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Mumbai-based businessman Bhagwati Podar was looking for a 40-inch LED display for his showroom within Rs. 30,000. But his offline research failed to turn up a desired price match. No stranger to online buying, Bhagwati turned to the Internet, where he not only found a 40-inch LED TV well within his budget but one with a 3-year warranty. In this video, he shares his buying experience and reviews the Vu 40-inch LED that he finally settled on.

Better deals, more brands online:

Contrary to common perception, Bhagwati found buying a TV online turned out to be a better idea. In fact, it’s the offline purchase experience that disappointed him. First was the select-brand display at multi-brand showrooms like Croma or Vijay Sales, where every 40-inch LED TV was way outside his budget of Rs. 30,000. Whereas sites like Snapdeal, Flipkart and eBay, listed lucrative deals and discounts on a range of TV brands.

Secondly, Bhagwati could see that the salesmen in retail stores were hard-selling only certain brands for their ends. So he decided to do some online research himself to better understand TV terminology and technologies.

Research and reviews as purchase enablers?

Not only did the online research process help Bhagwati compare specs and prices all at one place, online reviews gave him a fair idea of the kind of TV that was right for his needs. While initially he considered plasma TVs an option, he learnt that it is a fading technology and is also relatively energy inefficient. And since the TV in question was intended for his showroom – where it would be on all day – the second factor ruled out plasma completely.

Why did he buy from eBay?

As Bhagwati says in the video, not only were their rates better on eBay compared to other online sites, he was getting an additional discount on his credit card purchase. All in all, this brought the price of his Vu TV to Rs. 27,000, Rs. 3,000 less than his budget.

Vu LED 40-inch TV review:

Installation: The most impressive part about buying the Vu TV, says Bhagwati, was the courteous staff and the smoothness with which they carried out the installation process. He was also appreciative of the detailed explanation of each TV function they gave him and his family.

Ports: Another winning feature of the TV, says Bhagwati, is the number of ports – 3 HDMI and 2 USB – that Vu has fitted into this TV. He says that no other TV in this price range would give you so many ports. This gives him the flexibility to simultaneously connect his hard drive, his computer and a Wi-Fi dongle to his TV, giving him all the flexibility he needs for his showroom display.

Portability:  This is another area the TV shines in. Since Bhagwati regularly participates in exhibitions, he can easily detach his wall-mounted TV and carry it with him to exhibitions where it can be table mounted. This process, he says, is very simple and can be easily done without dialling a technician.

Warranty: Whatever doubts Bhagwati may have had about buying a non-mainstream brand, was balanced by the 3-year warranty Vu offered for an additional Rs. 3,000. And since the TV cost him just Rs. 27,000, that 3K extra was still within the budget he had set from the start.

Buy this product from Rs. 25,500 onwards from Mumbai’s local stores, only on ShopLyne. Download for Android here.