Panasonic ST50 Deals - Page 9

Most BBs will price match Paul's . . . You just have to get them in BB to get online and walk it through all the way to see Paul's in cart discount price . . . If they won't do it, sometimes they will take a fresh print out if you take it in. Each store is different . . . Depends on the BB manager you get. Because if you can get BB to price match, then you pay sales tax which is not too far off, depending on the model you buy, with Amazon's plus $100 shipping charge sham . . . And you get it locally. BB is really good on a local purchase if yu have a problem.

That is a great deal if you do not plan to do a strict panel prep to copy professional calibration results without the professional calibration. I understand Amazon resells those returned which have no damage; they were just not desired. Damaged or problem ones are supposed to return to Panasonic to become refurbs. I always run panel prep to the letter, so buying a discount return is not for me. But can be a great deal!

I have one question I want to ask so I am clear on the subject of Amazon. When I checked the price by putting the 65 incher in my cart, it states that it qualifies for super saver shipping. From what I have gathered from other posts here, it seems as if amazon forces an additional $100 charge for the bs white glove service which is mandatory. Do I understand this correctly?

No... they consider their shipping "white glove," so if you try to price match, they will add the competitor's white glove shipping fee, making the match kind of pointless unless there is a big enough difference.

Comparing the prices right now BB has the same price as Amazon for the 55". Now that I get charged tax in TX I may be better off getting it locally just in case anything happens. Also I got a 10% coupon in the mail so I might be able to use that as well unless there is something in the fine print that will void the use of it. Potentially Fry's may have something tomorrow in their ad as they had the 50" for $899 a couple of weeks ago so maybe they'll have the 55" this time (cross fingers).

gotcha, thanks

Have Amazon pricematch Paul's 55ST50 at $1249. Right now, Paul's has free "White Glove Delivery" (see Paul's home page), so Amazon can't tack that on after the pricematch.

PAuls TV free white glove shipping only applies to Sammy LED over 55" and Sammy plasma per the fine print on the ad.

They called today. Wanted to schedule something for Monday. Here was our convo, almost verbatim:

"Hi, were calling to setup delivery of your TV"
Awesome!
"Our first available date is Monday 07/30"
****, that doesn't work. Thursdays and Fridays work best for me (I know shipping companies don't like to keep inventory on site for too long, so I am hoping to play on that, they are not going to want to hang on to this for another week) How about Tomorrow?
"let me ask my supervisor....hold....cant do tomorrow"
How about today?
"let me ask my supervisor..hold...can't today but you could come pick it up."
OK, If you allow me to open it up, plug it in,etc at your facility, I'll gladly pick it up.
"let me ask my supervisor....hold....turns out policy/agreement says we have to deliver this TV"
OK When?
"We can do tomorrow and have 3 windows, 8-10, 10-12, 12-4."

Are you kidding me? We play a game of 20 questions and all the sudden you have three windows open TOMORROW?

Anyways, 12-4pm tomorrow!

\o/

Did they eventually let you open and check it out?

Awesome, thanks for the heads up. I just ordered the 65" ST50 from Amazon yesterday for $2,099.99 because of the 24 month no interest financing and good return policy... decided that was more important than saving the extra $100. Now I can have both... already called them and got the price match confirmed.

Umm, http://www.paulstv.com/ third tab on the left that says "Free White Glove Delivery...." The page shows a Panasonic logo and at the bottom says "Eligible items include: ALL Plasma TVs...55" and up"
Edited by soobaerodude - 7/26/12 at 1:56pm

. I finally refused to sign the delivery sheet . . . Told them they could take it back and that I would call their Pilot supervisor and Amazon and give their names as thee reason for the return. Then they opened the box, took off the top, made sure they broke every styrofoam ice so it would be difficult to repackage, complained when I made them plug it in and I made sure it was operational with no broken glass. Then they literally flung as much gravel from the driveway when they left . . . Must have neen an 8 cylinder van . . , never seen a van throw that much gravel before.

Accidental dp

Yes, unless the competitor ON THEIR WEBSITE explicitly states their is free whit glove delivery. Amazon . . . Unless the competitor's website states "white glove free shipping," Amazon interprets all free shipping to be curbside delivery carry it into the house yourself . . . Which really isn't what Paul's does, but Amazon's ("we cannot break that shipping policy") argument. I went up the chain three supervisors being the CSR, reading with each successive supervisor Paul's shipping policy page . . . Which they interpreted to not be white glove, even though Paul's delivers the tv not the house . . . Pilot's Amazon white glove delivery is not better than Paul's . . . Amazon just has the no hassle return which Paul's does not have.

This is the link Amazon interprets as Curb side delivery (non white glove): http://www.paulstv.com/policies.asp#Shipping. Amazon's white glove bogus $100 gets you no more than Paul's regular free shipping, at least not when Amazon uses Pilot for white glove delivery, and then the delivery gets you less than Paul's regular non white glove delivery. Amazon's $100 gets you the best no hassle 30 day return policy out there.

But now, on Paul's home page @ http://www.paulstv.com/ and press n the third link down "shop and save online and you will see all plasmas, DLP, and led TVs 55" and up have free white glove shipping . . . Should get that $100 delivery discount now on Amazon price match with Paul's . . . You will have to,take the Amazon csr to the Paul's site to read it.
Edited by Rhetor - 7/26/12 at 2:47pm

I just got off the phone with Amazon trying to pricematch Pauls 60" ST50 for $1499 pointing to them the Free White Glove Delivery.
They checked it and came back to me refusing to remove the delivery charge of $100. According to Amazon, they cannot remove the "promocode" only free whiteglove service charge.
I'm not happy at all.

I bought a Sharp 52LE640U a few weeks ago and I'm not totally happy with it. Edges are brighter than the rest of screen, some clouding with all black images, weird motion smoothing and judder or SOE in any setting except for game mode. I've never owned a Plasma and was initially skeptical of the potential issues with them, but hearing nothing but good things about the image quality is pushing me more and more towards them. I've followed TV's for the past month and this is the best price I have seen on this TV.

I'm thinking about picking up the 55" from BestBuy. Same price as Amazon, only $50 more than Paul's. Sure I have to pay tax but I can pick it up and not deal with delivery BS, and if I ever need to return it or whatever I won't have to ship it anywhere. Anyone have a good reason as to why this is not a good idea?

I just got off the phone with Amazon . . . I ordered my ST50 on Saturday and charged me $100 white glove delivery on a price match with Paul's . They just processed a $100 return to my credit card on a phone call after validating the free white glove delivery on Paul's home page "shop & save online" link which gives the promo code FREEUPGRADE to get Paul's free white glove delivery on "All Plasmas". If you price match with Amazon, get the Amazon CSR to not only go through the entire process of putting an ST50 into the cart to get final price, but to also add the promo code FREEUPGRADE to add the free white glove delivery to the final price for Amazon to match.

Again, me getting my $100 back and you not getting yours is the extreme inconsistency Amazon has because of the certainly the newness of CSRs. I always recommend, rather than spend a lot of time on the phone arguing (not saying you did), just be polite and ask for a supervisor, or just hang up and call back, and hopefully get a more experienced CSR. In most cases, you eventually get transferred to a more knowlegeable CSR in their big items delivery section.

Amazon is a big corporation . . . Not all CSRs are well versed in price match for large TVs.

Sorry it did not work for you.

Not only did I get the $100 white glove bogus up charge back, but my knowlegeable CSR forwarded a meaningful customer negative evaluation of another lousy Pilot non-white glove experience on my delivery yesterday. I really think Amazon is getting tired of Pilot embarrassing them.

On a side note, my helpful Amazon CSR was pretty surprised when she read the Paul's TV promo code link, and speculated Paul's free white glove delivery on plasmas would not last long.

So, if you're on the fence . . . It may be time to pull the trigger and get Amazon to match Paul's low, low ST50 prices with the free white glove delivery promo code while it lasts.

It worked out for me; I hope it works out for those getting ready to pull the trigger.

Of course, the ST50s will go lower . . . But it could be this weekend or not until Black Friday . . .
Edited by Rhetor - 7/26/12 at 3:37pm

Keep calling. It seems pricematching with Amazon depends on which CSR answers the phone

What would you guys go for:

55" ST50 for $1075
60" UT50 for $1250

Those are the Panasonic EPP prices. ST is a slightly better deal, but was hoping for a 60" (and the 60" ST50 isn't that great of a deal right now)

I just called Amazon a second time and the price match was turned down again!
Different CSR and he says according to Amazon pricematch policy promotional discounts such as this free shipping option cannot be used in pricematch.

You guys suggested to keep calling but I wonder whether they actually track my account activity and see that the same request was twice turned down by previous CSRs and that'll impact the opinion of any new CSR??

Ummm . . . Maybe . . . Could be taking notes. They input a record often when we call for consistency cor our accounts. Or . . . Could the third time be the charm? Sorry it is not working for you. But, also, they have email too and a water fountain . . . And supervisors . . . So, they may have just started a policy they have not had before because this is a new situation. Every attempt does not work for everybody. Sometimes, you just have to surrender . . . Sorry.

The 55ST50 . . . You are getting a better tv . . . You can self calibrate with recommended settings from a trusted professional . . . And you are on the ST50 best deal now thread.

But five inches is five inches . . . Unless I wanted the 55ST50 specifically, I would wait to see what the weekend or next month or next fall swill bring on a 60ST50. And, if I knew for sure I want a 60 incher, I really would wait on a 60ST50 sale again, no matter what. I always decide on the exact model FIRST and then wait for the sale price I will pull the trigger at no matter how much time I have to wait. But, that is just me. I just never want to look back and say, "What if . . . .". Maybe you just are not quite ready to pull the trigger yet.

Did you maybe forget to give the delivery guys a tip?

Thats a great deal on the 55ST50, I'd recommend snapping it up.
Whats your viewing distance?

Viewing distance is around 10ft. One of the reasons I'm considering the UT50 is because my entertainment room has one window along the floor (yes its an odd setup, I live in an old historical brewery converted to apartments) on a side wall opposite the TV, so very little light gets in and its easy to control. So the extra glare filter on the ST50 doesn't have as much benefit.

Alternatively, I could get the 60" ST50 about $1500, a little more than I wanted to spend and not quite the % discount as the others, but it might be the more future proof option for when I end up moving out of this apartment in a few years and have the TV in a less light controlled room.

speaking of, whats an appropriate tip for a tv delivery guy? i never had a tv delivered. bought my only flat screen in store. what if theres more than 1 guy?

The ST50s are simply the most bang for the buck with great picture quality . . . I recommend that you forget the UT, and buy the biggest ST50 you are comfortable paying for. In the end, no matter what size, it is about pq. The ST50 i are simply tech review after tech review, the most bang for the buck, and outstanding pq.

Tipping is flexible, IMO. It depends on how difficult the delivery is, their level of professionalism, etc.

For my 60ST50, there were two guys and I gave them a $20 bill to split. I also offered water, which they thanked me for but declined (bottled or canned beverages might be accepted more than a glass). They seemed genuinely appreciative for the $20. I'd have tipped the same for a 42" set or a 65", since it's attaching the included table top stand and moving the set onto the furniture/TV stand. I also had the power outlet free and HDMI cable ready to plug in, which I think everyone should do no matter what they tip. I don't know how many deliveries they make in a day, but they were in and out in about 10 minutes.

So still waiting on the phone call from AIT to schedule delivery Rats Was hoping to have the set for the weekend.
How long does this take? Supposedly it shipped out late Monday Night.