So, my old tube tv had a good life. It was eleven years old. I've been dreaming of LCD or plasma since they came out. I don't like to buy things when I don't really need them so I sat on this one purchase for a long time. When the screen sizes jumped into the low 40's a few years ago I got an itch. I waited, prices would drop as they continued to get bigger. I did my research. I didn't want a fly by night Korean tv from Costco. From what I could tell, Sony and Samsung were neck and neck in consumer and tech reviews. When George W Bush decided to put a little jingle in my pocket to help the economy, I decided it was time. The 120 mhz refresh rate had been out long enough to come down a little in price. It has enough HDMI ports to support everything in the future. The time was now. I went to every stinking site that sells these bad boys and as it turned out, Circuit City actually had the best price which shocked me to my core. They beat out newegg.com which is where I guessed I'd be buying it from. They had a $400 off sale and then offered a 10% online order only coupon code. 10% off on something that big is HUGE. Free shipping within 3 days. I had a chart and checked no less than 8 places (that I trusted) for pricing. You can always find a link for "Lee's Electronics" or something on Froogle with a price that makes no sense, but you just know even though it's not advertised that it's for a refurbished puppy. I pulled the trigger and sat back and sighed. "Oh Crap F Me!" was the next thought I had. We belong to Upromise. If you don't know what that is, you sign up with your credit cards and grocery store cards, then when you make purchases of certain items - they deposit 1-5% of the total into your account which you use for your kid's college tuition. They even have an option online to link your account to your active 529 account so you don't even have to transfer the money. They do it for you. Neat idea and we've belonged since princess was born. Most of our money comes from grocery purchases (like Coke) but sometimes, when I remember, we get a huge score from online shopping. I do a ton of shopping online and every time I buy something, Mrs. Fan says "did you go through Upromise?" and I sheepishly say "No". You have to go to their site and sign in and then go to your online site through theirs if supported (I found out yesterday they now have a browser plug-in). I forgot when we bought 6 bar stools from Overstock.com. I forgot on the new camcorder. Heck, if I bought it online, let's just assume I forgot. If you forget a 1% donation on a $50 item, so what. I prayed Circuit City wasn't participating and went to their site. Gulp. This week they were doing 3%. Shit! F! Damn! Poop! I went to bed that night without saying anything. I missed a huge......huge........HUGE score. Without waiting for the inevitable question I fessed up. It wasn't pretty. I felt terrible. Then I had a thought that was actually confirmed. I went back to UPromise and went to Circuit City through their site. Went to the LCDs and went after the Sony Bravia XBR4......the ad was the same....with one exception. No 10% off online coupon code. Whew! It worked out for me this time as getting 10% off the price was WAY better than paying full price and then getting 3% put into a 529 fund. Way better. Way. I couldn't wait to tell Mrs. Fan I didn't bone up this time....well, I kind of did, I just got lucky. I also found out why their FAQ states that if you forget, don't even email - it ain't gonna happen. The online dealers know where you came from and they know to take certain offers off the table if they know they are also going to dish out to UPromise. Now I'll start comparing both to make sure I'm getting the best deal any time I do remember to use it.
4 comments:
You gonna love that Sony Bravia XBR. I got one a couple months ago and it absolutely kicks ass.
On the other hand Comcast sucks the genetalia of dead donkeys and DirecTV are the laziest pack of idiots I have ever seen. Therefore my picture is not as good as it otherwise could be...
If Verizon would quit wasting their money on radio advertising and put it into an agressive roll-out of Fios!
My Sony Bravia has introduced me to a new sport. Hockey.
I can now actually follow the puck and see plays develop. As a result I am (finally) beginning to understand the game.
Until recently my hockey viewing had been pretty much limited to the 1980 Olympics and a few Stanley Cup games when Gretzky and Lemieux were near the peak of their careers. And some of Dominic "The Dominator" Hasek when he played for Buffalo.
But big screen HDTV makes it possible to actually follow the action when "the action" is not limited to a brawl on ice.
I haven't learned all the penalties yet and I only know a few players. But the Penguins still have a minimum of 6 more games to play this year. I get better each game.
Congrats, just got a Panasonic 42 in Plasma last week, what a nice pic, and I don't have HD yet. AT&T was suppose to come today and hook up the satellite to get rid of Comcast but they never showed. Sounds like some free percs in my future if they want my business, I'm with you Dog can't wait for Fios to come down the street.Uncle L
dog, i got the xbr4 instead of the 5. was the contrast just much better on the 5?
i read an article that said you cant compare contrast across brands, only within brands as they each have their own standards and stuff. cant compare 18k:1 of sony to 25k:1 of brand x. apples and oranges. isnt that stupid?
the 52 almost is too big for the room. 46 would have been good, but pretty damn soon your entire family room wall is just going to be a tv when they build the house.
i have direct tv and fios. we got fios as one of the very first places it went. i've had it for a longtime. i have fios internet and telephone, but i need my direct tv to get steeler games. that being said - if my direct tv HD picture isnt what i expect (and i expect blue ray quality or close to it) i may switch to fios and only keep fam room on direct tv during football regular season then cancel the second the playoffs start.
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