Amber Garcia: Best TV Prices and Deals

Don’t have time to look for great TV deals? Missed out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals? We took a look for you: check out some of the best and most affordable TVs you can get online, even outside of the holiday season! These sale prices will make it easy to get a 4k TV or upgrade your HDTV’s size without destroying your bank account. Get out those gift cards and take a look!

Where to Look for TV Deals

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is an excellent choice if you don’t care about the brand of TV and are primarily interested in getting the best deals available. Many of the lowest prices can be found here with brands like RCA and JVC, which may not make the most popular TVs but offer great deals. $200 to $300 4K TVs may be available at Wal-Mart if you shop at the right times. Of course, the company also carries higher-end models like Samsung TVs for very low prices, but these are likely to sell out particularly fast. Things to Keep in Mind:

In-store deals are likely to be hit or miss, so if you see a deal advertised, waste no time in getting to the store.
Wal-Mart does offer shipping options including shipping to a local store for pickup.
The Wal-Mart website isn’t as easy to navigate as something like Amazon. If you are having trouble, back out and do a general Google search for the TV model you want, but add “Wal-Mart” to your search terms.

Amazon

The huge number of sellers on Amazon and the tremendous variety of the online store makes it an easy choice for people who want to quickly compare deals and find the best option for their new TV. In most cases, Amazon offers free shipping for its TVs, and with Prime you can get your shipment in only a couple days, so ordering online doesn’t necessarily need to be more expensive or even take longer. Amazon has offerings from nearly every brand, including Sony, Toshiba, Samsung, LG and more. It’s a great place to locate both mid-range and high-range deals: You can find some amazing discounts if you are willing to pay $1,000 to $1,200 or more for a TV. However, at the lower end of the spectrum it may be tough to find very cheap deals on Amazon. Things to Keep in Mind:

Amazon prices can fluctuate rapidly, so it’s worth checking on TVs over time, especially when newer models come out.
Availability is still key here, especially since Amazon has become an increasingly popular place to buy TVs. Keep a careful eye on TV models in stock and be prepared to act if the number starts going down.
Note if the deal is offered directly through Amazon, or via a seller that’s not part of any Prime services. This can alter your deal and may add shipping prices, etc.
When shipped, your TV will arrive at your front door in a big cardboard box - setup services may be an option, but will cost a lot more and aren’t always available. That means you need a plan to get the TV in your house and set up without any danger of damage. Be careful!

Dell

While Dell isn’t known for its TVs, the company does keep a healthy stock of TVs from a number of its partners. In an effort to be competitive, Dell can offer some very good deals on these TVs, like some excellent LG 4k TVs for only several hundred dollars - particular if you are interested in a larger TV. Because not as many consumers head to Dell to look for TVs, availability is also less likely to be an issue. Dell also has an excellent online search function that guides you easily toward the TVs with the specs that you really care about. Shipping for these TVs is usually free. Things to Keep in Mind:

A lot of Dell’s promotions involve discounts for additional items or gift cards. That makes it a good idea to buy a TV here while you’re also picking up a new computer or something similar.
Remember, this is still Dell: When shopping make sure you stay in the TV section, and don’t accidentally pick out a computer monitor instead!

Best Buy

Best Buy doesn’t always have the best deals, but it’s usually close enough to be worth a look. If you are shopping for a TV elsewhere online, head to Best Buy for a quick look, too. This is especially true if you are part of the Best Buy loyalty rewards program, which can net you a lot of extra discount for such a big purchase.

Things to Keep in Mind:
Best Buy loyalty rewards work best when you are signed up for their program. Make sure this is the case!
Don’t trust the in-store look of TVs. The ways the settings are modified isn’t a good indicator of how the TVs will look in your home (resolution, however, is generally dependable based on in-store examinations).

Tips When Picking Out Low-Cost TVs

Backlighting

Pay special attention to the type of backlighting. Which is to say a bargain is relative to the tech.
The two common types of backlighting available today are full array and edge. Full array means there are multiple LED lights across the TV display panel. That’s good news!
- The more light shining through the LED display, the better the colors and brightness levels will be (OLED TVs produce their own light, which is one reason they are much more expensive and don’t have great deals yet - same with a QLED TV). an OLED 4k TV offers the best picture available today, but the deals just aren’t there.
Edge lighting means that there are only LED strips around the edges of the TV. This leads to lower quality contrast and color, but it’s also more affordable.
- If you’re looking for the best discounts, then you may simply have to make due with edge lighting – which is totally fine! However, a full array will generally offer better display quality.

Local Dimming

You should also pay attention to something called local dimming
Both full arrays and edge lighting may or may not have local dimming, although it’s more noticeable with full arrays: This technology selectively turns off LED lights when the screen is supposed to be dark. This leads to much better clarity and contrast and prevents light from “bleeding” where it shouldn’t.
- But again, local dimming costs more, and may not be available on the most affordable TVs. It’s the trade you have to make, but it’s also a great find when included.

Refresh Rate

Refresh rate is also worth a look if you play a lot of very high action gaming or watch speedy sports. But you’ll have to pay for it in most cases, so only compare deals with deals.

Size Depends a Lot on Distance!

A lot of our TV deals are 4k TV deal options, which is great – now is an excellent time to upgrade to 4k and take advantage of that sweet resolution (assuming compatible content and devices, of course). However, you want to pay close attention to size, and the distance you’ll be viewing the TV from. A big screen will show the difference better.
Smaller TVs can still be 4k, but their pixels tend to be more “squeezed” (not a technical term). This means that, to really enjoy the difference, you have to get your eyeballs closer to the screen. If you don’t have a TV situation that allows for adjustment – for example, if your TV is above a mantle – then getting a large TV is more important, because it ensures the 4K has more of an impact. But small TVs have the lowest prices.

2017 or 2018?

A lot of deals may be for a TV that’s a year old, the previous model. That means settling for a 2017 TV instead of a 2018 model. That’s fine! Generally speaking, last year’s model is still a great TV and you won’t miss out on much. However, TVs that are two or more years old are likely to be used models, and may not have the greatest features. Try to keep in within a year.

Don’t Worry About Curved TVs

They don’t make the image better, you can’t really mount them on walls, and they have poor viewing angles if you have lots of people watching. A curved TV is mostly just a marketing gimmick: If you find a deal for a curved TV, think carefully before buying it – a flat TV is usually the better option for your home theater, even if you have to pay a little more.

You Don’t Need a Smart TV

When possible, you can probably save a little extra money by avoiding “smart TVs”. This basically just means that your TV can connect to the internet by itself. You know what else can do that? Pretty much everything, from Apple TVs and gaming consoles to today’s satellite receiver and even many cable boxes. You just don’t need this feature, and you’re unlikely to ever use it anyway. Streaming media comes from many sources, as long as you have the HDMI ports for it - USB ports may be necessary if you keep 4k content on a hard drive.

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