Customer Reviews

SquareTrade 3-Year Electronics Warranty ($100-125 Items)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The product I bought (Panasonic microwave) led to an offer of both the SquareTrade warranty and N.E.W. warranty. 2-Year Replacement Plan for Electronics Products $100 to $124.99 I bought the SquareTrade warranty which did not have a link to its "terms and conditions" on the Amazon site. You can only view the complete description of the contract after you have paid for it (but you can get a full refund of either company's warranty within the first 30 days). The terms and conditions of the N.E.W. warranty are available for view prior to purchase. There are significant differences.
The main differences I can see is that the N.E.W. replacement warranty provides the full replacement cost upon covered breakdown (but you still have to ship or deliver the item to the N.E.W. facility at your own cost -- That's in the fine print.)
The SquareTrade warranty allows it to give you a "similar" refurbished replacement item, repair it (with non-original parts), or pay "up to the replacement cost" of the item. If ST decides to pay the replacement cost, it will deduct the cost of any prior repairs, so you may not have enough to actually replace the item if it breaks down more than once. ST's replacement item will not be covered by the warranty; ST's coverage stops once it has provided services up to the purchase price of the item. You can't get coverage at that point and if the replacement breaks down, you're out of luck. To the good, ST does provide round-trip free shipping for repairs (and guarantees repairs within 5 days). But if ST decides the problem was not covered under the warranty, the shipping is not free.
Under the ST warranty, if your item is large enough to qualify for in-house service, it might be a better deal. It seems more likely (imho) that your item will actually be repaired rather than replaced with an unwarrantable refurbished item if a repair person schedules a visit and comes to your house. Again, though, the repair parts don't have to be original manufacturer's parts and coverage stops once the cost of the repairs equals the purchase price.
Another major difference is the extent of coverage. After the expiration of coverage under the manufacturer's warranty, N.E.W.'s warranty expressly covers normal wear and tear and damage caused by the environment. SquareTrade covers "normal use and operation of the product when used in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications and owner's manual" (long list of exclusions and caveats following such as exposure to weather, dust, rust, insects, cracked or damaged monitors or display screens, liquids, etc.) If it's offered, you can buy additional Accidental Damage from Handling (ADH) warranty coverage for which there is a $50 deductible. The description of ST's ADH coverage excludes negligence and normal wear and tear (along with a list of other exclusions). It's not clear what's left. ADH coverage was not offered with my item.
While N.E.W. offers a two-year warranty and SquareTrade a three-
year warranty, that difference appears to be one of semantics. N.E.W. says its warranty begins after the manufacturer warranty ends, whenever that may be. For my item, it's one year, so N.E.W. would cover years two and three. SquareTrade coverage begins on the date of purchase but excludes any claim during the period covered by the manufacturer's warranty so realistically, it's only good the last two years of the three-year period.
If my Panasonic microwave is eligible for in-home repair, SquareTrade may be a good deal. I don't expect to drop it or leave it in the rain and would prefer not to pay to ship it to a facility (as I would have to do to get the replacement cost from N.E.W.) But if the cost of a single in-home repair is going to eat up the entire value of my warranty (or even half), I will check into the shipping cost and may opt for N.E.W. instead.

I bought a refurbished Xbox 360 with a 90 day limited warranty from the company that sold it to me and received an offer by email for the Square Trade warranty for the device for a very reasonable amount. I normally don't opt for extended warranties on things I purchase but I had heard that there have been some issues with older Xbox 360 units so I thought it might be a worthwhile investment. Turns out I was right, after about a year of using my game console without issue I turned on the unit and it had the dreaded red ring of death. Long story short, they reimbursed my Paypal account for the entire amount of purchase and even sent me a prepaid shipping label. I highly recommend Square Trade, they are aces!!!

I was leary at first to sign up for this warranty service. I must say I was very surprised when I needed to use it that it was as hassle free as could be. The customer service supplied was excellent. After calling to advise of a problem with my purchase, they sent a prepaid label and advised me exactly what to expect. I received a full refund of my purchase price within 7 days. I would definitely purchase Square Trade Warranties in the future!

When I purchased items for Christmas for my children on Ebay, this warranty was offered on both items. It was not expensive and seemed like a good idea at the time. The insurance effective date of December worked well since I purchased the items in late October. It gave me a little leeway to work with. Well sure enough in January, my daughter's item became defective. I had to call upon the warranty people at Square Trade. They were helpful in giving my useful tips on how to make the item operational. When that did not work, I got no hassle on how to get the item to them and then later getting my money back. It was all done in a timely manner. The slow end was myself. I am glad I purchased the warranty and would so consider them for anything else I purchase in the future.

We purchased a Nintendo DS Lite for Christmas 2008. By January 1, 2010, the Nintendo did not work. I filed a claim, sent in my receipts and the item with postage prepaid to SquareTrade. They sent a refund quickly after reviewing the receipt and item. Paid as stated on the warranty. Very quick and easy.

good value for the price. also, found out you can insure any product you purchase with them. that's great considering i purchased a gps thru best buy the warranty for 2 yrs was $54. the warranty with square trade was $17. for 3 yrs. well worth the money.

Usually I think these types of warranties are really bad, if not a rip off but I thought I would try Square Trade when I could not get a extended warranty from the company I bought my Blu Ray from. So, I thought I would try it because of the low cost of the coverage. Well, nearing a year after I got my Blu Ray I started having sound loss at times. Not all the time but just sometimes I would be watching a movie and the sound would go out. I thought this was going to be an issue because it did not happen all the time and how would I proove it. I submitted my claim with Square Trade and discribed the problem and with a couple of emails and one call my claim was quickly approved. I dropped my player off at UPS at lunch with the prepayed return postage and by the time I got back to work I had my FULL refund with a extra 5% off at Amazon.com. WOW, NOT TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, it is true. I bought another Blu Ray at Amazon.com and I of cource purchased a 3 year warranty from Square Trade for only $17.99 and feel I have nothing to worry about with my new player for the next 3 years. WOOOO HOOOO!

Square Trade sent me two emails and called me to make sure I was aware of their warranty I had purchased. The caller left a message, but I was unable to understand them as they didn't speak English.

Squaretrade does beat all retailers prices on warranties. And there service os above average. Few downsides if you get their warranty for gaming, they make you pay for repairs up front then reimburse you. And they slow with contact I always had to email them to get them to tell me where I was at in the claim process.

I agreed to purchase this insurance on the g.p.s., I purchased. I thought it would be automatically be applied to the product, but in reading the insurance info it seems I have to register the product and fax a copy of the reciept. I tried to get the Insurance cancelled but by the time I got around to do this, my 30 day time period has lapsed. I feel I have just wasted the money for protection, and I cannot afford to waste money this way as I have just been laid off. Most people are too busy to take time to do all these things. 'when Ins. is sold it should be automatically applied to the product that is being bought. I feel like I have been scammed. Allen Dotson