ANCHOR INTRO:
WHEN YOU BUY A NEW PRODUCT, YOU MAY SHY AWAY FROM EXTENDED WARRANTIES THINKING THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS WORTH IT... FIGURING THE BASIC PROTECTION IS GOOD ENOUGH. HEADS UP! MORE AND MORE PRODUCTS ARE NOW LEAVING YOU ON YOUR OWN A LOT SOONER THAN YOU THINK. HERE'S ________WITH WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SHRINKING WARRANTIES....

TRACK ONE Length : 11
A TREADMILL...DVD PLAYER...TELEVISION. JUST A FEW OF SHAWN MILLER'S NEW PURCHASES OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. HE TYPICALLY DOESN'T EVEN LOOK AT THE WARRANTIES, FIGURING HE'S COVERED.

SOT
KEY @: 13 Shawn Miller, Consumer
"When I buy products, I just assume it has a 12 month warranty."

TRACK TWO Length : 04
BUT HE RECENTLY TOOK OUT THE PAPERWORK FOR ALL OF HIS NEW STUFF AND WAS SHOCKED...

SOT
Length: 04(Shawn Miller, Consumer)
STATIONS: Shawn's electronics had 90 day warranties. His treadmill had a 90-day warranty as well, although one part is covered for three years.
"Come to find out they had a 90 day warranty on them. That's pretty upsetting."

TRACK THREE Length : 05
HE SAYS THREE MONTHS ISN'T EVEN LONG ENOUGH TO FIGURE OUT IF SOME OF THE STUFF EVEN WORKS!

SOT
KEY @: 36 Shawn Miller, Consumer
"The dual DVD players I haven't even used yet."

SOT
KEY @: 39 Jim Sebastian, Contributing Editor, Warranty Week
"These days, all of your small electronics will typically carry a 90-day manufacturer warranty."

TRACK FOUR Length : 13
STATIONS: Dell, Gateway, and Whirlpool are among the companies cutting warranties.
JIM SEBASTIAN IS WITH WARRANTY WEEK. HE SAYS IT'S NOT JUST FOR SMALL STUFF, EITHER. MOST REFRIGERATORS USED TO OFFER THREE OR FIVE YEAR GUARANTEES...NOW MANY OFFER ONE YEAR OF PROTECTION. AND MANY COMPUTERS ARE DOWN TO 90 DAYS.

SOT
Length: 05(Jim Sebastian, Contributing Editor, Warranty Week)
"They are now starting to cut the warranty down to get the products out the door."

TRACK FIVE Length : 03
SEBASTIAN SAYS IT'S NOT NECESSARILY BAD FOR CONSUMERS... THAT SHRINKING WARRANTIES ARE ONE REASON PRICES ARE SHRINKING ON MANY ELECTRONICS AND SMALL APPLIANCES!

SOT
KEY @: 1:09 Jim Sebastian, Contributing Editor, Warranty Week
"The offset side of that is the potential that when it breaks, you have to pay for it."

TRACK SIX Length : 05
THAT MAKES SENSE TO SHAWN FOR SOME ITEMS THAT ARE CHEAP TO REPLACE...BUT NOT FOR EVERYTHING...

SOT
KEY @: 1:19 Shawn Miller, Consumer
"I am willing to have that tradeoff for the smaller items...the DVD players, the things, you know, the VCR. When you're going into the higher ticket items, you want some type of assurance that it's not going to break."

TRACK SEVEN Length : 11
SOME PRODUCTS DO STILL OFFER LONGER PLANS... SO DECIDE WHETHER PRICE OR PROTECTION WINS OUT WITH YOU ...THEN SHOP AROUND.
SHAWN PLANS TO DO THAT AND WARNS CONSUMERS NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED ....

SOT
Length: 04(Shawn Miller, Consumer)
"Do some more investigation into what they're buying."

ANCHOR TAG:
EXPERTS SAY EXTENDED WARRANTIES ARE COMING DOWN IN PRICE AND ARE BEING OFFERED BY MORE AND MORE COMPANIES...
BUT IF YOU GO THAT ROUTE, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S COVERED...AND WHAT'S NOT!

SOURCE LIST

Jim Sebastian, Jr.
Managing Partner, SAFE LLC, Service, Administration, and Financial Enterprises, LLC, Contributing Editor Warranty Week
3712 Cherokee Street, NW
Kennesaw, GA, 30144-6716
770-321-0093