I have the login stuff to this site and I try very hard to stay on topic for the content of A Soldier’s Perspective. But sometimes, I just gotta share beyond the scope of ASP. CJ & Marcus have always encouraged me to write whatever I please but I mind my p’s and q’s. Now that Cat5 owns this place, I’m not sure if this post will stay up, but I just have to say this. It’s the same as I posted on my own personal blog, but edited for expletives. A lot of us try to pinch pennies and get good deals, but a warranty isn’t always a “good” warranty, as shown by my experience below:

Caveat Emptor

“Caveat emptor” aka don’t waste your money on SquareTrade Warranty. It’s funny but the origin of the Latin term had to do with warranties and the lack of them way-back-when. Go figure.

Here’s the deal….if your computer or electronic device has a small issue, such as mine has, you know, the fan is getting loud and needs to be replaced…if that happens and you were lucky and won a great eBay sell at a great auction price, don’t bother paying for the warranty that is offered through SquareTrade. See, they will charge you something like $27 for a 2 year warranty and then, when you need a new fan, they will offer to take back your computer that you want/need/use on a daily basis, and they will give you the exact same amount you paid for the computer ($142.50). The problems are 1–you will no longer have a computer that you want/need/use on a daily basis, and 2–you will most likely not find an equivalent computer at the price you paid without wasting a lot of time and energy on eBay.

This is SquareTrade’s policy directly from the email in response to the one I sent asking them to FIX my computer, not buy it back from me:

The exact course of action we’ve decided to take with
your computer depends on what the item is, what’s wrong with it, how
much you paid for the item and how much the repair would cost.

Unfortunately at this price point of $142.00 for the unit and total
value of your warranty, is not enough to afford repairing this unit.
Most electronic, computer repairs cost at minimum $150.00 which would enc our further costs to you the customer. When an item is under the
minimum $150.00 amount needed for repair, we find that refunding the
purchase price so that you the customer can replace the unit in
question is typically the fastest easiest way to get you a working
unit.

I do apologize we will not be able to extend the local repair option
to you for this item.

I purchased a new fan for $23.99. It’s different than the ones found at Best Buy like [my reader] mentioned in comments [on my website]. This is what my fan looks like.

Annnnnyway, I would have saved $3 overall (I got free shipping on the part too!) if I had never paid SquareTrade. It will most likely take me less than 10 minutes to switch stuff out (I am handy-dandy like that). So that whole “Most electronic, computer repairs cost at minimum $150.00″ is a bunch of crap.

Let this be a lesson to you….don’t bother with SquareTrade Warranty unless you pay well over $150 or you won’t get even close to your money’s worth in warranty coverage.