Can protection plans be purchased separately?

[walknbluez]

I'm purchasing a product from Zzounds because they are offering a price lower than anywhere else and they seem to have pretty good reviews. However, they don't offer any protection plans. Another store has the item for $50 more plus $33 for a 3 year protection plan. I'm wondering if there is a protection plan that can be purchased online or stand alone, not necessarily from the same store the item was purchased. Anyone know?

[fdeck]

Protection plans are typically a ripoff. Here's how to start your own protection plan. Put that $28 in a sock under your mattress. Every time you turn down a protection plan on a retail item, put the money in that sock. Within the space of a year, you will have enough money to cover anything that breaks in the future.

I tell salesmen and cashiers that my bank offers me a protection plan on everything that I buy.

[Phalex]

What are you getting? Most manufacturers have a warranty of 3 months to a year, to life time.

I've never been a big believer in second party warranties. If an amp doesn't blow up within the warranty period, I figure it's not likely to. If the hardware on a bass doesn't fall off in a year or so of gigging it, I figure there's no factory defect likely.

One mans opinion and all that.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by fdeck

Protection plans are typically a ripoff. Here's how to start your own protection plan. Put that $28 in a sock under your mattress. Every time you turn down a protection plan on a retail item, put the money in that sock. Within the space of a year, you will have enough money to cover anything that breaks in the future.

I tell salesmen and cashiers that my bank offers me a protection plan on everything that I buy.

I dont know about that... suppose I only buy one piece of gear, a $400 bass, in a years span. $28$33 isnt going to cover most repairs that might possibly be needed in the next 2 or 3 years.

FWIW, I always turn down protection plans as well, assuming that the item will function just fine until the term of the plan comes to an end.

[walknbluez]

It's not actually bass equipment. It's an Alesis DM6 electric drum set for my son and wife. It has a 1 year manufacturer warranty, parts and labor.

I'm normally not a big believer in these either but it did come in handy once on an amp and $33 did seem like a low price for this. But the item is $50 more at the store offering this, so in essence it is $83 more if I want to go with the protection. The cost of the item is $350.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

I dont know about that... suppose I only buy one piece of gear, a $400 bass, in a years span. $28$33 isnt going to cover most repairs that might possibly be needed in the next 2 or 3 years.

FWIW, I always turn down protection plans as well, assuming that the item will function just fine until the term of the plan comes to an end.

It won't cover the repairs that might possibly be needed, but it will cover the repairs that will probably be needed. If the probability of a repair is 10%, then the cost to plan for is $40. And it doesn't just apply to bass gear. I'm counting what I've saved by not buying protection plans for home appliances, cars, and so forth. At least this is based on my own experience with consumer products over my own lifetime.

[bongomania]

I did some research on this not too long ago, and the answer is YES there are companies that sell protection plans "by themselves"; however NO they will not pay you if you ever file a claim. In fact two of the bigger companies, that used to have TV ads for protection plans for cars, are being charged with fraud by the Feds. If you find one of these companies and then google "complaints" or "fraud" or "ripoff" with the company name, you'll find that's all there is: complaints, fraud, ripoffs.

I have bought service plans in a couple of cases: things that have a reputation for breaking down, from companies that have brick and mortar establishments I could go to. For example I needed a dehumidifier, and all the reviews around the web said these things tend to last just one year; so I bought one at Sears, with the protection plan, feeling pretty comfortable that Sears will in fact replace the unit when it fails, for the duration of the plan.

I would not buy a 3rd party plan for an e-drum kit from a web store.

[fdeck]

Interestingly, Consumer Reports once did an article on protection plans, and I think they concluded that the plans were worthwhile on dehumidifiers.