On Costco.com:
Motherf&*(^ing sonofa%^&*$ stupid shipping policies. What is this, a third-world country?!? Guess I'll see if they're in the store or if I have to revert to ShipToHawaii.com again...
Wireless TV speaker for hard of hearing?
- Thread starter Brat
- Start date
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
What? Stop that damn mumbling and speak up so we can hear you...
And you kids get the hell off my lawn!!
Our local Costco affirmed that they don't carry the TV Ears speaker box in the store, and they won't order one for in-store pickup.
So, screw 'em. I went to TV Ears.com and poked around for a while, finding a 50% discount code here: Special Offer 50% Off « TV Ears
Of course I had to pay nearly $28 for the $14 USPS Priority Mail shipping, but that's a typical paradise tax. Total was $112.60, still cheaper than Costcos' $99.99 + S&H.
powerplay
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Glad you found one for a semi reasonable price. I had no idea the cost involved in having things shipped to paradise especially when there is probably a steady flow of tourists flying in all the time.
We get it all the time, but there's no reason for a company to charge 2x the USPS' shipping cost. An extra couple of bucks, sure, but even Amazon will ship here for $3.99/book.
The clearest evidence that we're being gouged on shipping is that entrepreneurs can make a living from starting companies like ShipToHawaii.com. Somehow they've figured out how to make a few nickels from undercutting the rest of the industry, so if they and Amazon can figure it out then the rest of the retailers, including Costco, could turn us Hawaii residents into repeat customers for very little effort.
At least this time I didn't get any hassle about "international postage" or "we only ship to the U.S."...
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This is tragically hilarious. I'd ask if you were kidding - but I know you're not.
I imagine COSTCO is just trying to keep shipping down in case items are returned. Why not just charge a restocking fee for items that have incurred additional shipping fees? One would think when retailers face constrained demand they would look for ways to encourage sales rather than turn them away.
GregLee
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Charging large shipping fees to Hawaii is so universal
[*] and so seemingly irrational that I think we must be missing something about how shipping rates are set that forces these charges. Like maybe UPS offers special discounts if a company ships only with them?
[*]With exceptions: small items on eBay are often sent by USPS with moderate rates, Amazon free "supersaver shipping" is actually free to Hawaii, Axiom loudspeakers have free shipping which includes Hawaii.
In the spirit of Black Friday, let me update that the TV Ears speaker box is a hit.
Spouse has tried a number of headphone systems over the years-- big headsets (too heavy), wireless RF & IR systems (low S/N, lots of static), and corded (25 feet across the room). She prefers a lightweight set of Koss headphones with a long cord, but signal loss can still be a problem.
TV Ears uses a multi-channel IR transmitter that appears to be powerful enough to reach the speaker box even if they're not facing each other. Clarity is much better. Setup was intuitive and amplification/control is painless. The headset plugs into the jack on the front of the box next to her, so if someone else wants to hear the audio she can pull it out without getting up.
Best of all, this uses less power than our previous connection through a 1980s receiver/amp. I can rearrange the wiring behind the TV and put everything on separate power strips to reduce the vampire loading...
Spouse has tried a number of headphone systems over the years-- big headsets (too heavy), wireless RF & IR systems (low S/N, lots of static), and corded (25 feet across the room). She prefers a lightweight set of Koss headphones with a long cord, but signal loss can still be a problem.
TV Ears uses a multi-channel IR transmitter that appears to be powerful enough to reach the speaker box even if they're not facing each other. Clarity is much better. Setup was intuitive and amplification/control is painless. The headset plugs into the jack on the front of the box next to her, so if someone else wants to hear the audio she can pull it out without getting up.
Best of all, this uses less power than our previous connection through a 1980s receiver/amp. I can rearrange the wiring behind the TV and put everything on separate power strips to reduce the vampire loading...
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
I hear ya'...
Trying new technology every 30 years either means you are incredibly frugal, stubborn or a Luddite. TV ears was/is a great solution for the last 20 years. Chances are there are better/cheaper solutions here already.
Take a look at this site:Harris Communications - products for deaf, hard of hearing, hearing impaired, hearing loss, and sign language. Vibrating Alarm Clocks, Amplified Telephones, Notification Signalers
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Check, check, and...check.
Damn you make a great straight man. Did REWahoo put you up to this?
FOR SALE: One slightly-used fully-functioning set of TV Ears "Single-Cabinet Wireless TV Speaker" including all accessories in the original packing. Local pickup on Oahu only. I paid $112.60 and it'll cost me another $10 or so to mail it back, so I'd be happy to receive $100 cash. PM or e-mail me if you're interested.
The rest of the story:
Spouse doesn't have any hearing problems, but she prefers to watch TV with headphones to keep the house's noise level down. She's been using an old 1990s 27" Panasonic CRT that fit comfortably into the wall unit. About 18 months ago its picture started glitching so we quickly found a 27" Samsung replacement on Craigslist for $50. The seller's house was dim, filthy, smelly, and disgusting (as was the seller) so as soon as we verified that the Samsung worked we got it the heck outta there. We brought it home only to see that the Panasonic was behaving again, so we put the Samsung in a corner until the Panasonic broke hard. It hasn't happened yet.
Yesterday we were happily ripping old electronics out of our wall unit (see the "Simplifying Saturday" post), we'd hooked up the TV Ears speaker box, and we had everything working. Then spouse decided that she'd rather have the speaker box in the (now nearly empty) wall unit instead of next to her recliner. That required some rearranging and realigning of the TV Ears' transmitter with the speaker box. While I was doing that, spouse noticed that the Samsung had a headphone jack on its front panel. She asked "Could I just switch to the Samsung and plug my headphones right into the jack instead of the TV Ears with the Panasonic?"
Well, duh. Not only does that work just fine (with a 25-foot cord) but it also turns out that the Samsung is a 1080i "HD ready" flatscreen. Compared to her old Panasonic, spouse feels as if she's won the lottery. It's also a much better electronics package, so I was able to get rid of the RF amp. The analog coax cable comes out of the wall, goes into the TiVo, and feeds the signal into the TV. I'm pretty sure that we're using a lot less power back there, but I'll have to gather data with my Kill-A-Watt for a while to verify that claim.
We discovered that both VCRs have died, but if necessary we have a smaller TV in the familyroom with an integrated videocassette player. I also have a DVD player stashed in a drawer, ready to plug into the Samsung, if she should ever decide to watch a DVD. I suspect by the time she got to that point (in another decade or so) we'd be streaming movies right off the Internet anyway.
So spouse's search for the Holy Grail of static-free headphones is over. The TV Ears works great but she doesn't need it when the signal is easily accessible from the headphone jack on the front of the TV with no connector losses.
Now our front lanai looks like we've robbed a pawnshop. The old Panasonic is going on Freecycle tomorrow morning and if no one wants the TV Ears then I'll mail them back later this week...
This sounds like a pilot for a new sitcom. $%^&* My Wife Does.
OP
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Brat
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
If you had purchased your TV Ears through Costco you could just return it at their local customer service desk.
As a marriage veteran with a strong personal interest in my longevity, I know better than to try that punchline around Hale Nords. But she enjoys watching William Shatner do what he does best.
Yes, if only (1) they carried it at our local Costco or (2) Costco.com shipped that particular model to Hawaii. Believe me, I checked on both of those before I went to the manufacturer.
I'm pretty persistent at solving problems, but in this case halfway through the process it turned out that I was persisting on the wrong problem... at least the eventual solution turned out to be more elegant!
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Brat
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
That's odd because I ordered 2 through Costco's website but found I only needed one so returned it to the Tigard store. It was not carried in the store. Maybe the customer service agent accepted it in error.
The TV Ears facebook page is also holding a contest right now to give away a free TV Ears set. It looks like if you go to their blog there's a link at the bottom of this post to their Facebook page: TV Ears “Peace at Home” Winter Holiday Contest « TV Ears. Or you can search "TV Ears" on Facebook.
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