Panasonic 50" VT20 3DTV Sale This Sunday at BestBuy!!!

Very peculiar. As of The Masters back in April, BestBuy consumer relations claimed they were completely sold out.

I see that Frys has a sale Sunday on the Samsung 3d hdtvs.

Wow, that is a really good deal actually. I originally was going to get a 50 inch VT25 for about $2300 out the door. Of course, this is only for 1 pair of glasses. With this deal, it would be $2,249.99, plus $197.44 tax, plus $25 California E-Waste Fee, for a grand total of $2,472.43. Now, this would be $172.43 more than I would pay for a VT25, but I'm getting two more pairs of glasses. Considering the Panasonic glasses are $150 each, with no discounts that I've been able to find anywhere, I'm basically getting my 3rd pair of glasses for $22.43.

I guess it isn't that unbelievably amazing now that I think about it, but it's pretty decent. I know the VT25 has the different colored bezel, and it also has the special setup for a ISF technician or whatever, but basically the VT20 and VT25 are pretty much identical. While I can get the VT25 for $2300 out the door, it would require buying it out of state, and having it shipped, and waiting probably a week to get it shipped. Also, by buying from Best Buy locally, although I have to pay the extra $225 for the tax and e-waste fee, if I have a problem, I don't have to return ship it clear across the country. I can just return the thing to my local Best Buy.

Looking at the Best Buy ad on this deal, it seems that Geek Squad Setup is part of the arrangement, and I wonder if I could still get the 2 free glasses without doing the Geek Squad thing, and save some more money. I have absolutely zero need for the Geek Squad. The way this deal works, is that you pay $2499.99 for the TV, $299.98 for the extra pair of glasses, and $149.99 for Geek Squad. That totals up to $2949.96. Then they take $250 off the price of the TV, $100 off the price of the Geek Squad, and another $350 for the package savings, and the new total becomes $2249.96

I wonder if there is any way to get the $250 TV savings, and the $350 package savings, without messing with the Geek Squad thing at all. Basically, you pay $150 for the Geek Squad, and then they take $100 off of that, so you end up paying $50 for the Geek Squad. If I could somehow elminate the Geek Squad part of the equation, then I basically get it for $2200 plus tax, etc. Looking at the fine print, it does say that all products must be purchased on the same receipt to get package savings. I wonder if I could pay for Geek Squad, but keep postponing my appointment with them, and then just see if I could get that $150 refunded later on, and still keep all the stuff ?

BB/Magnolia gave me a price of $2399 for a 50VT25 and $2699 for a 54VT25, their price for the 50VT25 alone is more than I paid for a complete package on the 50C7000 (including 3D blu ray player, glasses kit with MvA and a 4 year warranty). Another AVS'er tipped me off to prices at Video Only and after speaking with them today I am returning my 50C7000 to BB tomorrow and buying either a 58C8000 or 63C8000, be sure to check their prices if you have one local (their price on a 63C8000 is $600 less than BB).

Jason

I snagged one this morning. Unfortunately, I have to come back on Thursday to pick up the extra pair of glasses. Also, there wasn't any way to avoid the Geek Squad hookup thing. I had to pay for it, or wouldn't get the $350 package savings.

Basically, I'm going to evaluate this puppy for a good 20 something days, and if it lives up to all my expectations, I'll keep it, if not, it's going back. Even with the free glasses deal, this TV is ridiculously expensive, so I'm only holding onto it if it exceeds my expectations. I bought this TV at about 10:30am pacific time, got the thing home, unpacked, and was watching World Cup Soccer in 3D by the end of the 1st half between Germany and Australia. I got to see the very end of the 1st half, and all of the 2nd half. I was most impressed by the Gilette commercial, lol.

As for my impressions of watching the World Cup, I honestly wasn't that blow away by it. The commercials were more impressive to me. I did get a bit of eye fatigue from the experience, but I've heard that this is something you'll get used to over time. If I don't get used to it by the end of the 20 something days, this puppy is going back. Still, there definitely was some impressive 3D during the soccer game, here and there. The problem is, when they have that zoomed out camera, you don't get a very convincing 3D effect. Another thing that is troublesome, is when they go to quick camera cuts. It's hard for the eyes to adjust to the different 3D perspectives so quickly. It's better if they could use more field level cameras, and not cut around to different cameras so much. Leave it on one view, close to the field. Again, the commercials were nice.

A little OT but...

Just in case some of you did not know and have a Fry's near by they are selling the Samsung PN50C7000 for $1399 until 6/17. They also have the C6900 3D blu ray player for $302 and the MvA glasses kit for $215.

Jason

Make sure you burn Franks video. Most scenes are really nice, they are better then the far away shots from the soccer games for sure.

I think you ought to look at a few customer reviews of that place. It looks less than stellar to say the least. Caveat emptor......

Wow, that $1399 price is pretty aggressive. I'd still need to buy 3 pairs of glasses, and two 3D BD's for it to equal the Panny deal. After doing some various calculations, I'd basically save about $530 or so, by going with the C7000 instead of the VT20. That would be if both plasmas came with 3 pairs of glasses and 2 3D BD's.

Makes me almost want to go to Fry's and buy a C7000, and just test both of these baby's head to head. See if the Panny is really worth a $530 difference. Hmm... interesting.

After getting a price adjustment on the tv and the bd player we are just going to stick with it for now and see how 3D pans out. At roughly $1900 for everything including a 4 year warranty on the PN50C7000 and the C6900 3D bd player it was simply too good of a deal to return and end up spending about $1100 more for the 58" C8000 package ( which I almost did on Saturday, at least until I went to Fry's and saw their price for the 50" C7000 ).

It seems they are not offering any sort of extended warranty on the glasses, they must figure people will break'em frequently and they would simply rather sell the glasses at $150 a pop.

I think I might just go back to Fry's and grab another MvA kit for $215 and sell the movie here at AVS, it seems to go for a decent amount on ebay but I would not be out to rip anybody off (I think $35 would be a fair price which would net me another 2 pair of glasses for $180 and probably give a panny owner a nice 3D flick to watch while they wait for theirs in the mail ). Or maybe even trade MvA for Ice Age 3, that's reasonable .

Jason

Is this an advertised special?

I was in a Fry's today (before seeing your info), and the display price was not $1399???

sent you a pm

No, it was not advertised other than to say "$1999 before in store savings". The display tag below the tv said $1399 through 6/17 and BB had to call to verify before they would price match. It's certainly possible that it is not valid at every Fry's location...?




Got it .


Jason