By Lorna Brett

On the eve of the Federal Election 3D TV sales appear to be bearing the brunt of the election slow down phenomenon, forcing retailers to offer significant discounts to get the technology selling.

www.connectedaustralia.com was alerted to the lengths that retailers are willing to go to sell a 3D TV by consumer Craig Ovzinsky, who recently purchased a Samsung 3D TV from Harvey Norman in Belrose.

"The TV's original price was $4,200 with no freebies, and the salesman said the best price he could give us on just the TV was $3900," Ovzinsky said.

After initially being told the Samsung 3D glasses promotion had come to an end, Ovzinsky managed to negotiate for the inclusion of a Samsung Blu-ray player, the 3D Blu-ray movie Monsters and Aliens, two pairs of Samsung battery powered 3D glasses, two pairs of Samsung rechargeable glasses, a HDMI monster cable, an antenna monster cable and a wall mounting kit to seal the 3D TV sale.

"The amount of freebies we were given totalled $1718, and all because they clearly wanted our sale," Ovzinsky told www.connectedaustralia.com

Smaller retailers struggle to make a sale
Though consumer interest in 3D technology has been high since its release earlier this year, retailers say the calling of the election has resulted in fewer consumers entering stores for demonstrations and even less making purchases.

"3D was selling really well during the World Cup, but it's definitely dropped off significantly since the election was called," Auburn 2nds World store manager Shalend Sharma told www.connectedaustralia.com. "I'm just looking forward to the election being over," he added.

The story is similar in Victoria, where consumers have also pulled away from investing in the technology.

"There was a lot of interest in 3D prior to the calling of the election, but when I look at the sales figures it's clear that sales have definitely cooled over the last three weeks," John Alan Retravision Victoria salesman Brendan Lee said.

"This is in comparison to our white good sales which are up at the moment due to it being winter, which is when dryers and so on tend to break down," he added.

Desperation drives discounting
According to Sharma, there is little other option available to retailers trying to drive sales than to offer discounts.

"Most 3D TV's have supplier bonuses attached to them, but we will discount on the TV - we have to. We can't throw any extras in like glasses or Blu-ray players because the market is too tight. There's just not enough of a margin on TV's for us anymore," he said.

Lee told www.connectedaustralia.com his store is offering heavy discounts on HDMI cables and additional pairs of glasses to boost sales.

"We're just not able to give away more expensive items like Blu-ray players, which the bigger retailers seem to be able to do," he said.

3D will make a comeback
Despite sluggish sales at present, retailers are confident that the technology will make a return to favour after the election has been decided.

"Consumers are generally very receptive to 3D technology, don't really need to recommend it to them, they're well aware of it already and they want to see demos," Sharma said.

"People know the technology is out there, and at a store level our people want to talk about it, so it hasn't been too difficult to sell them. Not at the bottom end of the TV market of course, but to people who are willing to spend a little bit more on their TV," Lee told www.connectedaustralia.com.

If consumer satisfaction is anything to go by, retailers should heed of the words of one very happy 3D adopter.

"We've been extremely happy with the purchase; the image is crystal clear and sharp. After trying the 3D technology through the free [Monsters and Aliens] movie, I think it's pretty amazing," Ovzinsky said.

"I would definitely recommend a 3D TV for those searching for a TV in that price bracket," he added.