Illustration by James Kaczman for the New York Times.
Click the image to see the illustration with its original article.
In response to an article from last year titled Extended Warranties are for Suckers, a reader going by the name “any non moose” pointed out in the comments that:
Corporates often prefer to warranty their purchases, since having a fleet of consistent items is much cheaper than having a hodge-podge of all different ones. Being able to swap one item for an identical one within your own organisation without having to retrain the user(s) is very very useful.
But I agree that for a SOHO or hobbyist, warranties are as you say, for suckers.
Yes, moose, when I was writing about extended warranties, I was referring to purchases made for home, hobby or SOHO purposes.
Since we’re in the final week of shopping before the holiday that’s increasingly referred to as “Holiday”, here are some links for those of you who are purchasing electronics as gifts and wondering if the warrantly plan is worth it (generally not):
- New York Times: The Word on Warranties: Don’t Bother
- CBC News: Extended Warranties: A Deal or Dud?
- Canadian Consumer Information Gateway: Extended Warranties
- Alexandra Samuel’s blog, Otherwise Engaged: The Dirty Truth About Extended Warranties
- Michel Fortin Here: Extended Warranties are a Funny Thing
- Canadian Capitalist: Extended Warranties are a Sucker’s Bet
- ComputerWorld: How I Got Suckered into an Extended Warranty