If you want to save a fair amount of $$$ on household appliances (range, washer, etc.) stores like Lowe's and Home Depot often put out some "floor models" (used as displays) when they need floor space for the newer models.

I like to ask an employee where they keep the "scratch and dent" stuff. Toward the back of their appliance department they'll keep units that got, you guessed it....scratched or dented. I've had good luck finding "last year's model" or a clothes washer that must have been poked while something was being moved next to it. Doesn't bother me if my washer - in the BASEMENT - has a dent. I saved a hundred bucks on it. Many times they'll discount something with a flaw that you can't see. The big chain stores are very open about defects, There will be a sheet attached that states the reason for the discount. Caveat emptor.

JackM

If you're looking for household appliances in the USA (not B&O), a good place to look is at a Sears Outlet store. Same thing as above, they sell discontinued models, product returns, or scratch and dent appliances that are otherwise new.

As a foreigner, a good way to establish credit in America is by applying for a store credit card, such as a Sears or Macys card, and you'll usually get a nice discount on any purchases when you sign up. Once you pay the card off, you'll have an established credit rating and could get other kinds of loans. That's what I did when I came back to the USA after being in Germany for seven years to reequip my home and reestablish a credit history. Sorry if this is off topic.

You know there is a B&O store in Wayne, PA (on the "Main Line"), yes?  Not them, but other individual Bang&Olufsen stores have a "preowned" tab on their websites, with conditions & prices listed.  The guys at beoboston(.com) are very easy to deal with.  I don't know about NYC.  But you'd have to make a trip to pick items up because commercially shipping used B&O gear always seems to break something.  Also the B&O stores are all in high-rent districts, so even "bargains" are priced to cover their high overhead.  

Good luck -- I think in your shoes I'd do the ugly-American thing: buy lots of brand-new second-tier stuff for cheap.  A buncha Vizio TV's to hide your brackets, even brand new, will cost less than a single used B&O TV from a B&O store.  ("... Hell, [get] a *herd* of Winnebago's, we're *giving* 'em away!" -- The Tubes, "What Do You Want From Life")

When / if you are ready to upgrade -- not B&O, but in Ardmore, nearby -- I found World Wide Stereo to have uniformly high quality equipment, with some value tilt -- almost like there is a single buyer's mind behind the selection.  Of course they have lots of salespeople, prices looked typically list, and I imagine they make most of their revenue on big-ticket home-theater installations.  (Apparently their renovated in-house theater is worth the drive.)  But they were cordial when I just wanted to see the colors of an inexpensive BDI "Bink" table in the flesh.

(P.S. Best Buy also has returns for sale; price/quantity is store-specific and shown individually on their website for your local store!  P.P.S. Sears might be desperate so give you a card with E-Z application, but its stores are hollowed out and the company declared bankruptcy, so not sure what you can buy with it.)

The Main Line store did have a few display items for sale, picked up an A9 speaker, fantastic object!

I figured that with the kids school an unknown and cashflow uncertain I'll leave it a few months before I get a proper/new set for the living room but in the mean time I picked up a BV7-40 on eBay down in DC and come the end of the year I'll look to upgrade it perhaps. Ten years old but amazing looking still! The wife wasn't took bothered by a bedroom tv so for now I'm going to take the bracket off the wall and hang a large painting up.

The Main Line store did have a few display items for sale, picked up an A9 speaker, fantastic object!

I figured that with the kids school an unknown and cashflow uncertain I'll leave it a few months before I get a proper/new set for the living room but in the mean time I picked up a BV7-40 on eBay down in DC and come the end of the year I'll look to upgrade it perhaps. Ten years old but amazing looking still! The wife wasn't took bothered by a bedroom tv so for now I'm going to take the bracket off the wall and hang a large painting up.