Unknown brand Cheap televisions cost more in the long run
Before you buy a TV or other consumer electronics product you must take into account not only the purchase price of the product but additionally the probability of it going faulty, the life expectancy of the product, and the features and the performance.
Main brand TVs from manufacturers such as Philips, Pioneer, Panasonic, Hitachi, LG, Samsung, Sharp ,JVC and Hitachi always retail for more than secondary brands of televisions with unfamiliar brand badges on them. The unbranded cheap TVs from unknown manufacturers give the impression of being good value for money when compared to the known brands of televisions. The design and features may make justifying the difference difficult.
Why are non-branded televisions so cheap?
Obviously when you purchase a known brand of Television you are paying a premium for the brand, which you dont do on the unknown brand cheaper televisions. But is this the only difference?
Another explanation for cheap unbranded TV brands being cheaper is that they dont operate from high-priced offices in the UK backed up with warehouses, and staff. They often distribute the products straight from the factory in Eastern Europe, China, etc to the retailers warehouse with no or hardly any staff and premises in the UK. This may seem to be good thing and would help explain the price differential.
Because the unknown inferior brands of cheap televisions are manufactured in anonymous factories there is no incentive for them to invest in the reliability of the TVs because they dont have a brand name reputation to protect. Ultimately if the televisions that they manufacture last on average 3 years or 6 years it isnt important to them because it is not likely that you will knowingly purchase a further Television that is manufactured in the same factory -there is no way identifying the factory that manufactured the unbranded cheap Television.
The probability of unbranded Cheap TVs becoming faulty during the first year or after is greater than for branded TVs because they dont have the same stringent quality control systems.
Cheap TVs dont have the same quality of circuit design and internal components as those in the branded Televisions and as a result the chance of a cheap Television going faulty is greater. This is evident in reliability surveys that the consumer magazine Which has carried out where brands such as Panasonic and Sony consistently out perform other cheaper non brands.
Less likely to be repaired
It is also more difficult get hold of parts for lesser brand cheap TVs. This is because the unbranded TVs manufacturers dont store the parts in the UK unlike the major TV brand manufacturers.
If an repair engineer is struggling to discover the source of a fault on a main brand Television they can obtain technical help from the technical department of the UK subsiduary. In a number of cases if the repair engineer can't fix the fault then the Television manufacturer will even carry out the repair. The unheard of cheaper television brands dont have this sort of back up. Therefore not only is it more probable that the unbranded cheap Television will go faulty but when it does it will be more difficult, if not impossible to obtain technical assistance. Furthermore it will probably take longer to get a hold the parts. If the problem cant be resolved, due to no technical support, then the unbranded cheap Television is more likely to become unrepairable earlier than the main brand televisions and will need replacing at an earlier time.
In situations where a TV has had a poor service history with repeated problems it isnt unknown for main brand TV manufacturers to replace the product up to 12 months outside of the original warranty. This might also happen if the Television became un-repairable. This kind of support isnt available on the unbranded cheaper TVs.
Better performance on well-known brand TVs
The main brand Television manufacturers invest in research and development to improve the performance of the televisions. As a result the features, sound and picture quality will be superior to the unknown cheaper Television brands. Typically the cheaper unbranded TVs have poorer out of date components that stop them from performing as well as the branded TVs. This is apparent if you compare them side by side and can be seen in the reviews in magazines such as What Video and What Hi-fi.
Conclusion
Cheaper brands of televisions suffer poorer reliability and dont have the features and performance of the more pricey main brand Television manufacturers. Considering that you often buy a TV to last for 5 years or more, when you divide the cost differential by the number of years that you expect to keep the television for, it is worth paying the extra amount for a branded Television. More often than not the cheaper unbranded Television will prove to be more costly due to poor reliability and the probability that it will have to be replaced earlier. This is forgetting about the superior performance of the main brand TVs. As a result the unbranded cheap TVs represent poor value compared to televisions from Pioneer, Sony, Philips, Toshiba, Panasonic, LG, JVC etc.
Before you buy a TV or other consumer electronics product you must take into account not only the purchase price of the product but additionally the probability of it going faulty, the life expectancy of the product, and the features and the performance.
Main brand TVs from manufacturers such as Philips, Pioneer, Panasonic, Hitachi, LG, Samsung, Sharp ,JVC and Hitachi always retail for more than secondary brands of televisions with unfamiliar brand badges on them. The unbranded cheap TVs from unknown manufacturers give the impression of being good value for money when compared to the known brands of televisions. The design and features may make justifying the difference difficult.
Why are non-branded televisions so cheap?
Obviously when you purchase a known brand of Television you are paying a premium for the brand, which you dont do on the unknown brand cheaper televisions. But is this the only difference?
Another explanation for cheap unbranded TV brands being cheaper is that they dont operate from high-priced offices in the UK backed up with warehouses, and staff. They often distribute the products straight from the factory in Eastern Europe, China, etc to the retailers warehouse with no or hardly any staff and premises in the UK. This may seem to be good thing and would help explain the price differential.
Because the unknown inferior brands of cheap televisions are manufactured in anonymous factories there is no incentive for them to invest in the reliability of the TVs because they dont have a brand name reputation to protect. Ultimately if the televisions that they manufacture last on average 3 years or 6 years it isnt important to them because it is not likely that you will knowingly purchase a further Television that is manufactured in the same factory -there is no way identifying the factory that manufactured the unbranded cheap Television.
The probability of unbranded Cheap TVs becoming faulty during the first year or after is greater than for branded TVs because they dont have the same stringent quality control systems.
Cheap TVs dont have the same quality of circuit design and internal components as those in the branded Televisions and as a result the chance of a cheap Television going faulty is greater. This is evident in reliability surveys that the consumer magazine Which has carried out where brands such as Panasonic and Sony consistently out perform other cheaper non brands.
Less likely to be repaired
It is also more difficult get hold of parts for lesser brand cheap TVs. This is because the unbranded TVs manufacturers dont store the parts in the UK unlike the major TV brand manufacturers.
If an repair engineer is struggling to discover the source of a fault on a main brand Television they can obtain technical help from the technical department of the UK subsiduary. In a number of cases if the repair engineer can't fix the fault then the Television manufacturer will even carry out the repair. The unheard of cheaper television brands dont have this sort of back up. Therefore not only is it more probable that the unbranded cheap Television will go faulty but when it does it will be more difficult, if not impossible to obtain technical assistance. Furthermore it will probably take longer to get a hold the parts. If the problem cant be resolved, due to no technical support, then the unbranded cheap Television is more likely to become unrepairable earlier than the main brand televisions and will need replacing at an earlier time.
In situations where a TV has had a poor service history with repeated problems it isnt unknown for main brand TV manufacturers to replace the product up to 12 months outside of the original warranty. This might also happen if the Television became un-repairable. This kind of support isnt available on the unbranded cheaper TVs.
Better performance on well-known brand TVs
The main brand Television manufacturers invest in research and development to improve the performance of the televisions. As a result the features, sound and picture quality will be superior to the unknown cheaper Television brands. Typically the cheaper unbranded TVs have poorer out of date components that stop them from performing as well as the branded TVs. This is apparent if you compare them side by side and can be seen in the reviews in magazines such as What Video and What Hi-fi.
Conclusion
Cheaper brands of televisions suffer poorer reliability and dont have the features and performance of the more pricey main brand Television manufacturers. Considering that you often buy a TV to last for 5 years or more, when you divide the cost differential by the number of years that you expect to keep the television for, it is worth paying the extra amount for a branded Television. More often than not the cheaper unbranded Television will prove to be more costly due to poor reliability and the probability that it will have to be replaced earlier. This is forgetting about the superior performance of the main brand TVs. As a result the unbranded cheap TVs represent poor value compared to televisions from Pioneer, Sony, Philips, Toshiba, Panasonic, LG, JVC etc.
About the Author:
Armadeus Cornelius is an AV enthusiast and expert with nearly 2 decades experience in consumer electronics. His website at www.digitaldirect.co.uk offers Cheap LCD and Plasma TVs and a large selection of AV products at low prices. For your convenience you may also find these links useful cheap tv's and cheap 42 plasma tv
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