Best Buy "Warranty"

an anonymous, very-real friend of mine bought an iPod from Best Buy in March of 2004 and also purchased a 4-year "performance service plan"

my friend was wondering if anyone on here has experience with actually getting a brand-new product through these Best Buy service plans … it looks like you need to have 4 separate service incidents before the product is deemed a "lemon" and you're offered a replacement product, there's also a general exclusion for "intentional physical damage" or "insect infestation" (damn! gotta go sell-back that ant colony!)

any thoughts?

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
an anonymous, very-real friend of mine bought an iPod from Best Buy in March of 2004 and also purchased a 4-year "performance service plan"

my friend was wondering if anyone on here has experience with actually getting a brand-new product through these Best Buy service plans … it looks like you need to have 4 separate service incidents before the product is deemed a "lemon" and you're offered a replacement product, there's also a general exclusion for "intentional physical damage" or "insect infestation" (damn! gotta go sell-back that ant colony!)

any thoughts?

Yup. Some of my folks have endured horror stories similar to this. Same shit, different toilet. My advice to you would be to buy an Apple Care warranty from str8 from Apple. ("Gubment" employees, educators, & students get 20% off the $59.99 price.) The warranty covers manufacturer's defects, & cosmetic damage as well. Anybody who bought a Best Buy warranty might as well ask for Vaseline with that. Avoid them at all costs. Peace . . .

maybe i should have been more explicit: my "friend" is looking to replace his fully-functional 3rd-gen iPod (which looks like it should be put in a time capsule) with one of those new-fangled 15th-gen hologram iPods through the Best Buy "Performance Service Plan" … any suggestions? SOL?

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
my "friend" is looking to replace his fully-functional 3rd-gen iPod (which looks like it should be put in a time capsule) with one of those new-fangled 15th-gen hologram iPods through the Best Buy "Performance Service Plan" … any suggestions? SOL?

Gooooood luck with that…. Getting his lemon replaced with a working unit is one thing but trading up to this year's model? I'm no fan of BB but c'mon!

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
Gooooood luck with that…. Getting his lemon replaced with a working unit is one thing but trading up to this year's model? I'm no fan of BB but c'mon!

i know!! what an asshole!!

i keep trying to tell him to respect our benevolent corporate overlords, but he won't listen to me

My advise to your "friend" would be to buy your toys at costco from now on. Return anything, any time, for any reason at all, for as long as you own it. Unless it's a pc or laptop, then you got 6 months.

Warranties sold by retailers are a racquet. Another way for them to get rich.

Circuit City's policy on iPod warranties is to have the product sent in and if found defective, a gift card is sent for the price paid to be used for a replacement or whatever you want. I bought mine from Circuit City and had to use the replacement plan and it took me about a week to get the gift card but got to upgrade. I'd assume Best Buy's is about the same?

if you're going to talk about warranties, go with Circuit City if the Apple Store isn't an option. Circuit City's full warranty, which includes accidental damage, is fantastic, and does not screw you over. I used to be an employee of Circuit City a few years ago (sigh..), so I suppose I can speak from experience. If you buy the full warranty, which it seems most do not, as long as you can bring the item into the store physically, they will either replace it or send you a gift card for the full amount.

I still prefer Apple's warranty, however. On two separate occasions I have brought my ipod into the Apple store and within 30 minutes have walked out with a new product. Hassle free.

I bought a receiver from Circuit City about 7 years ago, and a 5 year plan, in those 5 years I traded up 3 times due to minor "problems" with the receiver, so unless their policy has changed I agree they were pretty decent

never, ever, ever buy a service plan. It's a total racket.

You mean to tell me there's people walking the streets who are gullible enough to fall for the old 'extended service plan' scam. My my…dear oh dear.

Back in the day when I worked for Circuit City we used to call those policies "cheese", because we made a few extra bucks in commission and as for C.C……well, it was free money really.

I suppose you could keep the receipt to wipe your bottom with if you want to get some use out of your policy.

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
You mean to tell me there's people walking the streets who are gullible enough to fall for the old 'extended service plan' scam. My my…dear oh dear.

I know. I'm actually quite shocked that there are several people on this thread who fall for that, not just one! Whether it's issued by the manufacturer or the retailer, it's a total rip-off.

Next thing you know people on this board will be telling me how great their bose speakers are, or even worse, about the ones they bought from a couple guys driving around in a white van.

Bose speakers are OK, not great, but not bad either. They are over-marketed and over priced. A pretty good analogy would be anything sold by Apple.

They're the biggest ripoff in audio. People paying for a name and a marketing campaign. For half the price you'd pay for a bose setup you could get something that sounds two or three times better. Ever notice how their little listening stations are set up way away from all the other speakers in the store with no way to a/b them? They don't want you to know their dirty little secret. Don't buy bose.

I don't think the apple analogy really holds up at all, but that's just me.

End of bose rant.

Well, I just went looking for a ram upgrade chip for my Mac. At Apple's online store, this chip was $300! I did a little research and found the same chip for $150 elsewhere. Only difference is the name.

Another example, Apple's excellently-written marketing copy would make you think that upgrading their OS will change your life, when the only noticeable change is you get "widgets" and a better search function – both of which Google Desktop can give you for free.

That's what I'm talkin about. They do the same thing as Bose.

Originally posted by Señor Carlos:
They're the biggest ripoff in audio. People paying for a name and a marketing campaign. For half the price you'd pay for a bose setup you could get something that sounds two or three times better. Ever notice how their little listening stations are set up way away from all the other speakers in the store with no way to a/b them? They don't want you to know their dirty little secret. Don't buy bose.

I don't think the apple analogy really holds up at all, but that's just me.

End of bose rant.

I have to disagree…I think those blokes selling speakers out of the white van are a bigger rip-off than Bose. Sony are just as guilty in heavy marketing and then making the uneducated customer pay a premium for a barely average product.

How about Toyota/Lexus? Now if that's not a classic rip-off I don't know what is.

Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
Well, I just went looking for a ram upgrade chip for my Mac. At Apple's online store, this chip was $300! I did a little research and found the same chip for $150 elsewhere. Only difference is the name.

Agreed, but this holds true for aftermarket parts for just about anything, whether it be a pc from dell, apple, or a headlight bulb for a VW - which i purchased today - 24 had i gotten it from the dealership and 15 from the autoparts store.

I guess the fact that I was able to upgrade my receiver 3 times in 5 years at no cost other than the small cost of the service plan was a ripoff. I rarely buy plans, but if the policy is good and its a high priced item its worth it, sorry to go against all you brilliant know it all board members.