...the one where we buy a TV

(title inspired by Friends...all of the episodes are named "the one where...")

After we got my car this fall, we tossed around the idea of getting a flat screen tv. Our newest tv is about 8 years old. We had decided that it would be our next big purchase...but then after watching the prices in the ads and learning all about what to look for in a new tv, we decided it might be better to wait until after we moved to pick out a new tv. Then a couple of weeks ago I saw a tv in the Best Buy ad that looked like a good deal. I checked it against the reviews in Consumer reports and found out it was their "CR best buy" pick for its size range....and that the MSRP that they listed was almost 300 dollars more than what it was on sale for at Best Buy. So we quick (on Sunday morning) went to the Best Buy that is 2 blocks from our appartment and found out that they didn't have the tv (it was listed as "clearance--warehouse quantities only"). They were nice enough to call around and found that they still had a display model at the South Ridge Best Buy (which is a good 15+ miles away). We made a quick stop at home to compare prices online and check shipping costs etc. Neither of us felt comfortable ordering a tv online that we had never seen in person, especially since LCDs are notorious for having problems with their viewing angles. So we treked across town to see the tv and find out what kind of deal they were giving for it (since it was the display). The tv looked great in person--at every angle, but they were only knocking off about 5% of the price. So we drove home and ordered it from newegg. I was glad that we could get a good deal from someone other than Best Buy--the whole idea of putting a tv in the ad that none of the stores had in stock seemed a bit dishonest to me. We had our tv less than a week after we ordered it. It's been amazing. Did you know that there's a shadow under Brian Williams's chin while he reads the news? :)

So, when Rob found out that he was getting 70 dollars in target gift cards from working on the JDRF fundraising at work, it made sense to combine that with a 10% off card and a few of the 5 and 10 dollar gift cards I had lying around from their promotions and buy a Blu Ray player. We haven't tried it out with a Blu Ray movie yet (we just bought one that was on sale when we got the player), but it looks great so far playing regular dvds.