Looking for a cheaper Sony TV - check out Sony on eBay

Last week, Energy Australia had to fix something in the network in the area. It cut and restored power in the same day. Maybe due to the power surge, our TV and rice cooker went "poof" on the same day.

We ended up having to look for a new TV.

When it comes to TV, I prefer to stick to Sony. We had Samsung and LG TV before. At most, Samsung and LG TVs lasted 3-4 years before they went dark. Over the year, we have had much better experience with TVs from Sony. This "last" Sony TV lasted us 7 years.

The cheapest new Sony TV (65") is around $15-1600 from the different well known retailers. Other brands (65") such as TCL, Toshiba, Chiq, Hisense cost around $900-1000. LG and Samsung TVs cost between $1100-1300. The cheapest brand is FFalcon is around $700. FFalcon is a sub-brand from TCL.

Then I came across this eBay listing... Pic 1. The model was first introduced in 2023. The list price on eBay was only $849 and free shipping as well.

The catch was the TV was clearly listed as "box damaged".

Guess it was one of those "factory seconds". Also look at Pic 2.... The TV condition was listed as "New: Never Used". The listing was NOT a refurbished model. In addition, the vendor on eBay was Sony Australia.

I thought why not have a go... I thought since Sony Australia was the vendor... If I have any problem, at least there would be someone back stopping it. Not to mention, it was the cheapest 65" Sony TV out there. On the Sony website, the model in question was listed at $1400 but not available.

The buying experience was the usual eBay flow. Email alerts/confirmations generated automatically. Then got a SMS from ANC (the delivery company). Booked a day. Mind you, delivery was only available a week later. The day before it was due to arrive, got another SMS and was informed of the 3-hour window for delivery. The next day, delivery took place in that time slot. Got another alert 5-10 mins before they arrived as well.

So apart from the one week wait, good experience in terms of delivery.

When the TV arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. It came in a box (ha) and the box was in good condition (not talking about the TV here but the box... Ha). See Pic 3.

The TV was in mint if not new condition i.e. the plastic "sleeves" on the frame and TV edge as well. The instruction book/TV stands/power cable/remote control were sealed. Nothing was missing.

Basically, my guess was, even though Sony called it "box damaged", it was a run out sale of a "new" TV (but an old model). Think of it as a Sony outlet store.

If looking for a cheaper Sony TV, check out the Sony store on eBay. One thing to watch for is Sony sells both refurbished and box damaged TVs on eBay as well.