SquareTrade 3-Year Electronics Warranty
February 28th, 2010 Posted in Electronics
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- Coverage: 3 years of mechanical and electrical failures from normal use, starting from item purchase date.
- Claims: We will fix the item or pay you the full replacement cost of the item. Zero Deductibles.
- Service: Free two-way pre-paid shipping for mail-in service. 5 day service guaranteed!
- Common Electronic device
- No Paper: We email your contract within 24 hours and let you store your receipts with us
Product Description
SquareTrade Care Plans are great value and cost on average 10-15% of the item price for 3 years of coverage. That is 40% lower on average than traditional warranties. Upon purchase, you will get an email confirmation. You will not be mailed a paper contract. If you have questions, please call: 1.877.WARRANTY…. More >>
February 28th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Extended warranties are great products– for the companies providing the warranties, but not for you.
Put simply, companies do not deliberately go into business to pay more than they collect
The warranty providers know pretty well how much they will pay to cover damage/replacement on all their policies aggregated together. They add a substantial profit margin and divide by the number of policies to get the price they charge you.
Their business model is like a casino running a clean game– the bet is still a bad deal for you even when the company is smart enough to pay you promptly with a smile (just as it’s shortsighted for a big casino to cheat).
In short, the expected return on your investment on an extended warranty is almost always negative. You can only expect to win if you know you are a harsh user who is -much- more likely to break your item. Even then, it only works if enough other ordinary users continue to buy the warranties.
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This argument does not imply that you should never buy insurance. If you lose your home, for example, the actual cost impact you feel is likely to be much larger than the dollar cost of rebuilding it because you will not be able to raise the money on your own after a disaster. This allows the insurance company to take in more than it pays out, making a profit, while still providing you a useful service.
It works because the premium you pay is less than your expected cost of a disaster, even though the premium will be more than your expected dollar receipts from claims.
A good touchstone is that you should not choose to insure unless a worst-case loss would be financially crippling.
Rating: 1 / 5
February 28th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
SquareTrade are a bunch of liars and don’t actually follow through on what they promise. All in all, I had an awful experience with SquareTrade and when they denied my claim, i had to go purchase a brand new product. Go figure, a company screwing over the customer just to make a buck. Pathetic!
Rating: 1 / 5
February 28th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
This is a warranty and I have not needed to use it, but it was nicely priced and the terms & conditions seemed straightforward.
Rating: 5 / 5
February 28th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Broken Xbox360, completely refunded. And all under 4 days!!!
Thanks you guys for the great service.
Rating: 5 / 5
February 28th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I have not yet needed to make a warranty claim, but have been purchasing warranties for all my electronics for the whole family from Square Trade for about 18 months. Their prices are good and their registration is thorough and easy to use. Any assistance I have need has been quick and courteous.
Rating: 5 / 5