High Efficiency Pays Off!

One of our most popular washers right now is GE’s WCVH6800; the February 2009 issue of Consumer Reports rated this front-load model a “Best Buy.” In addition to great wash performance, front-load units like GE’s 6800 will save you a LOT of money over their lives vs. a top-loader. Check out the link to EnergyStar’s site below, which gives more information about the savings these machines provide. It depends a bit on your usage and utilities cost, but it’s a safe bet that most front-load models will actually cost less to own over their lives than a less-expensive top load unit. And as an added benefit, they treat your clothes more gently, so you’ll get more from your wardrobe investment as well (have you every added up just how many dollars in clothing you own?) Stop in to your local Sherman’s today and find out more about all the benefits to owning a great high-efficiency washer like GE’s WCVH6800!http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=clotheswash.clothes_washers_save_money

Special buy on Sealy Pillowtops!

Sherman’s is bringing back two very special buys on Sealy pillowtop mattress sets. One with pressure relieving memory foam, regularly sells for over $1,000, is only $599, and a Sealy pillowtop without the memory foam is only $399. It took a lot of work for us to get the pricing this low again, and Sealy can only guarantee us availability through March 22nd. Stop in today to one of our three locations and take advantage of this really incredible pricing.

Plasma vs. LCD: What’s the best?

While there is no single answer to this important question, there IS a lot of misinformation out there about the pros and cons. To get the worst of them out of the way first, plasma never needs “recharged."It has an incredible life span, the most common plasma rating is 60,000 hours, which is 20 years at 8 hours per day! Reliability is not a reason to choose one technology over another; both plasma and LCD will last a long time.

LCD’s strengths include razor-sharp still images, and often a more reasonable price for the latest 1080p technology. Plus, plasma is just too expensive below 42”; so if you’re looking for a medium to smaller set, LCD is the only way to go. On the down side, the nature of how LCD reproduces the image can sometimes lead to a slight “blur” on very fast motion. This is more noticeable with larger screen sizes.

Plasma’s strength is rich colors, deep blacks, and excellent motion detail for fast-moving images like sporting events. For the bigger sizes like 60”, plasma is often the best value. If there is a down side to plasma it would be its slightly less crisp reproduction of still images like computer graphics, and the potential that a static image could “burn in” to the screen. While the “burn in” issue is a concern to some, it really isn’t a practical problem; TV images are constantly moving. You’d have to be using the plasma as a computer monitor, leaving still highly contrasted images on the screen for days on end for this to be an issue.

In my home, we have one large plasma, and several smaller LCD HDTV’s. They all look great; there really is no “one size fits all” answer to the plasma vs. LCD question. As you shop, you’ll find good and bad LCD’s, and good and bad Plasmas. Pay attention to the differences; you may have a strong preference one way or another. When you have questions, you can be confident the HDTV experts at Sherman’s can provide you with the right answers!

Our Best HDTV Deal includes a FREE Bose System

Not surprisingly our most popular HDTV lately has been Hitachi’s 50” Director’s Series, ever since we were able to offer a FREE $1,000 Bose 3-2-1 surround sound system with it! The Bose system was already a best seller; it takes advantage of the surround sound available through DVD’s and HDTV, and does it without the hassle of rear speakers. Hitachi’s Director’s Series 50” Plasma is among the best HDTV’s available; and it was a very special buy that allowed us to offer the free Bose system with each one. And our price is far lower to begin with: the Hitachi P50X902 is currently being sold for $3,199 on our biggest competitor’s website; we’re offering it for only $2,599 AND including the Bose system! We love to see our customers enjoy everything HDTV has to offer, and this is a great combination to get the very best in both picture and sound; at one very special price.

Crunch Time on the Details

The weather hasn’t been slowing anything down when it comes to completing our new Peru, IL store! We were lucky to get the outer shell complete before the bad weather hit; so everyone has been working steadily inside to complete what will be our largest store yet. We’re to the part of the building process where all the important interior details are getting completed. Most of the interior walls are up and drywalled, and they have a good start on the painting. I’ve been spending a lot of time onsite with our builder going over every detail as it’s constructed, to make sure the final product is nothing short of the most exciting appliance, electronics and furniture store in Central Illinois. You'll love it when it's complete: 10 complete kitchens; an interactive audio/video demonstration room; eight living room vignettes complete with eight different audio/video solutions; and plenty of well-designed space for mattresses, dining room, bedroom, and living room furniture. When it’s done this spring, we think you’ll agree it’s worth all the attention to the details!

Distribution Center Progress

While the cold and icy weather has been holding up the completion of our new distribution center, we’re lucky to be in and operating out of the large new storage and dock area. This is the important part; giving our warehouse and prep crews enough properly lighted space to prepare items for delivery, and giving our drivers enough time and space to properly load their trucks to ensure everything makes it to our customer’s homes in perfect condition. All deliveries for our Peoria, Normal and Peru locations now leave this distribution center each morning; allowing next day delivery no matter where you live on any product we have in stock! It’s taking the longest to complete the short portion of the facility (that’s short compared to the 35’ high part in the back, it’s where the red door is in the picture). This area is the new customer pickup area, plus it houses the warehouse and customer service offices, our new service shop, and a clearance center. We’re hoping these areas will be completed by March, giving us the chance to put on the finishing touches and landscaping this spring. Thanks for putting up with our mess in the meantime; it’s all in the interests of doing the best job possible for our customers throughout central Illinois!

Happy Holidays & Best Wishes to all in 2009

On behalf of the Sherman’s family and all our employees, we hope you and your family have a great holiday season and a happy New Year! We truly appreciate your business, and will continue doing everything we can in 2009 to help our local families like only a local family can.