Stores see uptick in TV sales prior to Super Bowl

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Super Bowl is this Sunday; for a lot of people, that's a good excuse to buy a big new TV. Retailers are offering all sorts of sales to get you to spend before the game and there are some interesting statistics about who is in the market.

Out of the 12 people browsing the TV aisle at Costco, one of them, statistically speaking, is special. One out of every 12 people surveyed said they're buying a new TV for the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.

"You know, the big game is very important to them obviously, and so they want to have the best and the newest," Mark Walters of TechBargains.com said.

TechBargains.com, whose survey found people are ready to spend even more on TVs than they were a year ago and now two-thirds are looking online.

"And the reason for that is pricing," Walters said. "You know you can get a much better deal online and it's easy."

TVs that once cost a couple thousand are going for just a few hundred dollars. But will it ship in time for the big game?

"Look for an online vendor that sells in store so you buy online at the better price and you get to pick it up in store," Walters said.

Despite all the great deals on the Internet, some folks say they buy their TVs at Costco because the return policy is so good. In fact, back when these sets used to cost $2,000 and up, you might say the return policy was TOO good.

"There was a large, larger tendency for that in prior years, but recently, really no, I mean, the value's there, so it's a keeper," Costco General Manager Mike Rieke said.

Costco sees a 30 percent uptick in TV sales the week before the Super Bowl.

Best Buy has knocked a thousand dollars off some TVs ahead of the big game -- good news for Douglas Mount.

"My TV is suddenly on the blink, and I have ten people coming for the Super Bowl," Mount said. "I'm looking for the exact same thing I have, only cheaper."

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