Blu-ray in stock now!

Ever since the format war ended earlier this year, and Blu-ray became the obvious choice for High Definition DVD’s, the factories haven’t been able to keep up with our orders. Finally, after keeping hundreds of units on backorder with Sony, I am pleased to say we have plenty of stock on the new BDPS350 model, Sony’s latest. This unit up-converts your old DVD’s to 1080p, so they’ll look better than ever. And any new movies you rent or buy in the Blu-ray format will be in full high definition; up to 5 times better than traditional DVD’s! And just to make sure you’re covered for the future, it has built-in decoders for the next generation of sound, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. If you’ve been waiting to upgrade to High Definition DVD’s, now is the time to get on board with Sony’s new BDPS350 Blu-ray, in stock now at Sherman’s!

Nationwide Buying Group Meeting

I just got back from a five-day trip to glitzy Las Vegas, where our Nationwide Buying Group held its most recent meeting. I went a day earlier than usual, for the pre-show meeting of the largest dealers in our group. This was my first meeting as part of this top tier of dealers, as this past year was the first time we did enough volume to qualify. Now we can take advantage of the very best deals the major manufacturers have to offer, and be more competitive on price than ever.

During this show I was asked to give a presentation on our 10% lowest price guarantee. Like many of our customers, my fellow dealers asked “How can you give 10% off the big store’s pricing and still make enough profit?” I explained the way I look at it: any sale is better than no sale; so I’d rather do the extra volume at low profit margins AND know exactly what my competition is up to. That way we can honestly say we’re the lowest on everything we have in the store, because any time we are informed of a lower price, we immediately lower ours so it won’t happen again. It’s a great time-saver for our customers to know they can count on our pricing to be the lowest, and the extra volume makes up for the low profit on any individual sale.

In addition to the great buys, I always pick up a few great ideas from my fellow dealers on how to run a more efficient business and improve customer service, and this show was no exception. And in the spirit of keeping those expenses low, I am happy to report I only lost $40 playing video poker!

Stop in your nearest Sherman’s in the next couple months and see all the great buys our manufacturers had for us at this Augusts’ Nationwide Buying Group show.

$6,000 of New Home Furnishings for only $100 a Month

This past weekend was incredibly busy at all three of our stores, as we began our 5 years 0% interest sale. While it’s common to see one or two years 0% interest, five years is quite a long time. In fact, it’s not the easiest thing to offer; it takes a lot of preparation including securing extra support from our product vendors. But the end result is that you can take advantage of all the usual benefits of shopping at Sherman’s, from our guaranteed lowest pricing to our experienced sales and delivery staff, PLUS getting five years to pay.

During this sale, many people buy multiple items. For example, a $1,500 HDTV and a $1,500 mattress set would be only $50 per month. Or a $1,500 HDTV, $1,000 Home Theater System, $1,000 front load washer, and $2,500 furniture group would ALL be only $100 per month. Our customers tell us the five-year 0% terms make it easier than ever to get all the nice things they need for their homes.

Our five year 0% interest promotion continues this week and weekend. Stop in your nearest Sherman’s store today!

February 2009 DTV Transition

We’re now about 6 months away from the federal deadline to shut down analog over-the-air broadcast TV. What’s this mean to you? To find out, make a list of all the TV’s you have in your home, and whether they are connected to cable, satellite or antenna. You don’t need to worry about the ones connected to cable or satellite right away, those will continue working normally past the deadline (how long after is still not known). For the sets connected to an antenna, unless they are a new HDTV with a digital tuner, they will not work after February 17th, 2009. Your options are:

(1) Replace these with a new, digital TV (all TV’s currently made have digital tuners, and if a store has an old set without one, it’s required to have a warning label on it).

(2) Get a digital converter box, which will convert the digital broadcast into the analog signal your older TV can display. Sherman’s currently sells these for $49.99, and you can get up to 2 $40 coupons toward them at http://www.dtv2009.gov. The manufacturers of these boxes underestimated demand, and have been behind on shipments. Sherman’s presently has several hundred on backorder. As soon as you get your coupons, you can bring them in and place your order, and we’ll call you as soon as they become available. Now’s the time, since you don’t actually need the boxes until February 17th.

It is important to note that in most cases, the converter box will neither improve nor degrade your picture quality. Even if it receives an HDTV signal, it down-converts it to analog so it can display on your old set. For a secondary, smaller set with plenty of life left, this is the most practical and economic solution. On the other hand, if you want to take advantage of the razor-sharp quality of HDTV broadcasts, you’ll need to replace your set with a new HDTV.

If you have questions about how this will affect you, call or visit with one of our HDTV experts in Peoria, Normal or Peru.