Are Harvey Norman sales any good?? Bought a new build need bargains!!

stickman22

Hi there,

We have bought a new build off the plans it won't be ready until early summer but we have an idea of what we want. We were in Harvey Normans today & saw alot of what we want, the sales advisor advised us to buy on black Friday as that is the sale with the most reduction however that is quite a bit away from our move in date. Are the Jan sales any good or is it better to do in on an ordinary day with our wishlist & bargain with them from there.
We want our sofa from HN as well as tv & all our white appliances, hob, cooker & small appliances, beds & bedroom furniture we will be getting in IKEA, any advice re HN would be greatly appreciated as we are watching every penny!

Atlantic Dawn

No point in buying stuff 6 months early and then leaving it boxed until the summer. The Black Friday sales are typically to flog off old stuff nobody wants.

lawred2

Went to the HN warehouse sale in the swords convention centre...

Didn't see many bargains if I'm honest. You'd get almost everything in there cheaper on Amazon or even at powercity.

I've always found PC to be far more competitively priced than HN.

Satriale

Ive found them to be crap more often than not, once ever i got a really good deal there on a Fridge freezer and i think that was a price mistake rather than sale price.
IME you will always beat their sales price elsewhere.
If you really want to use them and are spending a lot of money, tot it up roughly and tell them how much you will be spending and try to negotiate a good overall discount, they should do that for you sale or no sale, if you are not happy with it walk away, there are plenty other places in competition with them.

stickman22

Great, thanks for the reply, we have done our research on the sofas & they have the style we really love in a colour we have not seen elsewhere so we will be getting that there, we thought we might be able to negotiate on our white goods/small appliances & tv seeing as we will be spending approx 1k on the sofa. Will definitley be looking elsewhere too, thanks for the tip re power city will definitley check them out, we have been mainly looking at HN's website

lawred2

stickman22 wrote: »

Great, thanks for the reply, we have done our research on the sofas & they have the style we really love in a colour we have not seen elsewhere so we will be getting that there, we thought we might be able to negotiate on our white goods/small appliances & tv seeing as we will be spending approx 1k on the sofa. Will definitley be looking elsewhere too, thanks for the tip re power city will definitley check them out, we have been mainly looking at HN's website

PC's website mightn't be the slickest.

Also it's worth using pricespy.ie if you've a good idea of the actual items you're looking for. Handy price comparison site.

Davy

Mobed to requests

The Guvnor

HN have a store in Belfast near the large IKEA IIRC - with the exchange rate both might be worth a visit.

I think the HN in Dundalk is an outlet now.

Yamanoto

If you need 'bargains', don't even consider HN.

This crowd are getting a frequent mention for appliances & the like:

https://www.armaghelectrical.com/

I'd also consider Amazon UK for TV's.

I've purchased my last 2 sets from there at a decent saving on what the same models would have cost in ROI retail stores.

flangemeistro

The one example I always tell people about these Harvey Norman "friends and family sales" "black Friday sales" "marquee sales" is that I had my on on a TV on demand system for a few weeks and it was 35 euro,
I didn't really need it so that's why I didn't buy it but next thing I heard a loud and obnoxious HN ad on the radio about a sale of the century and at least 20% off everything or something along those lines,
So I got in the car and drove to my local HN in little island thinking I would get the device for at the least 30.
I went to the shelf where it normally was and there it was with a big laminated sign in front of it 120 reduced to 50.
I went straight to a member of staff and asked him what the story was and he denied it was ever 35.
An absolute scam,
HN sales target people who aren't shopping there and price checking on a regular basis, they want to draw in new customers who will believe the over inflated RRP and think they are getting the bargain of the century.
Harvey Norman is my last port of call when shopping for anything.

Advbrd

Yamanoto wrote: »

If you need 'bargains', don't even consider HN.

This crowd are getting a frequent mention for appliances & the like:

https://www.armaghelectrical.com/

I'd also consider Amazon UK for TV's.

I've purchased my last 2 sets from there at a decent saving on what the same models would have cost in ROI retail stores.

Be careful if buying a UK TV. Ensure the tuner(s) it has are compatible with the signal(s) you can receive.

I have purchased most large items in Powercity over the years as they seem to undercut or price match everyone else. I have just replaced a double oven which I got in a local shop and it was fifty euro cheaper than Powercity. Its part of the Euronics chain, might be worth having a look.

Bravobabe

All sound advice here
You have a bit of time, so shop around and don't get fixated on "they have the style we want" (sorry not having a go but its a retail shop, others will have it or similar styles - you might see something more desirable )

Sofa (& Furniture) - try factory outlets, Connollys in Monaghan and lots in Navan
http://connollyfurniture.com/
White Goods & TVs - As mentioned PC do good deals. I've never seen a HN deal better than Power City (or DID, etc) But check around.

Obviously the Internet is your other option.

Yamanoto

Advbrd wrote: »

Be careful if buying a UK TV. Ensure the tuner(s) it has are compatible with the signal(s) you can receive.

Where do you think TV stock for sale in Irish retail stores is imported from?

Even standard Freeview sets have had the requisite goodies on board to deliver Saorview for several years now - i.e. MPEG4 + DVB-T + MHEG5

Advbrd

Yamanoto wrote: »

Where do you think TV stock for sale in Irish retail stores is imported from?

Even standard Freeview sets have had the requisite goodies on board to deliver Saorview for several years now - i.e. MPEG4 + DVB-T + MHEG5

I have no idea where the TV stock for sale in Ireland is imported from but not all come from the UK as you seem to be implying.

Most new TVs (probably all) on sale in Ireland are capable of receiving Saorview channels. However, not all (as far as I am aware) are capable of receiving satellite channels without a combi box or similar device.

Yamanoto

Advbrd wrote: »

I have no idea where the TV stock for sale in Ireland is imported from but not all come from the UK as you seem to be implying.

Vast majority are UK imports - Freeview compatible & labelled as such.

Sets occasionally pop up which were destined for the likes of the Polish market, but if they're for sale in Ireland (usually from fairly obscure e-tailers), they're still required to deliver Saorview satisfactorily.

Advbrd wrote: »

However, not all (as far as I am aware) are capable of receiving satellite channels without a combi box or similar device.

Most TV's don't have a sat tuner onboard.

Still unsure as to why one needs to exercise caution when purchasing from the UK as opposed to ROI.

Same rules apply - ensure it's fit for purpose.

harr

We found DID very good and matched any price we found cheaper and got a good discount as we purchased all our kitchen stuff and TV's from them ...the range in DID might not be the largest selection but we found them very fair to deal with and as I said matched the prices from power city..Don't overlook Argos as well can do good discounts at times

Advbrd

Yamanoto wrote: »

Vast majority are UK imports - Freeview compatible & labelled as such.

Sets occasionally pop up which were destined for the likes of the Polish market, but if they're for sale in Ireland (usually from fairly obscure e-tailers), they're still required to deliver Saorview satisfactorily.



Most TV's don't have a sat tuner onboard.

Still unsure as to why one needs to exercise caution when purchasing from the UK as opposed to ROI.

Same rules apply - ensure it's fit for purpose.

I have three TVs in the house all of which receive both Saorview and Satellite channels via built in DVB-T(MPEG 4) T2 and S tuners. So I am happy. As you said, not all TVs have satellite tuners. Someone may make the assumption that they have and be disappointed, that's all I am saying.

As far as I know there are TVs in the UK still being sold with a DVB-T(MPEG 2) tuner which will pick up Freeview but not Saorview for which you need a DVB-T(MPEG 4) or DVB-T2 tuner. I think a T2 tuner is also needed for free to air HD channels. I bought a TV a number of years ago which differed in model number by the trailing letter from the model being sold in the UK. Mine picks up Saorview, the UK model does not. There are sometimes differences between UK and Irish models, buyer beware or be aware.

Yamanoto

Advbrd wrote: »

As far as I know there are TVs in the UK still being sold with a DVB-T(MPEG 2) tuner which will pick up Freeview but not Saorview for which you need a DVB-T(MPEG 4) or DVB-T2 tuner. I think a T2 tuner is also needed for free to air HD channels. I bought a TV a number of years ago which differed in model number by the trailing letter from the model being sold in the UK. Mine picks up Saorview, the UK model does not. There are sometimes differences between UK and Irish models, buyer beware or be aware.

There were plenty of Samsungs & Panasonics still knocking about a few years back with MPEG 2 only - lots of posts on boards at the time Saorview began testing, complaining of sets picking up audio, but no picture. I've 2 'standard' Freeview LG's (purchased from Amazon in 2011) with DVB-T only, which deliver Saorview channels broadcast in HD without issue. I think you'd be hard pressed to find that combination of DVB-T / MPEG2 still for sale in the UK. Even regular Freeview sets now seem to be manufactured with DVB-T / MPEG4 tuner as standard.