re: If any of you are in the market for a 4K SUHD TV with HDR, you won't get better than this:

Mine finally went through; didn't get the protection plan either. The groupon reviews look pretty solid as well

If you buy the protection plan and return within 14 days, you get refunded for the plan also?

I thought about pulling the trigger on this deal but decided against it after reading some of the reviews and the apparent high probability of getting a bad one. If I was going to get a refurbished TV, I would get it from Walmart; that way if I do get a bad one I can just take it back to my local Walmart. Walmart has a the 55" model for about 60 bucks more than the Groupon price: LINK

I'm curious to hear from those who bought off of Groupon to see if any were duds. You never know with refurbished tvs.

quote:

---

I'm curious to hear from those who bought off of Groupon to see if any were duds. You never know with refurbished tvs.

---

Is the rate of defects higher in refurbs or something? I have bought a lot of stuff refurbished over the years and never had one have a defect.

It wouldn't surprise me if the rate of defects in refurbs were lower than brand new TVs.

quote:

---

Is the rate of defects higher in refurbs or something?

---

Not necessarily. But tvs are returned, and then resold as refurbished, for tons of different reasons. These can be not only mechanical, but also cosmetic. Some things can be fixed, but not all cosmetic will be before being sent back out. I can get over scratches on a laptop or some other refurbished item I buy, but this would be tough to get over for something that is a center piece in my living room.

Also, many of these tvs are not fixed by the manufacturer. They are usually sent to third parties to refurbish and sell again. This can raise numerous concerns, which is usually why you see people complaining about the ones they receive. Not to mention that these third parties are repackaging these huge tvs for shipments across the country, without using the same packaging guidelines the manufacturer uses. This is why a lot of tvs are damaged in shipment and broken when opened.

If the refurbished is being purchased from the original manufacturer, then it would be a safer bet.

quote:

---

What is the return policy for refurbished TV? Same as regular return policy?

---

Based on a response about this very question at their website, it appears the standard 90 day Walmart warranty applies during which time you can take it back to any Walmart for a refund. For this reason some are suggesting that these aren't really refurbished by the manufacturer but rather just open box items that were returned, re-boxed and resold.

It's possible that it could, though hopefully nothing major. Damage could be present either when it is sold (hence, why it was returned in the first place), or damaged in shipment due to poor repackaging.

Someone mentioned that Sohnen is the refurbisher of these particular tvs. This is what they say on their own website:

quote:

---

What Is A Refurbished Product?

We are all familiar with the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” policies of many of the major retailers here in the U.S. In most cases, any product purchased from them can easily be returned within the first thirty days after its original purchase date…oftentimes without any questions asked whatsoever.

Although people return products for a variety of reasons, our experience has been that 50% to 70% of the time, the products returned are not in fact defective at all. Nevertheless, most retailers prefer to simply return these goods to their suppliers rather than put them back on the sales floor in used or damaged cartons. That’s where Sohnen comes in. Sohnen purchases these products from the original manufacturers and processes them in our state-of-the-art production facilities. Our unique process includes a very detailed inspection of each and every function of the product to assure that all units are working in compliance with the original manufacturer’s specifications. In the small percentage of occasions where something in fact doesn’t work, we fix it. We then carefully clean and repackage the products and sell them as “refurbished” at a very significant discount from what they were originally sold for as “new”.

In terms of their functionality, products that have been refurbished by Sohnen will work to the same levels of quality as if they were new. The only difference you may notice is that occasionally some refurbished products may have slight cosmetic flaws on the cabinets of the units. These do not affect the functionality of the product and were probably incidental to the reason the product was returned in the first place.

If you are interested in viewing the complete refurbishing process in more detail, we invite you to “Take The Video Tour” and see how your product was refurbished. All of Sohnen’s products are packed with a warranty card which details the specifics of the warranty coverage we provide. Regular buyers of our products who are familiar with our focus on quality and detailed inspection procedures often tell us that they are more comfortable purchasing our refurbished products than “taking a chance” on something new. Hopefully you will feel the same way!

---

This groupon tv in particular had some questionable reviews on quality. 4 out of the 9 reviews were 3 stars (out of 5) or less. Including:

quote:

---

it's arrived with burned 1/3 of the screen and I have to returned the whole family is very disapoitment!

---

quote:

---

TV arrived on time and looked fine on the outside. Upon turning it on, I saw huge white lines of static on the right side of the TV. If you try to return it, realize that is impossible because you will have to bring it to the USPS yourself and they will also not ship it because it is too large! Overall very unsatisfied with this purchase and Groupon in general. 0/10 would not recommend.

---

But again, not saying you won't get a great tv at a great deal. I'd just rather deal with the actual manufacturer or a large retail store if I'm taking the chance of buying refurbished.

I guess so. If scratches on the screen and they notice it, I imagine they would fix that.

But you'll see a lot of reviews for refurbished tvs that say the product was poorly repackaged and so it was damaged in shipment. This could be the screen or the casing.