I've pretty much decided on the getting the Benq-W100 as my 1st projector.

Does anyone have any strong feelings on the 4 companies listed in the 'Todays Offers' who are offering them for around £390?

The companies are currently:

ebuyer.com
oyyy.com
savastore.com
technoworld.com

My hunch is to go for ebuyer or savastore as I haven't heard of the other 2...

anyone?

[Anim]

oyyy.com are ok, ive used them before, ebuyer used many times but hear there a nightmare if anything goes wrong. I would (now) always buy from a projector dealer though, and ask them to pixel check it before sending it out.

Thanks for the reply.

When you say 'projector dealer' do you mean some local shop?

I tried Sevenoaks in Swindon but they don't stock the Benq w100. And I suspect that if they did then they wouldn't be as good on the price. I think this because they do the In72 for £550 which is £65 more than the cheapest online price.

Would you buy local because:

1. they can check the product by hand before you take it or
2. you need to maintain a relationship with the shop for parts or upgrade advice or something or
3. in case of problems during the warranty and you can physically take the PJ back to them rather than posting it off somewhere and hoping?

Where have other people bought theirs from?

[Anim]

Originally Posted by monkeychops

Thanks for the reply.

When you say 'projector dealer' do you mean some local shop?

I tried Sevenoaks in Swindon but they don't stock the Benq w100. And I suspect that if they did then they wouldn't be as good on the price. I think this because they do the In72 for £550 which is £65 more than the cheapest online price.

Would you buy local because:

1. they can check the product by hand before you take it or
2. you need to maintain a relationship with the shop for parts or upgrade advice or something or
3. in case of problems during the warranty and you can physically take the PJ back to them rather than posting it off somewhere and hoping?

Where have other people bought theirs from?

1, 2 and 3

IMO You have two types of company, Box Shifters like Curries, Pixmania, Amazon, o2 and then you have companies that specialize like DiscountTV, Ivojo, Projectorscreens, Richer Sounds etc

With the box shifters they sell at rock bottom prices, hardly make any profit but they are not bothered about that because quantity makes up for it, quality is money so they don't put much effort into the quality side. With that you should expect little help if something goes wrong. They simply don't have the expertise or the time to look after you. You may get fobbed off to the manufactor or something will take weeks to get sorted. Its a high stress level for the customer. You may even be sent a unit that another customer returned because they found a problem that they deem insignificant. But they are cheap so have a market.

With specialists you expect more, the prices are higher but you should get something for that extra cost.

This can be technical advice pre-sales, customer care after sales and also peace of mind mid-sale like checking the projector for possible faults before sending it out to you. Advice on other equipment to pair with your projector can be advised too.

Some faults could be dead/stuck pixels, convergence issues, dead unit etc. These things do happen on complex equipment like projectors. As an example, I contacted my dealer and asked about something I thought was odd on my projector, he went off and tested his other units for me and said they all do that, my mind is now at rest again.

So, its up to you really. Take the risk and save x amount or take much much less risk and pay a little more for it.

And after saying all that there are some projector manufacturers whos warranties are fantastic in that if something goes wrong then you get a hot-swap unit while they look at yours (all within 24 hours).

Anim

Thanks for your thoughts. I have a feeling that a projector dealer would treat me less favourably if I'm only buying an entry level projector for a 'mere' £400. From the looks of your sig you have probably spent a fair bit more than that.

You are right of course. I have had similar experiences and heard of many more where the big electrical shops try to get you to deal direct with the manufacturer when there are problems. In those cases you often have to fight for your rights under the sale of goods act. But not much fun.

Anyway I can't find a dealer that sells the Benq w100 locally (Swindon).

i would not buy from savastore, they have messed me about before and seem to have a lot of bad reviews on the internet.

Eddie

Thanks for the tip eddy. I went for oyyy in the end.