Early Walmart Black Friday TV Sale Poses Question - 'Are Low TV Prices Really a Good Deal?'
Walmart’s Black Friday sale is less than a week away and millions of shoppers are gearing up for the biggest shopping day of the year by figuring out which stores to go to and which products to buy.
Traditionally, TV's are some of Walmart's hottest Black Friday deals, with many under $200. But with so many brands at great prices, it is difficult to determine which deals are the best. However, checking out reviews of the Walmart Black Friday TV deals on other sites is a great way to know before making the trip.
The first of Walmart's Black Friday TV deals available now is the 22-inch Haier LCD, HDTV for only $139. Out of eight reviews on Amazon.com, this TV has a 4.5 star average, with many people praising the high amount of quality for the low price (which most reviewers paid much more than the $139 price it is available for at Walmart now).
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One reviewer had his doubts due to the brand name not being well-known, but all worries were assuaged after purchase.
“Was a bit skeptical for the price and an unknown brand,” videotechie said. “Turns out this is great TV - decent picture, easy to set up, plenty of connections , sound is OK.”
videotechie added: “If you need an inexpensive (I changed my tune from cheap - this does not perform like a cheap TV) TV don't overlook this set, or other Haier products. If it was made in the USA it been an even better deal...but as-is I'd buy it again.”
The only somewhat negative review appears to have been the result of a manufacturing defect – not the overall quality of the product.
“It has 3 dead pixels and is a little bit lopsided with the stand but it at least works compared to our old Vizio that gave us nothing but problems,” said Walter S Muszynski.
Overall, the Walmart early Black Friday sale for the Haier TV appears to be a great deal, especially at the low price of $139.
Another of Walmart's TV's for under $200 is the Westinghouse, 26-inch Class LCD HDTV for only $198, which makes it one of the cheapest 26-inch TV's in that price range. However, the low value might be reflected in the quality, according to several scathing reviews on Amazon.com for the unit.
Out of five customer reviews, four are 1-star reviews and one is a 2-star review. There is a sixth 5-star “review,” but it is actually a product write-up by a Westinghouse employee touting the company's excellent customer service and the TV's “eco-friendly” design.
However, that benefit might not be enough to take care of the TV's other problems. As reviewer, B. Cirenzia said, “Why build an 'eco' green TV that's just going to end up in a landfill with the rest of the trash?”
The most common complaints were for the TV's sound, which was Cirenzia's main gripe: “Bought this for the brand, but am very disappointed in the sound quality. It actually sounds like there's a piece of plastic muffling the TV speakers, which is not just annoying, it's perplexing,” he wrote.
Another review listed other problems with the TV, including “reliability.”
Reviewer Montrosian wrote: “The picture is good. No complaints there. Reliability is terrible. Sometimes when the power is turned on no picture will appear. The unit needs to be unplugged for several seconds, then retried. This sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Sometimes the volume and mute function can be controlled by the remote; sometimes not. Sometimes adjusting the volume results in the TV turning itself off.”
Montrosian added: “The sales associate at Target confirmed that they have had numerous complaints and returns of this model, and suggested that I exchange it for a different brand.”
Based on these reviews, it appears that this Westinghouse unit might not be a great buy, even for the low price.
However, there are still some great options at the early Black Friday TV sale, such as the 22-inch Haier.
