extended warranties

[PhotobearSam]

Just wondering did you buy it? Should you have bought it? Do you regret it?

 

[KCmike]

I didn't but I am thinking I should have.
Just bought my first dSLR and am thinking of going back and getting the extra coverage. I still have within the first 90 days before they won't let me buy it.

 

[My2Girls66]

I've never bought the extra coverage and luckily haven't regreted it...... yet.

 

[ukcatfan]

If you have a credit/debit card with purchase protection, then you already have a little more protection than just the basic warranty. I have used the protection before on a different consumer electronic, but not on a camera. It was replaced with a refurb just like most manufacturers would do.

 

[wenrob]

I had planned to but they wanted $329! My thinking is that the manufacture warranty is a year and then if I needed a repair it would probably be in that price range anyway. If it were to cost much more then that to fix it then I'd seriously have to consider buying a new body instead.

I had bought the warranty on my D40 and never used it. But it was only $79 at the time and transferable to my friend that I sold it to. In this case I'm glad I bought it because if anything goes wrong she has that to fall back on and there won't be any hard feelings.

One thing I always buy the warranty on however is TV's. I've used it on the last two I've had, this last TV had to be replaced twice in less then three months. In that case is was well worth the extra dollars spent.

 

[Chikabowa]

I did not, nor would I.
I carry a special insurance policy specifically for my equipment. It runs me about $300/year.

 

[Brad M]

For me, no extended warranty, on anything. My opinion: The company extending the warranty didn't get in the business to lose money. In setting the price and policies they've studied the statistics and they are in their favor. It's like playing roulette...once in a while you hit and it feels worth it but in the long run the house wins. At least roulette is fun. I get no pleasure out of paying extra for a warranty. Of course I don't feel the same way about auto/home/health/life insurance because the risk and potential cost is too high.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[EnnEss]

Those warranties are so expensive. Most breaks in anything electronic will happen early in its life or much later on. I had a camera die on me, it was covered under the initial one year warranty, took it to a rep, got it back one week later brand new parts, was great.

Those warranties are a hassle too. They dont cover so much and try to take back a piece of electronic hand held equipment, anything. If its some issue causing trouble they will invariably tell you it was water damage. You exposed it to rain and this damaged the internals. Warranty void. Or, its physical damage, you dropped it. There is no proof, but you have none either and it turns into a huge fight. Read those warranties, the people who wrote them know their stuff. I have 2 friends who had this happen with two separate items. They suggested he brought it into the shower. Best buy wouldnt honor it. The other one had a portable phone, like a cordless home one. The talk button broke. They told him it was misuse, that one actually got replaced after a few trips back and forth, but they had to give him an "equivalent model" that wasn't equivalent at all.

 

[jann1033]

i've read so many times not to i never do. however, if i bought locally & it included cleaning or something i might..course my camera is a few yrs old and i haven't cleaned it yet so then again maybe not

 

[PhotobearSam]

I bought the one offered on my XSi. It was $150 for 5 years but if I drop the camera it's covered and if they don't have XSi anymore, I get the version that replaces it.

We bought the 5 year extended warranty on our big screen TV and about 4 1/2 years later, they tried to fix a problem but could not after 30 days so we got a brand new 60 inch TV as a replacement. (the 52 inch still worked but we could not get one function to work...)

I think in this case (Since it covers drops as well as anything else that could happen to the camera) we did buy it.We deal with Futureshop directly for it and not through 3rd party. (Futureshop is like a Best Buy here in Canada)

 

[DesertBell]

I did on my DSLR, (Actually dh did!) because it covers anything that happens to it, even if it's my fault. I'm clumsy, so this is a good thing.

I did not on my p & S and regretted it one week later, when my son dropped it on the floor and broke the lens. (I don't think I have EVER been that mad at my poor kid.)

 

[MarkBarbieri]

For me, no extended warranty, on anything. My opinion: The company extending the warranty didn't get in the business to lose money. In setting the price and policies they've studied the statistics and they are in their favor. It's like playing roulette...once in a while you hit and it feels worth it but in the long run the house wins. At least roulette is fun. I get no pleasure out of paying extra for a warranty. Of course I don't feel the same way about auto/home/health/life insurance because the risk and potential cost is too high.

Just my humble opinion.

This is exactly the way I see it. An extended warranty is a form of insurance. In aggregate, purchasers of insurance lose money. It only makes sense to buy insurance when you either have more information than the seller or when the cost of the loss would be disruptively large.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

If I bought an extended warranty on everything I own, I'd be in the poorhouse. So I tend to pick and choose carefully.

My mother's got an old junky dishwasher that should have been replaced years ago. She keeps up the warranty on it (to the tune of something ridiculous like $150/yr). She had the repair guy out the other day and he actually ordered so many parts for it, multiple boxes came on the UPS truck yesterday. My mother keeps saying, "Good thing I kept up that policy!"

 

[EnnEss]

I bought the one offered on my XSi. It was $150 for 5 years but if I drop the camera it's covered and if they don't have XSi anymore, I get the version that replaces it.

We bought the 5 year extended warranty on our big screen TV and about 4 1/2 years later, they tried to fix a problem but could not after 30 days so we got a brand new 60 inch TV as a replacement. (the 52 inch still worked but we could not get one function to work...)

I think in this case (Since it covers drops as well as anything else that could happen to the camera) we did buy it.We deal with Futureshop directly for it and not through 3rd party. (Futureshop is like a Best Buy here in Canada)

Just like to point out that FS doesn't cover drops. They sometimes tell you that, but its a flat out lie or they've since changed their policy. Read this thread.

http://www.futureshopforums.ca/futureshop/board/message?board.id=offtopicandfeedback&thread.id=4163

Specifically is a person who had buttons stop working and they told him it was because he dropped it (they have no way of knowing this) so it wasn't covered.

A lot of FS's warranties are commission, they get more commission off that than the item sold. Best buy gets no commission on the item but does on the warranty (I worked there, in Canada).

Im glad your TV worked out, but as I said earlier, on anything hand held they always try to.... well not help you, that's for sure.

For more proof, heres an investigative report the CBC said, pretty reliable I'd say, specifically about future shop. http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/money/extended_warranties/

I'd suggest reading your contract very closely. CBC found this out when they checked out the contract, "Goetz says he did not drop it — but he decided to read the fine print. He found out that accidents are among a long list of things not covered by the Future Shop warranty. The store refused to take the mini-disc player back."

To sum up, I can not stand future shop or Best buy PhotoBearSam, you were probably lied to so that salesperson could get an extra few bucks. This seems to be the norm at Future Shop, I find them to be far more deceitful on average than Best Buy. Future Shop tried to expand to America once and failed miserably. The only reason they are here is because there is no competition. They'd be destroyed by their poor customer service in a bigger market.

 

[Experiment_626]

Most breaks in anything electronic will happen early in its life or much later on.

Exactly why I wouldn't do this on a camera. The one exception for an electronic item I've made was actually my DVD player. After I had one fail on me 18 months after I bought it, I got an extended warranty on the replacement. I didn't need to use it, but it wasn't expensive, and I don't regret the extra peace of mind in that particular case.

SSB

 

[Groucho]

Not I. DSLRs are pretty rugged, and a quick glance at Craigslist or eBay will quickly show you just how quickly they depreciate. (You can find plenty of <$300 DSLRs, including some really nice ones.)

PnSs won't have the reliability of a DSLR, but will depreciate much faster, so again, I can't see how it'd be worth it.

Besides, there's enough advances still going on that you'll probably want a newer camera if yours breaks when the warranty is up, anyway!

 

[PhotobearSam]

Just like to point out that FS doesn't cover drops. They sometimes tell you that, but its a flat out lie or they've since changed their policy. Read this thread.

http://www.futureshopforums.ca/futureshop/board/message?board.id=offtopicandfeedback&thread.id=4163

Specifically is a person who had buttons stop working and they told him it was because he dropped it (they have no way of knowing this) so it wasn't covered.

A lot of FS's warranties are commission, they get more commission off that than the item sold. Best buy gets no commission on the item but does on the warranty (I worked there, in Canada).

Im glad your TV worked out, but as I said earlier, on anything hand held they always try to.... well not help you, that's for sure.



Thanks for the info...I'll look into it.
For more proof, heres an investigative report the CBC said, pretty reliable I'd say, specifically about future shop. http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/money/extended_warranties/

I'd suggest reading your contract very closely. CBC found this out when they checked out the contract, "Goetz says he did not drop it — but he decided to read the fine print. He found out that accidents are among a long list of things not covered by the Future Shop warranty. The store refused to take the mini-disc player back."

To sum up, I can not stand future shop or Best buy PhotoBearSam, you were probably lied to so that salesperson could get an extra few bucks. This seems to be the norm at Future Shop, I find them to be far more deceitful on average than Best Buy. Future Shop tried to expand to America once and failed miserably. The only reason they are here is because there is no competition. They'd be destroyed by their poor customer service in a bigger market.

Thanks for the info...I'll look into it.

 

[annnewjerz]

I am considering selling one of my lenses to find a faster "kit" lens, as well as a wide-angle lens like the Sigma 10-20 or Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 (I won't say which lens for fear of getting 10 responses about how I should keep it)

My question is, I registered this lens for the extended warranty which cannot be transferred to the new owner if I sell it. The potential buyer would like to know if I would work with them if they purchase it and something happens to the lens...i.e. if they pay for shipping, can I send the lens into Nikon for a repair for them.

Am I allowed to do this??

 

[wenrob]

I don't know if it's "allowed" but it was my agreement w/my friend who was going to buy mine but didn't. I don't see why it would be a problem if it's coming from you. You have a buyer lined up already? Maybe I should send mine to you and let you do my wheeling and dealing for me!

 

[annnewjerz]

I don't know if it's "allowed" but it was my agreement w/my friend who was going to buy mine but didn't. I don't see why it would be a problem if it's coming from you. You have a buyer lined up already? Maybe I should send mine to you and let you do my wheeling and dealing for me!

I'm not much of a wheeler and dealer, more of a persistent pesterer (is that even a word??). I don't have anyone lined up per se, someone is waiting on a tax return and would like to buy it...but I'll tell you, I am doing some major flip flopping on this one. I think I'm going to try it out on my D90 stopped down a bit this weekend to see what I think before I give a firm "yes" to anyone.