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Author Topic: Extended Warranties  (Read 98401 times)

JayWPage

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Extended Warranties
« on: November 05, 2017, 01:04:40 pm »

Are extended warranties worth buying?

I am planning to place an order for a Sony A9 or A7RIII this winter and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile considering an extended warranty or does it make more sense to go with an annual insurance policy, or no insurance at all?

Here in Canada, Sony has pretty much closed down their physical presence and has handed over distribution to Gentec International, I don't know if Sony even has a repair facility in Canada anymore.  The Sony extended warranties don't appear to be available for sale in Canada any longer either, but there are 3rd party warranties offered by some retailers, i.e. Mack World wide Warranties are offered by Lens & Shutter and The Camera Store. Has any one ever bought/used the Mack warranties?

My own experience with extended warranties is that over the years I have bought them five times, and I've have had one repair done under an extended warranty. I also have had one uninsured camera (a Nikon F3) ruined years ago when it ended up in a lake, which was why I started buying them in the first place. Two of those extended warranties (for a lens and a camera) were bought through B&H because there wasn't a Canadian manufacturer's warranty available for those items since they were purchased outside of the country.

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hogloff

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Re: Extended Warranties
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2017, 02:20:34 pm »

Extended warranties are a huge profit generator so that should tell you something. Buy the camera with your credit card and it will most likely add another year of warranty to your camera.

Now you mentioned your camera was once lost in the Lake...warranty would not cover this. Maybe you are talking about insurance which I do recommend.
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JayWPage

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Re: Extended Warranties
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2017, 05:58:11 pm »

The extended warranties are no doubt profitable for the retailers, at least that seems to be common wisdom nowadays. But never the less, an extended warranty including accidental damage is still cheaper than an insurance rider on my home insurance for the same period of time. But it's only attractive if you can depend on the insurance company coming through with a quality repair, hence my question about whether anyone has used the Mack extended warranties. 

My impression is that a lot of electronic gear/devices/appliances are far more complicated than they need to be and often don't last a long time after the warranty expires. In the past couple of years I have had 3 higher-end appliances die a few years after the warranty expired and none could be repaired because the electronic circuit boards were no longer available. Twice in the last decade, I've had extended warranties thrown in as part of a "bargaining package" for a laptop and for a TV; both needed the mother boards replaced at about the 2 year mark. In the past, when I've bought consumer goods/appliances I've always thought the extended warranties were a waste of money, but now I'm starting to rethink that position. Is this trend something we are likely to see in photographic equipment? Today a lot of gear, including top-of-the-line camera bodies are made in locations which have historically been associated with lower quality control.

Anyway, for an extended warranty to be be attractive, it probably depends more on how much you can afford to lose a camera. For a high-income, pro photographer it's probably more of an inconvenience, but for others having a $4K - $5k camera body die after a year or two, it would hurt.
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hogloff

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Re: Extended Warranties
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2017, 07:40:13 pm »

The extended warranties are no doubt profitable for the retailers, at least that seems to be common wisdom nowadays. But never the less, an extended warranty including accidental damage is still cheaper than an insurance rider on my home insurance for the same period of time. But it's only attractive if you can depend on the insurance company coming through with a quality repair, hence my question about whether anyone has used the Mack extended warranties. 

My impression is that a lot of electronic gear/devices/appliances are far more complicated than they need to be and often don't last a long time after the warranty expires. In the past couple of years I have had 3 higher-end appliances die a few years after the warranty expired and none could be repaired because the electronic circuit boards were no longer available. Twice in the last decade, I've had extended warranties thrown in as part of a "bargaining package" for a laptop and for a TV; both needed the mother boards replaced at about the 2 year mark. In the past, when I've bought consumer goods/appliances I've always thought the extended warranties were a waste of money, but now I'm starting to rethink that position. Is this trend something we are likely to see in photographic equipment? Today a lot of gear, including top-of-the-line camera bodies are made in locations which have historically been associated with lower quality control.

Anyway, for an extended warranty to be be attractive, it probably depends more on how much you can afford to lose a camera. For a high-income, pro photographer it's probably more of an inconvenience, but for others having a $4K - $5k camera body die after a year or two, it would hurt.

It really depends on the cost of the extended warranty and exactly ( read the fine print ) what is covered. In general, extended warranties are a waste of $$$$.

Cameras are either lemons out the gate or they keep on clicking for a long time. The manufactures warranty should cover the lemon.
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Colorado David

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Re: Extended Warranties
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2017, 12:08:53 am »

Almost any electronic component, which cameras are now, will either fail within 90 days or last for its expected useful life. Most warranties won't cover accidental damage and some type of deductible will apply.

bassman51

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Re: Extended Warranties
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2017, 09:37:57 pm »

Extended warranties are extremely profitable for both the retailer and the underwriter, which strongly suggests that they are extremely expensive for the value provided to the buyer. 

That being said, you should buy the insurance if you can’t afford the loss, or would be uncomfortable worrying about it.  And do so with no guilt.

Personally, I’ve never bought one, and I’m comfortable with that approach despite having to shell out for several items that died prematurely.  Most recently a $40 pair of earbuds died after the warranty expired, so I bought a new pair.  I’m convinced I’ve spent much less money by self-insuring over the years rather than paying the money to someone else. I’ve also bought a number of lenses from Asia, which means no US warranty.  But a 1/3 discount implies that the 1 year warranty would cost about 50% more than I paid, which seems completely nuts to me.

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BrownBear

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Re: Extended Warranties
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2017, 07:43:40 am »

We relied on the insurance through one of our pro associations, which included repair/replacement. No need for the extended warranties, since the insurance did the same job.  We needed the insurance anyway to cover theft and such, and the repair coverage was included.  No reason even to consider extended warranties if your insurance is right.
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