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Best Buy 4-Year Warranty Plan Q's

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Xtreme Barton

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2004
short version:

on a 4 year plan for car deck is it true u only get 1 exchange and the plan then becomes void ? even if its only been 1 1/2 years ?

long version:

bought a car cd deck on 7-6-06. also bought the 4 year warranty plan. so my deck died and i brought it in thinking they would send it in and fix it (no big deal). well immediately they said just exchange it because they dont even carry that model anymore. so i thought ok well hopefully ill get a better one instead. so i went back looked and all they had was a higher model and it was a bit more than what i paid for mine. im thinking oh well its on them not my fault they dont carry/have a lower model for that brand. so i go back up and the lady says well this is approx 30 dollars more than what u paid. i said yeah i know thats the cheapest one u have 4 that brand. she took a few minutes looking over the recipt and then said ok ill just change the price to what u originally paid . i thought ok cool this is going easy. so she rang it up and then asked would u like to buy the 4 year warranty with this ? thats when the two trains collided for me . i thought i would have had my planned still for the remaining of the time left on it . but she said no i have to pay for a new one. so i stood there with the stupidist look on my face for a minute and then said ..uhhh can i come back and add the plan later ? she said yes u have 30 days . ok no prob ill be back one way or the other :)

so the question remains .. should i have to pay for a new plan ? i looked all through my paperwork they provided and it doesnt state anything about exchanges and cancellation. the thing that remotely got close was the no lemon policy. says that if your purchase defects they will repair 3 times and on the fourth they will exchange it for comparible item. no where did it say the plan would end upon exchange. my lightbulb got a bit brighter when i read that but i thought heck i didnt even get a repair just a exchange and its over .. basically i paid for a 4 year plan that lasted approx 4 months :(

anyone like to comment on that ?
 
Unfortunately, I think you will have a hard time getting around having to pay for a new protection plan. I personally don't think you should have to. (as if BB cares what i think.) But you have had way better luck with these "protection plans" than I ever had. Every time I try to use one they always come up with some reason why they can't honor it.
 
yeah i hate to think about it .. but beings i paid for 4 years thats what i should get :D or at least some fine print that states otherwise .. i miss nebraska furniture mart .. BB sucks
 
Former geek squad agent here.

Look again at your paperwork, somewhere it does say that replacement voids the remainder of the protection plan. Think of it this way - it's insurance on that particular item/product, not the purchase. Once that item is replaced entirely then you need to buy a new plan.

Having stood in front of probably 50 people in your shoes during my 9 months employed at geek squad I can easily picture the look on your face. It's been shared by many before. The primary issue is the sales people don't get into elaborating every detail of the plan and typically (and conveniently) leave this out. Explaining this would turn people away after all, and why would they try to provide counter points to buying the extanded service?

Word to the wise - unless it's a VERY HIGH DOLLAR item, don't waste your money on a replacement/extended warranty. Laptops are probably the best example of what I would buy an accidental plan for - the most common issue with laptops were defective hard drives, followed closely by broken/cracked LCDs. Standard warranties and service plans do not cover damage, but the accindental plan does.

More word to the wise - if you do accidentally break your laptop's LCD and you're into the final year of your plan, make sure that's not the only item needing to be replaced. Drop it a few more times to ensure they don't just replace the LCD in the likelihood you'll still have year(s) old hardware nearing the end of its warranty. Not entirely sure it's ethical to suggest this, but I'm not suggesting you intentionally damage the laptop to use the replacement plan - just make sure if it does get damaged late into the plan that it's broken enough you actually get your money's worth out of the plan when needed.

Best Buy (at the time I was employed) was good at honoring these plans. They make a killing on them. The more times they honor them (within reason) the more times word of mouth spreads that they honor them and they'll sell more. If they only gave people a hard time it creates bad press and they won't be able to sell them anymore.
 
Pinky,

Don't they eat the cost of everything they repair/replace... I'm thinking they're taking an insurance company-like stance on these plans... deny deny deny as many claims as possible
 
Yes, but if they honor them, more people will buy the plans. Since the laptops will probably not fail in the warrenty time they make money.

(I think)

@Barton, be glad that you got a new system! :sn:
 
Yes, but if they honor them, more people will buy the plans. Since the laptops will probably not fail in the warrenty time they make money.

Exactly. The number of 'claims' and what's paid out to honor them is much lower than the income generated for little to no overhead. These replacement plans represent a large chunk of their profit. I forget exactly how much, but without them Best Buy and the other retailers would be out of business in no time. They're in line with services - essentially a 100% profit margin. Paying geek squad to install anti virus softweare makes them as much as 3 or 4 PC sales. It's when the services and accessories are added on that retailers make their profits. The average markup on most PCs was 10%. When there's a sale they count on a certain percentage of them being sold with tons of extras (addons), geek squad in store/in home service, extended plans, cables, hardware upgrades, software, etc. That $600 PC can easily top $1,000 if you buy everything suggested by the often brain washed sales rep.

I personally don't have a problem with the plans. I just don't think I need one for a $50 set of PC speakers, which is/was offered. I have the receipt to prove it. :p
 
pinky

i hear ya and it totally makes sense .. but i was never told that and no where does it say the protection becomes void ..

this isnt really that serious.. im talking a matter of dollars here but its principal ..lol ..it should be written somehwere for the customer ..and im not talking in a secret BB cult manual ..oh well
 
pinky

i hear ya and it totally makes sense .. but i was never told that and no where does it say the protection becomes void ..

this isnt really that serious.. im talking a matter of dollars here but its principal ..lol ..it should be written somehwere for the customer ..and im not talking in a secret BB cult manual ..oh well

Welcome to major retailers?
 
I have mixed views on the service plans but go back to my personal example. I payed $300 for my accidental service plan when my laptop took a flight down a set of stairs. I payed $1250 for the laptop.

$1550 out of pocket vs. $2500 made sense to me. Replaced my P.O.S. battery too while I was at it, that was another $150.

I always tell my customers it's up to them, doesn't reallly matter to me if they buy it or not.
 
didn't read anything but the short verson so sorry but... yea usually at stores they make it a 4 year plan but you only get 1 exchange ... i know at Fry's (where i work) if you bought a warranty for your xbox 360 they make you buy another warranty if it breaks and you have to exchange it
 
Welcome to major retailers?

ive been shopping major retailers for years but never bought any extended warranty.. usually id just buy an exact product and return the old one for my money back or switch guts out if the exterior had any scratches, etc ..
 
pinky

i hear ya and it totally makes sense .. but i was never told that and no where does it say the protection becomes void ..

this isnt really that serious.. im talking a matter of dollars here but its principal ..lol ..it should be written somehwere for the customer ..and im not talking in a secret BB cult manual ..oh well

Read the fine print and ask questions before purchasing it, I agree that it is screwed up they are charging again but you have to look at it in the eyes of Retail...

and of course that is (Profit Profit Profit or sink the ship/store)

Honestly you are lucky that they slashed the price down for a newer model and didn't charge you the difference, overall I'd say you made out pretty well for a retail experience haha.
 
just one thing I wanted to add. Its not "one year" its how long the manufacturer warranty is. IE

Yamaha recievers have a 4 year warranty, therefore the PSP WILL continue if they exchange it. Note.....They will "service" the Yamaha not exchange it.

On the particular brand above? Dont buy the PSP...even if you do dont let them send it to service. Best Buys Service Center will use low quality parts and repairs. Yamaha will repair/replace it with the high quality parts they are known for.

I did 4 years as a double agent for the geek squad, things I buy PSP's for?
Vaccum cleaners, laptops, microwaves.
 
I always get the 2 year plan on my mp3 players. At the end of 2 years i just clip a wire and bring it in for a new mp3. I've gone from a Rio karma-->I riverH10-->Creative zen vision m--> Soon to be New zune. In the first case I didn't pay anything as the cost of the karma was more, so i actually got $5 back after the tax and a new warranty. From iriver to Zen I paid $30. I think I might have to pay $90 to $40 for the new zune depending on its price. Best idea a person from another forum ever gave me.

Circuit Ctiyy TIP:
You can also opt to but the most warranty they'll offer along with any purchase and the ask them to discount money from the actual item. Then return the warranty within 30 days and keep the discount. EX... laptop costs $1000 ask if they'll do a 6 year plan instead of 4 or something, brings total to$1500 or something. Then ask them to discount $100 from the original price of the laptop and proceed to another Circuit city or come back the next day and return the $500 warranty. Bam $100 off.
 
They didn't have a 3 year plan fudge? Could have sworn they had some sort of option on those two but maybe I'm wrong.
 
2 years is a PRP (product replacment plan) same concept, if you exchange it in the 1 year mannufacturer warranty (you keep the PRP) after that...it uses up the PRP. PRP's are the best, you are GUARANTEED a new product. (of equal technolgy) However they dont allows do that, normally if your product is not available, they give you the CHEAPEST one available. This is when you file consumer fraud with your state and file a claim with there insurance company which handles the PSP/PRP claims. (It changes so much, I couldnt tell you who it is now)
 
oh well i give up i dont care anymore .. ill pay the 15.00 bucks for the new plan ...lol

and in a year or two ill accidentally over volt it and collect on a new one ..maybe next time ill get a usb port option .. the one i got now is cool it has an aux input on the front ..perfect for when i mount my lappy in my car
 
<--- former sears salesman

regarding getting a more/less expensive item upon return: our warranties had a guarantee that said if sears doesn't sell a similar or the same product when you return your broken one, you get an upgrade.

i wasn't out to give away merchandise but i usually didn't care if i helped out the customer a little. my boss was kind of a tool though. also, getting a little bit of a deal when they don't expect it usually made the customers happy.

also, we got pushed really hard to sell warranties cause, like pinky said, that was a huge part of their profit. it got creepy when he started to refer to each warranty/accessory/installation as a base.
"how'd you do with that customer"
"i got to third"
ewww. *chills*
 
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