What are the differences between cheap and expensive wall mount brackets?

On-line and on internet auction sites such as Ebay, you can find a massive range of LCD and Plasma wall mount brackets. How is it that there is such a huge price difference between similar –looking brackets? Well, in most cases, you get what you pay for. When buying a wall mount bracket, there is more to consider than just the initial cost of the bracket, long-term ownership issues can inflate the initial low-cost, massively. When buying a bracket from a reputable High St retailer, how do you know you’re not just paying for the brand name?

As with most consumer products, the vast majority of brackets originate from the Far East, regardless of the brand. There are notable exceptions, there are a couple of European brands who manufacture in The Netherlands and in Italy. Clearly, many reputable manufacturers produce exceptional products from Chinese or other Far Eastern factories, indeed most of the recognised UK, USA and European brands take advantage of the lower manufacturing costs. The issue is not where a product is manufactured, but how well it is made and how good the after-sales service and support is.

So, are all the budget brands from the Far East the same quality? Well in a nut-shell, no. The very cheapest, low quality wall mount brackets tend to use low-quality steel and other materials, their steel tends to be 1~2mm thick. Very few very cheap brackets have locking safety and security features, many use gravity to simply hook the TV onto a wall fixing. The vast majority of cheaper brands do not have TúV or other recognised safety approval. TúV is a European Testing organisation that verifies that a product is manufactured to a pre-set standard, the user guide is clear and that the factory is regularly spot-checked.

How do you know you’re getting true value for money? If you’re paying a very low-cost for a bracket, you know what to expect, if you’re paying a higher price, how do you know you’re not just paying for a brand name?. Certainly if the mount bracket you’re buying has the TúV stamp of approval, you can be sure the product will be safe, secure and will last for many years.

If I buy a cheap bracket, what can I expect? Clearly any purchase must be ‘fit for purpose’. If a dealer advertises a TV wall mount bracket is capable of supporting a 42” plasma screen, then by law it must do. Should the bracket not perform to its advertised specification, then the retailer must resolve the problem, assuming of course the dealer is still in business. The difficulty comes when your dealer disappears, you have absolutely no chance of contacting the ‘true’ manufacturer who may be located in the middle of China. Quite often, companies selling exceptionally low-cost mounting brackets may negotiate a deal to buy a shipping container-full of mounting brackets from a Chinese company, usually on a one-shot deal, they are usually boxed and branded by the importer and then offered for sale.

By buying a product from a recognised UK or EEC registered manufacturer, then you can expect a meaningful warranty, a much greater degree of product knowledge and a much better lever of after-sales service and support.

Having sold in excess of 60,000 TV wall mount brackets over the last few years, we can’t count the number of customers who have contacted us for service or support for brackets that have been bought from a company that has ceased to trade. As these brackets tended to be un-branded, it proved impossible to source spare parts or support  for them, hence the vast majority of customers struggling with problem brackets, ended-up having to replace the whole bracket. Typical, complaints we have received are listed below :-

“My TV is starting to tilt on the wall.”

“When I pull the TV forward and extend the arm, the arm bends, causing the TV to tilt.”

“I’m moving-house tomorrow and I can’t take the TV off the bracket.”

“I’ve bought a new TV and I’ve lost the special tool supplied with the bracket…..”

“The plastic cap on the end of the arm has snapped-off”

“The bracket arm will not stay-put, it moves by itself.”

“I’ve moved house and need a replacement wall-plate”

“My TV bracket always tilts, the bracket won’t lock the TV into place.”

“I’ve lost the special screw that…..”

“The bearing on the arm has broken, I can’t turn my TV”

“The ratchet mechanism on the wall mount has seized”

If the wall mount brackets purchased by these individuals had been purchased from a UK or EEC based manufacturer, then even if the dealer has ceased to exist, replacement parts, warranties or service and support could have been provided. As this was not the case, the customers had to replace their complete brackets. This of course not only has financial implications, it can take hours of research trying to resolve the original problem.

The best advice we can offer is that when you’re buying a bracket for your TV, you’re not buying a box, you’re investing of a product’s capabilities, but more importantly your purchasing on-going service and support. If a plasma wall mount costs £20, can you realistically expect on-going support?