Samsung has finally rolled out its complete TV lineup for 2023 alongside the pricing for those models. Among them are the Samsung QN90C (the successor to the Samsung QN90B that we loved from last year), the 2023 version of The Frame, the Samsung S95C OLED and the Samsung QN900C 8K TV.
It’s a lineup that looks incredibly exciting — but there’s one small problem: the prices make absolutely no sense.
Some of these TVs are launching at nearly double the price of their predecessors current price while others are launching at exactly the same price as their predecessor. Buying them directly from Samsung’s website can cost you up to $500 more than buying from a retailer like Best Buy because they come automatically bundled with Samsung’s The Freestyle projector…except for the times when Samsung’s prices are cheaper than places like Walmart, because we noticed that as well.
In short, pricing is a huge mess right now. It’s something we’ve come to expect during the sales season with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but for this to happen at launch — well, it presents a huge danger to consumers who could easily be ripped off by buying a TV from the wrong place at the wrong time.
The messed up world of launch-day pricing
To set the stage for how confusing this all is, let’s take a look first at the Samsung QN90C — the torch-bearer for Samsung’s 2023 QLED TV lineup.
When you go to buy the TV from Samsung’s website, the price will tell you that it’s $2,799 for the 65-inch version — the same price that Best Buy has the TV listed for. But, when you go to check out at Samsung's website, the price jumps to $3,299. That’s because there’s a bundle deal for Samsung’s The Freestyle projector that you’ll need to manually uncheck.
The good news here is that once you uncheck the box for The Freestyle, you’ll be able to add either a free wall-mount or wall-mounting service. Just don’t click both. If you do, you’ll get charged $120 for the second choice. Woof.
What about Samsung’s The Frame? The problem there is that both the 2022 and 2023 versions of the TV are the same price on Samsung’s website at the moment. It’s easy enough to distinguish between the two, thankfully, because the year is right in the title, but the pricing doesn’t make any sense.
It’s not asking too much to make people double-check the items in their carts before checking out or to re-read the name of the product before buying it — but I also sympathize with folks who just want a new TV without any mixups.
Silver living? 2022 Samsung TVs are now super cheap
What happens when you stick TVs from last year against their newly released counterparts? Things get even weirder.
The 65-inch Samsung QN90C that I just mentioned, the one that’s selling for $2,799? Well you can get the 65-inch Samsung QN90B for $1,599 at Walmart — which is great for folks who don’t necessarily need the latest model, but it’s a huge drop for a TV that’s just barely a year old.
The Samsung S95C OLED, one of the most anticipated TVs of the year, is currently selling on Samsung's website for $3,299 for a 65-inch model after you remove The Freestyle from the cart. Last year's Samsung S95B OLED is also on there for $2,599, which to me, makes sense. That's the sort of markdown you'd expect...except when you go to Walmart's website where you can find the S95B for $1,799.
All of these prices are dependent on so many factors including how much the retailer pays for the TVs in bulk, how eager the retailer is to get rid of old stock and how its competition (in this case Amazon and Best Buy) have that model listed for. These things are outside Samsung's control obviously, but it means that anyone who wants to buy a TV needs to be extra careful where and when they buy it.
Is cheaper always better?
On one hand, cheaper TVs are great — my whole m.o. is getting our readers the best prices on the best TVs. That's why we have a best TV deals page we regularly update. To see some of the best OLED TVs like the Samsung S95B come down in price is great…mostly.
The problem with TVs coming down in price quickly is that old TVs don’t really hold their value very well. If you bought a Samsung QN90B at launch for $2,599 last year, you’d be lucky to sell it this year for half of that.
This is something I’ve seen happen in other parts of the tech world, but it’s a bummer to see it happening to TVs that are expected to last for years.
It also begs the question: If last year’s models drop down to 50% of their price the second a newer model comes out, are you better off just waiting for next year’s models to arrive? It's questions like these that makes the whole process scary for folks who don't want to make a bad buying decision.
One some level, of course, it's up to you as a consumer to make the best choice for yourself — just like buying any other high-value commodity like a car or a home, how much or how little you research a TV before buying one can drastically increase how much you pay for one. Still, as someone who spends 40 hours a week looking at prices of TVs, it's discrepancies like these that make recommending a TV all the more difficult.
