Audio Video Center

This place used to be known as Chinatown TV, formerly located at 298 Grand Street. I am a local resident and long time customer and have always bought my air conditioners and other appliances from them. They are now at 133 Bowery and have changed their name to Audio Video Center, though they should also add «Appliances» to their name, as they definitely have everything in that department. When my old AC finally died and I needed a new one, I called their old number and was directed here, which was great as it’s actually closer to my house. This is the only place to go to if you know exactly what you’re looking for… They have consistently beaten the best price I could find anywhere hands down, from big box stores to online discount websites. And that’s with me looking for online coupons and click-​through cash back incentives. Air conditioners, washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators, fans, rice cookers, they truly have it all. Even if they don’t have what you want in the store, just give them the exact brand and model number you want to buy. If they can get it they will give you a quote and quickly order it for you with a deposit, I picked up my AC the very next day. I saved almost $ 70, and I live close by so they let me borrow a handtruck with a small deposit that I got back in full upon return. Though they do deliver, I brought a friend who lives in Brooklyn and they would deliver there as well. And if you bring cash you might get an even better deal. My advice is to shop around until you know exactly what you want, as they don’t have much of a showroom and there is a slight language barrier if you don’t speak Chinese, and want to know, say, the nitty gritty details about the technical specs of something. With a little patience and good humor I had a very pleasant transaction, got exactly what I wanted at a great price and left a very happy customer, as I always have for many years.

They have a return/​exchange policy and it’s only 7 days. Before you come here, make up your mind on what you want to buy. They don’t have many floor models here. The store looks to be about 1500 sq ft. We’ve purchased a dishwasher (Bosh), a fridge (Summit), a oven range (Samsung) and a microwave (LG). This is the place you come to make a deal, not to shop around.
Armed with the lowest price we could find on-​line, we came here and gave the sales rep, Tony our list. Tony quickly came back with a price quote that ranges from $ 20-​$ 100 less per item than the best price we found on-​line. Delivery is free. While tipping is not required, I did gave $ 20 each to 3 delivery guys. We saved collectively about $ 200 vs the lowest we could find on-​line.
Couple of friends have purchased TVs and appliances here as well. Don’t expect much in terms of personal services. Installation service can be obtained, but will require you to tip the guy. They don’t haul away old appliances without additional fee though it could be negotiated. FYI, We were going through remodeling, so our contractor hauled our old appliances away and performed all the installation.

Don’t come here. They will rip you off. I am a huge fan of small business owners, but this one pretty much ripped me off. I came in here to buy two TV antennas at $ 30 a pop. The guy asked me if I was paying with cash or credit. He told me he will not charge me tax if I pay with cash. I asked about their return policy because I was afraid the antennas would not work. He said no refunds, but I can exchange for another product. I gave him $ 60 (no tax) for the purchase.
I tried installing the antennas but they would not work on any of my digital TV’s. I returned to the store and asked for an exchange. The guy, who refused to give his name, said I cannot exchange for another product because they only allow exchanges within 7 days. I told him he never told me about the 7 day policy. I remembered him telling me I can exchange, but the 7 day return policy was never conveyed to me. This was the same guy who sold me the antennas. He said he did tell me about the 7 day policy. I disagreed. With several more minutes of going back and forth, he still refused to exchange the non-​functioning antennas. I showed him the receipt that was given to me for the purchase. The receipt had no return policy documented. If I had known there was a 7 day policy, I would have returned within that time frame. I live only a couple blocks away.
Long story short… I am filing a complaint with NYC’s Department of Consumer Affairs for bad business practice. The store did not fully inform the customer about their return/​exchange policy. On top of this, the store is evading taxes by not collecting sales tax from customers. «You pay cash, no taxes!»

If you’re used to big box stores Audio Video Center might not look like much. Rather small space, crammed with every kind of appliance or TV /​Audio equipment imaginable.
If they do not have thing you are looking for at the moment, remember that you can always talk to people working there and check if they can order models they do not have in stock at the moment. They are also dealers for full range of Paradigm speakers and Anthem audio components.
Besides that they always have some separate audio equipment that you can demo anytime (tube + solid state amps for example). Price wise I’ve found that most stuff is priced a bit under MSRP, but the best thing is you can always talk the price down a bit. Tony is my go-​to person for audio and video equipment.
But I think the best thing about this store is that they deliver within the city (last time it was a flat rate of $ 25, plus they got the merchandise into my apartment and inspected it for any possible damage).