I stopped into my local Best Buy today. They had an open box previous generation 65 inch Panny Plasma. They also had the latest model 65 incher.

The salesman said that customers had to purchase the pedestal stand for $700. I told him that I would mount the TV on the wall and had no need for the pedestal stand. He insisted that Best Buy will not sell the TV without the customer buying the pedestal stand.

I probably wouldn't have bought the 65 inch Panny plasma there anyway, however, I thought it was an example of a miserable business practice.

Has anyone else run into this with Best Buy or an on-line dealer?

I certainly hope not.

PS I had looked at the older model 3-4 months ago, they didn't say anything about having to buy the pedestal stand at that time.

That's dumb. I have a Pioneer 141 and didn't have to buy the stand. I did buy it, but I had to ask for it. Otherwise, he was just going to sell me the 141 by itself.

Talk to the manager, simple as that.

I stopped into my local Best Buy today. They had an open box previous generation 65 inch Panny Plasma. They also had the latest model 65 incher.

The salesman said that customers had to purchase the pedestal stand for $700. I told him that I would mount the TV on the wall and had no need for the pedestal stand. He insisted that Best Buy will not sell the TV without the customer buying the pedestal stand.

I probably wouldn't have bought the 65 inch Panny plasma there anyway, however, I thought it was an example of a miserable business practice.

Has anyone else run into this with Best Buy or an on-line dealer?

I certainly hope not.

PS I had looked at the older model 3-4 months ago, they didn't say anything about having to buy the pedestal stand at that time.

The stand is sold separately as it has always been sold separately on the 65" Panny. You don't have to buy it, only if you are not going to mount it.

Yawn. You're definitely leaving something out. The 750U that was on display was most likely being sold open box, as their last unit. Since they display that model with a pedestal stand, not mounted, they require it be sold with the TV. There is without a doubt a discount in effect on a open box TV as well.

Why would Best Buy sell the TV, but not the pedestal stand, of a discontinued product? They would literally be eating the cost of the stand.

FYI, the "cost" of the pedestal stand is around $650, and MSRP's for $1000, so they're not ripping you off on the cost of the stand, even if you do not need it.

I can see your point.

I'll never understand how they can justify trying to sell a piece of metal for $700. That to me is just mind boggling.

I'll never understand how they can justify trying to sell a piece of metal for $700. That to me is just mind boggling.

Its the only thing that has margin left in it lol :)

I'll never understand how they can justify trying to sell a piece of metal for $700. That to me is just mind boggling.Sure is, we have sold more than a few 65PZ850U and I tell my clients to wall mount for less. The Panasonic TY-ST65R2-WG stand which is meant for TH-65PZ750U works just fine on the TH-65PZ850U :D These stands are half that price.

Yawn. You're definitely leaving something out. The 750U that was on display was most likely being sold open box, as their last unit. Since they display that model with a pedestal stand, not mounted, they require it be sold with the TV. There is without a doubt a discount in effect on a open box TV as well.

Why would Best Buy sell the TV, but not the pedestal stand, of a discontinued product? They would literally be eating the cost of the stand.

FYI, the "cost" of the pedestal stand is around $650, and MSRP's for $1000, so they're not ripping you off on the cost of the stand, even if you do not need it.

+1.

Some people just like to complain, as my local BB has the exact same scenario. They have both previous, and current gen Pannys on display. They have the 65750u with the stand included at a ridiculously discounted price, and I mean RIDICULOUSLY discounted price.

I'll never understand how they can justify trying to sell a piece of metal for $700. That to me is just mind boggling.

Don't you mean "mind bottling", you know? Like, all your thoughts are trapped, like in a bottle? :p

I'll never understand how they can justify trying to sell a piece of metal for $700. That to me is just mind boggling. Remember, in this case "they" are Panasonic and not Best Buy. Panasonic charges Best Buy a lot of money for the stands and they, in turn, sell to consumers. I agree with you that prices for some of this stuff is pretty crazy, but it's not fair to assume blame to the retailer (not assuming that you're talking about Best Buy here :).

Don't you mean "mind bottling", you know? Like, all your thoughts are trapped, like in a bottle? :p

lol, I was about to post that quote. :)

Don't you mean "mind bottling", you know? Like, all your thoughts are trapped, like in a bottle? :p

Nah, I'm pretty sure it's mind boggling. As in, it boggles my mind. Like the game, Boggle. You never can tell what that crazy Boggle game is gonna spit out!

In the words of Peggy Hill.... "HO-YA!!!"

I'll never understand how they can justify trying to sell a piece of metal for $700. That to me is just mind boggling.


Thats cheap. The pio stand is 1k.

Thats cheap. The pio stand is 1k.

Huh?

It isn't 1k. It's $399.99

Huh?

It isn't 1k. It's $399.99



Really? I had someone look up the price and he said 1k.

It is $699 Retail for the TY-ST65R4WG. last years stand TY-ST65R2WG was $999 retail

Really? I had someone look up the price and he said 1k.

Go to BB's website. It is there for 399

It is $699 Retail for the TY-ST65R4WG. last years stand TY-ST65R2WG was $999 retail

He said Pioneer.

This years Panny stand is 699, where as last years was in fact the 999 as you have stated.

If they sold the TV without the pedestal, it is an item they would have to junk out. Stores have budgets for junk outs and goals related to them. If they ate the MSRP of the pedestal by junking it, it would heavily affect that budget, so in order to not eat that cost, they sell it with the pedestal, no exceptions.

You could always buy a new one if you are upset with that policy, as open box items anywhere follow the same kind of suit and are an "as-is" kind of thing.

It is $699 Retail for the TY-ST65R4WG. last years stand TY-ST65R2WG was $999 retail

You almost stole a 65" Sharp sale from me last week, ALMOST!

I smile everytime I see a Cleveland Plasma quote that someone wants price matched. And then I die a little inside when I go forward with it :(

If they sold the TV without the pedestal, it is an item they would have to junk out. Stores have budgets for junk outs and goals related to them. If they ate the MSRP of the pedestal by junking it, it would heavily affect that budget, so in order to not eat that cost, they sell it with the pedestal, no exceptions.

You could always buy a new one if you are upset with that policy, as open box items anywhere follow the same kind of suit and are an "as-is" kind of thing.

Why isn't it somethig they could sell with a new 65" Pany? If it's not part of the original package and sold as a seperate item anyway then they should be able to offer a discount to a consumer that purchases a new 65" and might like to buy a discounted stand. I know I would.

Why isn't it somethig they could sell with a new 65" Pany? If it's not part of the original package and sold as a seperate item anyway then they should be able to offer a discount to a consumer that purchases a new 65" and might like to buy a discounted stand. I know I would.

Its store by store, but most people will generally think that the old stand wont work for the new one.

alot of the stores will try and do this as they already have a stand for new one, it came with the new 850 from the warehouse to display it on, so they probably just want to get rid of it instead of having a useless piece of junk that cost 700 bucks sitting around and collecting dust and sitting on at risk report and then getting sent back and the store getting pennies on the dollar for it.

You almost stole a 65" Sharp sale from me last week, ALMOST!

I smile everytime I see a Cleveland Plasma quote that someone wants price matched. And then I die a little inside when I go forward with it :(

Who do you work for, you were able to match my price, I got those things for a super low cost, I bought into them 25 large and I sold my last one today :( Should have bought more. I did not know i was that popular, SWEET !

Who do you work for, you were able to match my price, I got those things for a super low cost, I bought into them 25 large and I sold my last one today :( Should have bought more. I did not know i was that popular, SWEET !

BBY/Mag. :)

Today I stopped in at the same Best Buy and asked to speak to the store manager. This individual wore a badge that said Service Manager. I told him that the salesman had told me I had to buy the $700 stand even though I would be mounting the 65 on the wall.

This individual said that I could buy EITHER the Open Box, or the new model WITHOUT the stand. I wanted all the cards on the table and mentioned that it might have had something to do with the store ending up with a stand without a TV.

He immediately understood what I was talking about and said it didn't matter. I think they would have been happy to get rid of the Open Box 65 for $4,200.

I looked on the back and the manufacture date was August 2007. That baby has seen a huge amount of use. I know I wouldn't buy it.

I'd give them 3 g's.

I'd give them 3 g's.

For a 65" 750u?:eek: That would be a heck of a deal.

Today I stopped in at the same Best Buy and asked to speak to the store manager. This individual wore a badge that said Service Manager. I told him that the salesman had told me I had to buy the $700 stand even though I would be mounting the 65 on the wall.

This individual said that I could buy EITHER the Open Box, or the new model WITHOUT the stand. I wanted all the cards on the table and mentioned that it might have had something to do with the store ending up with a stand without a TV.

He immediately understood what I was talking about and said it didn't matter. I think they would have been happy to get rid of the Open Box 65 for $4,200.

I looked on the back and the manufacture date was August 2007. That baby has seen a huge amount of use. I know I wouldn't buy it.Just because it was built over a year ago doesn't mean it's been on that whole time. The larger Panasonics often sat unsold in wharehouses for several months before they found a buyer. For all you know, that TV was returned after only a few hours of use. If it was a floor model, then yeah it could have been on for several hundred hours or more but the only way to know is to check the hours used in the SM.

I'm no fan of BB but i don't fault them for not wanting to sell the open box 65PZ7xxU without the stand that's bolted to it. They probably can't create a skew number for the used stand so there would be no way to type it up if a customer wanted to buy it separately.

Since they display that model with a pedestal stand, not mounted, they require it be sold with the TV.

...

They would literally be eating the cost of the stand.

A good point, however, as mentioned in this thread the old stand works with the new 850U display. So in fact, in theory, they could sell the old stand to someone who buys an 850U. Perhaps the OP could point this out and use it as leverage to get them to give him the TV withouth the stand.