[Oleophobic]

Normally I never buy extended warranties but after getting the current offer I'm considering it. Just wondering what you guys think?

Samsung 46" LED tv
I can get it for $1200 at Visions after negotiating with the sales rep.

Extended warranty for 4 years is $280 and you get the money back after 4 years in the form of an in-store credit if you don't use it. If the cost to fix it is too expensive or if it's unfixable they'll give you a brand new TV, in-home service so a technician come to your house...etc. all the stuff you would expect in an extended warranty service plan.

The guy is willing to knock off $140 off the price of the TV (essentially giving me half off the 4 year warranty price indirectly).

Do you guys think this is worth it considering the now reduced price + peace of mind I get from this?

I've heard stories of LEDs blowing etc. but of course you only hear the bad stuff as people don't go around raving about how their TVs are working perfectly after 4 years.

[tiger_handheld]

I would only consider getting it at visions because you get a store credit after 4 years.
If it was FS/BB I would not do it.
so yes, go ahead and get it, then 4 years later, buy a second tv :)

[jtanner_]

Burnt panels in LED tv's is considerably more common than you might think. I definitely wish I opt'd for the extended warranty on my 46" Samsung as some dark shades started to appear after almost 2 years... and it's a damned expensive fix.

[vafanculo]

I normally don't get them either, but on a tv, depending on what the price is, I'd budge. Plus, getting money back after 4 years is not too shabby either
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[Manic!]

No it's not worth it.

In 4 years your TV is going to be worth less than $500

[Cman333]

I dunno, I work in the industry. I never buy it. But not to say I've never had a TV break down. If you're paranoid the $1xx is kinda worth it since you get it back as a credit.

BUT the catch is are you going to remember to go to Visions when it expires to get the credit. Most people buy it, 4 years later you forget about it anyways. I remember there's some fine print you should look into. The credit isn't automatic as far as I remember.

[FN-2199]

I would only get it if I had some hookups on the price.
I get mine for half off because I'm staff, so it's worthwhile for employees. Other than that, it's pretty over priced.

[parm104]

The Fine Print @ Visions is that you have to use it within a certain time period after the claim is approved and you can't use it just on anything. For example, if it's a $400 warranty, there is a calculation they use where that $400 has to go towards a purchase of $XXX.XX or more. Ya get what I'm saying??

No one person can tell you "yes it's worth it to get it." You cannot predict how electronics will work or whether they will go bad or not. Often enough, when you don't buy one, you end up having a problem with your device and when you do buy one, you don't lol.

I don't find the Warranty to be that worth it if it just warrants a simple repair but a replacement plan would definitely be a reason to purchase the warranty.

[tool001]

Bought top end LCD in 2006, 2010 it started having issues, didnt buy warrenty (was getting half price at employee price) Now every six months picture dissapears (sound remains). i keep the tv unplugged for a day, and its ok for another 6 months.

now bought a LED, got warrenty. LED is still new tech.. cover ur ass and investment. paid for 2, got 3,,pretty standard deal

[!Aznboi128]

I used to work at BB.


DO NOT BUY IT AT BB/FS!

simple?
visions thats not a bad idea you do get your money back, parents just got a asus transformer from the rebate.

[6insomnia9]

Go memory express.

[lol]

I used to work in the tv sales.. not worth it..

One thing FS/BB does NOT want you to know is that if you want the EXACT same warranty if you're buying an LG... you can buy the warranty for a fraction of the price thru LG canadas website!! Like the price of the warranty is totally ridiculous. Makes FSBB look like the fuckin wankers they are haha.

LG 3D's this year are fuckin nuts compared to last yr by the way. Still Samsung fanboy tho with their built in web browser.

[Oleophobic]

hmm
yeah I've definitely did some searches and was amazed that BB/FS charge like $400 for a 3 year service plan based on the threads I've seen. $140 for 4 years seems totally worth it if not just for the peace of mind.

I guess I'll just go for it. It does cover me for 4 years, not 3 so I get that extra year. As for remembering about the rebate yeah iono if I'm gonna remember 4 years down the road lol but we'll see.
The only shitty part is the rebate credit cannot be used if it makes up more than 50% of the total price of the item(s) you're purchasing. So the 4 year warranty at the normal price of $280 means I can only use it on purchases totaling at least $560 and I believe it has to be at regular price.

Oh well, $140 isn't bad I guess. That's why I had trouble deciding...if it was $400 for 3 years no amount of convincing would get me to buy it, but $140 for 4 years.....
damn you Visions.

[MarkyMark]

I hate buying tvs for this reason, they push the extended warranty so hard you know its where they make all their money. A simple no thanks never works either they keep dropping the price of it. The last time I bought a tv the guy went from like 400 bucks down to under 200 for the same warranty, I still didn't do it but it shows you should never pay full price for the warranty if you do buy it.
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[bcedhk]

i usually stick with the manufacturers warranty . Spend that extra 140$ on a surge protector, better cables and nice speakers.

[RFlush]

Check your credit card policies. Many CC these days offer extra purchase insurance that can add an extra year or double the manufacturer's warranty.

[!Aznboi128]

Or buy it at Costco comes with extended warranty
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[Cman333]

I hate buying tvs for this reason, they push the extended warranty so hard you know its where they make all their money. A simple no thanks never works either they keep dropping the price of it. The last time I bought a tv the guy went from like 400 bucks down to under 200 for the same warranty, I still didn't do it but it shows you should never pay full price for the warranty if you do buy it.
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As much as people hate it, that's were these companies make their money. There's VERY little margin selling tv's. A company would go bankrupt if they were to ONLY sell TV's with no other accessories and/or services attached.

As for the staff pushing warranty, it because the stupid management/company pushes so hard. If you're warranty sales are low you get canned. So as sales people you get desperate and have to discount sometimes just to get the warranty sold.

[Jmac]

With the way technology moves on TVs these days, I would say no, it's not worth it. Look at what $1000 bought you 4 years ago; you can get a better TV for half that now.

[CRS]

Or buy it at Costco comes with ULTIMATE warranty
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Fixed it for you.

[twitchyzero]

+1 for credit card and/or costco extended warranties
-1 for FS/BB Product Service Plan

[JLC]

I've been a samsung fan for a few years as far as TV's go.
Samsung 1 year in home warranty.
Paid with my visa and visa provides a second year of in-home warranty.
After two years my $3000 TV was worth about $750...
Off to get a new tv :)

[Manic!]

i usually stick with the manufacturers warranty . Spend that extra 140$ on a surge protector, better cables and nice speakers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDw2ZSDzlMw

[mauricetan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDw2ZSDzlMw

Good video! Don't waste your money on monster cables! I get all my cables from monoprice ....even amazon cables should be alright too..

[Jmac]

A couple things I've noticed about most of the cheap HDMI cables I've bought:

1 - Rigid jackets are a pain in the ass if you ever have to route them behind a wall or within a TV stand.

2 - Cheap solder joints, which sometimes causes the connector to come loose. An issue if you tend to connect and disconnect devices often.

I've had an HDMI-to-DVI cable and HDMI cable, both from Monoprice, both have the connections come off. It doesn't really bother me because they were cheap, but I'm just pointing out that sometimes there's a reason why they're so cheap.

I tend to get cables which are flexible, usually pay a bit more for them ($5-$15, depending on length).

[Manic!]

Good video! Don't waste your money on monster cables! I get all my cables from monoprice ....even amazon cables should be alright too..

Monoprice??? your paying too much!!!. Dollarrama has 3 foot HDMI cables for $2.

[gars]

i bought a set of 3 HDMI cables from Amazon for like $6 shipped.

if you want to hide cables and your tv's location of plugs allow it, get 90 degree connectors, they stick out a lot less than regular connectors which are super bulky.

[underscore]

Check your credit card policies. Many CC these days offer extra purchase insurance that can add an extra year or double the manufacturer's warranty.

This this a million times this.

NEVER buy those warranties, extended warranties are never worth it for electronics.

Think of it this way, everything aside from the actual major product (TV, computer, etc) is a huge rip off at any store. Order everything else online or at least shop around.

[Oleophobic]

Just an update. I had a change of heart and returned the TV lol. Felt so rich after getting all my money back :D

One thing I learned is that while extended warranties 99 times out of 100 are a waste of money, it could be worth it some times depending on where you're getting the warranty.

BB/FS is a rip off because they are ridiculously overpriced. I don't know the details on their warranty service but for sure you don't get your money back if you don't use it. Not sure about in-home service though I think I read you'd have to bring it in to the store.

Visions in MY CASE wasn't a terrible choice IMO for the peace of mind since it was half off, 4 years, in-home service so I don't have to actually ship the TV off anywhere like I would for manufacturer's warranty. Plus after 4 years if it's unused you get it back in the form of an in-store credit (not that as good as it sounds if you read the fine print though).

Basically unless it's $140 or less/4yrs with in home service and credit back if unused it's most likely not worth it. <-- okay don't take this literally as it's different for every situation. The point is if the price is cheap enough given the length of coverage and benefits then it CAN be a good deal.


Yeah if you ever decide to get warranty, the best place would probably be Visions, and even then you should negotiate as much as possible.

[TRU3R3LIGION]

You might as well because in the end you'll be getting your money back anyways and even though you'll only be getting back in store credit I'm sure 4 years from now that $280 will go towards something ...

[ImportPsycho]

Basically unless it's $140 or less/4yrs with in home service and credit back if unused it's most likely not worth it.


$140 or less, you want 4 years warranty with in home service and at the end you want the whole amount back inyour pocket? ROFL If i was working at Visions, I would tell you to GTFO.
How is visions making any money? TV is probably below cost.

I usually say NO to extended warranty if Sales Rep is desperate to sell warranty, he's willing give huge discount on the product, just to add on warranty.
Which usually happens all the time at FS/BB/Visions
That means two things, big portion of warranty is paying his bills or warranty is completly usless.

[Oleophobic]

They are the ones pushing the warranty and lowering the price. Not me.
Maybe my previous post came out wrong but I'm not trying to take advantage of them (well actually sorta...I want it as cheap as possible!) lol I wanted to GTFO asap after buying the TV and I didn't even want the warranty originally until they lowered the price.

The warranty rebate if unused isn't as grand as it seems either. You get it as an in-store credit and you can only use it on a purchase worth at least 100% more than the warranty itself. So if rebate is $140, you must spend at least $280. You can't combine it with sales or any 'discount' either so if the rep decides to sell you a TV by lower the price to near cost you won't be able to use the rebate.

[Gt-R R34]

FS/BB Extended Warranties are bunch of useless crap.

I bought my parents a 52" Sony LCD and it broke down after the first year which meant my normal warranty expired, i called up sony and they had someone come and attempt to fix it at home, when they couldn't, they gave me a loaner 46" until they could fix it. Fast forward two months, they couldn't fix it and gave me the latest tv of that series. So instead of the 2009 model, they gave me 2010 and a bigger TV to boot. 55"

All that, OUT OF WARRANTY. Sometimes if you call and talk to them, they will try and fix it to retain customer loyalty to the brand.

Granted, if they didn't I would of just called my Visa card company and have them come replace it because I do have extended on that.

But it does show, those BB/FS Extended Warranties are CRAP.

I've seen FS "replace" a camera that BOUGHT extended warranty that was worth 500 when it was brand new but because after 3 years of use it was only worth 120 bucks. I saw the service rep AND the manager tell the person. "Sorry, I can only replace it with a camera with the same current value, BUT it does have the same features".

I saw that waiting in line to get something exchanged. That family was PISSED OFF.

[ImportPsycho]

You can't combine it with sales or any 'discount' either

that is something i did not know, thanks for good info

[Oleophobic]

Oh yeah did I mention you have 1 year from the date your extended warranty expires to use the rebate?

:lol I bet they make a lot of money from people who forgot about the rebate, or remembered one year too late.

[MaximalLazy]

FS/BB Extended Warranties are bunch of useless crap.

I bought my parents a 52" Sony LCD and it broke down after the first year which meant my normal warranty expired, i called up sony and they had someone come and attempt to fix it at home, when they couldn't, they gave me a loaner 46" until they could fix it. Fast forward two months, they couldn't fix it and gave me the latest tv of that series. So instead of the 2009 model, they gave me 2010 and a bigger TV to boot. 55"

All that, OUT OF WARRANTY. Sometimes if you call and talk to them, they will try and fix it to retain customer loyalty to the brand.

Granted, if they didn't I would of just called my Visa card company and have them come replace it because I do have extended on that.

But it does show, those BB/FS Extended Warranties are CRAP.

I've seen FS "replace" a camera that BOUGHT extended warranty that was worth 500 when it was brand new but because after 3 years of use it was only worth 120 bucks. I saw the service rep AND the manager tell the person. "Sorry, I can only replace it with a camera with the same current value, BUT it does have the same features".

I saw that waiting in line to get something exchanged. That family was PISSED OFF.


First, not every family owns a Sony TV, which is a name brand. Now what if you bought a Toshiba? Or a Sharp? Could you guarantee that you would have gotten the same treatment as you did with the Sony? You were lucky, and you can't expect the same treatment for every TV you own.

Second, that actually does not show how FS/BB warranties are crap. The example you gave out is actually a correct procedure or benefit of the plan, which is replacing the product with a "new" one that has the same feature as the old, regardless of price and brand(correct me if I'm wrong).

So if every condition is listed on their brochure/pamphlet, and you still buy it without reading the pros/cons. Then the plan is not crap, you just need to read.

[Gt-R R34]

First, not every family owns a Sony TV, which is a name brand. Now what if you bought a Toshiba? Or a Sharp? Could you guarantee that you would have gotten the same treatment as you did with the Sony? You were lucky, and you can't expect the same treatment for every TV you own.

Second, that actually does not show how FS/BB warranties are crap. The example you gave out is actually a correct procedure or benefit of the plan, which is replacing the product with a "new" one that has the same feature as the old, regardless of price and brand(correct me if I'm wrong).

So if every condition is listed on their brochure/pamphlet, and you still buy it without reading the pros/cons. Then the plan is not crap, you just need to read.

Now what if i bought a toshiba or sharp? Yes, I might not get the same customer brand building service. However, there is a possiblity with your TV purchase if you decide to talk with your TV company instead of BB/FS. Which doesn't REQUIRE you to shell out extra 480 dollars for extended warranty that basically is just an upsell. Not only that,plenty of horror story on RS/Google/AVS for you too take a look into their "warranty service". Take your pick.

Two: you just explain why I would not get the extended warranty from FS/BB, why in blazes would I want the extended warranty when all i get is a replacement that is technically a downgrade from the camera I bought. Why the F would i do that?

Why don't i just BUY a new camera that would cost as much as my warranty if all they did was replace it with a model that is similiar to my old camera yet wouldn't be a NET BENEFIT to the consumer?

Insurance - Which is technically what warranties are. Are based on giving you coverage/piece of mind and more often then not a NET benefit when something acutally happens to your product/life/home. Whatever it might be.

Insurance works as where it takes a pool of money from customers (for this example say 10 people and only hoping having to replace one person product, while giving that one person a net benefit and the insurance/warranty company still gets a net benefit from having 9 other consumers cover their cost while making a profit.)

So you see how FS/BB screws you over? Not only do they get the benefit of making a major profit, they produce 0 net benefit to the one individual that has a legit claim but get screwed over with getting an inferior product.

When you buy Camera XYZ 2009, you expect your warranty to give you CAMERA XYZ 2011 (if it breaks in 2011.) NOT Camera ABC 2010 cuz it has the same features of Camera XYZ 2009.

Do you expect everyone to read 100 lines of fine print? You take the advice of the sales individual when you buy these extended warranties, are they really going to tell you.

"Look mister, when you buy this extended warranties, you will get a replacement tv, but it won't be the same model as the one you bought, you will be getting a tv that is similiar as your tv on the date it broke. So if you break your TV in the 4th year of your extended warranty, and your tv was top of the line, but most likely because of the timeframe you will possible be getting the most basic tv."

Would you buy the extended?

[Gh0stRider]

how does the extra year of warranty work through your credit card company?

do you have to contact them at time of purchase?

[Hehe]

^

Nop, you only need to pay the purchase in full on the CC that gives double warranty. How to apply the extra warranty vary bank to bank... in my case, I called the line they listed on the CC booklet, sent them the receipt by email, and I went to the service center to get a quote. The service center quoted me $xxx, the CC company gave me the choice of paying the repair or they could credit the same amount to me if I buy a new similar item (TV for TV, PC for PC... so on)

Check your CC booklet, it will have all the stuff you need to know to get it going.

[twitchyzero]

^ what type of service center do you have to bring it to? Is it like a 3rd party one that's affiliated with the CC company or ones that would be recommended from the manufacturer?

[StylinRed]

if its a samsung tv then yes get the extended warranty

otherwise i dont see the need unless you get it from visions


not sure if they still do it but visions used to refund you the warranty fee if you dont end up needing it

[tipy]

i got tricked by visions once and i will never buy their stupid extend warranty again.
they will give you store credit after warranty is over but you will have to use certain amount of money to redeem those credit. maybe $1000 or over in your case

[Gh0stRider]

if its a samsung tv then yes get the extended warranty

otherwise i dont see the need unless you get it from visions


not sure if they still do it but visions used to refund you the warranty fee if you dont end up needing it

whats wrong with samsung?

[taylor192]

I've said it before: companies do not sell money losing products (unless its to make money elsewhere).

Warranties make these companies money. For the few lemons that get their money's worth and more, the vast majority pay for something they do not use.

You'd be better to take all the money you'd spend on warranties and invest it. They return will pay for the odd time you have to pay for an out of pocket repair.

[FerrariEnzo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDw2ZSDzlMw
I usually buy $50 or under for HDMI cables...


got a video on surge protectors? really interested if they really do "clean" power going through the device...

[nsmb]

52" Samsung 4 year warranty
few months after warranty expires, there's a green line going down my tv
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[Hehe]

^ what type of service center do you have to bring it to? Is it like a 3rd party one that's affiliated with the CC company or ones that would be recommended from the manufacturer?

Mine was an authorized service center.

[underscore]

Our 4 year old 52" Samsung was having some cap issues, but Samsung covered it under an extended service bulletin or whatever and fixed it for free. Phone up 1-800-SAMSUNG if you ever have any issues and see if they can help you out.

This is really so basic though... never buy the extended warranty and never buy HDMI cables in store (or any accessory really). The cables/surge bars/etc that they sell are a total rip off.

[StylinRed]

whats wrong with samsung?

higher rate of failure issues that usually arise outside of warranty

just google 'problem with my samsung' and you should have an admirable list

had some personal experience with that as well and noticed there seems to be a lot of people with issues with their samsungs and not the same model tv mind you but across their model platform and across their different types of tv (lcd/plasma/dlp)

so you might get PQ better/same then say a Sony for a lower price but after a few years you'll probably be needing some repairs

[socialenemy69]

haha I remember my BB days. Rocketfish HDMI cable $110 price. After Staff discount $10. LOL. Printer USB cable $29. staff price $3.

Accessories and warranties is where all the margin is and where the stores make their money. Warranties are usually 50-60% pure profit for the stores, That is why they are always trying to sell them.

If you know what the company is making on the accessories they are trying to package with the deal you will know what kind of discount they can make on a package deal.

You have the right to shop anywhere you want, and they know that if you walk out that door you are more than likely to spend your money somewhere else. Really all you have to do is walk into a store with the competitors flyer and know what deals are out there. They will try to match it or even make it better.

[Firmware]

Had my 46inch samsung LED for more than a year and still good to go :)

Love samsung.
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