I was sorely tempted by HDTV, though, after walking by an HDTV kiosk in a local mall several months back, and glimpsing one out of the corner of my eye. I stopped, turned, and walked up to this display, just marveling at the near-lifelike detail, my eyes opened to just how inferior SDTV (that’s Standard Definition TV) is to the new hardware.

While looking around this week to see what I can window shop for (I have a small list of things I would like to put in an apartment, once I get one), I ran across Second Act’s “Great Deal of the Day“. While the televisions shown on the Great Deal of the Day page are a bit pricey, which means it doesn’t meet my current budget need, the rest of the site has some really good prices and deep cuts on HDTVs.

One thing I noticed is that they do something I already do: They get open boxed, overstocked, closeouts, or refurbished televisions to resell to the public. I actually like refurbs, since they are generally retested by their manufacturer, so that the product meets their standards (and thusly doesn’t embarass the company by failing, I’d dare say).

Part of my head’s stuck in the 80’s and 90’s, so I’m comfortable with spending about $300 on a television that will last several years and isn’t a tiny 13″ box. That’s why I was surprised to see a Toshiba 26″ HDTV for a mere $289.99 plus shipping on their site. It gives me something to consider, and somewhere to watch for decent deals for later.