TV upgrade question (tuners)

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › TV upgrade question (tuners)

aucklander

477 posts

Ultimate Geek

#173263 17-May-2015 13:50

Hi Guys,
currently owning a Sony TV (fairly old model I guess, no Freeview tuner - but I am running a HTPC setup, so the TV was never connected to an aerial anyway) - looking possibly to upgrade if a good deal comes along.

First question: I have access to a deal advertised as "cost + 5%", for members of N3 network only (it is a business buying system, with a card which you present in the store, etc). What sort of discount should I resonably expect, if the store truly applies the "cost + 5%" deal? Am I looking at 40-50% discount from the label price, or is this too high expectation? I believe the retail stores run on 100% markup, otherwise how can they afford "50% off" deals from time to time? So I guess their "cost" is somewhere around half the price on the label, or even lower? I came across an older thread about retail markups and it was a strong belief there the markups are around 10-15% at a maximum, but that discussion was about laptops so I am guessing not really applicable to TVs.

Second question: I am looking at the Panasonic TH-50CS650Z (or the 55" version). If you have any words about this TV then fine, if not is OK as well. Most models come with UHF/DVB-S tuners and USB/HDD recording capabilities. The user manuals are not readily available on the net, can anyone advise if the DVB-S tuner can operate a tone switch or even better, a diseq switch setup, same as a normal stand-alone DVBS receiver?

Third: are the tuners "twin" (independent) or hybrid? I mean... can I watch something on DVBS and record something else from a Freeview UHF? Or record simultaneously from DVBS and UHF?

Thank you.

mobo Intel DH55PJ, RAM: 4GB RAM, Nova-T 500 HD + Avermedia Trinity tuner card, Geforce 520 video, 120GB SSD Sandisk + 640 WD + 1000SG, Win7 Home Prem 64-bit, Media Portal 1.15.0; BTC 9019URF Cordless Keyboard, Panasonic 55" (HDMI cable), HTPC Case Silverstone Grandia GD05B.

mattwnz

20173 posts

Uber Geek

#1306630 17-May-2015 14:04

I don't beleive any retailer offers 50% off TVs, except perhaps some of the house brands. 20-25% off is about the max retailers will offer on the name brands. Often the cost +5% etc deals ann't any better than other deals, and can be worse, so it pays to shop around.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1306639 17-May-2015 14:29

There's no way that you'll get a TV with 50% margin.
You're just being targeted by a 'commercial' arm of a retailer.
Find the TV you want, with the features you want, then shop around for the best deal.
But be aware, you're looking at a TV that is at the start of its retail life. Towards the end of its shelf life you'll get better deals as the importer is offered price breaks by the factory in order to clear the item onto retailers.

elpenguino

3427 posts

Uber Geek

#1319513 8-Jun-2015 16:18

I can tell you from working for a major name distributor a few years ago that the retailers might have aimed for 50% on trade to set their retail prices, but that's not always how they work out.

Although there's only a few major retail chains, it was very competitive for TV pricing and market share. Often the retailers would drive a deal where they import a whole lot of TVs direct to their warehouses (via the distributor of course). This means the retailer gets a low mark up and the distributor just has to arrange the deal.

Add into the mix marketing, those shiny newspaper brochures might be paid for by the distributor not the retailer and all manner of other clawbacks, and the distributors mark up might actually be very low, i.e. single figures %, but for a relatively high value deal.

In fact the product manager told me that they made a higher cut on a staff sale at cost+10% than a Harvey Norman sale !

You really have to get into the distributor's pockets to get the real deals, if you ask me.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

trig42

5816 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1319517 8-Jun-2015 16:22

It depends on the TV you want, but you are not going to get anywhere near a 40-50% discount.

If you are after a 'Premium' TV you will see a bigger discount as retailers keep the prices of those at RRP compared to a 'Price Fighter' which will be one they have discounted to get people through the door. RRP may well be 30-40% on top of 'cost', but very few TVs ever sell for RRP.