Imagine yourself standing in line at Best Buy to buy new laptop. As you stand there you feel yourself in the “outer body experience” of joy and wonder. You’ve been scrimping and saving for 5 months! You are actually holding the brand new unopened box in your hands! You can’t wait to take it home, boot it up, and play with it. Your thoughts of bliss screech are interrupted by the teenage cashier who mindlessly asks “Do you want to the protection plan for this laptop? It’s $199.” One Hundred Ninety Nine Dollars! That’s like 35% of the total $799 cost! Wow. Is that worth it? I’ve been asked these questions over and over for the past 10 years. Ah – the protection plan. Every major big box seller has one. Best Buy, Fry’s, Staples, Radio Shack, on and on. Always when you’re in the middle of the purchase some type of sales person interjects one reason or another to buy their plan. Is it worth it?
Bottom line: I would stay away from any type of protection plan. I’ve never bought a plan for any laptop I’ve ever bought. In my opinion I’ve found that it’s never worth the money. 5 years ago on Black Friday 2005 I bought a Toshiba laptop for $350 without a protection plan. 5 years later that machine is still kicking (the battery only lasts 30 minutes!). I never needed the plan. I’m glad I never bought one!
I just did some quick “Google Research” and discovered the same things I’ve always suspected:
1. Electronic stores make more money off the extended service plans than any other product. Most people aren’t aware that stores only make 10% profit off electronics like laptops and desktops. They have to make up for that loss by offering protection plans and overpriced accessories! Come on, Best Buy charges $39 for a USB cable? You can get one for $7 at Walmart or $3 at eBay!
2. Protection plans are often outsourced to companies with very poor customer service. I’ve read that Best Buy is NOTORIOUS for not backing up the terms of their protection plan, and making it extremely difficult to even get the work done. Not worth it.
3. You have to wait 6 weeks or more for the defective hardware to be replaced. Waiting that long is not worth saving $150 or $200! You don’t want to get waiting on poor customer service! Forget that!
4. You often pay for something you never need. Why pay for a service you probably will never need? It just seems like throwing good money after bad! Put your money toward good use!
5. You’re betting the odds that you laptop will fail within 2 or 3 years of purchase. My experience has taught me that they usually last 4 to 7 years before failing. Ever heard of Self Fulfilling Prophecy? Since you’re even slightly believing that you system could fail odds are higher that it will actually fail! Bad vibes.
Bottom line is that protection plans are not worth the money you’d spend. Save that $199 for your next laptop (in 2013) and be happy.
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