Just because a TV is called a “flat screen” doesn’t mean that it should be laid down flat. Doing so leaves the device at a higher risk for potential damage.
There are plenty of people who will tell you why this is the case: U-Haul advises its customers against transporting TVs laid down flat, stating that they’re designed for weight to be “distributed around the edges while upright.” This means that laying them down on their backs on a flat surface can cause an undue amount of stress in the middle of the TV, leaving it at a higher risk for breaking, especially during transportation.
Even leaving the sets stationary laid down flat for extended periods of time is a bad idea, as doing so can cause the center of the LCD panel to “drag” downwards by virtue of gravity.
Since this is a very well-known “don’t” of TV handling, one would assume that a massive electronics retailer like Best Buy would know to refrain from storing TV sets in this matter, right?
Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be the case at a Best Buy location recorded by TikTok user @dorrmann78. In the video, he shows off how the retailer decided to store a huge shipment of Samsung TV sets
“Hey Best Buy, all these Samsung TVs? Every single one of them? Says do not stack flat.” He zooms in on the warning message printed clearly on the side of the box, then pans his camera back out to show the vast expanse of TV sets stacked on top of one another in the room—each and every one of the TVs is laid flat.
Many commenters who saw the video seemed equally incredulous that employees at the location would allow the TVs to be set up in this manner.
One viewer, who said that they work at a Distribution Center, remarked that their operation will outright refuse to sign for a shipment of television sets if they were transported flatly. “Are you serious. At the DC we turn tvs away if they are laid down on trucks we receive,” they wrote.
Another person had little confidence in Best Buy’s transportation methods. “You should see how the come in the Truck,” the user said.
@dorrmann78 Be better #bestbuy #samsung #hdtv ♬ original sound – dorrmann
An additional user argued that customers who purchase TVs that have been improperly stored may find themselves unknowingly buying damaged goods that could be blamed on them: “And if you get it home and it’s broken they will blame you and refuse to do anything …”
Oddly enough, several people who worked in product transportation said that they’ve often come across mass shipments of TV sets that almost always appeared to be stacked entirely flat. One commenter wrote, “As a package handler, they are almost always stacked flat, even when we get them directly from Best Buy lmao.”
Still, some folks thought the warning message printed on the boxes was dramatic.
One viewer joked, “It says that because flat would be too convenient. they’re fine.”
“Yall think they don’t lay flat on conveyor belts at FedEx, UPS etc?” another said, suggesting that everyone’s TV in their own home has been laid flat on its back for extended periods of time at one point or another.
However, one commenter said their local store was so committed to keeping their TVs upright that they weren’t allowed to take their set home without ensuring it would remain in that position when being transported. “I had best buy refuse to let me leave the store with a TV I bought because it couldn’t stand 100% vertical in the back of my blazer,” they wrote.
The phenomenon of TV sets being found broken upon delivery is unfortunately one that is quite common. A Retail Dive piece indicated that no fewer than 21% of all “oversized” online purchases show up to consumers’ homes damaged in some way.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Best Buy via email and @dorrmann78 via TikTok comment for further information.
