[RANT] Best Buy!

The only two stores I visit on a regular basis are BB and Fry's. I've never had troubles with either, and even if I did, I'd still shop there until it blows completely out of proportion.

 

Your documentation for the warranty should spell out very clearly exactly what is covered and what isn't. Essentially, if you BREAK an item - ie *abuse* it - then you are SOL no matter what, unless the abuse is not clear-cut.

The real reason to get a service policy is this: manufacturer's warranties only guarantee against original factory defects, and usually for a very short period of time, 90 days, sometimes up to one year. Major appliances is usually longer, because that stuff is built to last.

The thing is, if you get a product home, and it works properly, then it is extremely unlikely that 90 days, or 10 months, or whatever, from your purchase date, that something going wrong will be due to an original factory defect.

But say the product doesn't fail altogether, say it just starts to degrade in performance - sound quality, visual quality, speed, whatever. 'Performance' is never guaranteed by a manufacturer's warranty. CC always used to hammer us to call these things 'performance guarantees' instead of warranties, in order to differentiate them.

So, depending on what exactly is going wrong with your TV, if you bought the policy and you didn't abuse it, you should be fine. They always have the option to repair your product, or replace it. The fact is, these stores usually have a pretty solid relationship with the vendors, meaning that if a defective product is brought in, they can send it directly back to the vendor for credit (this is where all these ultra-cheap 'refurbished to original factory specs' sales come from), meaning the store is better off not wasting a penny trying to 'repair' your product, and instead would just replace it.

Nice thing is, they are never going to have the same model after even one year, PLUS as technology advances, quality and options go up while prices come down. And, your warranty is for a price point, not a 'product type'. If you spent 2k on a regular TV 3 years ago, 2k now buys a whole lot more TV, and that's your good luck. Don't let them jerk you around on this.

Things to buy service policies on:

It used to be 'anything with moving parts' - ie camcorders, cd players, vcr's, cameras, printers, stuff like that. Nowadays, a lot of those things have become so cheap, it may be worth the risk of not having it. Up to you.

Also, it used to be 'anything with a laser' - again, cd and DVD players, computers, game consoles, and now HD DVD and Blu-Ray players. I would not worry much about dvd and cd players, but the high-dollar items such as the HD and Blu-Ray players, and the game consoles, it's a definite extended warranty item.

Anything that gets a lot of use, or potential abuse. This means digital cameras, camcorders, game consoles, portable media players (such as ipods and the like, especially if they have hard drives inside) and especially notebook computers. I also strongly recommend it on any new computer, simply because it would be pure silliness NOT to guarantee yourself a brand-new computer in three years.

Anything 'expensive' to you - in other words, if you buy, say, a flat-screen TV to put on your wall, and spend $1500 on it. Ok, now two years later, a power surge comes along ans screws the thing up, or an input dies, or something like that. It may seem like a lot to spend an extra $150 at the time, but when this happens, you will think you were a genius if you bought the policy. Expensive items are worth protecting, plain and simple.

Things you probably do not need the policy on:

Major appliances. Washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, things like this are generally manufactured to very high tolerances. They are therefore likely to outlast any warranty you buy anyway. HOWEVER, many manufacturers are trying to get around this image by including a lot of 'electronics' in their items - ie little lcd screens on your washer/dryer combo, or screens on your refrigerator, all kinds of little things that can go wrong that have nothing to do with the unit itself as such, but which greatly increase the likelihood of failure. In such cases, get the warranty (warranties on major appliances are usually very cheap, for the reason mentioned above).

Most audio equipment. Speakers only do one thing, and that is vibrate back and forth. The only way they fail is by being abused, it's that simple. Again, because of this, warranties on speakers is usually very cheap, so get it if you want it, but as long as you are not stupid with your speakers, you probably don't need it. Same thing goes for receivers. At the kind of places we are talking about, like Fry's, CC and BB, there are generally two types of receivers (amps really): 'IC' (integrated circuit) type amplifiers, and 'Discrete' amplifiers. And IC amp uses a computer chip to amplify sound. This is typical sony, pioneer, jvc, panasonic, stuff like that.. It's crap, tot ell the truth. an IC makes for a great heater, but a lousy amp. Sounds poor, and shortens the life. Even so, the typical lifespan should be at least 5 years, meaning that extended warranty may be useless there.

Discrete amps, on the other hand, use actual discrete amplifiers, very similar to what was used 30-40 years ago. This has the advantage of better sound, lower wattage requirements, and a MUCH longer lifespan - I am talking 15 years easy. Brands such as Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Harman Kardon, Kenwood, and the 'Elite' lines of Sony and Pioneer. More expensive, yes, but definitely worth it.

As for car stuff, well, that depends on if you are stupid or not. If you are one of these idiots driving around trying to make sure that everyone within 100 feet can hear the crap you are playing in your car, and can hear your trunk vibrating like it's about to fall off, then yeah, you probably should get the warranty (you really ought to go to a doctor and get your hearing checked, maybe you will understand how stupid that is when he tells you that you already have 30% hearing loss). But most car audio products are designed with extremely high tolerances, because of the relatively extreme conditions they are expected to perform in. So, again, it's really not as vital as on a lot of other products.

Hope this helps some folks.

 

I returned a computer at Fry's a few weeks ago, and it was nothing short of a complete nightmare.

First I have to wait in line so their "tech" dept can inspect the computer to make sure I didnt download a bunch of p*rn, or punch a hole in it I guess.

Next I have to go back in the original return line and wait some more. Finally a ****** lady (think the fat lady from Total Recall) types **** into the computer for like 10 minutes while Im just standing there. Then she gives me a reciept for store credit and tells me to go to the other registers (you know the cattle call). I say, "Um, no - I want a full refund back on my credit card." She gives me some kind of ****, and then types again on her computer for 10 minutes needing Ned Flanders (supervisor) to come over and put his key in the register and type codes (this happens 3 times). With no apology for the wait, and no care or concern at all, she finally hands me a reciept.

I hate Fry's!!!!!

 

You hate them because, while they DID give you a full refund, they didn't kiss your ass while they were doing it?

There's no pleasing some people.