52" Samsung LED for $700

[mathan]

I would be visiting US in the middle of Nov. My friend there just bought a Samsung 52" LED for $700 and told me similar deals would be there and also there would be more such deals during thanks giving week sale at end of Nov. I would like to know what would be my options if I bring this TV here and if it is worth to bring it here as the customs would surely not leave this alone. Most probably this would be a NTSC TV only and I think here we have PAL system and maybe I need a convertor for that also. The voltage would be 110 and I would need a step down transformer to make it work here. Most probably it would not have warranty over here. I'm also concerned about the custom duty and not sure how much would be levied on this.

Taking all these into account please let me know if it is worth to bring this LED TV here. Has anyone bought a 52" LED before and faced any problem in setting this up here.

 

[rajadeep]

To keep the ans short... Not worth it... Getting from Bangkok is a better option...See if u can book ur return flight via Bangkok with a 1 day stay...

 

[mathan]

To keep the ans short... Not worth it... Getting from Bangkok is a better option...See if u can book ur return flight via Bangkok with a 1 day stay...

Thought about that mate but it is my company that is sponsoring and so no way of coming through Bangkok:sad:

 

[rajadeep]

Just take into consideration the additional costs & risks involved... $200 for a pal2ntsc converter(which is still reported to work only half the time)... Rs 1500 or so for a step down converter... & worst of all the shipping cost... On my parents recent visit to US, my dad on impulse bought 2 fishing rods for $100 or so... When it came the time to bring it back to India, jetairways demanded $143 for the rods that were 4 ft long but weighed only 700 grams or so... Imagine what they will demand for a 50-55in tv that will weigh over 20-30kgs... I expect it to be in the range of $300+... Also there is a chance that ur tv will get damaged during transit which will render ur whole endeavour moot...

PS instead of buying a TV, y don't u look into buying a projector from the US, like myself & many others on this forum have done...

 

[k11]

First, Does Samsung make a 52 inch LED. 52 is generally plasma.
It is 46/47 and then 55, these are popular LED sizes. 50, 52 are popular plasma sizes.

Black Friday sale are generally cheap TVs. A week before that is a good time to look at high end ones. Take it from me, I used to work for Best Buy.

$700 is a lower end TV. Not even worth importing through Shipping.
Airlines will not accept anything more than 47. So you will have to pay $400-500 to ship. It is better to buy in India or Dubai.

L+W+D should be less than 60 inch for most airlines.
They will accept upto 80 inch with extra fee.
You can easily bring upto a 40inch by paying $150-$200 extra.
LED TV are light so weight is not an issue for 40 inch.
For 47, you might have to pay another $75-100 for overweight.
Plasmas are heavy not worth bringing as check in bag.

What you should get,
High end TV, 65inch ones especially. 55 inch should be minimum size.
Shipping cost should be less than half the price of TV. A $1500-$2500+ is worth importing. These TVs are expensive even in Dubai and are expensive in India too. For Plasma, Pioneer Kuro, Sharp Elite, Panny 65 GT50 used to be good. OLEDs for $3000, expensive but would cost lot more.

 

[shashankpaturkar]

You can carry the TV along with you as your Check in Luggage, but the Airline will charge you for oversized luggage Approx. ($250-$350), check with the Airline you are travelling before making the purchase.
The NTSC/Pal thing I have heard that can be solved if you have Set top box (Tata Sky, Airtel, Videocon etc.).
Yes you will need a Step Down.
Another thing to keep in mind is the warranty of the product most have them will have warranty that is limited to North America and Canada, you might have to shell out more $$$ to get a global warranty in case you are willing to take that.
Be ready for the Indian Customs, not sure how much custom duty will charge you for this, but I assuming based on some of my friends experience and other forums it would be around 15-20k INR.
So do your maths and look at the other Pros and cons.

 

[just4kix]

I visit US many times. I have always resisted buying electronic items from there. The only item I ever purchased from US was Sony BDP (see sig). I find the 220V->110V step down a big turn off. Such units clutter the already full rack space of equipment. We generally tend to keep such transformers at the rear side where they accumulate a lot of dust, cobwebs, mites, fungus, etc.

Next is the NTSC thingy. No matter the promise, PAL to NTSC conversion is always lossy (not the other way round). Add a converter, add another device, however small and inconspicuous.

Finally as explained above there is a whole lot of money to pay in terms of shipping cost, customs duty, local transportation. Will a 55" TV carton fit in a car? Even an Innova will face a challenge.

No one has mentioned the following:

- local sales tax: ranges from 7% to 9.25%.
- 3D glasses if the TV is 3D: these are mostly never included with the TV
- wall mount and installation: this will cost Rs. 1500 for mount and Rs. 500 for installation
- transport insurance: surely you are not going to take a chance with that?

When you sum up, the whole things does not really work out cheap. Have a look at my thread: ST50 Owners' Thread - First impressions, Reviews, Tweaks, etc.. FM arnprasad mentioned that the same TV costs half as much in US. I have explained the costs and when taken in perspective, it is not so cheap after all.

 

[mathan]

Thanks for all the valuable inputs. I was very skeptical and was in two minds but now after reading through all your inputs have decided not to bring the TV as it seems it would not be worth it. Instead as Rajadeep mentioned I shall look out for a Projector.