In light of myself buying a new camera soon, I was curious, how often do you guys buy the extended warranty (2/3/5 year protection plans) when buying it brand new from somewhere like Best Buy or B&H? Have you found it to be useful to you or did you consider it a waste of money?
Extended Warranties on Cameras
- Thread starter theclash4u5
- Start date
Extended warranties are for suckers. The people underwriting the warranties may not even be around the life of the warranty. If they are, they'll say or do anything to prevent paying out.
Factory warranties, provided you bought from a legit outfit is fairly good. Even if the camera is broken after warranty, the cost to fix isn't that much more than the extended warranty initial price.
Factory warranties, provided you bought from a legit outfit is fairly good. Even if the camera is broken after warranty, the cost to fix isn't that much more than the extended warranty initial price.
I rarely buy an extended warranty. On the rare occasions I have, I've never had to use them. And I absolutely won't buy an extended warranty if it costs more than 10% of the initial sales price. And the thing is, most electronics come with a 1-2 year warranty anyway (if not longer), and in a lot of cases you'll upgrade before the warranty runs out (and especially before an extended warranty runs out).
Also, consider that most of the time, extended warranties mean that you have to send the camera or whatever it is back, and it can take weeks for it to be replaced/repaired. You often have to pay for shipping both ways. Often times for the cost of shipping or not much more, you can get a local camera shop to repair it, usually within a few days.
The thing is, 99% of the time, if you buy quality equipment from a reputable seller and then treat the equipment properly (this is where most people screw up), you won't need a warranty. Also, make sure that if you're a hobbyist, that your homeowners/renters insurance will cover things like theft/vandalism/etc., or if you're a pro, that your business insurance will cover your equipment.
As a former insurance agent, I can tell you that there's a certain type of policy that we referred to as the "idiot policy" (homeowners/renters) that has very thorough coverage and will pay out even if you do something stupid to break your stuff (like dropping it or knocking it over, etc.). It's more expensive, but if you're particularly accident-prone, it might be worth it. I think it was Form 5 coverage (whereas most homeowners is Form 3), but I'm not 100% sure of that.
Also, consider that most of the time, extended warranties mean that you have to send the camera or whatever it is back, and it can take weeks for it to be replaced/repaired. You often have to pay for shipping both ways. Often times for the cost of shipping or not much more, you can get a local camera shop to repair it, usually within a few days.
The thing is, 99% of the time, if you buy quality equipment from a reputable seller and then treat the equipment properly (this is where most people screw up), you won't need a warranty. Also, make sure that if you're a hobbyist, that your homeowners/renters insurance will cover things like theft/vandalism/etc., or if you're a pro, that your business insurance will cover your equipment.
As a former insurance agent, I can tell you that there's a certain type of policy that we referred to as the "idiot policy" (homeowners/renters) that has very thorough coverage and will pay out even if you do something stupid to break your stuff (like dropping it or knocking it over, etc.). It's more expensive, but if you're particularly accident-prone, it might be worth it. I think it was Form 5 coverage (whereas most homeowners is Form 3), but I'm not 100% sure of that.