Costco HDTV 's

[Go Blue]

Does anyone know how to compare the TV's at Costco to a TV at another store like Best Buy? For example Costco has a Panasonic 42" plasma #THC42HD18. That part # is not like any of there other parts numbers that I can find on Amazon, Best Buy, or cnet.

[allstar780]

the Sony rep told me that they, and others, basically shove reject parts together (in kinder words though) to make their costco TVs and that basically they're a waste of money.... but if you're looking at the other brands they have (like vizio and viewsonic) they're going to be the same models you'd find elsewhere... theres a reason the manufacturer didn't list that TV on the site.

[callas01]

I don't know about what AllStar780 is saying, and that may be true, he does know quite a bit about these things, but your tv model listed is on the panasonic website. Although, you will need to call for pricing and cannot buy direct from their site, as you can with their other models. So I would say unfortunately, this looks to be one of their low end plasmas. I do know that a lot of companies will make TV's specifically for places like Costco, Sams Club and Walmart. Besides, You are looking at a 720P TV, so it is not Full HD.

In that case, and I am sure AllStar would agree, that if in fact these items are "throw away parts" then you would prolly be just as well off buying a Vizio model, cause Vizio is making their living off of Costco. Vizio's 42" LCD is $999, and it is 1080P.

Not sure if you are sticking to a budget or just wondering why you cannot campare apples to oranges, but if you are on a budget and looking to upgrade, I do own a 42 Vizio LCD for my bedroom, and it is a very good tv for what it is used for. But if you look around, then you can always find a better TV at a price you can afford.

Otherwise, just look at amazon and you can find TV's at any price range that usually can ship for free, for instance, TH-42PZ80U is 1099.99, only $200 more

[CptGreedle]

If you carefully read through the membership agreements, it states that they can and will take refurbished models of TVs and sell them without telling you they are not new. It is a gamble, you might end up with a fine, brand new device, you might end up with a decent working but refurbished device, you might end up with crap!

Since you have to agree to all their condition to join, they are not obligated to tell you if the TV in the box is new or refurbished.

It applies to ALL their electronics, not just TVs.

[Lucy Diamond]

Originally Posted by allstar780

the Sony rep told me that they, and others, basically shove reject parts together (in kinder words though) to make their costco TVs and that basically they're a waste of money.... but if you're looking at the other brands they have (like vizio and viewsonic) they're going to be the same models you'd find elsewhere... theres a reason the manufacturer didn't list that TV on the site.

That is completely 100% TRUE.

I have an old Toshiba TV that is a 20 and a HALF in television.

At the time (1996) it was a big deal to have a STEREO tv and I bought it for a mere 400.00.

Later on I had a temp job with Toshiba and an old lady there confided in me that THAT tv was a mistake and only Costco on the east coast got them.

I guess somebody fudged a blue print and then somebody in quality control missed it and then the people in manufacturing could care less and viola...a 20 and a HALF inch TV.

Costco is completely brilliant if you need 16 pounds of potato salad, but leave the electronics to the electronics stores.

Later,

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by callas01

Besides, You are looking at a 720P TV, so it is not Full HD.

God I hate that "distinction" more marketing crap if you ask me..... HD is HD, but yes, there is higher native resolution HD sets, and lower resolution HD sets.


I actually like the fact that people are hell-bent on 1080p.... it brings down the cost of 720p sets for people like me

[Pelican170]

Id go for 1080P if i have the choice, i dont really feel its marketing crap...

[Go Blue]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

God I hate that "distinction" more marketing crap if you ask me..... HD is HD, but yes, there is higher native resolution HD sets, and lower resolution HD sets.


I actually like the fact that people are hell-bent on 1080p.... it brings down the cost of 720p sets for people like me

While this topic was not my intent of the thread, I agree with you Beta. I own a 50" 768p Pio Elite Plasma and it blows away the 2 previous 1080p set I have owned. Also, I sit over 10ft away.

I was just trying to help out my dad, who was at Costco and wanted to buy a TV there. I told him to give me the model #'s and I would let him know what to do. The problem was that the model #'s are not found anywhere else. I did find the Panasonic model mentioned in my first post on Panny's site and after doing some research found that it is basically the same as the 42pz80u, but for $800, which I think is a great deal. I was going to point him in that direction (over the Vizio's) until I heard about the refurb units. Now I'm confused.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I actually like the fact that people are hell-bent on 1080p.... it brings down the cost of 720p sets for people like me

I see your point, and the TV in my bedroom is a 720p/1080i (although I out put my DVD player to 720p) and I watch a lot of movies in there on my sony upconverter, and think its a great looking picture. My only reason for making that distinction is that so many people are "hell-bent" on 1080p, and he was trying to make a comaparison, so I wanted to make it known to him what is was he was looking at.

Shutlz, if you are looking into a panasonic plasma 720p a good one is TH-42PX80U for $960 on Amazon.

[Go Blue]

Originally Posted by callas01

I don't know about what AllStar780 is saying, and that may be true, he does know quite a bit about these things, but your tv model listed is on the panasonic website. Although, you will need to call for pricing and cannot buy direct from their site, as you can with their other models. So I would say unfortunately, this looks to be one of their low end plasmas. I do know that a lot of companies will make TV's specifically for places like Costco, Sams Club and Walmart. Besides, You are looking at a 720P TV, so it is not Full HD.

In that case, and I am sure AllStar would agree, that if in fact these items are "throw away parts" then you would prolly be just as well off buying a Vizio model, cause Vizio is making their living off of Costco. Vizio's 42" LCD is $999, and it is 1080P.

Not sure if you are sticking to a budget or just wondering why you cannot campare apples to oranges, but if you are on a budget and looking to upgrade, I do own a 42 Vizio LCD for my bedroom, and it is a very good tv for what it is used for. But if you look around, then you can always find a better TV at a price you can afford.

Otherwise, just look at amazon and you can find TV's at any price range that usually can ship for free, for instance, TH-42PZ80U is 1099.99, only $200 more

My dad is sticking to a $800 or less budget. It looks like the THC42HD18 ($800) at Costco is the same as the TH42PX80U, minus some meaningless features like memory card slots and things like that.

[Toptube]

Costco Panasonic Plasmas are fantastic deals and I would not hesitate to pick one up. My dad got a 50+ inch last year for like $1600. According to the AVS forums, it was only lacking a couple of trivial features.

[krazeyeyez]

i was under the impression since they are a club type pay-membership that the alt. model # was more of a loop hole thing, to avoid price matching among other things. Otherwise i have read and been told that its the same tv they just run off a set number of tvs under the alt. model # and those are sold to sams clubs, costco's, etc.... so the 46v3000 and 46lv300 for instance are the exact same thing. also i have heard costco is really good with their 2 year warranty, but havn't had a problem with my set so no first hand experience there, but if they are refurbs they at least cover you for 2 years and chances are if its faulty it will screw up long before then.

[My_Two_Cents]

^^ Correct.

All the talk of selling refurbs as new (without disclosure) or manufacturers using inferior parts to produce "special sets" for Costco (or Sam's, BJ's, etc.) is just FUD. Most sets are produced by the manufacturers specifically for these clubs, and differ from other consumer electronics store models only by model number and possibly some minor differences in features. This is done, for the most part, to keep these big retailers from price matching since the model numbers are not exact.

I've purchased two sets from Costco over the years, the latest being a 58" Panny plasma, and I can assure you that both sets were brand new and have operated flawlessly with absolute beautiful picture quality! Ask yourself why would Costco extend the manufacturer's warranty by another year (and add even another year when using the Coscto Amex), if they were selling questionable refurbs and/or sets made from "factory seconds"? These claims always seem to come from "a friend who knew a guy who's cousin used to work for (insert manufacturer's name here)" Not trying to put anyone down, but if any of this was really happening then there'd be a lot more validated discussion about it going on.

To me, Costco is the first place I look to when considering any type of major electronics purchase. Their prices, return policy and extended warranty place them well ahead of most other places, assuming they have what I'm looking for.

[allstar780]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

^^ Correct.

All the talk of selling refurbs as new (without disclosure) or manufacturers using inferior parts to produce "special sets" for Costco (or Sam's, BJ's, etc.) is just FUD. Most sets are produced by the manufacturers specifically for these clubs, and differ from other consumer electronics store models only by model number and possibly some minor differences in features. This is done, for the most part, to keep these big retailers from price matching since the model numbers are not exact.

I've purchased two sets from Costco over the years, the latest being a 58" Panny plasma, and I can assure you that both sets were brand new and have operated flawlessly with absolute beautiful picture quality! Ask yourself why would Costco extend the manufacturer's warranty by another year (and add even another year when using the Coscto Amex), if they were selling questionable refurbs and/or sets made from "factory seconds"? These claims always seem to come from "a friend who knew a guy who's cousin used to work for (insert manufacturer's name here)" Not trying to put anyone down, but if any of this was really happening then there'd be a lot more validated discussion about it going on.

To me, Costco is the first place I look to when considering any type of major electronics purchase. Their prices, return policy and extended warranty place them well ahead of most other places, assuming they have what I'm looking for.

Okay so the fact that I work at an electronics retailer store and have discussed this with the Canadian sales rep for Sony (who is also responsible for making sure the Costco kiddies are all caught up on their TVs) and had no idea of it before he told me, that must all just be hearsay? I'll email him tomorrow and see if I can get a response... just to be sure.

[perjim1957]

My experience with Costco as far as HDTV's are concerned is that with Panny's they seem to sell last years model sometime as far back as two years, the product has always been first rate as far as I can tell, but beware there are many ''GREY'' products from some of the smaller distributor's.
I have never known Costco to sell them though. If it doesn't show/play well you do have 90 days to return it, no ? asked, cannot beat that.

[Thatcher]

My 2 year old Pioneer plasma has had no issues whatsoever. Costco is a great place to buy electronics. I have seen them sell older models but they still cary the same warranty as all the rest. If your going to spend 1000.00 + on a TV make sure to do some homework. Got my 3808 Dennon receiver there as well with a lifetime warranty.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by allstar780

Okay so the fact that I work at an electronics retailer store and have discussed this with the Canadian sales rep for Sony (who is also responsible for making sure the Costco kiddies are all caught up on their TVs) and had no idea of it before he told me, that must all just be hearsay? I'll email him tomorrow and see if I can get a response... just to be sure.

If you've personally spoken with a rep, then I have no reason to doubt what you are saying. I would, however, seriously question what the rep is spewing and why. I'm sure Sony would love to know that one of their employees is telling folks that Sony knowingly puts sub-par parts into specific pieces of electronics that it sells to the public. It just doesn't smell right to me, though I have no clue as to what would motivate someone to say this (other than the fact that the person is a sales rep and probably loves hearing himself speak, regardless of what is being said). Anyway, if there is some proof (in writing/policy from Sony) that this is actually happening, I will gladly retract my earlier comment.

[D1-2005]

Originally Posted by schultz

My dad is sticking to a $800 or less budget. It looks like the THC42HD18 ($800) at Costco is the same as the TH42PX80U, minus some meaningless features like memory card slots and things like that.

well, if you add tax to the $800 your not far off of the $960. Just food for thought, and you don't have to worry about refurbs or junk parts.

[CptGreedle]

I would not say it is FUD that they use refurbished models. It is a fact that they do use them, but that does not mean they are all refurbished. Usually you get a new TV (or whatever it is) straight from the manufacturer. However there will be times when the manufacturer will ship them refurbished models. I have had first had experience with this happening to me, as it was clear the computer monitor my sister bought was already opened and used and repackaged.
Still these are good deals usually and it is rare the refurbished models have any problems.
I do not know anything about sub-par parts, but I am sure he is just confused when he said that. It was probably the refurbished models they will get in, not sub-par at all.

[scweb13]

Costco extends the manufacturers warranty on their TV's to 2 years. It might only be a limited warranty but it's another year at no additional cost (except for membership).