He gets to watch whenever he wants, especially when he flashes that winsome smile and those googly eyes and says "movie". And since my htpc is connected to our lone TV, I'll drop whatever I'm doing, let him watch a movie or two, and just wait for him to fall asleep or get bored to have my chance to go back to whatever I was using the TV for. So I've been planning for months on getting another television so I don't have to lose out to my son.
For the last couple of weeks, I've been doing my due diligence by checking the price of 32" LED TVs online. I usually check sulit.com.ph (now olx.ph). I'm planning to put in our room, so I thought 32 inches was just the right size. I trimmed down my option to an LG 32LB551B TV. It was a 2014 model, so it's slimmer and more power efficient. It wasn't a SMART tv (meaning you could access the internet on it) nor it was 3D. I felt I didn't need those features, since we had our smart phones and tablets. It did, however, have USB media playback so I didn't need to attach it to a media player to watch movies on it. There were other brands and models, but this was the cheapest being sold at 13,980 pesos by, surprise!, Sights and Sounds.
Sights and Sounds is an AV shop at Shangrila Mall well known in the online AV community (mostly in www.pinoydvd.com). I've read that they don't have their shop in ShangriLa anymore, but they do CODs. We've bought several LCD TVs from them already (2 Toshibas, 1 Panasonic and 1 Skyworth. Our Samsung lcd tv, we bought from Listening in Style, also in ShangriLa) and have never had a problem with any of them.
After checking out olx.ph, I went to pinoydvd.com and asked for a recent quotations on TVs from online sellers there, including Sights and Sounds.
For the last few days I looked at the prices of the 32" TVs and was leaning towards getting the LG, until I started thinking of getting one that's around 39" - 42". They're a bit big for our room, but I was thinking of moving the old TV (37") to the bedroom, and putting the new one in the living room. I originally planned of only spending 14,000 pesos on the new TV, but if I could find something around 18,000 pesos, I thought that the extra 7" inches (at least) would make it worth the additional cost.
I saw a Samsung UA39FH5003 being sold online at only 17.5k, and a Toshiba 39P2300VP at the same price. I kept the seller's numbers for reference so I could call them when I decide to get a tv this weekend.
Then there was a seller on PinoyDVD, selling a MyView 42EX100 tv for only 16,000 pesos. I was sorely tempted, but was still hoping for a japanese or korean branded television. I did some forum searching on feedbacks for the MyView brand, and I found out that some had either run into problems during the first few months, or worse, just after the 2 year warranty had just expired. Ouch.
Today, September 20, 2014, a Saturday, I asked Chea if we could finally buy a TV. Plan was to check with Robinson's Appliance store in Novaliches since they really have good discounts (we bought our Samsung Inverter refrigerator there at a discounted price and with a free juicer). After that, check out Saver's Appliance store at Wilcon City Center in Visayas Avenue. If we couldn't find anything by then, we'd regroup, consider our options, and decide tomorrow.
I first texted the online seller of the Toshiba 39" TV if we could check out their units at their store. Unfortunately, we were told they were sold out. I asked about their 32" variants, but didn't get a reply.
We then headed out to Robinsons' Appliance store in Novaliches. There was a Toshiba 39" TV there being sold for roughly 16,000 pesos. The caveat was that it was the last unit from their stocks and was a previous model. I was thinking of getting it, but was told that it only had 1 year left on it's warranty. I didn't want to risk it, but again, it was tempting.
We saw the Toshiba displays, and was drawn to the 2014 models. Their 32" model, 32P2400, was being sold for about 15k, but was at a discount, and was now going for 13,200 pesos. I looked it up online, and saw that it was being sold at roughly the same price at Cash n' Carry Makati. Since that was a bit far, it made sense to just get it from Robinsons'. They also had the 40" variant, discounted to a price of 18,990 pesos. Again, the same price at Cash n' Carry, but cheaper than everywhere else.
The sales personnel also tried to sell us on a 40" Sharp TV. Again, at a 'discounted cash price' of 18,990. There were other 32" models from Philips, Sharp, Samsung, etc all around 14k. We decided to check out SuperSaver, before making a decision. We could always come back the next day.
On our way to Saver's, i texted the online seller of the 17,500 peso 39" samsung tv. I asked for the warranty length. The seller replied with a "1 year". It looks like I have to settle for the 32" TVs, since I set my limit to 18,000 pesos for the TV we're planning on getting.
Saver's Appliance Deport was a disappointment. The Toshibas, LGs and Samsungs were expensive, at least 2,000 pesos more than what we saw at Robinsons'. Dejected, we then decided to head over to Divine Word Columbary to visit my brother.
After the visit, Chea was thinking of heading home since it was already around 5:30 pm, and we still had to buy dinner for my dad. I asked that we hit one more appliance store. We decided on Trinoma, since it had Anson's , Western Appliance, and a few more appliance shops there.
We always parked near the side exit of Landmark at Trinoma, so our first shop was Anson's. We went in nonchalantly, not expecting anything, when I laid eyes on a Sharp 40" TV on display. A big sign displayed the price of around 26,998 pesos. That was expected. But then my eyes focused on the paper taped to the bottom of the price, it said , "30% discount, 16,198". I think i blinked several times. Was that correct? A 40" Sharp TV for ONLY 16k? I had to holler over to Chea who had already moved a few meters away to the LG displays. When she came back, we asked a sales personnel if the price was real.
 |
| The display that started it all. |
We were told that it was the sale price for using a Metrobank credit card. My heart sank. We didn't have a Metrobank credit card. I got preapproved for one, even had the card delivered to me, but I chose not to keep it when they asked me to pay an annual fee a year later, even if i never used it. Not to mention it was a pain to pay for a Metrobank credit card, since some bills payment centers didn't accept payments for them.
 |
| Another Sharp TV with a sharp discount (pun intended). |
 |
| Another one. Man, these Sharp TVs are heavily discounted than the other brands. |
We did a look around and saw several TVs with unbelievable discounts. On our way out, we passed by a display of Toshiba TVs. The same models we saw at Robinsons' were also on sale. The 32" variant was on sale for only 11.6k pesos if using a Metrobank credit card, and 13,000 pesos if paying with cash. The 40" variant was on sale for 16.3k pesos if, again, using a Metrobank credit card, and 18,500 pesos if paying with cash. This was the cheapest price for the Toshibas on a cash basis, so i was thinking of already getting one. I was pondering of just getting the 32" and be over with it. Unfortunately, there was an elderly couple who looked like they were getting the 32" TV, which the sales guy said was the last unit left. Oh well, looks like I'm gonna go over my 18,000 peso budget for the 40incher.
 |
| Caught our eye on the way out. |
Still, we opted to go down to Western appliances to compare first. The 40" variant was being sold for 19,200 pesos. And if we had it delivered, it would cost another 260 pesos. And the earliest we could get it was Tuesday.
 |
| LG 42 inch LED TV. Nope, not a 3D Smart TV. Still, for only 19,500 pesos, you can't go wrong. |
So we went back to Anson's and decided to get the 40L2400VP model. We had one unit moved over to the testing area so I went with it. My mom, Tita Fe, Thirdy and Chea just waited among the Toshiba displays and seemed to start a conversation with the elderly couple who bought the last unit of the 32" variant (they actually bought 1 pc of the 32" variant, came back and bought the last one after telling a niece or nephew over the phone about it, and then decided to buy a 40" variant also).
 |
| LG 42" 3D TV. Still not Smart though, but only for 24.5k pesos. |
 |
| LG 32" Smart TV. |
Chea then approached me and told me that the couple was willing to buy the TV for us using their credit card, and we'll just give them our cash. So instead of paying 18,500 pesos to Anson's, we would be paying the elderly couple, 16,500 pesos, or around 200 pesos more than the Metrobank sale price. I said yes of course, so after waiting for a few minutes for the wall bracket, we were heading home with a brand new Toshiba 40L2400VP that only cost us 16,500 pesos.
 |
| We ended up buying this. Hooray! |
This is why I always love having my wife around when buying stuff. She's amiable to most folks, and could charm her way to discounts or freebies, and this time, to a big discount of 2,000 pesos via strangers we've only met that day, and only conversed with for a few minutes.
It was truly, serendipity for us. We waited a few months before deciding on getting the tv today. Then we didn't immediately decide on the TVs in Robinsons' despite them being fairly cheap already. I also didn't bite on the 39" Toshiba and the 39" Samsung TVs, that were both on a 1 year warranty only. We also didn't plan on going to Trinoma, but it was a spur of the moment thing. And then, having that couple at the exact time and place, when we were finally getting the TV. When we started to head off to Western, they were actually just getting back to get the last 32" unit, and decided to stay longer to get a 40" unit, that by the time we got there, they were already in the process of getting their receipts signed.
So here's to luck, and even to God, I guess, for this amusing turn of events.
0 comments:
Post a Comment