Sony XBR X950H broken 2x

[katharsis]

Very frustrated at the moment...

My old Sony KDL 46" is on its last legs, so I thought I'd get a new one, did some research and found that the XBR X950H 55" would be great (good reviews and fits in my current budget).

2 online retailers were (and are still) sold out, so I opted for Amazon (maybe a mistake?).

The 1st one I got was DOA. As soon as it was turned on, it had the yellow blinking lights next to the Sony logo and a quick online search showed that it needed to get serviced.

Was on the phone for over an hour to schedule a return with pick up and get a replacement (btw they wanted to help me troubleshoot this at first!)

The second one got here 2 days later, looked fine and turned on, so I set it all up.

Now just today I discovered that the screen had a small 'bulge' on the top part (almost in the middle). I didn't see that for the past few nights as it's rather dark in the room so might have missed it. But today as soon as I turned it on during daytime (with the outside light hitting the screen) I instantly saw there was something there.
First I thought it might be a smudge and wanted to wipe it off, then saw something's wrong with the screen.

Just filled out for a full return/refund and waiting for carrier to pick it up in the next day or so...

Super frustrated with the whole experience!

What do you all think about Sony and that particular model?
Should I steer clear or try to get it elsewhere?
Or is this pretty much an Amazon issue?
The boxes, when I received them, were both fine and no visible damage to them, also everything was still packed well and didn't look used or anything.

Maybe just bad luck?

:sigh:

[katharsis]

Another weird thing is that it shows :

'Only for Mexico'

on the box... never seen that?!

[Robert Zohn]

That ^ is not normal for a Sony USA TV.

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

That ^ is not normal for a Sony USA TV.

I've been wondering this also and sent an email to Sony Support last night. I hope they do answer

[profholt82]

I don't know what you're situation is, but if at all possible, I'd recommend buying it in person from a physical store. Most stores have curbside pickup so you don't even have to go in. You can just buy it online and pick it up in the parking lot where an employee will load it into your vehicle.

I say this because when researching televisions online this year, I found that on amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, et cetera, most of the negative reviews were not about the quality of the sets themselves, but about sets that had been damaged in shipping and were broken when they opened the box. Televisions, being as fragile as they are, seem quite susceptible to being damaged during shipping.

I can tell you that Best Buy carries the X950H (which is a very nice set) in store, but you'd have to research the other stores near you.

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by profholt82

I don't know what you're situation is, but if at all possible, I'd recommend buying it in person from a physical store. Most stores have curbside pickup so you don't even have to go in. You can just buy it online and pick it up in the parking lot where an employee will load it into your vehicle.

I say this because when researching televisions online this year, I found that on amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, et cetera, most of the negative reviews were not about the quality of the sets themselves, but about sets that had been damaged in shipping and were broken when they opened the box. Televisions, being as fragile as they are, seem quite susceptible to being damaged during shipping.

I can tell you that Best Buy carries the X950H (which is a very nice set) in store, but you'd have to research the other stores near you.

Thanks - Yeah I might just go that route instead (store pickup or even in store when possible). The shipping boxes themselves for both TVs were fine, no damage at all. And checking the TV when I unpacked it there was no damage either, other than that 'bulge' on the replacement TV which I didn't see until the outside light hit the screen straight on.... but you never know, especially with the increase of shipments and the carries not always being careful.

[David M]

Originally Posted by katharsis

Very frustrated at the moment...

My old Sony KDL 46" is on its last legs, so I thought I'd get a new one, did some research and found that the XBR X950H 55" would be great (good reviews and fits in my current budget).

2 online retailers were (and are still) sold out, so I opted for Amazon (maybe a mistake?).

The 1st one I got was DOA. As soon as it was turned on, it had the yellow blinking lights next to the Sony logo and a quick online search showed that it needed to get serviced.

Was on the phone for over an hour to schedule a return with pick up and get a replacement (btw they wanted to help me troubleshoot this at first!)

The second one got here 2 days later, looked fine and turned on, so I set it all up.

Now just today I discovered that the screen had a small 'bulge' on the top part (almost in the middle). I didn't see that for the past few nights as it's rather dark in the room so might have missed it. But today as soon as I turned it on during daytime (with the outside light hitting the screen) I instantly saw there was something there.
First I thought it might be a smudge and wanted to wipe it off, then saw something's wrong with the screen.

Just filled out for a full return/refund and waiting for carrier to pick it up in the next day or so...

Super frustrated with the whole experience!

What do you all think about Sony and that particular model?
Should I steer clear or try to get it elsewhere?
Or is this pretty much an Amazon issue?
The boxes, when I received them, were both fine and no visible damage to them, also everything was still packed well and didn't look used or anything.

Maybe just bad luck?

:sigh:

Did you buy from Amazon, or from a third-party seller selling through Amazon?

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by David M

Did you buy from Amazon, or from a third-party seller selling through Amazon?

Directly from Amazon, not a third party seller.

[katharsis]

BTW I just got a generic reply from Sony yesterday:

'We are sorry to hear that you're having an issue with the replacement TV. We appreciate all of your feedback as it helps improve the product and we hope this has been taken care of. Should you need further assistance, please send me a private message.'

I did reach out to Crutchfield, and they are not aware of any issues with this model in general and were surprised I had 2 that were faulty... currently they are sold out, but I think I might just get one around here in person if possible.

Oh - I did ask them about the 'only for Mexico' thing also and the rep said basically all North American Sony TVs are manufactured in Mexico... still weird though.

Thanks for all your answers and suggestions.

Happy New Year!

[murphywmm]

The "Only for Mexico" thing sounds like the TV was only intended for sale in Mexico. This happens a lot - companies will price their items lower to suit the market in poorer countries, but they will mark the items as for sale only in that country and forbid exportation of it. So it's strange that Amazon US would be selling a product intended for the Mexican market.

[MarcinL]

While all TVs are Made in Mexico this box doesn't look like anything I've ever seen on any TVS when buying at Best Buy or other stores to be honest. I typically only buy from physical stores, although did pull a trigger on GreenToe last April on a 85 inch 950G for $2500 which was a steal at the time and had no issues with delivery or TV and got a 3 year warranty for $169. Typically Best Buy has been my go to before.