Buying extended warrenties...

[cqueen]

Usually I steer well clear of the 'purely for profit' mechanism of extended warrenties. However, My house mate and I both use the ipod a fair amount and have a half decent aftermarket headphones. But they never seems to last more than 12-18 months.

Looking to buy a new pair, I noticed an extended 3 year warrenty is about £3 for a £20 set of headphones, actually seems like a good idea in this case. So, what are the chances of them actually replacing my set when they break after 13 months?

Cheers

[maser_spyder]

They rely on the fact that most people won't bother to claim.

You will also more than likely find the policy is 'spent' once you've made a claim, so you'll only ever get one 'free' replacement.

Still, if you're likely to break them, get the policy!

[oilslick]

Buy better headphones!

[cqueen]

oilslick said:

Buy better headphones!

For £20 they're perfect for what I need.

[davhill]

New items always have a 12-month maker's warranty, so it begs a question. If a thing is too feeble to last 12 months, is it worth having?

I only have one EW, on an American fridge/freezer. Cheap at the price as service/repair is v. expensive.

[Plotloss]

Having worked in that industry for an appreciable amount of time.

I'd never buy one.

[ThunderSpook]

Richer Sounds extended warranties

Take your receipt back at the end of the period and if you haven't used it they'll give you your money back!

[.Mark]

ThunderSpook said:

Richer Sounds extended warranties

Take your receipt back at the end of the period and if you haven't used it they'll give you your money back!

Did this with out TV and Home Cinema, but was from Comet or Currys or somewhere like that. To be honest I expected to have to jump through hoops to get it but I sent the applicable stuff back and they sent me a cheque - perfect!

[ThunderSpook]

I made the mistake of going back to get the £20 refund for my extended warranty and walking out with a brand new £300 AV amp

[Fatman2]

cqueen said:

oilslick said:

Buy better headphones!

For £20 they're perfect for what I need.

They're obviously not perfect if they're failing after 12 months or so.

Don't get me wrong but £20 does not really buy a half decent set of headphones and as you've found out it is probably a bit of a false economy. Why not buy something of a higher quality that will be more robust. I have had Sennheisers and Goldring headphones that have worn very well and they sound great too so you're likely to enjoy the music more.

[cqueen]

Fatman2 said:

Don't get me wrong but £20 does not really buy a half decent set of headphones and as you've found out it is probably a bit of a false economy. Why not buy something of a higher quality that will be more robust. I have had Sennheisers and Goldring headphones that have worn very well and they sound great too so you're likely to enjoy the music more.

True, but I am more than happy with the sound quality of the earphones, and if I can get 3 year extended warrenty for £3 then surely thats a no brainer?!

Or I could spend £50-100 on a pair and they still fail after 12 months.

[hairyben]

The same logic made me buy a £35 warrentee on a £55 walkman many moons ago from a certain large chain high street electrical retailer. (I was young and stupid)

After an epic battle involving 4 "attempted repairs" over 6 months, they tried to fob me off with a voucher for the "secondhand value" of the walkman.

I did end up with a new cassette player, but only after over an hour of well prepared rather loud argument on a Saturday morning... by which time I had a car and no further use for a walkman, so gave it to mate. It'd just became a matter of principle.