Is There Any Real Reason to Avoid Floor Stock TV's ?

So I'm looking at Bing Less and those types of stores - they are offering decent discount some of their floor stock TVs and being sold as-new with full usual warranty.

My concern is that they might have been sitting on the floor for 6 months to a year with 1500 hours run time.

Is this something that a prospective tv buyer should avoid ? They have those recording play so I guess burn in isn't likely to be a problem, I just have nfi if a tv with a lot of hours is a real concern with all these different panel types and technologies.

Comments

  • +8

    You should definitely Bing Less and Google more.

    You've answered your question, too many hours switched on is bad for longevity when you take it home.

  • Unless it's a discontinued model and you can't find that model anywhere anymore, and it's the exact model you want … Its probably not worth it

    Not so much because of the TV it self, but because regardless of whether it's floor stock, bing Lee still have a range of price they try to sell at. And it will likely not be outside that range. No doubt they will give u a price at the bottom of that range, but if u went in and negotiated hard enuff u would probably be able to get that price for a new one there or somewhere else.

    So all in all.. Shop around, or wait for sales. U might be able to get the same price or better elsewhere (unless it's so discontinued and old that u can't get it anymore.)

    (but also, TV turned on for too long can't be good. If it's an old model, no doubt it's been sitting there turned on 7 days a week for a long while. If u don't intend on keeping the TV until the end of its life, its probably ok)

  • +3

    Pros;
    1. 100% tested and working. No possibility of getting a DOA unit.
    2. You get it cheaper.
    3. You get the full warranty from the date of purchase.

    Cons:
    1. Unknown run time
    2. General wear and tear/Cosmetic/People touching it
    3. Unknown amount of power outages/Turn-off schedule

    Unless youre getting at least 30% off and its one of the newer models, Id avoid. Otherwise, 30% off or more at a reputable store for a new TV aint a bad deal.

    • +1

      I wouldn't worry too much about LCD TVs, they last up to 50,000 hours, but obviously any number of components can fail before that.

      OLED TVs get dimmer over time.

      Just check how many hours it's already done. I'd personally go for anything less than 1 year and 2000 hours.

  • It's discounted so go for it.

  • You can usually find the 'Run time' from somewhere in the system menu. It might be in a developer menu so look it up for your TV. I bought a kd-65X9000B back in 2015 that was floor stock, never had any problems with it. Anything electronic new, old, lots of hours or no hours can fail

  • Are floor stocks tvs turned off at night? If yes then they’d only be used during store opening times which is on par with most home tv’s each day.

    • +2

      You have your TV running all day?
      I wouldn't call this typical usage at all.

      An hour in the morning and 4 hours at night would be unusually high runtime in my house.

  • Often depends on brand and model; some are great units with longevity, some build to a price only or are trying to compete at a price point, and that changes with brands and which range from year to year. The difference in components used, especially what I've seen on power boards, is astounding.

    • Genuinely interested. What sort of component differences do you mean?

      • +1

        Electrolytic capacitors are likely the big one they're talking about.

        A 'cheap' electrolytic capacitor will often have a high ESR (equivalent series resistance) which will result in higher internal heating of the cap under usage, this can in turn cause high pressure of the electrolytic fluid within, resulting in rupture of the capacitor can, and corrosive electrolytic fluid oozing over the circuit board.
        Can often make the circuit board a write-off, hence the TV (or other electronic device) a write-off.

        • But this would be pretty hard to "see" - without knowing the specific part numbers (or perhaps sometimes proprietary markings of specific manufacturers) I think they're all gonna look similar.

          • @fantombloo: You don't need to get into part numbers for electrolytic caps. They're generally some of the largest items on a PCB, and they typically have a brand printed on them.
            The classic Japanese manufacturers are generally the popular option. E.g. Panasonic, Murata, Sanyo.

            But it's not something you could see in a fully assembled TV.
            I think TVs are only really 5yr devices, so getting a used floor model for the right price wouldn't be bad. But what the right price is would be tricky.. retailers seem to want high prices for even floor stock, so I'd personally avoid for the price reason alone.

  • I don't see the benefit.
    It's a second hand TV with probably 3-5 years of real world run time for close to new TV price.

    • Depends on the price. I would think much better deals in the used market too. But the shop may also give an additional warranty.

  • -1

    There is a possibility that because a lot of people have touched those TV units, they might be infected with covid and might heat up because of fever.

    I will see myself out. Thanks.

  • +1

    If you want to frame one of the many shoppers with their fingerprints, then grab one of the floor stocks.

  • +1

    Nobody has mentioned it but i would be very weary of screen burn. Depends what has been played on the tv, what sort of video loop. If it's the same thing over and over for months on end, you will find those images/colours are burned into the screen. It's permanent.

    • screen burn in 2022?

      • ye they have not totally fixed this issue yet.. sometimes it just makes the washed effect more grater

  • Unless there is an absolute compelling reason, outside of a really exceptional discount, personally i wouldn’t buy it.

  • I got a floor stock TV and within 2 weeks it stopped working. Learnt my lesson and won't buy floor stock TV again

  • So many awesome deals on ozbargain for brand new tvs. Samsung seem to be smashing it at the moment with sale after sale. It was Sony last year. This floor stock would have to be a great deal to justify the risk.

  • I am watching one now.
    Just before the first 2020 Melbourne shutdown I was in a store shopping for a 55-65 inch screen size. I was looking at TCL and Hisense, which were in my price range, and the salesman mentioned that he thought some floor stock was about to become available. He checked, and said it was just the TCL 75 inch that would be on sale, he mentioned a price, I offered $150 less and when he checked, he said yes, but they would not deliver it and I had to pick it up that day. I arranged pickup via Airtasker and had it delivered 90 minutes later (I live 4km away). Luckily it fitted on my TV unit!
    I had to fiddle with the colours a fair bit, and after about a year it completely dropped its guts. I turned it off, did a complete reset, retuned the channels and reloaded the apps and ever since, no problems.
    Landed price was just a few bucks over half that of the model that replaced it. Very happy so far

    • +1

      How much did the airtasker charge for delivery?

      Sounds like you grabbed a bargain

      • I think it was $65. He showed up at the loading bay, the TV had been (loosely) packed in its original box, I helped him get it in and out of the truck, and we took it through my garage and into the house on a dolly. Less than 30 mins work for him, his previous job was close by, he was pretty happy

  • +1

    you answered your own question - you’re essentially buying a second hand tv

    • With a new product warranty (and the Australian Consumer Guarantee above that)

  • -1

    Grubby fingers…. no box…. other than that… nothing

  • As long as it's cheaper. Generally, the major TV retailers receive a discount on the floor model, hence why they be reluctant to sell it until it's Eol. It can be @20-30%. I know lg used to be 50% of about 15 years ago. I managed to get 50% off an LG notebook, which had a short shelf life (they changed designs). Best thing is, it never appeared on the shop floor.

  • I bought my surround system from Myer it was Panasonic and floor stock was the last piece.

    Unfortunately, they have lost the remote and hence I was unable to set up my system so I have to return back.

    so check that you got all wires, instruction manuals and remote before you take delivery.

  • I have a floor stock Tv and would happily buy again. Mine was 50% off the price vs buying a brand new one.

    Who cares how many hours run on it, if it's warranted from the day you buy it, then just have them repair/replace if anything goes wrong.

  • My father was huge on getting discounted floor stock for his strong interest in hi-fi stuff, including widescreen TVs. He never had any issues. Most likely the unit on display is one of many which have been shown and sold off to a number of people looking to save a few bucks, so it may not have all those 1,500 hours of use. It could be just a few weeks or months. Maybe look for any leftover dust in the top vents and take a guess from that?

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