TX-P50GT50 exchange for 50VT50??

[Deleted member 2457]

I see how the pen works:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwrel&v=ls4N1MR3T7U

The image being still for so long, can't be good for the screen!

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I think I've made a decision; well nearly.

It's the VT65 for me. Strapped's glowing praise, and the review I just read of the 55" on HDTVtest have made the decision for me.

Now, will it be the 55" @ £2400, or the 50" @ £1700? I think £700 extra for another 5" is a bit over the top, so it's the 50" for me.

So the only thing left to sort, is a John Lewis exchange for my GT50. This, I'm sure, will be the hardest thing to make happen, but if I'm friendly, but firm, they may well let me have my way. Otherwise, it'll be the GT50 up for sale. What do you think? £500-£600? It'll be a hit on the wallet anyway, so I hope the fact that I'm spending more money with JL will help me persuade them to exchange.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I think I've made a decision; well nearly.

It's the VT65 for me. Strapped's glowing praise, and the review I just read of the 55" on HDTVtest have made the decision for me.

Now, will it be the 55" @ £2400, or the 50" @ £1700? I think £700 extra for another 5" is a bit over the top, so it's the 50" for me.

So the only thing left to sort, is a John Lewis exchange for my GT50. This, I'm sure, will be the hardest thing to make happen, but if I'm friendly, but firm, they may well let me have my way. Otherwise, it'll be the GT50 up for sale. What do you think? £500-£600? It'll be a hit on the wallet anyway, so I hope the fact that I'm spending more money with JL will help me persuade them to exchange.

Try and get the VT65 for £1600, some are getting the price match.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Or go for the 55 inch:

http://www.ashtontv.co.uk/shop/products/panasonictxp55vt65b.htm

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I'll be happy if I can just get an exchange, so I certainly won't be pushing for a price match gel.

Now, do I ring them now, or do I wait until the stores have stock?

 

[mr malarky]

Out of interest, what is JL's approach to price matching at point of sale?

Excuse what might be a daft question but haven't brought a TV from them before; have already seen a different store advertising the ZT65 for £3,499,but given what I've read on this thread (and others) about JL's after sales service would much rather buy from them if possible.

 

[bigboss]

JL takes about 48 hours to confirm a price match. You can put your price match claim upto 28 days after buying the product.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I'll be happy if I can just get an exchange, so I certainly won't be pushing for a price match gel.

Now, do I ring them now, or do I wait until the stores have stock?

You are going to be paying £1800 then!

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I'll be happy if I can just get an exchange, so I certainly won't be pushing for a price match gel.

Now, do I ring them now, or do I wait until the stores have stock?

You are going to be paying £1800 then!

Well £800 extra, yeah.

I could wait until the price comes down, but then it'll be even more unlikely that I'll get an exchange.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

I'll be happy if I can just get an exchange, so I certainly won't be pushing for a price match gel.

Now, do I ring them now, or do I wait until the stores have stock?

You are going to be paying £1800 then!

Well £800 extra, yeah.

I could wait until the price comes down, but then it'll be even more unlikely that I'll get an exchange.

I suppose the important thing at the moment is to get a fault free one, you could always try the price match after you have got it.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

That might be worth a try.

 

[mr malarky]

JL takes about 48 hours to confirm a price match. You can put your price match claim upto 28 days after buying the product.

Thanks BB. Do they guarantee to price match or is it at their discretion?

 

[bigboss]

JL takes about 48 hours to confirm a price match. You can put your price match claim upto 28 days after buying the product.

Thanks BB. Do they guarantee to price match or is it at their discretion?

It's usually at their discretion. Strictly speaking, they only price match stores within 8-mile radius and take 5 year guarantee cost, delivery costs etc. into account. But they're known to be flexible with it.

 

[BenLaw]

Or go for the 55 inch:

http://www.ashtontv.co.uk/shop/products/panasonictxp55vt65b.htm

Wow, that's a great price, and they do the 5 year warranty.

 

[strapped for cash]

I think I've made a decision; well nearly.

It's the VT65 for me. Strapped's glowing praise, and the review I just read of the 55" on HDTVtest have made the decision for me.

Now, will it be the 55" @ £2400, or the 50" @ £1700? I think £700 extra for another 5" is a bit over the top, so it's the 50" for me.

So the only thing left to sort, is a John Lewis exchange for my GT50. This, I'm sure, will be the hardest thing to make happen, but if I'm friendly, but firm, they may well let me have my way. Otherwise, it'll be the GT50 up for sale. What do you think? £500-£600? It'll be a hit on the wallet anyway, so I hope the fact that I'm spending more money with JL will help me persuade them to exchange.

I guarantee you'll see the difference. I could list several areas in which the VT65 outperforms the GT50 (including native contrast, detail, bright room performance, reds finally looking red), but the biggest difference is image depth. The sense of three-dimensionailty watching 2D content is striking. As widely observed, there's a very natural (analogue) look to images, too, that make the TV very comfortable to watch.

Hope it works out with John Lewis. If you can get £999 toward the 50VT65 the extra outlay hopefully won't prove too shocking. It's worth noting that I had to pay for the BDP separately, as this would have gone back with the GT50 otherwise. (I only paid £59; and I think it's a superb little player that hasn't put a foot wrong.)

I'll be keeping an eye on the forum for news, so keep us all updated. I'm keen to compare notes. You can access Mark Hodgkinson's settings over at AV. I'll be fully calibrating my VT65 in the not too distant future, but as a stop-gap solution these settings work very well.

 

[strapped for cash]

JL takes about 48 hours to confirm a price match. You can put your price match claim upto 28 days after buying the product.

Thanks BB. Do they guarantee to price match or is it at their discretion?

It's usually at their discretion. Strictly speaking, they only price match stores within 8-mile radius and take 5 year guarantee cost, delivery costs etc. into account. But they're known to be flexible with it.

Unfortunately there's little consistency between stores.

I got JL to price match Direct TVs, but not Ashton. As Gel points out, other branches have price matched Ashton no questions asked. (This included Ashton's £49 delivery cost, though, so the difference isn't so great.)

It's a little galling when the same retailer sells the same product to someone else for less when you made precisely the same enquiry. On the other hand, I should probably be thankful that I got to this point without my bank balance taking a more sizeable hit.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I think I've made a decision; well nearly.

It's the VT65 for me. Strapped's glowing praise, and the review I just read of the 55" on HDTVtest have made the decision for me.

Now, will it be the 55" @ £2400, or the 50" @ £1700? I think £700 extra for another 5" is a bit over the top, so it's the 50" for me.

So the only thing left to sort, is a John Lewis exchange for my GT50. This, I'm sure, will be the hardest thing to make happen, but if I'm friendly, but firm, they may well let me have my way. Otherwise, it'll be the GT50 up for sale. What do you think? £500-£600? It'll be a hit on the wallet anyway, so I hope the fact that I'm spending more money with JL will help me persuade them to exchange.

I guarantee you'll see the difference. I could list several areas in which the VT65 outperforms the GT50 (including native contrast, detail, bright room performance, reds finally looking red), but the biggest difference is image depth. The sense of three-dimensionailty watching 2D content is striking. As widely observed, there's a very natural (analogue) look to images, too, that make the TV very comfortable to watch.

Hope it works out with John Lewis. If you can get £999 toward the 50VT65 the extra outlay hopefully won't prove too shocking. It's worth noting that I had to pay for the BDP separately, as this would have gone back with the GT50 otherwise. (I only paid £59; and I think it's a superb little player that hasn't put a foot wrong.)

I'll be keeping an eye on the forum for news, so keep us all updated. I'm keen to compare notes. You can access Mark Hodgkinson's settings over at AV. I'll be fully calibrating my VT65 in the not too distant future, but as a stop-gap solution these settings work very well.

I'd like to keep the 120 too, it's so fast at starting up, and I can't fault it. How did they come to the price of £59?

And one more thing, do you think it would be better to ring sooner rather than later to try to arrange an exchange, and if so,which number did you contact them on to arrange this?

 

[strapped for cash]

I'd like to keep the 120 too, it's so fast at starting up, and I can't fault it. How did they come to the price of £59?

And one more thing, do you think it would be better to ring sooner rather than later to try to arrange an exchange, and if so,which number did you contact them on to arrange this?

The 120 was price matched with Richer Sounds. If you can find it for less elsewhere, I doubt JL will quibble.

If it was me, I'd call tomorrow, if you've got the spare time. As you rightly note, the longer you leave it, the slimmer the chance of exchange (and the more the GT50 depreciates in value if an exchange isn't possible).

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I'm working away until atleast the end of May, so it'll have to be next weekend.

I'm dreading that they'll say no, but I guess I'll just have to insist that they say yes.

 

[strapped for cash]

There's only one way to find out.

FWIW, I think you stand a good chance, not least because you'll be giving them more money. Your problem is on record and was reported soon after you bought the TV, which should help strengthen your case.

Good luck! As you say, if gentle persuasion fails, it's time to get obstinate!

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Yeah, an extra £800 is not to be sniffed at, though I think I'll let them have the 120 back, then buy a multi region 120 from Richer Sounds for £70.

I've been looking at my finances, and this working away is helping a lot, so I can have the VT65, and the RX-A1020, and still afford a reasonable holiday too,so that keeps the wife happy.

And of course, I can sell my old amp, and the XXL Bench hoodie too!

Thanks for the advice as always Strapped.

 

[strapped for cash]

If not the most sensible opening gambit, there's no harm in ultimately asking for a price match on the VT65.

I wasn't sure JL would go for the Direct TVs price match. At one stage I'd arranged a return and full refund. (I was going to buy the VT65 from a Panasonic store.) I had to be persistent with JL, but I got there in the end.

I'm hoping a few weeks from now you'll be relaxing in front of a VT65 and enjoying the fantastic spread of sound the 1020 brings to the party.

And you're more than welcome. I wasn't keen on being a VT65 test monkey, but I couldn't see an alternative solution. It helps knowing others have the same problem and feel equally frustrated.

If not for discussion on this forum, I'd possibly have kept a TV I wasn't happy with. Advice and support goes both ways.

Oh, and keep the hoodie. You might need to head out of an evening to remain solvent!

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Looks like John Lewis ARE getting the GT60.

 

[MrW]

Looks like John Lewis ARE getting the GT60.

Where did you learn this info from gel?

My GT50 from JL isn't very well, but I've been awaiting the above news before I make contact with them... (my GT30 went the same way after 8 months, so I'm not sure if a GT60 is the answer, but then again eh..?)

 

[civilian]

Hi,

How do you know that JL well be stocking the GT60? I recently echanged my faulty GT50 for VT50 (2012).. As i was told they would NOT be stocking the GT60. Would the GT60 be a beter set then the VT50 2012?