Looking for a deal on a TV?

[Draft Dodger]

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000066R67

a $1200 TV marked at Target.com's site for $279.95 + $100 shipping.
probably an error, probably wont be there long.

[Kodos]

Holy crap. That's a good deal!

[Ksyrup]

I think that's Tosheeba. Usually right next to the Panasumics on the shelf.

Someone should try buying it to see whether it works.

[John Galt]

There will be better deals on Black Friday. If you are looking for an HDTV, I suggest you read up at two forums: Fatwallet.com (hot deals forum - search for "HDTV" and "Black Friday") and AVSForum (read about any model you want and consider some options like the X1 projector). According to sources that don't want to be sued by a store with the initials BB, there will be two 50+ inch HDTV's (one 4:3 and the other 16:9) for under $1500 on Friday. Good luck.

[John Galt]

dola, I take back what I said. Originally, the price showed up for me as $1200. Now, it shows up with the price error. Obviously this is a good deal, but will be fixed soon. Anyway, my advice still stands for other people looking for a TV.

[Kodos]

I just ordered it for 403.73, including tax & shipping, and got my confirmation with that price in e-mail. Looking good so far. It listed for 1199.99 on BestBuy.com.

[RPI-Fan]

Worst case scenario, Kodos, is that they correct the mistake and say you have to pay the full price or get nothing. You bitch them out for a while, and you've wasted 10 minutes.

Best case, you get the TV.

[Draft Dodger]

I just ordered as well, but I don't think it's going to go - it's getting pretty heavy coverage at FatWallet right now, and I think Target is just going to kill the orders.

btw, TDWELCME2222 gets you 10% off any purchases at Target.com - sorry if I posted that too late for you Kodos.

[Kodos]

I think I can forgive you if this works out.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by RPI-Fan
Worst case scenario, Kodos, is that they correct the mistake and say you have to pay the full price or get nothing. You bitch them out for a while, and you've wasted 10 minutes.

Best case, you get the TV.

I'm also thinking that even though there's no way they are going to honor this (they just can't do that), maybe they'll do something along the line of a gift certificate or something similar to make people happy.

[John Galt]

I'm trying to order it too, but the website is sllllloooooowwwwweeerrrrrr than FOFC on its worst days.

[Draft Dodger]

and just for the record:

The information on this Website may contain typographical errors or inaccuracies and may not be complete or current. We therefore reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update information at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order). Please note that such errors, inaccuracies or omissions may relate to product description, pricing and availability. We also reserve the right to limit quantities (including after you have submitted your order). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

[Kodos]

D'oh! Damned ass-coverers!

[Ksyrup]

Keeps people like me in business, though.

[Draft Dodger]

from a thread on Fatwallet:

This deal is dead. I have a friend who works for Target and hoped that I could go in store and pricematch the internet deal and bypass shipping. He told me that they're been aware of it for several hours and will cancel all orders in two days. They've even notified the stores that they should not accept the internet price.

[RPI-Fan]

List Price: $1,199.99
Our Price: $279.99
You Save: $920.00 (77%)
Availability: We're sorry. This item is temporarily unavailable

[Draft Dodger]

and so ends the almost free lunch

[kcchief19]

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
from a thread on Fatwallet:

This deal is dead. I have a friend who works for Target and hoped that I could go in store and pricematch the internet deal and bypass shipping. He told me that they're been aware of it for several hours and will cancel all orders in two days. They've even notified the stores that they should not accept the internet price.

DD, go to a Target store and get them to tell you that line, then print a screen shot. If they try and cancel the order, file a complaint with your state Attorney General. This is classic bait-and-switch, and it is very illegal.

If that doesn't back them down, call a local TV station that does a Consumer Watch or Problem Solvers or whatever. If the price was wrong, it seems they know about it and have not corrected it -- heck, it appears they have willingly let the deal get advertised all over the 'net. They can have all the disclaimers they want, but those disclaimers will not get them past bait-and-switch laws.

They will probably call your bluff on the AG, but they will cave as soon as a local TV station shows up at the local Target to ask why they are ripping off poor local working slobs like yourself. No offense to you personally.

[Ksyrup]

At this point, I'm just hoping someone knows Kodos' real email address, so we can intercept the cancellation email from Target and respond with, "That's OK, I still want to buy it!"

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by kcchief19
DD, go to a Target store and get them to tell you that line, then print a screen shot. If they try and cancel the order, file a complaint with your state Attorney General. This is classic bait-and-switch, and it is very illegal.

If that doesn't back them down, call a local TV station that does a Consumer Watch or Problem Solvers or whatever. If the price was wrong, it seems they know about it and have not corrected it -- heck, it appears they have willingly let the deal get advertised all over the 'net. They can have all the disclaimers they want, but those disclaimers will not get them past bait-and-switch laws.

They will probably call your bluff on the AG, but they will cave as soon as a local TV station shows up at the local Target to ask why they are ripping off poor local working slobs like yourself. No offense to you personally.

Even if there was a Target near to me (I've never even seen one). I am definitely not that type of person.

I knew the price was likely a mistake - hell, I work at a place where mistakes like this happen all the time. if it worked, fine, but I certainly wouldn't want to start a fuss for something like this...

[John Galt]

Originally posted by kcchief19
DD, go to a Target store and get them to tell you that line, then print a screen shot. If they try and cancel the order, file a complaint with your state Attorney General. This is classic bait-and-switch, and it is very illegal.

If that doesn't back them down, call a local TV station that does a Consumer Watch or Problem Solvers or whatever. If the price was wrong, it seems they know about it and have not corrected it -- heck, it appears they have willingly let the deal get advertised all over the 'net. They can have all the disclaimers they want, but those disclaimers will not get them past bait-and-switch laws.

They will probably call your bluff on the AG, but they will cave as soon as a local TV station shows up at the local Target to ask why they are ripping off poor local working slobs like yourself. No offense to you personally.

This has actually become a common event because of forums like Fatwallet. It isn't a bait and switch, because they don't replace it with another good and the mistake is in good faith. You won't find a court or attorney general in the land that will support the position of enforcing the price mistake. There is no reliance and no consideration (since they don't charge your card), so there is no legal basis for enforcing the mistaken price. Now if they knowingly took a couple days to change it back, that could be different, but it would still be hard to prove reliance.

[Runtheball]

Well, that was fun while it lasted!

But I'm still looking for a deal on a TV

[Kodos]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
At this point, I'm just hoping someone knows Kodos' real email address, so we can intercept the cancellation email from Target and respond with, "That's OK, I still want to buy it!"

Bastard!

[Daimyo]

X1 at $1000 vs that at $400 is a much better deal anyway. I can't imagine going back to a small, bulky TV after having mine...

I'm convinced that if the general buying public ever really found out about all the cheap projecter options out there they would be amazined. But of course the stores make a much smaller profit off of them so they don't push them like they do crazy profit RPTV's and LCD/Plasmas...

[John Galt]

Originally posted by Daimyo
X1 at $1000 vs that at $400 is a much better deal anyway. I can't imagine going back to a small, bulky TV after having mine...

I'm convinced that if the general buying public ever really found out about all the cheap projecter options out there they would be amazined. But of course the stores make a much smaller profit off of them so they don't push them like they do crazy profit RPTV's and LCD/Plasmas...

I guess you are one of the people who doesn't see rainbows. I haven't tested the X1 myself, but am hoping to soon. I still kind of worry about having people over to watch a movie and discovering that one of them sees rainbows and gets motion sickness.

[Sloan]

I saw rainbows at first, but after a couple movies my eyes seem to have adjusted and I don't see them now. I can make them appear if I shake my head back and forth really fast though.

[Daimyo]

I really think the only people who will see rainbows are people like us who obsess about things like that and look for them. I think AVS has had polls where something like 30-50% of the people there see them, but I imagine if you polled the general public about it (without explaing what they were until after the movie) probably less than 5% would notice them at all? Besides, there are LCD projs near $1000 too.

I was worried about having people over (I did see rainbows at first, but I don't see them at all in my current configuration) but so far no one has said anything despite my probing. I don't want to explain to them what a rainbow is for fear that they will then start to see them, so I don't directly ask if they see them, but I always ask things like "did you notice anything weird about the picture?"

Most people are just simply too amazed that you can get a 100" wide image with that kind of quality for under $1000 to think about much else I think.

[John Galt]

Originally posted by Daimyo
I really think the only people who will see rainbows are people like us who obsess about things like that and look for them. I think AVS has had polls where something like 30-50% of the people there see them, but I imagine if you polled the general public about it (without explaing what they were until after the movie) probably less than 5% would notice them at all? Besides, there are LCD projs near $1000 too.

I was worried about having people over (I did see rainbows at first, but I don't see them at all in my current configuration) but so far no one has said anything despite my probing. I don't want to explain to them what a rainbow is for fear that they will then start to see them, so I don't directly ask if they see them, but I always ask things like "did you notice anything weird about the picture?"

Most people are just simply too amazed that you can get a 100" wide image with that kind of quality for under $1000 to think about much else I think.

Yeah, I just worry about the motion sickness part of things. I also worry about it correlating to "good" vision of something. I still don't wear glasses and come from a family of navy pilots, so I'm worried my good vision will put me in the minority.

As for the LCD projectors, I don't think you can find anyone comparable in quality to the X1 (screen door effect at 100" has to be bad) for the same price. I did, however, see a Sanyo model that recently came out for under $2000 that is an LCD projector with great reviews. If that price falls, I may jump. And since the X1 can be had from Dell for $800 (w/ there occassional coupons), I'm still thinking about going that route if I really can dismiss the rainbow issue.

[Sloan]

I'm about 12 feet away from the 100" display from my X1, but I don't see the screen door at all. I can see it if I stand up and take a step towards the screen though.

I don't think motion sickenss is anything to worry about with the rainbows. When I did see them it wasn't like they were occuring all the time. Of course I've never experienced motion sickness to begin with so I could be wrong.

[Philliesfan980]

I never really thought about Projectors at all.. It might be an inexpensive way to get a really big picture. Can someone please answer a few questions relating to them?

1. What do you "display" the item on? Is it the traditional "Roll Down" screen like you see in JR High? How much are these things.

2. Whats a rainbow? Well, I know what a rainbow is, but how does it relate to a projector?

3. Overall quality .. where does it stack between a Projection TV (I have a Wide Screen 57 inch Mistubishi tv) and the new plasma tv's.


All these answers would be appreciated

[Daimyo]

Originally posted by Philliesfan980
1. What do you "display" the item on? Is it the traditional "Roll Down" screen like you see in JR High? How much are these things.

Currently I'm throwing on a white wall and it gives a surprising image. I'm looking to get a nice pull down screen for around $500, but you can spend anywhere from $100 to thousands on a screen depending on size, material, etc, etc. If you can use a fixed screen, supposedly you can make nice ones for <$50 out of black-out cloth and a simple wood frame. (Much more info on this at the AVS screens forum)

2. Whats a rainbow? Well, I know what a rainbow is, but how does it relate to a projector?

A rainbow can occur on any viewing device that uses DLP technology (used in some projectors and RPTVs). It can occur when there is lots of very quick movement on screen, but there are a lot of factors that effect the likelihood of it happening (viewing distance, screen size, brightness, tiredness etc). Most people can not see rainbows at all.

The rainbow itself looks like a splash of color (much like a rainbow) appearing near the movement for a split second.

3. Overall quality .. where does it stack between a Projection TV (I have a Wide Screen 57 inch Mistubishi tv) and the new plasma tv's.

My experience with plasmas comes only from the few we have disaplying general info at work and from store displays. On bright movies (DVD) like Toy Story I think projectors give an image equal to plasma. On darker movies plasma will probably win out, but that really depends on the projector, the screen, screen size/brightness, etc. When it comes to regular TV signals the X1 kicks any plasma TV's or RPTV's ass that I've ever seen.

In general I think the image from a projector is much, much better than RPTV's and is viewable from more angles (again depending on your screen and general setup). Plus digital projectors weight about 10 lbs so you don't have a 200 lb bulky thing to worry about.

The only real disadvantage of projectors are they are not nearly as "plug and play" as regular TV's. You have to make sure the lighting conditions are right, find a good position to mount it (or set it), and spend a little bit more time to calibrate it to get the best picture. IMO (and I think this holds true for nearly anyone who gives them a chance) these disadvantages are extremely minor compared to all the advantages.

Infocus used to have a program were you could get a demo of a proj for two weeks to see for yourself how nice it was. If they still have that I'd give it a try.

[Philliesfan980]

Thanks for all your help Daimyo..

First off. I live in an apartment. While its a nice sized apartment, it still is an apartment. Id probably bring the image for my office, (converted extra bedroom) anywhere from 36 inches to 55 inches. Still good picture quality at this level?

I'd probably use it for day to day activities more than anything else (Ie. watching the sixers game, or stuff like that). I noticed that on the input sheet, it doesn't say anything about a regular coax input.

Any idea's?

Thanks

[Daimyo]

The image quality is actually better the smaller you throw, although at 36 inches you'd have to have the projector very close (probably would work on a coffee table). The good thing about having it so close is that the picture would be very bright and you could probably even watch with your windows open.

The projector doesn't have a coax input or even a tuner. I plug my cable box to my VCR and then connect that to my projector with regular RCA jacks and use the VCR as a tuner. Also projectors generally do not have speakers (the X1 has a really weak one) as they're intended more for home theater where you generall have a surround sound setup.

I watch football and basketball on mine all the time and it is really amazing at 80"x60" even with a crappy cable company. To throw a 60" wide image I think you only need about a 12' throw distance (there is a calulator for that on infocus webpage). Most people i think start like you and plan for a small image until they actually get it and then throw as big as they can.

[Draft Dodger]

my wife wants to do this for our family room we're working on. I'm a little concerned about the price of replacement bulbs, so we'll probably get a TV out there for everyday stuff, and then a projector for movies and other "events".

[kcchief19]

Originally posted by John Galt
It isn't a bait and switch, because they don't replace it with another good and the mistake is in good faith. You won't find a court or attorney general in the land that will support the position of enforcing the price mistake. There is no reliance and no consideration (since they don't charge your card), so there is no legal basis for enforcing the mistaken price. Now if they knowingly took a couple days to change it back, that could be different, but it would still be hard to prove reliance.

1. If the information posted at fatwallet is true and can be proven, you can throw good faith out the window. The mistake was apparently detected, but they did not take immediate steps to correct it. It takes two seconds of work to update an online database. What if they don't honor the price and offer DD the product at a higher price or a different TV at that price as a "gesture?" That might seem like a nice idea, but that would be illegal.

2. I've seen plenty of examples less blatant than this prosecuted, especially because it is a political win-win. Getting somebody a discount on a TV will never get a politician in trouble. Failing to honor an advertised sales price is illegal. "Gosh it was a mistake" is rarely an effective defense and is not generally accepted. This may actually be worse since it is an Internet site and involves interstate commerce. Good grief, when working in retail I saw complaints investigated against stores that had made pricing errors, like accidentally sticking a $5 price tag on a $50. It does indeed happen.

That being said, I think it says a lot about DD that he's fine whether he gets the TV or not. Having been on the other side of the fence working with customers, there aren't too many people like him out there, unfortunately. If there were, this would be a much better world.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by kcchief19
1. If the information posted at fatwallet is true and can be proven, you can throw good faith out the window. The mistake was apparently detected, but they did not take immediate steps to correct it. It takes two seconds of work to update an online database. What if they don't honor the price and offer DD the product at a higher price or a different TV at that price as a "gesture?" That might seem like a nice idea, but that would be illegal.

well, to be fair to Target, the database probably does only take a second to update, but the ability to update that database is not given to just anyone in the company. I know where I work, if there's an error like that, it takes at least 2 people to fix, and both of those people would work "bankers hours". If something like that happened at our site in the evening (and it has), all we'd be able to do is just flag and hold the orders until the next day.

and thanks for the nice words. I'm not a total pushover with this stuff, but I do understand that mistakes happen. I really dislike people who walk into a restaurant and start complaining about the service right off the bat. Now, if it really is bad service, I'll complain (or leave). But, if it's busy, and I can see the staff working hard, then I can't really complain, and I get annoyed by people who just don't get this and can't cut them some staff (to the dumbass bitch sitting at the next table at Maragaritas on Saturday, THIS MEANS YOU).

[kcchief19]

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
I'm not a total pushover with this stuff, but I do understand that mistakes happen. I really dislike people who walk into a restaurant and start complaining about the service right off the bat. Now, if it really is bad service, I'll complain (or leave). But, if it's busy, and I can see the staff working hard, then I can't really complain, and I get annoyed by people who just don't get this and can't cut them some staff (to the dumbass bitch sitting at the next table at Maragaritas on Saturday, THIS MEANS YOU).

See? This guy gets it!

BTW, what was the fallout from the TV? Did Target pull the plug on you?

[Kodos]

I got the order cancelled notice on mine. It was worth a try.