TV's Are Big Business Ahead Of Super Bowl
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Big screens, little screens, plasmas, 3Ds, LEDs, and smart TVs line the walls of electronics retailers offering shoppers a wide range of decisions and plenty of chances to save money.
"I just wanted to upgrade the one I had at home because I have an old set, a very good TV, but I wanted to have this flat panel thing to put up on the wall," said Doral shopper Alicia Garcia.
"Outside of Christmas, this is the largest television buying week of the year," explained Best Buy employee Michael Krawczyk.
One of the biggest reasons for the spike in sales this week is the Super Bowl.
"It would be nice to see a Super Bowl on my new TV," said Marco Nassa.
There are also practical reasons. Manufacturers are trying to unload the rest of their 2012 inventory to make room for the 2013 models.
"Those 2012 models are still on the shelves. You're not going to see any of the 2013 models until late in the year, February, March time frame. So, this is the time when they have to get rid of the 2012 models," explained CNET's Dave Katzmaier.
Shoppers like Geneva Rios were anxious to take advantage of the savings.
"Pretty good savings, like maybe a hundred, 'cause I was looking at other TVs. So far, about a hundred dollars I'll be saving," she said.
Experts said that consumers shouldn't worry too much about the brand.
"Most TVs these days the internal components are pretty similar, so they're really all high quality TVs," explained Joe Feldman of the Telsey Advisor Group.
Feldman recommends buying from a big chain store, but price checking online first.
"Most of the times if you go into your local stores, they'll price match whatever is on the Web these days so you can get a good deal when you go online," he said.
Experts also said that if the Super Bowl isn't a big deal for you then it may be a good idea to wait until next week, when the price could drop even more.
