MSRP and Street Price

At this time, the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Prices in this category currently range from a low of $4,499 for the Compaq MP-1600 to a high of $8,995 for models from Sharp, Plus, NEC, and Panasonic.

Manufacturers set MSRPs so that there is enough margin for dealers to make money selling and supporting their products. Due to the highly competitive nature of the industry, dealers often discount substantially off the offical MSRP. So you can often find many current models selling for as much as 20% to 35% off list price.

However, not all projectors can be acquired at such discounts. Some manufacturers such as Proxima and Kodak have started selling certain models direct to the consumer either via 800 numbers or on the Internet. The prices quoted on these vendors' websites are often discounted from original MSRPs, and as such, further steep discounting is not to be expected.

Current street prices on most of the twenty models in this study are being quoted by dealers right here at ProjectorCentral. For the latest prices, go to the Current Prices section and search on the vendor and model that you are interested in.

You can also use ProjectorCentral to get competitive price quotes directly from dealers for the projector you are interested in. Just post a Request for Quote on this site. The service is free. Go to Get Bids! for further information.