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One reason was probably because the ones being shown to us were from an independent dealer; which, tended to be higher than a "big box" chain store. Another reason was likely because they were cable ready; which, added more money to the cost. The Emerson that my Dad ended up buying for $149 was a basic knob tuned TV from Service Merchandise; and, at the time, $149 was a cheap price for a color TV. The next model up was a remote set with a 13 position varactor pushbutton tuner (the type tuner that had a thumbwheel for setting whatever channel you wanted for each position) and I believe it was $199. Color TV's had gotten cheaper by the late '80's; but, it would still be a few more years before the bottom fell out of TV prices. Towards the end of the CRT era, I recall some 19" TV's for under $100 and some 13" TV's in the $69 range. Of course, the quality of those later TV's was lacking in comparison to the older ones.
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