Anyone ever buy a TV at Costco?

[Fairy]

Our old 31 inch TV from 1992 finally died last night. Cuz we're batting a thousand and need more crap. The screen is now one big cloud of white with the vague images of the TV show happening behind the white cloud. Which has lines running thru it. Picture tube, I'm sure. In any event, DH is gonna go to Costco tonight after I get home to pick up a Visio 32-inch flatscreen. I think. CR says it's a best buy. The Sony is pretty expensive. Anyone ever buy a TV from Costco before?

[HIU8]

My mother bought a visio from Costco and has been happy with it.

[brittone2]

My dad was thinking of buying from Costco. When he checked last year, I think he said they also extend the manufacturer's warranty.

[MommyAllison]

We bought our TV at Costco 5 years ago and have been very happy with it.

[m4nash]

We bought our 32" Vizio a year ago at Costco and it's been great.

[AnnieW625]

I have heard good things, plus they'll take returns longer if you aren't happy with the set. A couple of years ago a co worker had a tv for six months or so and then it turns out he had to move out of the place and no longer needed the tv; Costco took it back no questions asked.

[o_mom]

We bought ours there a couple months ago (Samsung LCD). Good price and they extended the manufacturer's warranty out to 2 years. 90-day return on TVs now, but that's plenty of time to make sure the picture looks good in your house.

Just an FYI, a 32" flatscreen is going to look tiny compared to a 31 inch 4:3 tube. A 32" flat panel is around 16" high, where a 31" tube is closer to 20" tall. A 37-40" flat panel is going to be closer in height to what you are used to.

[Fairy]

Thanks for all the comments.

The problem is that we have an Entertainment Center that limits the size of the area for the TV. We want a much larger TV, and the plan was to replace the entire entertainment center area. But first we had to offload our original, black laquer & mirror entertainment center (can you tell it was from before my time?) that's sitting in the livingroom so that we could move the current one into its spot, then redo the entire configuration of the family room. Now with this hurry up mode TV, we're stuck.

I know we should just wait and make do, but DS is home sick all week, Tivo only exists on that TV, I won't leave him alone for hours on end either upstairs or down (where the other TVs are) when I have to work tomorrow in my study, and the whole thing is a frakkin' mess.

So. That's why the 32-inch TV. I was wondering if it would seem small. And apparently, it will. *sigh*

Oooh well.

[C99]

We bought a Vizio flat screen from Costco in November of last year and have been really happy with it. It has even survived DS2 drawing on the screen in both pencil and red washable marker.

[egoldber]

Costco took it back no questions asked.

Just FYI, Costco has changed their return policy on major electronics to 90 days.

[codex57]

Thanks for all the comments.

The problem is that we have an Entertainment Center that limits the size of the area for the TV. We want a much larger TV, and the plan was to replace the entire entertainment center area. But first we had to offload our original, black laquer & mirror entertainment center (can you tell it was from before my time?) that's sitting in the livingroom so that we could move the current one into its spot, then redo the entire configuration of the family room. Now with this hurry up mode TV, we're stuck.

I know we should just wait and make do, but DS is home sick all week, Tivo only exists on that TV, I won't leave him alone for hours on end either upstairs or down (where the other TVs are) when I have to work tomorrow in my study, and the whole thing is a frakkin' mess.

So. That's why the 32-inch TV. I was wondering if it would seem small. And apparently, it will. *sigh*

Oooh well.

So you buy the 42"+ tv, along with a new stand or wall mount from Costco. :)

You can offload the old entertainment set later. Or just stick it outside with a "free" sign on it.

[ohiomom1121]

We bought a Vizio from Costco almost a year ago and love it!!!

[jenfromnj]

We had the same issue--our entertainment center (which I love and refuse to get rid of just yet!) would only allow a 32-inch, so we got a Vizio from Costco at the end of last year. It's been great so far, and don't worry, it isn't that small!

[elektra]

Yep. We were happy with our Vizio from Costco until DH knocked it into the corner of our dresser and cracked the crystal or whatever makes the picture work inside the TV.
FWIW, we got our replacement at Best Buy. Their same as cash financing was a bigger factor than the actual TV quality though.

[MMMommy]

Almost all our tvs are from Costco. Great return policy (as PP noted, I think it is 90 days return period now?). We have bought Samsung and Vizio, and Maxent from Costco. I don't think Costco carries Maxent anymore, but ours is dying. They have a great selection--Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, etc. There really is no downside to getting it from Costco because their return policy is so good, so long as you don't forget the shorter time period for electronic returns.

[Zansu]

Costco also offers a complimentary concierge service, so you get an 800 number to call for help reconnecting all of the cables.

[daniele_ut]

Both of our TVs were bought at Costco. One is a 42" Philips that we bought right after they came out with 1080P 2.5 years ago. The price for the same TV has come down a staggering amount since then. The other is a 19" Vizio that sits on my kitchen counter. We have a 20x22' living room and the 42" looks kinda small, and that's coming from someone who upgraded from a 19" CRT tv.

While Costco has changed their electronics return policy they now double the manufacturer's warranty up to an additional year and as a PP mentioned they have a concierge service that you can call with any problems and they will talk you through fixing them.

We had our TV wall mounted in our last home and will wall mount it again next week when our media room is finally finished. It is a lot safer than having it sit on a TV cabinet.

[s7714]

We bought our Visio at Costco. We've had it 3 years I think and it's 50". The fan in the unit makes a rattling noise every once in a while, and one pixel went out on the screen about 6 months after we bought it so there's a permanent black dot in the picture, but it's so small you can't tell unless you know where to look and are standing like a foot from the screen. (Apparently it's normal for the pixels to go out over time, but they usually don't go out for a year or two from what I've read.)

My BIL bought the exact same Visio at Costco too, about a year before us. His lasted two years until making a loud popping noise right before going black for good. They hauled it back into Costco and were able to return it for a newer model. That newer model (another Visio) is still functioning fine with zero problems.

I do know a couple other people who have bought the smaller Visio TVs and haven't had any issues with them.

ETA: I don't know if I'd recommend Visio based on our personal experience, but I'd buy another TV from Costco without hesitation.

[vludmilla]

I have heard good things, plus they'll take returns longer if you aren't happy with the set. A couple of years ago a co worker had a tv for six months or so and then it turns out he had to move out of the place and no longer needed the tv; Costco took it back no questions asked.

Because so many people were returning their tv's just to upgrade or whatnot, Costco has changed the policy. 90 days return only. They do exted the manu warranty.

It really peeves me that people ruined the good thing that was the Costco return. I know it wasn't you that did it...just saying. A coworker of mine returned her $600 tv that worked just fine so that they could upgrade to a better one. Ridiculous.

[Fairy]

Thanks for all the input, guys's. We went to costco and got the 42" visio and DH is gettint it in. Ds came with and we stayed in the car. He still has a fever from the pneumonoia but begged to get out of the house so I relented. Was a good compromise. Our poor workhorse tv. Lived a good life. Thanks for all the advice!

[ThreeofUs]

We did! We have had no problems with Costco at all.

[3blackcats]

We bought our LCD Samsung from Costco. Love the warranty, return policy and the fact you can call their customer support if you have trouble hooking it up.

[AnnieW625]

Yeah I kind of knew the return policy had changed I just couldn't remember what the amount of days was now. It's honestly still amazing that you can return a good product within 90 days if you just aren't happy with it.

[egoldber]

DH has spent the last 10+ years working for several "major television manufacturers". It is literally his business to know how televisions are manufactured and how they work, and he is now a highly paid consultant for his expertise in this area. All that by way of background. :) His take on Vizio is they are built extremely cheaply. They choose the cheapest possible parts to keep the costs as low as possible. As a result, on average, Vizio TVs tend to break easily and last about as long as their warranty period and maybe a year or so more. It does not tend to be a long term TV solution. His opinion, backed by extensive industry knowledge.

[khm]

We have a 37" Costco Vizio LCD. It's 3 years old and going strong. But, it WAS very cheap (cheap to start with, even cheaper with a sale and coupon). I don't hold any expectations that it'll last forever. ;) It was a good solution at the time and we haven't regretted it.

The way technology changes, I'm not opposed to buying the least expensive and using it for however long as it lasts. It does feel wasteful resources-wise, though.

But, I just couldn't see paying 2-3 times more for a Sony that I knew we wouldn't be using 2-3 times longer. (My brother does still has an ooooooold Sony that weighs about 400 lbs. It takes 3 guys to move, and it's hard work for 3 guys. That thing was top notch when he got it, though, and I guess it's paid off b/c it won't die!)

It is kind of sad that the cheap Walmart 19" TV I bought as a sophomore in college is still going strong, great picture. I refused to pay the extra $30 for the version with a remote, I figured I'd just use the cable box remote. Now, if I'd have known I'd be using that TV over **15 years later**, yeah, I'd have ponied up for a real remote. ;)

[kozachka]

We just bought a 54" Panasonic plasma TV from Costco. I had a $300 off coupon so it was almost the same as buying a 50" Panasonic plasma TV. Unfortunately, it is too big for the space where it was supposed to be sitting. We are now trying to decide whether to exchange it for a 46" TV (my preferred option) or wall mount it (DH's preferred option). In any case, I feel good about buying from Costco since I have 90 days to decide. Hopefully, we'll decide sooner as I am not liking the huge TV box in my living room.

I've done a bit of research before buying this TV and I would not be comfortable buying a Vizio. I do realize that technology is changing fast and all but I'd rather stick with a better product and use it a bit longer than upgrade in two years. You pay one way or the other so might as well have the use of a better product in the meantime.

[inmypjs]

We bought a Proscan 40" about a month ago and have been very pleased with it. Not sure about their return policy. I did search the reviews on it before buying so I knew what we were getting.

[catsnkid]

Haven't bought one from Costco, but bought a toshiba from bj's a few years ago and it is fine. they had the best price on it.

[MamaKath]

His opinion, backed by extensive industry knowledge.
Bummer I was just looking at one of them. Which brand[s] does he like?