Originally posted by bobjames The conclusion is inescapable that, if warranties are being sold, they are profitable for the seller, and not the buyer. The seller is betting your item won't need fixing and you're betting it will. The seller wins. Statistics and his bank account provide evidence.
The person who wrote that he regretted not getting the warranty is now in danger of believing he should buy an extended warranty every time he buys something. He will surely lose money if he does. He played the game well and lost, now he will adopt a bad strategy and lose big.
I know... I used to sell them on the Video Deck (raised platform like a messanian) @ Crazy Eddie's when I worked there in the late 80's...
AND it was the only thing I'd get commission on.
Doesn't change the fact that with some judicious analysis on a price/reward basis coupled to someone's risk level, some technology
does indeed warrant it when that something is not at 'commodity' levels of pricinng. That being technology that's highly compact, complex, is
heavily used/handled, and at a cost level where the [I, the]
owner considers it
not to be a commodity item easily/cheaply replaced if it were to fail.
Feel free to spend your $ the way you what. I & a few others will too, and I don't have to agree w/your opinion on the utility of it if my analysis of risk/reward differs from yours. Had I not been stuck with a bastard of a salesman @ B&H and had bought the warranty @ the time I'd be a few $$$ ahead. Hey, I just happened to call IBM up today and followed-up my IBM X61 purchase w/an 2-yr extended warranty on that, not liking the feel of the keyboard & swivel screen's pivot point. Miserere had a point regarding the irony of his having not bought the warranty. I have the right to support that given my experience as well.