tlwizard

I assume that you work there or that you did, and so I assume that you are right. Maybe my friend's Best Buy store was a fluke, if you will, but i know that if he sold, say, 5 service plans one day, then the manager would let him take home a free dvd. I don't know the exact ratio's of service plans to dvd's, but my friend certainly earned a lot of them during his time there.

Harlock415

I used to work at Good Guys and they really pushed the warranties like mad. I hated having to sell them for little cheap items but at the same time I think people should have bought hem for higher ticket items. Besides depending on certain warranties, you ight get a loaner and if they can't repair it you get a new one or an upgrade.

If I were buying an expensive tv (especially the new flat ones) I would definitely get it since the strain on the tubes is heavier.

I recently bought an extended warranty from Fry's on a laptop that was a floor model. They knocked off $125 plus there was a $100 rebate. The Warranty was about $200, so it came out even for me. I already got use out of it anyway. And I had a loaner for about a month.

wedge

I work at Best Buy.

We're not on commission. Why do you think there are so many teenagers working there? Commission based stores don't hire a teenager workforce.

As for service plans, I have to concur with the general consensus that they're good for big ticket items like HDTVs but not for most things. I still can't figure out why we sell them on alarm clocks and phones. Managers giving awards for service plan performance is against Best Buy policy but I'm not surprised that it happens. Corporate pushes the stores so hard to meet service plan percentages that I'm sure some managers feel the need to reward salespeople that perform well.

As for our discount on them, it varies. Someone said they were all $5, that's mistaken. We do get a discount on them, but it's still well over $100 for things like HDTVs and computers.

I should also add that many Best Buy employees genuinely believe in service plans for everything they sell. This tends to be the ones who have been there longer than 6 months or so. I think it's partially because they're just as misinformed as to what it covers as you are (contrary to popular opinion, most BB employees don't lie about what the plan covers, they just say what they've been told it covers by a supervisor) and partially because we do have SO many people come in on a daily basis with broken equipment just out of the manufacturer's warranty. Even though it's a small percentage of the total stuff we sell, seeing that day in and day out has an affect on a person. And, of course, it's also partially because we are driven and pushed to sell service and insulted if we don't, even though we aren't rewarded monetarily if we do.

cali99boy

I too also worked at Best Buy. On one of the previous post about a 2yr replacement plan on a $9.99 alarm clock, plz don't get mad, the cashier would likely get in trouble or lectured if the person didn't atleast offered it.

Some of the plans actually come in handy. Many plp come back and get the items replaced for full purchased amount or get a voucher for the price they paid for the item 2 yrs ago.

Just because the brochure says it covers A,B, and C only doesn't mean the store won't extend the offer to X,Y, and Z. Sure, the brochure might not say that Best Buy will replace the batteries, but more often than not, we'll just replace the whole item just because its so much easier that way, without having to argue with the customer.

Sure $4.99 2 yr placement plan isn't viable for a $9.99 item, but I think a $9.99 plan for a $99.99 dollar is.

cali99boy

oh, and on a previous post of 5 service plans = 1 free dvd.. I wish, or where does he work lol. I use to sell 15-25 replacement plans a day, which is damn pretty good,. and the most I get is a "good job" argh.

huzefa

I never buy extended warranties and have never bought them before, BUT i made an exception just once when I bought my HDTV last week. It was a 2500$ TV. Just the free calibration/cleanings are worth the price I paid for the warranty (4 years/ $299/ all parts & labor).

JAMMER57

I never buy them either but did get one for my MITS 65" WS-65869 projection TV. It was a Phillips Warranty, 5 years for $350. The TV was $3800 so another $350 for piece of mind seemed worth it on this large of a purchase.

Johnny Zhivago

Never buy these things... However, I too made the exception for my 16X9 RP... It's just too large to be taking anywhere should something go wrong, so I coughed up the $$ for the extended plan...

Other that that though, never. Picked up a pair of cheap Sony bookshelf speakers (for my den) at Best Buy last week... $100 for the pair and I was asked, twice, if I wanted the $30 extended warranty...

hypeiv

I worked at best buy and we don't work on comission like we get money for what we sell... but if we don't sell service plans we get moved to less important departments... I knew more about computers than anyone at the store (even the techs, they put me back in the tech department alot when they were stumped) But near the end of my time working there i wasn't moving the service plans like I used too and I was moved to the cellular phone department.

Also we always had contests for who could sell the most service plans so in that respect we work on comission (when quake3 came out me and two other employee's were looking at the box wondering if it was worth buying and our supervisor said he would buy that game for who ever sold the most service plans that day) We also had a contest where we took a baton(like in track) and each time a service plan was sold you had to hand it off to the person that just sold one and at random times they would call for the baton and whoever had it got a prize.


... also when you sell something without a service plan you hear about it from your senior, your supervisor and sometimes even a store manager. They sit you down and ask why you didn't get the service plan and try to give you tips on what you need to say to push the sale... So basicly they push the service plans b/c they don't want to hear about it... they keep stats for each department and they try to get other departments to compete which is complelety stupid b/c its a percentage, so its easy for a department like Cellular phones to beat a department like computers.

So now whenever I am pushed for a service plan i just tell them i understand why they are tring so hard and i am sorry they are going to get chewed out by their boss but i really don't think its worth it.

Cusm

I will only buy them if they will replace the item and if I ccould, or do not want to, afford to replace it in the mfg standard warranty period.
I bought one years ago on a kicker, and I had it replaced 4 times before it was stolen (my punch-45 was just too much for it). That $400 kicker would have cost me around $2k to relace, so the $80 wrty was worth it.

guppie

keep it all in perspective! Here is a perfect example of why I bought the extended service plan from Best Buy on my wife's Sony Walkman. She works out 5 days a week and runs at least 20 miles a week as well! That walkman has been through hell and back and forget about how many times its been wet from rain and sweat! So about every 4-5 months, we have to bring it back to Best Buy and get a new one (for obviuos reasons - it stops working). When that particular model is gone, we get whatever is most similar in price/features! That is a sweet deal, cuz otherwise we'd be buying a new walkman every 5 months!

On the other hand, like someone mentioned, on large stationery items like TVs, receivers, DVD players, speakers - How many times are you going to be screwing with it other than the ON/OFF switch to need more than the manufacturers warranty? Plus, most major credit cards automatically extend the manufacturers warranty for another year or some even double it!

If you have small kids then thats different story!

DravenCFH

Well, first off Im a tech at Best Buy and the techs in my store can do more than just remove a tape from a vcr.

Now to the service plans....

Ive been working there for 2 yrs. now and all that is said above is true and I agree with you guys. I have bought very few service plans on the items I have purchased there (yes, I get alot of crap for it). Because I work behind the bench I know exactly what the service plan covers and what it doesnt, and quite frankly I use it to my advantage. I bought one for a Sony 32FS12 (got a sony service manual for it :P, and a new remote - Service Plan cost was $33). Now 2 - 3 years down the line Im mysteriously going to have a electrical surge thru the tv, and I be without a tv for 2 and a half weeks, but I'll get a call saying to go into a best buy and get my replacement voucher for a new tv.

If you know how the service plans work, then you can easily get a replacement (i.e. "lightning surge" repairs have a repair rate in my district of about 13%, meaning they only repair 13% of units going in for that type of service.)

Like someone said read the damn contract before buying the service plans, assume ALL of what the employee is telling you is false. Biggest one - If you call the service number to re-calibrate your tv, they wont. If you say the picture looks terrible or something to that effect then they will come out, and the kicker is the closest best buy store to that persons house will get charged a fee for it. Its kinda funny.

One last thing, if you need to know anything about how the service system works (at best buy) just ask, Ill be more than happy to tell you.

hypeiv

you can't always use it to replace... sometimes they do technology for technology and sometimes they do money for money... very often they do whatever is cheaper... for example

I buy a $2000 2ghz computer today with a service plan , two years later it breaks and best buy will do one of two things:

Technology for Technology: This is where they simply give you the pc thats closest to your specs... so in 2 years you come back with your $300 service plan and they give you an emachine b/c in 2 years they will be faster than the top of the line pc today

Price for price... in this situation this would be ideal, you get to spend $2000 on a brand new faster pc

But they often do whatever is cheaper for example when i was an employee i bought a monitor with my discount and got a service plan... when i tried to get it fixed(after i quit) they decided instead of replacing it with the exact same model they had in stock they decided they would only give me store credit for the price i paid, which odviously wasn't enough... i had to take it to another location to get the technology for technology switch... (this case the technology for technology is a better deal)

A good friend of mine had a service plan on his laptop and had the same trouble... first store he went to said they would just give him the cheapest laptop they had in stock... he also had to go to another store and was able to get a price for price replacement thus getting a brand new $2500 laptop.

You can get serve plans on everything Computer, Monitor, Printer, reciever, Cell phone, microwave, fridge, speakers, TV ... if you got them for all your items that would be thousands of dollars... and even if the most expensive stuff breaks, you can get it replaced for less than what you would have spent on all the service plans. So unless its less than 5-10% i rarely even consider them...

mrsnickers

I was someone who never purchased extended warranties. And for the most part never had any problems. That is until recently! My 3 year old Panasonic DVD A110 died last summer. I thought it was a little soon, but went to Best Buy and forked over $250 for a new Panasonic DVD RP-56 Progressive Scan model after good reviews here. The employee said it had a 1 year manufacturers warranty, but it could be extended for XXX, and I of course refused after thinking about it. Surprisingly the unit started having problems after 5 months. Pixelating, taking a long time to load discs and menus, and producing a flashing picture on the TV.
I sent my unit to get serviced since it was in the 1 year time frame. It costed me initially $10 to ship via UPS and I had to send a check for $15 to the servicer for return shipping. No big loss there. However I was outraged after it was fixed and learned that the parts were covered for 1 year, but the labor only 90 Days! So they wanted close to $100 extra before I could get my unit back! While I was waiting for it to be fixed (3 weeks), I went to Best Buy and bought another RP-56 which I intended on being a spare room DVD player and a nice back-up. It was on sale and I thought the other was being fixed for free. This time I bought the warranty, my faith in DVD players shattered. This new unit is now starting to pixelate and hiccup! What is it with Panasonic?? Mind you I don't rent DVD's or beat on my player.

To sum up, the warranty is worth it in some cases and offers a nice safety blanket. It seems we are living in a disposeable society these days. You can buy a 4 head VCR for $40 which will need to be trashed a year later for a new one. 20 Years ago they'd last for 10 years or more but were much more expensive. But the fact that most manufacturer's (Sony, Panasonic) only offer a 90 day labor warranty on their products, That tells me how good they are making them and how much faith they have in themselves!

HistoryProf

I think commissions for salespeople on extended warranties are pretty standard - even if commssions on merchandise sales aren't. A friend of mine sold stereos for sear's for a years (not tears for fears though ) and there was a standing monthly contest for the sale of warranties. The one to sell the most got a bonus. They were pushed more than anything else at every sales meeting and in every memo....sell sell sell!!! In other words, they are a cash cow that does little to nothing for the consumer, but fattens the wallett of the retailer. An interesting illustration of this simple fact is that his commission on service plans was 5-10 times that of the commssion on the item itself. You can pretty much bet on them not doing what they say the will, and getting lied to in order to try and get you to buy one.

Kevlar

Its all a numbers game. If you pay 10 percent of the base cost of something for an extended warranty then that warranty is probably worth half that.

Big ticket items that *usually* dont break down that often like tv sets are sold much closer to actual cost. The retailers make money but they don't just do it for the money. Say 1 tv out of 10 is going to fail in the first 3 years of operation. 9 people wasted money but that one person is very glad they made the purchase.

Its insurance. Sure its not as important as life insurance or car insurance but for alot of people especially on a big dollar item its more than worth it just for the peace of mind.

Cusm

Again, Best Buy is totally and completely 100% commision free. It does not matter that your friend worked at Sears, Radio Shark, or 7/11. Some stores might have incentives for a day or week, but Best Buy corporate offices do not allow any incentives to push sales of merch or product.
I can say that in the store that I worked at, it was not about lying to sell warranties, it was telling people of the benefits of it that would sale the warranty. I know not all stores go by this, but in my experience at 2 different stores with several different managers this was the case.

navajo

I was wondering whether a purchase like a Pioneer HTB-510DV system was worth buying a 3 year extended warranty for $60 at SEARS. I have a couple of days to make the purchase before my 30 days are up. Pioneer's products come with the 1 year warranty so I was considering not buying it, but after my Panasonic of 1 year and a couple monthes started acting up I was wondering what should I do. Does Pioneer usually offer an extended warranty after your products warranty expires. Any one ever have problem with Pioneer.

navajo

I would really appreciate it if someone chimed in on my question. I'm sorry to be a bother but I enjoy the opinion of others.

Johnny Zhivago

What was the cost of the product? $500? $250? Personally, I'm a firm believer in cost of product vs cost of warranty...

For what it's worth, I still have an old pro logic Pioneer receiver in my den that gets regular use... No problems and I've owned it for six years or so I would guess...

navajo

I paid about $400 for my system because I had SEARs price match an online retailer. I no the reciever part of the system will hold up against time but I am more concerned about the DVD part of the system. I mean many things can go wrong. I was also wondering if people could chime in on their experience with SEARs' extended warranty and if they have a multi disc DVD changer (if they have had problems with that).

Pioneer HTB-510DV

Kevlar

I would avoid any HTB (home theater in a box) system from any manufacturer. There is just not much quality there. Since you are getting a bargain price and low quality equipment the warrany might be worth it. Then again if you shop at best buy they give you a 4 year warranty on the same product cheaper than sears sells the 3 year. But its your money...

tekkjunkie

I've worked as a salesman/supervisor for several years now with OfficeMax. I will concur that anywhere that sells service/replacement plans employees are pushed hard to sell them. If they don't ask you they will get chewed. Please remember that and take it easy on us. ;-)

It looks like several people have understanding how to "work" these plans. The key is understanding what you are buying. In my case , I sell you a product under $400 it falls under replacement in the form of a gift card for your money back. As an example:

You buy a $299.99 printer , a 2 year plan costs $39.99. A month or so before the plan expires you call to request replacement because the feed system isn't pulling in the paper anymore(whatever the reason). The do not request the product back but simply send you a gift card for $299.99. You come back in store and pick up the latest $299.99 printer that cost you $39.99.

If watched this done countless times over 4+ years.

Though my example is not "home theater" as long as you understand what you are buying it can almost always be worth it. Read what the plan is though.

Dah-Dee

I don't usually buy extended warranties (e.g., on our TV, home dvd player), but I did make a couple of exceptions recently. My mother-in-law bought a Gameboy Advance for our 3-year-old (good grief!), and we went ahead and got the extended warranty for it at BB, because it was pretty cheap and he's, well, 3. My wife bought me a Rio MP3/CD/radio gadget for my birthday, and I went ahead and got the warranty for that, too, because I'll be using it at the gym (treadmill, etc.) and, well, the 3-year-old got certain genes from me! Anyway, I think extended warranties can be a good idea for items that will be moved around, subject to temperature/moisture/vibration etc. I'll take my chances with a good surge protector on the TV/dvd.

Bruce910

In general, no. Extended warranties are a huge waste of money. In most cases, it is pure profit for the company offering it.

In a few cases, it is a simple case of looking at the fine print, and then explaining to the customer "Sorry, but burn-in is not covered under that warranty, as it clearly states here..." Or, "sorry, but the extended warranty does not actually cover the replacement of the laser, since you invalidated it by placing a fully broken DVD into the slot..." Then, they hope that you simply go away.

In the tiniest percentage of cases, they do have to "make it right." Then, of course, the technicians / service people that are utilized are the absolutely lowest common denominator, so much so that one might not be so keen to trust them with a screwdriver, much less a volt / ohmeter.

The only exception I have made is with my HDTV RPTV. And, then, the only reason was the deal I managed to bargain on it. After I had reduced the sales price by a clean $720, I proceeded to argue for a free delivery, and the 5 - year extended warranty which they normally sold for $350 (a Tweeter) was bargained down to $199.00. This time, (and only this time), I went for it.

Otherwise, bank the money you would have spent on the extended warranty. If it breaks, it will probably cover the repairs... if it does not, it is now pure profit for YOU.

-Bruce