Ben's Bargains

6ave.com Panasonic 42" VIERA Plasma HDTV TH42PX80U $698 Discuss (15)

BestBuy.com Insignia NS-LTDVD32-09 32" 720p HDTV with DVD $530 Discuss (16)

CircuitCity.com Samsung LN40A550 40" 1080P LCD HDTV $950 Discuss (15)

BestBuy.com Insignia NS-LCD42HD-09 42" Class 1080p HDTV $700 Discuss (6)

I wish the 37" deal would post again

philips refur deals popping up almost everyday. what are the negative about buying a refub plasma, anyone? im thinking about saving some money and buy a philips refub plasma..
thanx...

is warranty on refub any different with "new"?

42" refurb vizio $599 at TD

You can try to polish a piece of shit, but in the end it is still a piece of shit.

#5 how about 'it's like trying to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse'!

this is just word of mouth (so take it any way you want), but my friend who works at costco says that out of all the flat panel tvs that they sell the philips gets returned far more than any other brand they sell.

As I always ask, how come they have so damn many refurbs available? Their failure rate must be through the roof!

Only experience I have is through my co-worker who received her 42" plasma with a cracked screen and after more than 2 weeks is still waiting on it to be repaired per the decision by Philips.

take your chances with phil's refurbs

The truth is Philips is more difficult to operate. There are lots of people returning the tv because they don't know how to turn it on or put in the batteries correctly.

I purchased a 42" Philips refurb unit about 1.5 years ago.
Back then I paid $2200 for a 42" Plasma, but at that time it was a great deal.

I was a bit nervous, but after 18 months I still have not had any problems. I may have gotten lucky, but i thought i would share anyways.

At $1000, i say it's worth the chance.

I just got my 42" refurb last week. It cost $800 with free shipping ($99 value). They had a special several weeks ago for $400 off with free shipping.

I was a bit nervous, but decided to take a chance at that price. It was sent via a freight company and packed/delivered very well. Because of the horror stories, I pulled it out of the box and went over it with a magnifying glass. There was a small scuff at the top corner, but hardly noticeable. Other than that, the TV looked brand new and in perfect working condition.

I had some friends check it out and they decided to get one, but at that point, they already ran out.

I would take a chance on another Philips refurb at the right price. I basically got an $2000 TV for $800.

About 2 years ago got a 30" refurbed, still going strong, no regrets so far

fbt (#5) -- I've always heard that saying as "you can try to polish natedrizzle, but in the end it is still a piece of shit."

I have three Philips Refurbs. Two of the 30 inch LCDs and one 42 inch plasma. All three have worked perfectly. There were some differences in the quality of the refurbs and the packaging. One of the LCDs and the Plasma from Atlanta and they were in great condition and had all of the accessories, no blemishes or scratches. They were also packed very well. The other LCD came out of Texas and was missing all of the cables and the wall mount and had scuffs on it. It was also packaged very poorly for shipping. I inquired with Philips because I wanted the cables and wall mount and found out that they have contractors that refurbish their televisions for them. So in the past they have had some very good contractors doing the job and some not so good contractors doing the job which partially explains the wide swing in customer experience. So you really are rolling the dice in terms of what you get. Also, horndoggy is on the money with his post. A few of years ago when DVD-Rs came out I was in BestBuy about three weeks after Christmas and they had an open box Philips for $99 when the list was just over $200. I asked the sales person what was wrong with it and he said that the customer could not figure out how to work it and that they have gotten several back for the same reason. He was right, it was a pain to operate.

Refurb = this time around it's gonna work.

i wouldn't mess with a refurb for $1000. just bought the viewsonic 37" LCD for $780 new, lots of extra cash for a little size...

if you've got the 1k, get the viewsonic..bacon's beautiful,
and you've still got cash towards a wii, 360, or ps3

Oink

Most of the refurbs on the market have only minor scuffs or scratches. They are most likely returns to stores that have liberal return policies. When it comes to Plasma TVs (all brands), you have to know that they are more fragile and have a shorter life span than your typical LCD TV. The issue with most failed plasma TVs is usually the power supply. I have seen my share of bad Vizio P42 power supplies. Luckily, Vizio is a decent company and will repair the PSU boards for a small fee after the original warranty expires.

#3 - Refurbs = 90 days warranty / New = One / Two / Three year warranty (varies by brand)

#16 - Exactly!!! Usually any design flaws are corrected the second time around.

The spec says "HDTV ready" but I thought it was integrated. could anyone verify?

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