the room and the couch on the other, Methusalah is right.
@Methusalah:
That’s not entirely true. On a 37″ 1080p television, one would have to sit 2-6 feet away to see any difference.
@mariospants: Friends don’t let friends buy LCDs.
::ducks::
already in the past year bought a 32 and a 42…so no new ones for me
Why bother with a new TV? Comcast is crap for us -even for the standard issue- breaks up and lines out- and we are too cheap for HD. I won a 26″ lcd tv and was able to flip it for a new PC tower…
I am figuring on a 30″+ tube type screen or back projector plus HD converter box for maybe $100 next summer after HD kicks over Feb. 2009…
@econobiker:
The Feb 2009 transition has nothing to do with HD.
If you currently watch analog television via an antenna, you’ll be affected. Nobody else will. Every TV hooked up to cable or satellite will be exactly the same as it is today.
@econobiker: You need to be able to FIND a tube type system by next summer.
@holocron: You almost can’t find tube TVs now. And the ones you do find are crap, absolute bare bones entry level 20″ models.
Best Buy, for example, has exactly 4 tube TV models to choose from.
@dvdchris: I meant that I will be getting a used one from someone who upgraded. I recently scored a older new-in-box 21″ pc monitor for $50 from a private party with offers for used ones as low as $20. I foresee the same deals next summer.
We have a working box we got from my grandmother’s home when she moved to a nursing home. I don’t want to pay the higher electricity bills that supposedly come along with the flat screens, so we’ll stick with our box for now.
@Quill2006: LCDs use much less power than a tube tv.
@Corporate_guy: Not really. While the LCD itself draws very little power, the backlight on a big-screen TV draws a couple hundred watts. That puts it roughly in the same league as a CRT TV.
@Quill2006: Supposedly, eh? Might wanna do your research before saying things like that.
I’m not even necessarily saying you’re wrong, just suggesting that you may make yourself look a little silly sometime.
Buying one this year, probably pretty soon but I’m still trying to figure out the timing. Money’s saved; it’s just a question of figuring out which brand and when prices will be super cheap. All I know is we want something that will last for several years, with a very nice picture quality, 42′ or 46′, and no decaBDE or similar brominated flame retardants. (Seriously)
I’ve been considering the TV purchase for a while, and Consumerist & Lifehacker (and commenters) have been VERY helpful. I appreciate being able to navigate this so much more confidently than I otherwise would have!
I was going to vote yes for the poll but I’m an atheist.
@swedub: Then be like all good atheists and take God’s name in vain.
@swedub:
My thoughts exactly!
Recently purchased a 42″ from Newegg. I’ve been looking and actually saving for one for the past 4 months. I’m ok with the very real possibility that a higher end/better tv will become cheaper, but like most Americans, I prefer immediate satisfaction.
Hell yes. Although I don’t watch TV; it is strictly for movies and video games.
I’ve yet to jump onto the HD wagon as I can’t quite yet justify the cost. If the deals get competitive enough in coming months, though, I just might bite.
I’m looking to get one for my parents for Christmas. I’m definitely hitting the pavement on Black Friday to see what I can score.
hmm… I have a 32″ Bravia. An upgrade to 42″ or 46″ is mighty tempting, though I am utterly poor. But still…
Don’t they say that every year is the year that HDTV’s become cheap?
@12-Inch Idongivafuck Sandwich:
Yeah, that seems to be the case every year. However, I think previous price drops had more to do with the technology just becoming cheaper. In this case, we are going to see abnormally low prices because the demand won’t be there and stores need to move their supply.
@Jesse: Bingo.
Can we get a third option of “I want to, because I am a materially-obsessed person, but I don’t know if my bank account can handle it”?
How about an option for “My 17 year old TV is getting hard to watch with lines all over it and I was going to buy one anyways, but now will wait until I see the price drop.”@blackmage439:
Eeeeh, I just watch the news on television and the rest of the media goes on my LCD monitor so no need for an LCD tv for me… I rather buy a fridge
@RodAox: Or a fridge with an LCD tv built-in.
@Daemon_of_Waffle: here is a blank check and I will gladly pay the amount that you put on there….a tv and a fridge….no longer I have to choose between eating and watching the tube….
hopefully the price will drop even more. Finally got the wife to agree on a size and price range and now I just saw that the samsung’s I’ve been watching have dropped even more. the 52″ 750 is now 2150 on amazon, with free shipping. Hoping it will drop another couple hundred by black friday/cyber monday.
I was kicking around the idea of going to a Best Buy and seeing what kind of deal I could talk them into. I’m just not sure if it’s because I really want a TV, or because I just want to kick Best Buy while the market is down. I kind of suspect the latter…
I’m in the market for a new HD television, but prices would need to be QUITE low for me to buy. I can live without one.
Waiting for 60+ inches to crash like a led balloon.
I’m hoping to get one from my dad this Christmas… if he doesn’t get one for us we might end up buying one.. We’ll see what happens..
Awesome! Our 8-year old 32″ Wega just died so we’re in the market for a 32-37″ LCD. I bought a Toshiba 1080p for the game room a few months ago, hopefully we can get the 37″ version of it for around the same price we paid for the 32″!
Already bought one earlier this year when I had saved up the cash.
We currently have 26″ and 32″ tube TVs. We’ve discussed buying a new one but since both of ours work there isn’t any reason.
I’ve heard that the DLP sets have better pictures than the LCD and they’re cheaper but take up a bit more floor space. Until one of the TV’s goes (Probably the 26″ Panasonic) we’ll stay low tech.
My brother is buying one, since his old TV died and he’s using an old, small, borrowed TV.
Me, I’d love to, but I don’t have the money. I am semi-secretly hoping our TV will die so we have a good excuse.
I really wish I could afford one right now , I’m still stuck using a tiny crt TV so hopefully maybe I’ll be able to come up with some cash this month.
In a word: yes.
I grabbed a 32″ LG when I moved. It’s the perfect size for my small space, and went for $700 back in June. I’m sure this set is much cheaper now.
I must praise the durability of this tv. It gets quite the workout. I’ve a Wii, DVD player, XB360, and desktop PC hooked up to it. Between my gf and I, it’s guarunteed to be turned on for at least 4-8 hours a day, and I don’t even have cable OR satellite!
In the true spirit of consumerism, I suggest everyone throw out their current TV and buy a new one!
Actually, skip the buy part. My wife and I got rid of our TV about a year ago and don’t miss a thing. Really! TV is crap. Commercials are crap. If you find that you really like the odd TV show, buy a big computer monitor. Then wait until the series comes out on DVD and get it for free at your local library or buy it on iTunes.
Plus, I’ve found that the relative size of your screen increases the closer you sit
My 30” monitor is just perfect for movies and such.
I don’t miss TV in the least, and haven’t had to suffer through five minutes of commercials in over a year. Our condo is quiet and has more room for other stuff.
@GuinevereRucker: You do know that HDTVs are basically computer monitors right? And that you could have had a much larger ‘monitor’ for the same price had you bought an HDTV? Only you are responsible for the programming that gets displayed on your HDTV/monitor.
52-inch Panasonic plasma widescreen, a year old. $1300 from the former owners of our new house, who didn’t want to schlep it out of the basement.
I think it’ll be many years before we replace it…
My husband and I decided we’re buying one for each other for Christmas this year. Not super-big, but our TVs are 10 years old, we have antenna only, and we didn’t really want to muck with the boxes. We’ll put the old ones in the basement rec room for DVDs and video games, and/or donate them. We’ll get a new flat screen for the living room so we can hang it on the wall and not have it take up real estate. But not a very big one.
The crash in prices has just been a bonus for us, since we had to make a decision one way or the other with the switch to digital coming up!
Cheap won’t be until I can find a freebie. My 27″ tube HDTV was off Craigslist, my 17″ LCD was traded out for an answering machine at a e-waste dropoff.
I’ve already got a 42″ plasma from 3 years ago on Black Friday.. I’m not planning on upgrading again until either:
1) This Plasma gives out
2) 60″ OLED < $2,000
I have to admit I’ve turned into way too much of a geek lately. I’d rather blow my money on the best PC monitor I could find. My TV has become obsolete. My PC has actually become a new media center. My games, movies, music and pictures are all in one place. I believe that TVs will ultimately be replaced with PCs. Some of those remotes are way more confusing than a keyboard + mouse. And with the right setup, you could already use some TVs as a PC monitor and still have your cable hooked into it.
Damn 27″ Sony just refuses to die. There is a reason I see the exact same TV in every Applebees in town. They run forever, like Hondas. So I’m stuck with my 1997-vintage TV until the end of time, or until Dish Network stops supporting them.
I have a 42 plasma thats over 2 years old I love, I don’t plan to replace it right away. I did replace my old 20 inch with a 22 inch LCD HDTV with built in receiver.
I don’t see buying any new TV’s a big one would have to be a good model, manufacture and be really really cheap and I just don’t see that happening for me.
I’ll likely be picking up a flat-screen of some sort in the next 4 months or so. Especially so because the main TV in the house keeps turning the screen blue and I’m tired of the Fiancee wining about it.
I bought a NIKO 32″ LCD ($800) 2 years ago and it’s failing already..a real piece of junk. Called Tiger Direct, where I bought it, and asked for the NIKO service number. They didn’t have it as they weren’t selling them anymore. A few weeks later saw an ad for NIKO TV’s on Tiger Direct’s website. Looks like they sell a bunch of them then wait a year or so till the warranties run out and then resume the scam!
It’s past the warrenty and Visa Card warrenty so looking to by a Sony Bravia when the prices drop sdramatically on Black Friday. :-}
I already bought a 37″ widescreen LCD Toshiba just because I was tired of squinting at widescreen DVDs on my 27″ square CRT. It should be great. It already looks good when the signal is digital and crappy when it’s not. When they are all digital it should be ok.
If I had a sunroom, I’d probably get another one because DirecTV lets me have up to four hookups. Then I’d put it in there.
A chat friend just told me how to hook up my laptop and said I could play my game on my big TV. WHEE! I haven’t tried it yet but that should be cool.
The discount is usually from the distributor to the reseller. Then the reseller (your electronics store) tries to keep the price the same so they profit big.
The only time real discounts come is if you don’t be the early buyer and wait for the reseller to try and dump the unsold stock at a loss.
Nice try CE manufacturers, but you don’t regulate the resellers prices, when you do, then I’ll bite.
Nope. I don’t need more of my precious money being sent to China for disposable TV’s just so I can watch the latest “American Idol” with a slightly better picture. I’ll stick with my completely usable tube TV’s until they die.
Finally jumped on the hi-def bandwagon a month ago. It was finally time to replace our 31″ tube TV (god it’s heavy) that we bought in 1994. Got a 1080p reconditioned 37″ TV from newegg for about $650. Retail price was $1100, newegg sale price was $800, and the refurb price was $600. Then we upgraded to the FiOS triple play which will save us more than $50 per month over the next year. So I have faster internet, hi-def on 2 TVs (one is a projector) and a multi-room DVR at savings that will pay for the new TV over then next 12 months. Not bad.
If the deal is right, we might get one. We have a couple ready to go out, but I can wait another year or so if necessary.
Hrm. Something struck me enough to comment:
“offer extended financing with either same-as-cash interest or deferred payment plans.”
Is that like an ARM? Sort of what got us INTO this economy? Man. Not even Pavlov can teach some folks…
I’m sorry, but I can’t see myself spending $600 for Christmas under normal circumstances. Under tight money circumstances, who’s buying these things? People still in denial about having to pay credit cards and mortgages, or what?
Yes, I’ll probably buy a new TV. I think my tv is kicking the bucket. Today, I woke up to my tv showing me one horizontal bar of color, and the rest black.
I guess this is an excuse for getting a new LCD TV!
When we moved into our house 18 months ago, we have a perfect spot in our living room to mount a TV on the wall. We’ve been holding out to pay off the new fridge, sofa, and beds first. However, the fridge is now paid off and with prices getting so low, we might go ahead and buy the new TV now. Have to think about it.
I am in the market for a new 37 inch lcd tv, but I want one cheap that is of good quality. I HATE all the new unknown brands that are out there.
It used to be easy to buy a tv… but now with all the new technical features…. its just confusing & a pain in the ass.
I’ll wait for OLED in 1080p (or better). I have a decent 30″ flat screen CRT bought a few years ago when LCDs cost too much and plasma screens were outlandishly expensive. . I’m holding out until I can afford the whole shebang of TV, PS3, multichannel receiver, and ceiling/wall flush-mounted speakers. Why half-ass it?
It doesn’t sound like prices are coming down that much.
In January, I purchased a 32-inch Envision 720p for $450 from Staples. (using a 10%-off coupon for a model that was already on sale for $500) I got free delivery to my door in an ice storm, too!
So far, I’m loving it.