[wasabisashimi]

I need some honest opinion about Futureshop/bestbuy extended service waranty.

If you work at FS or BB, or know someone who works for them, you may be able to help.

I was looking to buy some electronics there (TV, laptop etc.)
Salesperson was not willing to negotiate on the price except that if i agree to buy a 399$ extended waranty for 4years coverage.

That made me wonder if they get alot of commision by selling waranty instead of the product. He told me the product is already on sale and there is no way to move lower. But he contradicted himself by showing me that he can make product lower by 300$ if i pay $399 for warantee. This way it looks like I pay $99 for waranty.

Any thoughts? Should I buy or walk. is waranty not worth it? There are storys that waranty actually helped if something is broken in year 2-3 when limited manufacture waranty expired

[- kT]

let me share a story with you

a while back, i got a new laptop from fs. the salesperson was really nice, and after we got all the stuff sorted out, he gave me a $90 printer for $10, and also gave me a discount on the warranty

cut to a few weeks later, i figured since i'd probably be buying a new computer of some sort before my 4 year warranty ran out, i'd cancel the warranty, so i went back and refunded the warranty

a few weeks ago, my laptops motherboard crashed, so i brought the laptop back (since it's still under the manufacturers warranty). i bumped into the same salesmen, whom i asked for assistance. he was really nice about it, and took me to customer service to talk to them. long story short, he found out that i had returned the warranty, and proceeded to turn away, and walk away laughing, muttering to himself "returned the warranty. hahaha" I kid you not, nor do i exaggerate. this was the worst customer service i have ever encountered, and probably the worst i will ever encounter. after that he not only neglected to help me any further, but on top of that, acted like i was a lifelong enemy

the way i figure, they make most money from warrantee, a warrantee that is usually not necessary.

another previous lesson taught me (when i was 12, something graphics card related was wrong with my laptop, so i brought it back under the extended warranty, and they proceeded to tell me that the problem didnt lie in the graphics card, it was something that wasn't covered under the warranty. they told me to fix this alleged "problem", i would have to pay $700, a price higher than the laptop i had at the time)

so key in point

fuck the futureshop salespeople, and fuck their warranty. if you're gonna buy warranty from anybody, buy it direct from the manufacturer.

[Presto]

Along with fucking the warranty, fuck the high-margin accessories they try to pawn off on you.

[mickz]

let me share a story with you

a while back, i got a new laptop from fs. the salesperson was really nice, and after we got all the stuff sorted out, he gave me a $90 printer for $10, and also gave me a discount on the warranty

cut to a few weeks later, i figured since i'd probably be buying a new computer of some sort before my 4 year warranty ran out, i'd cancel the warranty, so i went back and refunded the warranty

a few weeks ago, my laptops motherboard crashed, so i brought the laptop back (since it's still under the manufacturers warranty). i bumped into the same salesmen, whom i asked for assistance. he was really nice about it, and took me to customer service to talk to them. long story short, he found out that i had returned the warranty, and proceeded to turn away, and walk away laughing, muttering to himself "returned the warranty. hahaha" I kid you not, nor do i exaggerate. this was the worst customer service i have ever encountered, and probably the worst i will ever encounter. after that he not only neglected to help me any further, but on top of that, acted like i was a lifelong enemy

the way i figure, they make most money from warrantee, a warrantee that is usually not necessary.

another previous lesson taught me (when i was 12, something graphics card related was wrong with my laptop, so i brought it back under the extended warranty, and they proceeded to tell me that the problem didnt lie in the graphics card, it was something that wasn't covered under the warranty. they told me to fix this alleged "problem", i would have to pay $700, a price higher than the laptop i had at the time)

so key in point

fuck the futureshop salespeople, and fuck their warranty. if you're gonna buy warranty from anybody, buy it direct from the manufacturer.

No offence but if you returned the extended warranty there's nothing the store's obliged to do for you.

My family's only purchased one extended warranty ever and it was the worst decision ever. Bought it for an eMachines desktop back in the day, letters on the keyboard started rubbing off and they wouldn't give me a new one because the warranty doesn't cover "cosmetic damages." Out of all the laptops and desktops I've owned I've never had a letters rub off on my keyboard EXCEPT for that one shitty eMachines.

Another time I went to Future Shop Lansdowne to buy a CRT TV, it was only $99.99 and for the price it was perfect for what I was using it for. The sales there told me there weren't any left because it was nowhere to be seen on the sales floor. I said I checked online this morning and called and they was in stock. They went to check on their computers and low and behold! They had two! I waited for almost half an hour for them to dig it out of their warehouse and then the bad news hits me. Both were open box. I said I didn't care, just give me the usual 10% off open box discount. The guy rants about how they don't offer the 10% discount anymore but how he can throw in this service plan and discount my TV... at this point I don't have time to deal with this douchebag (his name was Ian IIRC, asian guy) so he sold me the TV + extended warranty for $99.99.

What a scam artist. I went back a few days later and refunded the warranty and got 10% off instead. I asked the girl at the returns desk and she says they've never taken away the open box discount. So fuck you Future Shop and fuck you Ian. I wrote a letter and sent it via snail mail to the manager of Future Shop Lansdowne but never got a reply... never shopped there again!

[- kT]

No offence but if you returned the extended warranty there's nothing the store's obliged to do for you.

Really now?

I was still under the manufacturers warranty, and I wanted the salesmen's help with product related things. He not only declined to help me, he walked away laughing.

I wasn't aware that when customers returned merchandise for which you get commission for, you could treat them like dirt?

[wix]

^ Professional sales man =)

[mickz]

Really now?

I was still under the manufacturers warranty, and I wanted the salesmen's help with product related things. He not only declined to help me, he walked away laughing.

I wasn't aware that when customers returned merchandise for which you get commission for, you could treat them like dirt?

If it's under manufacturer's warranty at least you weren't out of luck. But to be honest I don't think the sales will help you much with things like this. You always have to talk to people with the power to make decisions.

I wouldn't consider Future Shop's sales associates that great with the products either. Most of the ones I've dealt with just read the specs straight off the sheet without knowing what they mean.

[wasabisashimi]

so can anyone tell me if waranty from FS/BB is necessary? How can FS/BB make money off that if they have to eat up the repair fees for broken electronics? It seems like they would lose more money by selling us waranty cuz somethings are make to be unreliable and repair fees are as high as buying a new one such as a LCD or plasma tV

[Mr.HappySilp]

Check with ur Credit card some credit card will extand your warrantly by 1year if u use that card to make your purchase.

[mickz]

so can anyone tell me if waranty from FS/BB is necessary? How can FS/BB make money off that if they have to eat up the repair fees for broken electronics? It seems like they would lose more money by selling us waranty cuz somethings are make to be unreliable and repair fees are as high as buying a new one such as a LCD or plasma tV

The warranties Future Shop and Best Buy sell usually expire right before the item craps out. Even if something goes wrong during your extended warranty period, it'll most likely still be covered by the manufacturer's warranty or FS/BB will say their warranty doesn't cover you in this situation.

[q0192837465]

FS is commission based, so they want to sell u as much as possible.

And under the sales of goods act:
Implied conditions as to quality or fitness
18 Subject to this and any other Act, there is no implied warranty or condition as to the quality or fitness for any particular purpose of goods supplied under a contract of sale or lease, except as follows:

(a) if the buyer or lessee, expressly or by implication, makes known to the seller or lessor the particular purpose for which the goods are required, so as to show that the buyer or lessee relies on the seller's or lessor's skill or judgment, and the goods are of a description that it is in the course of the seller's or lessor's business to supply, whether the seller or lessor is the manufacturer or not, there is an implied condition that the goods are reasonably fit for that purpose; except that in the case of a contract for the sale or lease of a specified article under its patent or other trade name, there is no implied condition as to its fitness for any particular purpose;

(b) if goods are bought by description from a seller or lessor who deals in goods of that description, whether the seller or lessor is the manufacturer or not, there is an implied condition that the goods are of merchantable quality; but if the buyer or lessee has examined the goods there is no implied condition as regards defects that the examination ought to have revealed;

(c) there is an implied condition that the goods will be durable for a reasonable period of time having regard to the use to which they would normally be put and to all the surrounding circumstances of the sale or lease;

(d) an implied warranty or condition as to quality or fitness for a particular purpose may be annexed by the usage of trade;

(e) an express warranty or condition does not negative a warranty or condition implied by this Act unless inconsistent with it.

You basically don't need to extended warranty. Flash them the sales of goods act & they'll back off & fix it for u. Well, at least this is the story my prof told me.

[wasabisashimi]

i thought FS/BB advertise they are not commision based sales team

[vapour_lock]

BB is not commision based. fs is. if you're looking at electronics, if its gonna fail, its gonna fail within the first few months which is usually under the manufacturer warranty. otherwise it'll run for years. warranty is a scam.

[Presto]

Extended warranties are heavily pushed by corporate. It's basically an item that's pure profit. Employees are not only encouraged to offer extended warranties, they probably have a lot of pressure to do so. There may not be commission, but there are probably incentives for selling a lot of extended warranties. When I worked at Office Depot, they did the same thing. I couldn't care to sell them, though. They tried to brainwash us with corporate videos touting the awesomeness of a Product Protection Plan, too.

EDIT: I've purchased a few extended warranties in the past, but I never had to use them. Unless you're buying a known shoddy product, chances are it will break down before the mfg warranty, or it'll last a long long time.

[Dragon-88]

BS and FS is all about making money... If you do not buy their extended warranty and still have a manufacturers warranty they will ask you to pay up front to get it sent out... Also if you are to go with their extended warranty, there is always some way that they try to cheat you out of you money... All my customers that buy notebooks from them all have bad experience they hate how it takes 1-2 weeks for them to fix a simple hard drive problem or even to say all they have is a virus.. How the hell does it take 1 week to get rid of a virus??? All in all everyone I know stays away from fs and bb... That and because their shitty comps are acctually shit!

[winson604]

Bottom line buy the laptop and TV elsewhere. FS and BB may be everywhere and easy to get to one but they don't have the best prices on anything really.

[willystyle]

Instead of purchasing extended warranties, how about save yourself money and apply for a good VISA?

RBC Visa offers an additional year of warranty on top of the manufacturers. I make all of my big ticket purchases with my VISA.

[Jmac]

Visa's just as bad at finding ways to screw you over on a warranty ... The only difference is you didn't have to pay for it (well, not as much) ...

I buy my TVs from Costco, which gives you 2 years of warranty. Only downside is the lack of selection or free delivery (bring a truck).

[Cman333]

heh heh warranty aka PSP

You need to understand there is HIGH PRESSURE to sell waranty. If you don't sell enough you lose your job. Hence why sales people at FS are a little pushier on warranty. Also the commission on the warranty is higher. You sell a $2000 TV you might make $20-30 commission, you sell a $399 warranty you make $50+ commission. If you're job was on the line, I'm sure you would all push the warranty.

I worked there for a few years, and I saw how it was. But realisitcally ANY sort of sales industry are like that. You sell what makes more money, it's a no brainer.

FS/BB has pretty strict regulations on discounting, you're basically not allowed to unless price matching. Head office tracks each stores performance, if your warranty sales are low then the manager gets flack and either relocated or fired. But if your store's warranty sales are HIGH, you can bend the rules and discount. Hence why salesmen discount the product to sell warranty.

All in all, thats just the way those big box chains work. High pressure to sell everything. The "perfect sale" is when someone makes a big purchase, then buys all the top of the line accessories, buys the maximum length warranty + makes the purchase on their Futureshop card with zero discount.

Personally I never buy warranty anymore, I did when I used to work at FS on my appliances and TV only because it was much cheaper than retail and it shut my managers up. The way I look at it, if you bought warranty on every electronic item you own you would've spent thousands of dollars. For what? Nothing. Those thousands of dollars could've just bought you a replacement item anyways. ALSO, extended warranty most of the time does not replace items based on PRICE value. Based on features only. They don't give you the equivelant model, they give you a model thats equivelant in features. It can work for or against you depending on what available when your product dies.

[Cman333]

Instead of purchasing extended warranties, how about save yourself money and apply for a good VISA?

RBC Visa offers an additional year of warranty on top of the manufacturers. I make all of my big ticket purchases with my VISA.


I've heard both good and bad stories with the Visa warranty. Alot of times they ask you to run around to get multiple quotes (which cost YOU money each time) from different places. So for small ticket items, it's not worth it. If you bought your top line LCD TV on it then it should be somewhat worthwhile, but still troublesome.

[nns]

Visa's just as bad at finding ways to screw you over on a warranty ... The only difference is you didn't have to pay for it (well, not as much) ...

I buy my TVs from Costco, which gives you 2 years of warranty. Only downside is the lack of selection or free delivery (bring a truck).

Here's my experience with my VISA insurance. Around last August, I had noticed that my mp3 player that I bought almost 2 years ago was starting to fall apart. I though to myself, here's a chance to test my VISA warranty. VISA automatically offers double the insurance that the manufacturer offers. So I call the insurance line, I speak to someone and explain that I felt the product was faulty/poorly made/something like that and that I wanted to see what the insurance company could do for me. The person agreed, and asked me to mail in the mp3 player, along with a copy of the manufacturer's warranty (Creative, in this case), the original receipt, and a copy of the VISA bank statement for the month that I bought the mp3 player.

Lucky for me I had all of that. So I mailed it in (the great part was the insurance company was in Downtown Vancouver so postage was cheap) and waited for their response. About 2 weeks later, I received a cheque in the mail for the full amout I paid almost 2 years prior for that mp3 player (about $220).

From that point on, I've been telling people to avoid FS/BB warranties and the like because it's so unnecessary, when credit cards like CIBC VISA offer free insurance.

This is also a strong argument to keep all boxes for big ticket items, as well as the monthly credit card statements that come in the mail, because they're both important. 2 years of bank statements takes up less than half a drawer, and that's including the evelopes. The boxes, just flatten them and throw them in a spare closet. Tape them up should you ever need to mail something in.

[Presto]

Excellent information, NNS. Thanks!

[wasabisashimi]

Bottom line buy the laptop and TV elsewhere. FS and BB may be everywhere and easy to get to one but they don't have the best prices on anything really.

please let me know places that will have better price than FS and BB. I thought they are big coorperate having buying powers to negotiate better price, while small shops buy small quantity at a higher cost.


I don't want to shop at FS and BB, but alot of times the big appliances sich as TVs, fridges, and washers are really cheaper than say the bay, sears....etc.

I would like to help out smaller businesses but i also need to keep my own budget. If a corner TV shop sells the same TV at 200dollars more than FS and BB, its no doubt i can't spend my money on them.

[R8]

Just bought a laptop + 3 yr psp with bestbuy.... :P it depends on your experiences with them, from the past, they have done their done their job perfectly so I have no complaints.

[winson604]

please let me know places that will have better price than FS and BB. I thought they are big coorperate having buying powers to negotiate better price, while small shops buy small quantity at a higher cost.


I don't want to shop at FS and BB, but alot of times the big appliances sich as TVs, fridges, and washers are really cheaper than say the bay, sears....etc.

I would like to help out smaller businesses but i also need to keep my own budget. If a corner TV shop sells the same TV at 200dollars more than FS and BB, its no doubt i can't spend my money on them.

For appliances I don't know shiet so can't help you there. But for lets say computers and TV's I tend to see them cheaper at other places or some places will have the same or higher price but you can totally negotiate it down with ease.

For computers or computer stuff I always go to computer stores like Anitec, Atic, A Power, NCIX etc...

For TV's I've had good experiences going to Visions and I forget the name right now but it's on Main and 33rd. Old TV store thats been around for years. At Main and 33rd never had issues paying zero tax and getting them to knock off hundreds off posted price. Paying in cash of course. At Visions the same thing except you have to pay tax. Visions knows they can't compete with FS and BB so they just try to move their shiet even if they make less. Last time I bought my 32 Sharp Aquos FS and Visions were both selling for about $1399. I walked into Visions and straight up said I want to buy a Sharp Aquos 32, how much can you give it to me for. He brought me over to their PC and showed me what their so called cost price was which was somewhere around $1050. He said $1100 plus tax and it's yours. I wanted to weigh my options so went to FS. They said sure we can hook you up if you buy extended warranty. Sorry if I have to spend hundreds more on somethign I don't want just to save some money on the item I do want then no thanks.

Bottom line is although FS and BB are giants it doesn't mean shit. Before you want to buy something look around first. More often then not you can find the same item cheaper elsewhere. Most of the time these cheaper places aren't exactly places where only joeblow knows about. Sure some items I won't bother too much like videogames, dvd's etc.. I won't go the extra mile just to save a few bucks. That's what those hardcore redflag deal peeps do. Some of those guys will drive across town just to save $2

[ime2006]

For appliances I don't know shiet so can't help you there. But for lets say computers and TV's I tend to see them cheaper at other places or some places will have the same or higher price but you can totally negotiate it down with ease.

For computers or computer stuff I always go to computer stores like Anitec, Atic, A Power, NCIX etc...

For TV's I've had good experiences going to Visions and I forget the name right now but it's on Main and 33rd. Old TV store thats been around for years. At Main and 33rd never had issues paying zero tax and getting them to knock off hundreds off posted price. Paying in cash of course. At Visions the same thing except you have to pay tax. Visions knows they can't compete with FS and BB so they just try to move their shiet even if they make less. Last time I bought my 32 Sharp Aquos FS and Visions were both selling for about $1399. I walked into Visions and straight up said I want to buy a Sharp Aquos 32, how much can you give it to me for. He brought me over to their PC and showed me what their so called cost price was which was somewhere around $1050. He said $1100 plus tax and it's yours. I wanted to weigh my options so went to FS. They said sure we can hook you up if you buy extended warranty. Sorry if I have to spend hundreds more on somethign I don't want just to save some money on the item I do want then no thanks.

Bottom line is although FS and BB are giants it doesn't mean shit. Before you want to buy something look around first. More often then not you can find the same item cheaper elsewhere. Most of the time these cheaper places aren't exactly places where only joeblow knows about. Sure some items I won't bother too much like videogames, dvd's etc.. I won't go the extra mile just to save a few bucks. That's what those hardcore redflag deal peeps do. Some of those guys will drive across town just to save $2


That is so true....

Time is Money, I would save time and get what i want from FS/BB, if the product isn't too much of the difference in price.
And they do offer Lowest Price guarantee......
I got $230+ back on my 46inch Sharp 82 series 2 years ago because of the lowest price guarantee.
Sadly, I didn't have PSP on this Sharp TV, now its been having problem just after 16 months, I can't do anything about it.
(There is a line across from Right to the left. I can provide the picture if you guys wanna see.)

Now, 2nd TV samsung 55A950, I bought PSP this time.

Also, for Product Service Plan from FS/BB, it really depends on what kind of Sales person you are dealing with. (Case by Case)
Some of the sales person misleading customers on the PSP policy. So, when things happens, there comes upset customers.
Or customers misunderstand what is covered (or not covered) from service plan.

It is all about ~ if the sale person cares about you (Customers).

I have seen many satisfied customers and upset customers.

Best I have seen is, A rear projection screen TV 60inch, got full amount of what they paid 4 years ago back.
Customer ended up exchange to samsung 52A750 straight without paying anything.

In mentality, Paying around 399 for PSP, most people will refuse cause of the "extra budget"
But paying $100~199 PSP (After discount) to protect a $2000 TV or Computer.
Isn't bad at all.
Think about it, if you are the "un-lucky" one. How much you lose ?

[nns]

winson604, the place you're referring to on Main & 33rd is called South Van TV: http://www.southvantv.ca/

The lady there is pretty aggressive.

[winson604]

winson604, the place you're referring to on Main & 33rd is called South Van TV: http://www.southvantv.ca/

The lady there is pretty aggressive.

ahh yes that's it South Van TV. Never delt with the lady before but I fucking hate aggressive sales peeps.

[aznrsx1979]

Years ago they did a report on Dateline. The guy went to different Best Buy's and Circuit City's in Texas, Florida...areas down south. Even back then they've always said more often then not, the warranties are garbage. It's even difficult sometimes to get them to repair/replace items.

From personal experience, i've only gotten extended warranties twice. Once for a pda from Future Shop, which worked out well for me because I charged it in Malaysia and the adapters fuse blew and they replaced it no questions asked. The other time I got it was from The Good Guys for a camcorder...never had a problem with the thing and still works 7 years later. Personally I never get the extended warranties, if anything breaks it's usually covered by the manufacturers warranty.

[kchan]

only warranty is worth buying imo, is the bestbuy REPLACEMENT PLAN, which lets you replace the product if there were any problems with it, but dont know if they changed it now....
but thats only for products under $200 i believe? other than that its pretty much useless...
i used to work at bb :p

[!Aznboi128]

wow, I got to say I feel different. Most of the time I buy the psp cause I ask and be polite and get a deal. But heres the thing most of you guys say you have no problems but I did.

key: reason it'll work

I got myself a macbook pro last year it was the 15" version and I upgraded it to 4GB ram from 2GB and 320GB hd from 120GB. Tho I put those in myself which would void the warranty. So last month, my macbook pro died nothing worked didn't turn on or anything. So I bought it back to Best Buy the guys at geek squad took my computer gave me some papers an they said they'll call me back.

After about 2 weeks they called and said my computer was basiclly toast come to the store and ask for him.

So I did, went in talked for a little bit and he said I was very honest for telling him about the upgrade but it wasn't the cause of the problem. then he decided to be nice to me and said if i agree to buy the warranty on the new one I can get the new macbook pro.

So after two weeks I got a brand new macbook Pro (mb470) for 400?(the warranty price) AND they went to ncix (had receipt made me laughed) to upgrade it to 4Gb of ddr3 ram and put my old 320GB harddrive in it and also gave me the 250 that was inside.

I honestly think that's the best customer service I've seen. I know from reading above its mostly Futureshop... I know they are the same company but I've had real good experience and will always buy their warranty. (last year I got my gps exchanged as well it was simple over-the-counter, my reason was maps were old and wasnt picking up my location)

[parm104]

Here's my experience with my VISA insurance. Around last August, I had noticed that my mp3 player that I bought almost 2 years ago was starting to fall apart. I though to myself, here's a chance to test my VISA warranty. VISA automatically offers double the insurance that the manufacturer offers. So I call the insurance line, I speak to someone and explain that I felt the product was faulty/poorly made/something like that and that I wanted to see what the insurance company could do for me. The person agreed, and asked me to mail in the mp3 player, along with a copy of the manufacturer's warranty (Creative, in this case) and a copy of the VISA bank statement for the month that I bought the mp3 player.

Lucky for me I had all of that. So I mailed it in (the great part was the insurance company was in Downtown Vancouver so postage was cheap) and waited for their response. About 2 weeks later, I received a cheque in the mail for the full amout I paid almost 2 years prior for that mp3 player (about $220).

From that point on, I've been telling people to avoid FS/BB warranties and the like because it's so unnecessary, when credit cards like CIBC VISA offer free insurance.

This is also a strong argument to keep all boxes for big ticket items, as well as the monthly credit card statements that come in the mail, because they're both important. 2 years of bank statements takes up less than half a drawer, and that's including the evelopes. The boxes, just flatten them and throw them in a spare closet. Tape them up should you ever need to mail something in.

It's not free insurance..you pay for it through your annual fees.

FS/BB Warranties are good because they give you negotiating power. When you buy one, the price of the item becomes reduced, sometimes even at cost.

[wasabisashimi]

It's not free insurance..you pay for it through your annual fees.

FS/BB Warranties are good because they give you negotiating power. When you buy one, the price of the item becomes reduced, sometimes even at cost.

whats the point of negotiating to get a 300 dollars off on a TV only to pay it right away into a waranty program. You are back at ground zero and wasting too much time talking and hustling with the salesman

[nns]

It's not free insurance..you pay for it through your annual fees.

FS/BB Warranties are good because they give you negotiating power. When you buy one, the price of the item becomes reduced, sometimes even at cost.

My CIBC Dividend card has no annual fee. I pay my bills on time, never make cash withdrawls on the card, and never accumulate interest - they don't make money off me really.

[quasi]

It's obvious the PSP is a losing proposition for the customer and if it wasn't they wouldn't be selling them. They sell them because so many people buy them and either don't use them or lose their receipt and can't use them. I'd never buy one and if the salesperson is to pushy I'll just leave and go somewhere else even if I'm at the register.

I understand they're pressured to push them I totally get it. Saying that, no means no I try and be polite but sometimes they just don't get it.

[hotjoint]

I never buy extended warranty/psp from future shop or best buy. I only place I would consider it is visions because if you dont use it within the time period, they will give u a store credit for it after, thats a win win situation but in all my life experiences, I've never had a problem with any of my eletronics

[Soundy]

so can anyone tell me if waranty from FS/BB is necessary? How can FS/BB make money off that if they have to eat up the repair fees for broken electronics? It seems like they would lose more money by selling us waranty cuz somethings are make to be unreliable and repair fees are as high as buying a new one such as a LCD or plasma tV

That's because they don't pay for it - the warranty company does. It's like any other kind of insurance, what they pay out generally is a small percentage of the total they take in. If you can get 500 people to shell out for a $100 extended warranty on a $1000 item, and only five people ever actually cash in on the warranty, that's $50,000 you've collected, and even if you simply replace the item instead of repairing it, you only pay out $5000 of that, and you're ahead $45,000 for basically doing fuck-all.

Now here's a good extended-warranty story and a store that went the extra mile:

A coworker of mine has a PS2 on pre-order with EB Games when they were first due to come out, then ended up getting another through a friend, so he let us take his pre-order. We did, but declined the extended warranty (couldn't really afford the machine itself at that point), and they didn't pressure us on it.

So a little over a year later, just past the manufacturer's warranty, the DVD drive started failing... first wouldn't read games, then wouldn't read DVDs, eventually wouldn't even read CDs. Looked around online and found that this was a *well-known* problem with the first run of PS2s, so we contacted Sony about it. The guy was a prick and basically declined to do anything about it, despite it being a widely-known issue. We pointed out that if we HAD bought the extended warranty, we'd take it back to the store and get a new one, and Sony would simply replace it for the store, no questions asked. The guy denied this as well. My wife called bullshit, as she had previously worked in different wholesale jobs and knew this was *exactly* how pretty much all manufacturers handled returns.

Anyway, we called up EB Games (Brentwood store, BTW) to see if there was anything they could do, and partly to confirm whether our suspicions about the warranty handling were true (they were - the guy there agreed, if we had the warranty, they'd just send the thing back to Sony and get a new one returned to them, no hassles). Anyway, despite our not having bought the warranty in the first place, the EB guy said we could buy it at that point, and then they'd treat the situation as if we had gone for it originally. So... $70 for the extended warranty, and we got a brand-new PS2, on the spot (remembering they were, what, $450 new at the time?)

So, props to EB Games in Brentwood Mall for that one.

[wasabisashimi]

so waranty is necessary because we don't know when the electronic (TV, appliance, ps3,etc) is going to fail?

[!Aznboi128]

Okay guys my XBR2's screen just went on me got this 2 years ago I have 4 years warranty on it, I called the warranty number they are going to pick it up today and let me know :) woot woot

I don't get it. I think a lot of people on here go thru electronics too fast, or don't end up keeping it.

[VR6GTI]

I have never bought a warranty for anything.

[VR6GTI]

Okay guys my XBR2's screen just went on me got this 2 years ago I have 4 years warranty on it, I called the warranty number they are going to pick it up today and let me know :) woot woot

I don't get it. I think a lot of people on here go thru electronics too fast, or don't end up keeping it.thats cause you bought a sony :haha:

[!Aznboi128]

thats cause you bought a sony :haha:

Sony Tv's are best rated, and they use the same panel as samsung. They just came and picked up the TV they said the panel should be fine but could be the inverter. And the end he said I'll prob get a new TV soon

[wasabisashimi]

Sony Tv's are best rated, and they use the same panel as samsung. They just came and picked up the TV they said the panel should be fine but could be the inverter. And the end he said I'll prob get a new TV soon

will they take 60 days THEN decide to give a new TV or quick and dirty new TV comes next week?


Seems to me that I should get the waranty from FS/BB in case shit like this happens

[bsftong]

If budgeting wasn't an issue, I'd get extended warranty/PSP on bigger purchases for your own peace of mind

[int36ra]

If budgeting wasn't an issue, I'd get extended warranty/PSP on bigger purchases for your own peace of mind

PSP/warranties are insurance, it's not a scam if you don't use it and it's obviously not going to cover physical damage/etc.

As previously stated, buying a warranty gives you room to negiotiate, you can easily take a couple hundred off the purchase of a TV if you buy the warranty making it like purchasing a $100 warranty on a $2000 tv

[winson604]

PSP/warranties are insurance, it's not a scam if you don't use it and it's obviously not going to cover physical damage/etc.

As previously stated, buying a warranty gives you room to negiotiate, you can easily take a couple hundred off the purchase of a TV if you buy the warranty making it like purchasing a $100 warranty on a $2000 tv

Just a thought on the whole extended warranty thing. Now I might not have remembered this correctly but I believe when I got my tv from Visions they said if you buy an extended warranty for lets say 3 years and after 3 years you never had to use it that they will refund it back to you. I'm pretty sure that's the guy told me but I could be wrong it was quite a while since I got my TV.

[simsimi1004]

bought warranty at FS for my 1st gen nano cuz i knew the battery wouldnt last over 2 years.
i dropped it and my screen broke.
i kept using it anyways
i went to FS to JUST replace battery, they wouldn't do it because my screen was broken.
WTF?

[beatdownvictim]

with visions they refund you the money with store credit and you have to use it within a certain period i forgot how long(3 months i think)

they wanted $800 bux for their plan for my kuro 6020, needless to say i told them to shove it and just to give me my TV

[twitchyzero]

with visions they refund you the money with store credit and you have to use it within a certain period i forgot how long(3 months i think)

they wanted $800 bux for their plan for my kuro 6020, needless to say i told them to shove it and just to give me my TV

i knew they'd give your money back..but in store credits?
weak..good thing me and my dad didnt cave in

[!Aznboi128]

will they take 60 days THEN decide to give a new TV or quick and dirty new TV comes next week?


Seems to me that I should get the waranty from FS/BB in case shit like this happens

if you read my last post i got a new macbook pro in 2 weeks

[wasabisashimi]

winson604, the place you're referring to on Main & 33rd is called South Van TV: http://www.southvantv.ca/

The lady there is pretty aggressive.

I live in Surrey, is it really worth my time driving to this main & 33rd shop. Can they really give a better deal than FS or BB or vision?
At least i can look up products online for FS and BB. I am afraid to make a trip there and be disappointed on what they stock and their price comparing to the giant stores.

Any one has experience shopping there? besides the aggressive lady

[nns]

To be fair, I last visited that place about 6 years ago.

To be more clear, the lady was aggressive in the way she was speaking to me after I bought a TV. What happened was the box w/ the TV wouldn't fit in the car, so we had to take it out of the box. I was trying to fit the TV into the backseat, and she was trying to guide me by telling me how to push, where to push, how to put it in etc... basically, the whole time she was saying that stuff, she was like "you're going to break/drop the TV!" in a really scolding tone. I didn't like how she spoke to me. I personally did my best not to damage or drop the TV the entire time, and I didn't believe at any moment that I was screwing it up or whatever.

My mom, who was there, later told me that's how she talks to people. I personally took offense to it. My mom has known her for a long time, as has my uncle - they both trust her. Don't take my opinion as the deal-breaker, though. It's just 1 opinion.

[winson604]

I live in Surrey, is it really worth my time driving to this main & 33rd shop. Can they really give a better deal than FS or BB or vision?
At least i can look up products online for FS and BB. I am afraid to make a trip there and be disappointed on what they stock and their price comparing to the giant stores.

Any one has experience shopping there? besides the aggressive lady

I can't say for sure you will get an amazing deal but your only coming from Surrey so it isn't the biggest deal imo. It ain't like your driving down from Seattle. I think it's worth a shot to check it out. Check out Visions while your at it. Heck even London Drugs gives you deals if you go in and simply ask. My friend bought a Plasma there and the guy willingly gave him a couple hundred off just like that.

[Preemo]

I used to work at BB as a technician. Let me tell you, doing some repairs and ordering OEM parts for laptops was ridiculously expensive. For the most part, repairing a laptop was never really worth it if a person came in with no warranty at all. That goes for both new and old laptops. The way I see it, it really depends on your position and how much you are willing to spend. You also have to think of it as insurance. Just like car insurance I have been paying premiums over 10 years and have never claimed it. But yet, other than by law, we still pay it as a precaution to protect ourselves.

As stated in numerous posts by others, the warranty is *almost* pure profit. I say almost because the company takes a hit if they give you free repairs or a laptop. Having said that, you can also use this as a bargaining chip. I recently got a new laptop from FS and got the salesman to lower the price of the laptop to include the cost of the 3 year warranty. In the end, I paid the same had I just got the laptop but I also got the salesman to lower the cost of some accessories to cost.

In all my experiences in purchasing the warranty with a laptop, the salesman can bend their backs for you. If you don't get the results you want, try another location and douchebag.

[!Aznboi128]

update:

got a call yesterday and I got a credit to pick a new TV from any best buy location.
I've asked since I paid so much for an XBR2 what will i get now with out paying over. They told me that if I wanted either the new XBR or a 9 series samsung

[JdmProbe]

I remember when I bought my laptop. The one I decided on buying was 699.99 and at that time with tax it came to 790 or something. The sales guy then told me its in my best interest to buy this 3 year extended warranty :) LOL. He pitches it to me for about 5 minutes telling me about how often hinges fall apart on this specific model, and how I get the free bullshit diagnostics service and etc. I keep telling him even if I wanted which I do not I only have 800 and thats it. He did not seem to understand the meaning of what I said and still tried to sell it to me.. He even rang me up with the warranty and it came to 1100 bucks or something so I handed him 800 and he gave me the weirdest look. I told him again thats all I have. So then he asks if I will do it if he lowers it to 1000.. I tell him AGAIN i only have 800. about an half hour later he lowered the price of the laptop so that with the 3 year warranty it came to 800 dollars .. I then jumped on the deal and got a 10 dollar 3 year extended warranty :) I couldn't believe how dumb he was and that he was allowed to do that.

[kumiho]

i buy warranties depending on the product and usage.
cell phone warranty is pretty good b/c their life time is less 2yrs; laptops btw 2-3yrs depending on the usage; lcd tv's.. well, think of it as the first service payment up front.

it's like insurance. if u purchased something u value and use quite often, it's a buy.

i didn't get warranty on my 2yr-old $1500 laptop.. the motherboard got fried today. ironic, eh?