Shady Business Practices

[Spooner]

Has anyone ever dealt with Premiertvs.com or EastCoastTvs.com before?

They claim to sell "European" and "USA" version televisions.

As an example:

Samsung UN75J6300 75" apparently they append "AFXA" to the model number, which is supposed to signify the "US" version and AU/CA" which is the international model

NOWHERE on the website does it even tell you that there are two versions until you call them and ask and then they give you the schpiel that "everyone knows this"

Is this shady or a well known thing I simply never understood before?

 

[gorcorps]

NTSC in the US vs. PAL in the Europe is pretty well known I thought

I don't know how much it makes a difference with our current age of mostly digital HD though.

Still... you know the power outlets are completely different right?

 

[Spooner]

I'm aware the power outlets are different, however, I cannot think that would result in a ~$500 difference in television price

 

[waffleironhead]

Woot sells grey market tvs all the time. Wonder why you are getting a great deal on those electronics? They were intended for the south american market. Good luck getting samsung usa to warranty that samsung south america tv.

 

[gorcorps]

I'm aware the power outlets are different, however, I cannot think that would result in a ~$500 difference in television price

Might be a production type of thing. Is the US version cheaper? I'd imagine they would make a lot more for the US market, and any other versions would be in much more limited quantities. Economies of scale have a huge impact on manufacturing

 

[Spooner]

The international versions are always cheaper, but i guess the point i'm making is that is seems very non-obvious and meant for bait-and-switch tactics where the higher price comes out after the customer has placed an order

These are US companies based in the US

I'm staying away.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I bought my plasma from East Coast Tvs. Shady as can be, pretty much forced an extended warranty on me.

 

[mpo]

Has anyone ever dealt with Premiertvs.com or EastCoastTvs.com before?

They claim to sell "European" and "USA" version televisions.

As an example:

Samsung UN75J6300 75" apparently they append "AFXA" to the model number, which is supposed to signify the "US" version and AU/CA" which is the international model

NOWHERE on the website does it even tell you that there are two versions until you call them and ask and then they give you the schpiel that "everyone knows this"

Is this shady or a well known thing I simply never understood before?

Samsung encodes the region in the model number. Their web site even has a handy decoder.
http://www.samsung.com/uk/support/skp/faq/1052003

 

[Phoenix86]

Grey market shit, camera places do this all the time too.

Avoid like plague. Occasionally there are deals (when you know the ALL of details of the int'l vs. domestic versions) but the vendors aren't worth the hassle.

 

[Spooner]

Why do these guys have all these positive reviews on Resellerratings then? I'm bewildered who could've had a positive buying experience

 

[gorcorps]

Why do these guys have all these positive reviews on Resellerratings then? I'm bewildered who could've had a positive buying experience

Are they a bunch of reviewers that have only reviewed a single place, and it just so happens to be this shady ass website?

 

[SlitheryDee]

It's well known that the US and Europe use different standards for television, but I've never heard any terms but NTSC and PAL used to describe them. My assumption would be that they are going with more "technical" terminology that meant the same thing though, not that anything shady was going on. I'm not even sure what advantage could be garnered by lying about it honestly.

 

[mmntech]

If you have a gut feeling that it's shady, turn tail and run because it probably is.

PAL was the dominant analogue broadcast technology across the world, including most of Europe, prior to the advent of HDTV. It runs at a resolution of 576i at 50hz. The frame rate matches the mains frequency to reduce interference.

NTSC was used in most of the Americas (Brazil and Argentina being notable exceptions), Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Burma, and S. Korea. It runs at a resolution of 480i at 60hz.

Both technologies are obsolete now. HDTV resolutions are now standardized. However, we still use PAL and NTSC frame rates in their respective regions. The only conceivable reason you'd need a "European TV" would be for watching foreign broadcasts over FTA satellite, or for watching import DVDs and Bluray. I believe you can buy TVs now that are compatible with both. Computer monitors will happily display 50hz content as well. Don't know if it's native or there's some conversion process going on, but it seems to work just fine.

 

[Spooner]

It's well known that the US and Europe use different standards for television, but I've never heard any terms but NTSC and PAL used to describe them. My assumption would be that they are going with more "technical" terminology that meant the same thing though, not that anything shady was going on. I'm not even sure what advantage could be garnered by lying about it honestly.

The shadiness, to me, comes into play with advertising significant difference in price to lure the buyer to said website (like it did for me). When you purchase a TV (while being in the US and being sold by a US company), I dont think there is any reason to believe that buying a foreign product is a possibility coupled with the fact that there is NOTHING on the site/product page that leads you to believe you're getting anything different than going to your local Best Buy. It was only until I noticed odd characters in the model name that called and asked further. Then I was met with a rude salesman stating that "every wholesaler" does this and if I wanted the US-Retail version, here's the link to the higher-priced item.

My assumption is that they achieve the purchase order, call the customer back to say that if they want it to work in the US, they must purchase at a higher price, and some customers just say "ok" without second thought.

Just overall shady.

 

[Spooner]

If you have a gut feeling that it's shady, turn tail and run because it probably is.

I did. Bought from best buy on sale