AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Plasma Flat Panel Displays › What can we expect from 2013 Panasonic Plasmas?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

What can we expect from 2013 Panasonic Plasmas? - Page 36

post #1051 of 1446
2/21/13 at 9:52pm
Every year some online retailers jump the gun and start taking pre-orders with an expected due date that looks attractive, then a week or three later they can't come up with the TV (whether it was intentional or through circumstances beyond their control) and push the delivery date back another week or three, while hoping you don't cancel the order. Pre-orders don't necessarily reflect actual release dates, and in this case it looks like there's no way they can fulfill that order within the next two weeks.
Reply
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #1052 of 1446
2/21/13 at 10:52pm
^Aside from that practice, in which ABT is likely engaging, they are a legit outfit (or were when I ordered from them several years ago). No 65" listed unfortunately. I'd be curious to see how low they'd go.
Reply
Reply
post #1053 of 1446
2/22/13 at 5:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWalters View Post

Every year some online retailers jump the gun and start taking pre-orders with an expected due date that looks attractive, then a week or three later they can't come up with the TV (whether it was intentional or through circumstances beyond their control) and push the delivery date back another week or three, while hoping you don't cancel the order. Pre-orders don't necessarily reflect actual release dates, and in this case it looks like there's no way they can fulfill that order within the next two weeks.

I see, seemed a bit optimistic since it has been mentioned in this thread that we should expect the vt series around April. But the prices listed look good, and as Glashub and Vinnie pointed out, the seller has been well reputed, so I'll keep these guy's in mind.
Reply
Reply
post #1054 of 1446
2/22/13 at 6:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by vinnie97 View Post

^Aside from that practice, in which ABT is likely engaging, they are a legit outfit (or were when I ordered from them several years ago). No 65" listed unfortunately. I'd be curious to see how low they'd go.

Which 65" model are you looking for? I see the zt60, vt60, and the st60 in that size on that website, listed but not in stock of course.
Reply
Reply
post #1055 of 1446
2/22/13 at 10:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by remush View Post

Which 65" model are you looking for? I see the zt60, vt60, and the st60 in that size on that website, listed but not in stock of course.
Thanks, I must have been half asleep when viewing the page originally. I was seeking out the the P65ZT60. Pretty amazing price.
Reply
Reply
post #1056 of 1446
2/22/13 at 2:10pm
the only thing I see about going from 4 ports to 3 is that this makes that particular IO board common to the ST and VT (and ZT?) across all sizes. May make the back panel common as well.
Reply
Reply
post #1057 of 1446
2/22/13 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWalters View Post

Every year some online retailers jump the gun and start taking pre-orders with an expected due date that looks attractive, then a week or three later they can't come up with the TV
Yep, every year.........
Cleveland Plasma Insider
» Get the latest news and updates at the Cleveland Plasma sponsor page.
Reply
Cleveland Plasma Insider
» Get the latest news and updates at the Cleveland Plasma sponsor page.
Reply
post #1058 of 1446
2/23/13 at 4:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWalters View Post

Every year some online retailers jump the gun and start taking pre-orders with an expected due date that looks attractive, then a week or three later they can't come up with the TV (whether it was intentional or through circumstances beyond their control) and push the delivery date back another week or three, while hoping you don't cancel the order. Pre-orders don't necessarily reflect actual release dates, and in this case it looks like there's no way they can fulfill that order within the next two weeks.

Agreed. A little surprised to see Abt stooping to this level. I can't imagine it will do wonders for their relationship with Panasonic.
Reply
Reply
post #1059 of 1446
2/23/13 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWalters View Post

Every year some online retailers jump the gun and start taking pre-orders with an expected due date that looks attractive, then a week or three later they can't come up with the TV (whether it was intentional or through circumstances beyond their control) and push the delivery date back another week or three, while hoping you don't cancel the order. Pre-orders don't necessarily reflect actual release dates, and in this case it looks like there's no way they can fulfill that order within the next two weeks.

Additionally, if an etailer will lie to you in order to get your order, why would you expect them to be come through if you have any problems. You already know their moral compass.
Reply
Reply
post #1060 of 1446
2/24/13 at 8:27am
So true, yet many are worried about the best price and NOT focused on the best overall deal.
Cleveland Plasma Insider
» Get the latest news and updates at the Cleveland Plasma sponsor page.
Reply
Cleveland Plasma Insider
» Get the latest news and updates at the Cleveland Plasma sponsor page.
Reply
post #1061 of 1446
2/24/13 at 11:28am
Abt has been my dealer for years located in Chicago suburbs. Excellent store with great showroom (first place where I saw the Sony 85" 4K set along with LG's unit).

Anyway, same price my salesman quoted in the store last week and told me that the earliest they expected the sets was May. However, Panasonic is notorious for delivering high end sets late he said reasonable expectation delivery date would be June.
Reply
Reply
post #1062 of 1446
2/24/13 at 11:38am
Yeah well...they want you to pre-pay and then they hold your money for 2-3 months which gives them the ability to use it to generate an ROI while the buyer gets nothing on it except worry and obsession. Think about this...they get a 100 people to pre-pay...that's $350,000 they can use free of charge. Prepayment imo is basically giving a store an intrest free loan.
Reply
Reply
post #1063 of 1446
2/24/13 at 11:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Glashub View Post

Yeah well...they want you to pre-pay and then they hold your money for 2-3 months which gives them the ability to use it to generate an ROI while the buyer gets nothing on it except worry and obsession. Think about this...they get a 100 people to pre-pay...that's $350,000 they can use free of charge. Prepayment imo is basically giving a store an intrest free loan.

Most of the etailers don't process/charge your card until it ships.
Reply
Reply
post #1064 of 1446
2/24/13 at 12:14pm
Yes, if a deposit or payment upfront was required, it should say so on the product page.
Reply
Reply
post #1065 of 1446
2/24/13 at 12:27pm
That's probably true now that you mention it. I work with really smart business men (although I'm not one of them)...I've seen them in action....I'll bet there's an angle...even if they show it as receivables when looking for an investor/bank or lookimg for a line of credit with a vendor.
Edited by Glashub - 2/24/13 at 2:30pm
Reply
Reply
post #1066 of 1446
2/24/13 at 1:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by viclaw View Post

Abt has been my dealer for years located in Chicago suburbs. Excellent store with great showroom (first place where I saw the Sony 85" 4K set along with LG's unit).

Anyway, same price my salesman quoted in the store last week and told me that the earliest they expected the sets was May. However, Panasonic is notorious for delivering high end sets late he said reasonable expectation delivery date would be June.

You're right. I think everyone does see them as a reputable dealer. That's the problem though. This is a somewhat shady practice. One that most people wouldn't expect from them. It's great that they are honest in the store, but their website could afford to be a little more transparent.
Reply
Reply
post #1067 of 1446
2/25/13 at 12:37am
If Abt is charging your card full price on a product that they can't ship for months, they are violating their merchant agreement with Visa/MC/Amex and quite possibly various state consumer-protection laws.

I do agree Abt is a reputable retailer, so I'd be surprised to learn they'd be doing that. It's basically not legal.
Reply
Reply
post #1068 of 1446
2/25/13 at 7:36am
FYI, Abt is NOT charging your credit card in full if you place a pre-order. They are are just performing a "pre-authorization" (basically sending a transaction to verify that the card number is valid). I believe this is also known as a "hold" in credit card lingo. They only charge your card when the product ships. I called them about their pre-orders and asked what the policy was. And you can of course cancel a pre-order at any time. This seems pretty standard tp me.

By the way, Abt is saying that MSRP for the VT/ZT lines are the prices up on their web page.
Reply
Reply
post #1069 of 1446
2/25/13 at 8:38am
Doesn't a hold reduce your available credit line???
Reply
Reply
post #1070 of 1446
2/25/13 at 12:56pm
Holds typically fall off your card anywhere from 1-5 days after they are placed, freeing the balance back up. So yes, you are technically correct in that it would count against your available credit until the hold "falls off."
Reply
Reply
post #1071 of 1446
2/25/13 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Influence View Post

Holds typically fall off your card anywhere from 1-5 days after they are placed, freeing the balance back up. So yes, you are technically correct in that it would count against your available credit until the hold "falls off."

Yepp, usually 2-3 days in my experience.
Reply
Reply
post #1072 of 1446
2/25/13 at 2:43pm
Well, I went ahead and put my name on a VT60 65" today with Clev. Plasma. Hopefully get Chad to tweak it too.
Reply
Reply
post #1073 of 1446
2/25/13 at 2:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Influence View Post

FYI, Abt is NOT charging your credit card in full if you place a pre-order. They are are just performing a "pre-authorization" (basically sending a transaction to verify that the card number is valid). I believe this is also known as a "hold" in credit card lingo. They only charge your card when the product ships. I called them about their pre-orders and asked what the policy was. And you can of course cancel a pre-order at any time. This seems pretty standard tp me.

Perfectly acceptable practice and not at all shady or illegal. My post above was, I hope, couched in the "maybes" of "if they were..." sufficiently.

A retailer should do a cursory check that you have the credit theoretically for a pre-order, even though the credit might be gone when the item ships.
Quote:
By the way, Abt is saying that MSRP for the VT/ZT lines are the prices up on their web page.

I don't think that's true, but then again, Panasonic has been known to change this (although rarely) and the Panasonic seems to have originally been targeting an MSRP that Samsung was going to obliterate. Maybe they did change in response? Best Buy's systems, however, seem to disagree with Abt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gadgtfreek View Post

Well, I went ahead and put my name on a VT60 65" today with Clev. Plasma. Hopefully get Chad to tweak it too.

I bet you'll be happy.
Reply
Reply
post #1074 of 1446
2/25/13 at 3:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogo View Post

t.
I bet you'll be happy.

I hope they just stayed simple and took an already great VT50 and tweaked it. Fine by me and why Im going with the VT.
Reply
Reply
post #1075 of 1446
2/25/13 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Influence View Post

By the way, Abt is saying that MSRP for the VT/ZT lines are the prices up on their web page.

I wouldn't consider what any retailer has in their system at this point a reliable source of information. Information entered in these systems is a best guess, at the time, of what it might end up as.
Reply
Reply
post #1076 of 1446
2/26/13 at 6:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWalters View Post

Every year some online retailers jump the gun and start taking pre-orders with an expected due date that looks attractive, then a week or three later they can't come up with the TV (whether it was intentional or through circumstances beyond their control) and push the delivery date back another week or three, while hoping you don't cancel the order. Pre-orders don't necessarily reflect actual release dates, and in this case it looks like there's no way they can fulfill that order within the next two weeks.

Just as i thought - a guy over at HDJ just posted that he pre-ordered a 65ZT60 from ABT a week ago, and just got an email that now the TV won't be available till June. ABT has reached a new low with this sort of shady practice. They know full well that they cannot get product before May/June so i wonder why they're stooping to this practice?
Reply
Reply
post #1077 of 1446
2/26/13 at 7:22am
^ to get people to order televisions from them.


James
Reply
Reply
post #1078 of 1446
2/26/13 at 7:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mastermaybe View Post

^ to get people to order televisions from them. James

Well obviously, but i'm wondering if business is so bad for them that now they're resorting to lowering their standards to that of the many disreputable shady east coast retailers that normally do business this way. It's deceptive to trick people into placing a pre-order by stating that they'll have the TV in a week or two when they know full well that it won't be available for at least 3 months. Sorry, but that's a new low for ABT.
Reply
Reply
post #1079 of 1446
2/26/13 at 9:51am
When I called them to check on how their pre-order process works, the sales rep was very upfront on availability of the 65" ZT60 - she said ETA was June. Granted, the website listed no availability date (unlike some of the other models showing available dates that were fairly soon).

also, she stated that I would not pay more than the price that I pre-ordered at, even if the MSRP were to increase. I think that they are pretty confident on the $3499 MSRP for the 65" ZT60. Of course if Panasonic would just announce an actual MSRP it would clear things up greatly. I have a feeling Samsung's pricing may have forced a change at Panasonic, especially given the rave reviews the new F8500 received at CES. Plus, the Samsung just looks a lot sexier (no stupid shiny silver bezel of a "videophile" TV). Shame it is .7" smaller.
Reply
Reply
post #1080 of 1446
2/26/13 at 9:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Influence View Post

When I called them to check on how their pre-order process works, the sales rep was very upfront on availability of the 65" ZT60 - she said ETA was June. Granted, the website listed no availability date (unlike some of the other models showing available dates that were fairly soon).

also, she stated that I would not pay more than the price that I pre-ordered at, even if the MSRP were to increase. I think that they are pretty confident on the $3499 MSRP for the 65" ZT60. Of course if Panasonic would just announce an actual MSRP it would clear things up greatly. I have a feeling Samsung's pricing may have forced a change at Panasonic, especially given the rave reviews the new F8500 received at CES. Plus, the Samsung just looks a lot sexier (no stupid shiny silver bezel of a "videophile" TV). Shame it is .7" smaller.

Do they guarantee to only charge you the lower price, if it's actually lower at that time too?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Plasma Flat Panel Displays

Gear mentioned in this thread:

AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Plasma Flat Panel Displays › What can we expect from 2013 Panasonic Plasmas?