Vizio tops in LCD TV sales in second quarter

(Credit: Vizio)

For all the clout and brand-recognition that accompanies names like Sony and Samsung, it was Vizio, a virtual unknown a year ago, that topped all LCD TV makers in the second quarter of this year.

Vizio sold 606,402 TVs in North America in the second quarter, a 76 percent jump from the previous quarter, according to a report by iSuppli released Monday. That brings the low-price TV seller's market share to 14.5 percent, up from 9.4 percent.

Former market-share leader Samsung dropped to second place, shipping 467,210 units compared with 445,683 the previous quarter. But the company that took the biggest dive was Sony, which fell from third to sixth place, moving just 253,377 units, compared with 412,232 last quarter.

Certainly selling a flat-panel TV for an affordable price through discount outlets like Costco and Wal-Mart helps, but how did Vizio manage to displace the likes of Samsung, Sony and Sharp TV buyers? Check back later today for an analysis of how Vizio did it.

[pspitze]

There is always a cost for low prices

With Vizio, it appears to have cut all costs in its customer service delivery. I do not have any first-hand experience with Vizio, but based on several reviews on Epinions, I will not buy one. I am willing to pay more for a better experience.
http://www.epinions.com/Vizio_L32_Television/display_~reviews

[unclesquares]

The next phase of disposable electronics

They're cheap. Might be good enough for the kids or a bedroom TV, but is the long lasting quality really there? Will these things still look good in 10 years?

I say add them to the list with the $29 "disposable" dvd players and everything else that is crap nowadays. I'll say it again - the average consumer doesnt do their homework (nor really cares to.) They look at price, and say "wow I just got a flat panel for 700 bucks.) To them it's a slam-dunk. Sammy, Panny, Sony, etc. are for the rest of us...

[integritypcs]

You don't know what you are talking about

These Panels are made a teir 1 manufactuer, I have one of there
42" LCD 1080p models and it looks better than anything on the
market that i could find, I spent 1,500.00 on mine, the next
closet thing was 9,800.00 some sony overpriced tv. Even if these
things only lasted like 5 years, you could just go buy another
and then still be ahead like 7 grand. And better yet I would have
the newest technology whatever that will be, and you will still
have your sony or sharp or whatever you buy, becuase you paid
so much that you will have to keep it becuase your still paying
off the credit cards that you charged it on. :)

Talk about something that you actually know about.

[b00dah]

Not surprised BUT...

I almost pulled the trigger on the 50" plasma at Sam's Club when it intro'd at $1699 but something told me to wait. The price was astounding and the picture was not bad. I waited... nearly 11 months and last week I decided to take a closer look. Comparatively speaking... the picture quality is not great at all (I read about this from a few forums) to any of the better brands out there. I compared the Vizo's to the Samsungs, Panasonics & Sony's only to find the picture was not nearly as sharp and lacking in color depth (kinda scary once I did a thorough comparison). Now the price has dropped 300+ dollars on the same unit ($1388) and my experience is the same with the unit. Yes, I sat and attempted to "manually" adjust the settings to compensate for the lack of picture quality but was woefully disappointed. Now, for $1388, I'd probably buy one too... but since the competitors have dropped their prices in unison I wouldn't bother now. The competition is definitely a step above in picture color/quality... but see for yourself before making that major investment.

[buffalojpb]

Try reading before babbling ?

It said 'LCD' in big letters but you start yakking about plasma.
Jeesh !

I just got a 42" LCD 1080p and it seems fine. I particuarly like the many ports. The HDMI ports are great. I run the VIZIO audio HDMI output into my receiver and get perfect audio match to picture instead of the problems some folks have with audio syncronization.

This tech is changing rapidly and At this price, I plan on getting a newer one in 5 years and maybe use this for games.

I had a problem with picture jitters which turned out to be the DISH receiver, not Vizio, and the service from Costco and Vizio to locate this problem was as good or better than most vendors.

But some folks just need that prestige brand name it seems. Naturaly there are vendors of any product willing to charge a higher price to satisfy those egos.

[iansmccarthy]

No surprise with Sony

I have felt for some time that Sony has missed the bus. Its quality has been deteriorating and it has been slow to innovate. It is interesting that Panasonic is still able to charge a premium but Sony is not. Sony's continuing attempts to use proprietary technology to limit consumer choice is another reason why I actively avoid buying their products.

[firstkipchak]

not surprised about sony.

serves them right for charging so much, and with them having all the ps3 trouble i wounder about cutbacks.
but seriously, vizios are underrated for their quality.
they have really nice pitcures and such, and its nice not to worry so much about your tv.
think of it as a used, high quality car.

[pugster]

Buyers can't tell the difference...

Vizio has succeeded in penetrating into the LCD market with its low price and high in features. Many buyers flocked into buying $500 32" lcdtv from last year's Black Friday and demanding their TV's at that price. Unfortunately, Samsung and Sony failed to differentiate themselves from Vizio to justify paying basically 30% to more than 100% percent on an brand name lcd tv.

[erobak]

VIZIO has the Worst Customer Service on the Planet!!!

If Vizio did not have the worst customer service ever, the ok-but-not-that-great quality would be made up for by the low price. However, they have the WORST customer service you could even imagine. Check out this story:

I ordered from them in mid-March. They shipped it FedEx, pretty late. Had to take the day off from work to take delivery. So far, ok, if annoying. Then, because of their crappy packaging material, the TV is broken on delivery. Now the nightmare starts in full: it took me at least 3-4 calls to find someone who could figure out what to do for me to get a replacement. Their people are not the brightest, to say the least.

Then THEY started calling ME: "Why are we sending you a new TV?" "We don't see you in our system." "Where are you in our system" (Yeah. They kept demanding I tell them where I was in Their system). I tried to get them to tell me how to send back the old, broken TV. Noone could tell with any certainty or clarity. One of their guys could barely speak English. But I was finally promised a "return label" in the new TV's package, which I could use to send back the old one.

And yet it got even worse: on the day the new one arrived, I had to take a day off from work again for this delivery. Now UPS had the unfortunate task of delivering for these idiots. Of course, the return label was NOT provided as promised. At this point I'm so angry I can barely stand up straight. I've been on the phone with their rude nasty people at least a dozen times, EACH TIME being interrogated as to exactly where "I was" in their broken system. So after more calls, finally a manager calls me. And says someone will pick up the old broken TV that day. This is the first person at the company who seemed like she had a brain above the reptilian level. An actual human being. Wow. At Vizio. She is truly the exception.

The clicher: today, MORE THAN 10 DAYS AFTER I THOUGHT THIS NIGHTMARE WAS FINALLY OVER (!!!) some cretin "customer service manager" named "Donovan" or whatever (who had the nerve to tell me she did not HAVE a supervisor or manager, apparently she thought I would believe she reported straight to the president - "and he's in Taiwan a lot" she helpfully informed me - nice tidbit, huh?). She begins to AGAIN interrogate me as to where I was in their system, and threatened me that they would charge my credit card for another TV, or repossess their old one, if I did not cooperate.

Un-believable! Just incredible. At this point, the modest savings of a couple of hundred bucks earned by buying Vizio were more than outweighted by the lost time and aggravation.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and DO NOT deal with these clowns.

They have the worst customer service I have ever experienced.

[RickyFr]

Vizio is just fine

I have a 37" Vizio HDTV. It works fine. Price was great too! I will buy another later this year. BTW, an earlier commenter asked if it will still work in 10 years. I don't expect any of this stuff to be worth having in 10 years, so low price is really important. I have a client who bought a $8,000 plasma TV 3 years ago. My $900 Vizio LCD is superior.

[Escape Velocity]

Vizio is FOR REAL!

Excellent products at great prices with solid post sale support. William Wang of MAG Innovision CRT monitor fame, knows what hes doing, hes done it before.

Vizios PQ is top notch, not the best, but you save $100 if not $1000s of dollars. 90% of the Picture Quality, 100% of the functionality and features, and solid post sale and warranty support, for 50-75% of the price of the big names. Or spend the same and move way up in size. Why pay for bloated marketing and advertising expenditures? With the money you save you can get a Hi Def DVD player or HD Satelite service or an XBox 360, to enjoy on your new set. Get a Vizio, youll be glad you did!