When is the best time to buy an HDTV?
HDTV technology has been improving so fast over the last few years that no time seems like a good time to buy one. The last thing you want is to buy state-of-the-art electronics only to read of a new advance being released a couple of weeks later. Of course there will always be a better model out soon but when is the best time of year to buy if you at least want to avoid an almost immediate obsolescence?
Regular visitors may have noticed that we have recently added launch dates for most of our products. This can help you of you want to be sure you are buying the latest technology. Older models can also be good value if you just want a good product at the best price. Aside from that it is interesting what the dates can tell us about the seasonal release of products, especially HDTVs. Take a look at our full list of HDTVs, what do you notice about the launch dates?
What you should be able to see is that towards the top of the list where the cheaper models are, the most popular months by far for launch are between April and August. Towards the bottom where the more expensive models are found they are more commonly released between August and October. During the remaining months of the year from November to March very few new models appear.
In fact the consumer electronics year starts in January with the sales and the Consumer Electronics Show in Vagas. The latest technology is unveiled at the show but it is not until the spring that these models start to appear in Europe. When they do hit the shops it is the lower ranges that you see first. The summer is a quiet time for electronics retailers until the end of summer when we have Europe’s biggest trade shows including IFA in Berlin. There all the top of the range flagship models are shown for the first time and most of them appear in the shops very soon after. The next few months in the run up to Xmas are the most active selling times so the manufacturers and retailers like a stable and complete range with few new releases.
If you want to buy a TV the best time will be when all the models in your range are available so that you have the full choice and the full competition to keep prices down. If you are buying a cheap to mid range TV then from August onwards the market is about right. If you want the absolute latest technology then wait until October when all the flagship models are out and you should avoid disappointment. From a pricing point of view it does not make much difference because competition is fierce all year round so prices and margins are kept as low as possible most of the time, but if you want to avoid buying just before the next wave of technological advances hits the market we recommend an October purchase. You should have about a year of pleasant use before something appears to make it look completely out-of date.