How aggressively do you use product warranties?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I just noticed I was developing a hole in a pair of Darn Tough socks. I’ve had them for many years, and worn the hell outta them. Great socks.

Darn Tough offers an unconditional lifetime warranty (and has a sense of humor about it!)

On one hand, I feel I oughta send them in for a new pair. On the other, I appreciate that I’ve gotten a ton of comfortable use out of them, and am not really bothered by the idea of buying a new pair (which might not be a ton more effort then shipping them back.)

So whaddyou think? This seems like about the easiest and most complete warranty imaginable. Many others only offer partial compensation, require documentation, or are otherwise a hassle.

Whenever I see something advertised as a “lifetime warranty”, I wonder whether if you complain, they send someone to your home to shoot you! :wink:

2

I’ve never returned something that had a lifetime warranty. IMHO, it’s a case by case basis. If you can buy a new pair without breaking the bank, buy a new pair. If you return the socks, they’ll probably send you a chit for a new pair and you’ll still have to go out.

3

I would send them back with a sincere note that says how much you love them, but that they have worn out. The worst thing that happens is you never hear back from them, and you end up buying a new pair of socks.

4

REI famously had a lifetime no-questions-asked return policy. After years of abuse they shortened it to 1 year, but that’s still pretty generous. I’ve never used it myself.

I have sent a lighter back to Zippo. They basically just oiled the hinge and put a new insert into it and sent it back, but that’s really all I wanted out of it.

5

If I have to pack an item up and ship it somewhere, the odds are not good that I’ll use the warranty. If the item costs less than, say, $50 and/or I’ve gotten a good amount of use out of it, it’s definitely not going to happen.

I’ve used the extended warranty for numerous large household appliances and for cars, but that’s about it.

6

My gf used to do ad work for Zippo, and really loved the company. I had a very old Zippo with sentimental value that was in pretty rough shape. My gf gave them my lighter and a few weeks later they returned it to me in amazing condition. No cost, but they asked that I sign a release so they could use pictures taken of the process for advertising.

I had a pair of Harley Davidson boots that I really loved. After many years of use, one of the zippers broke. I wanted to get it repaired, and assumed I’d have to pay. When I took them to the leather shop where I’d bought them, I was told they no longer made that style boot. He refunded me the original purchase price. I was shocked.

7

I don’t know what you mean.

I am also a Darn Tough socks man. Actually, over the past sixteen months or so, I’ve only worn Darn Toughs, after having accumulated enough pairs. (Yes, I wash them!).

No, they’ve not developed any holes or deteriorated after fairly heavy use during that time, but why would one hesitate to use this small, worthy company’s resources to make good on your investment?

I have, however, given up on returning metal Zippo cases to Bradford, PA. They also, unconditionally, stand by their product, and have never failed to deliver. However, I feel that over years, having them rejigger a piece of scrap metal case is kind of ridiculous, so I just bought new Zippo cases and torch inserts. Not out of guilt, really, but of a sense of what is and is not a waste of time. Not just my time, but for ordinary cases without any sentimental value, it seemed silly.

When and if any of my Darn Toughs develop holes, though, sure. I’ll fall by a local shop who sells them and am fairly confident even if some clown is behind the counter, they’re not going to give me any lip.

Those are the only two companies I use and either have experience with returns or trust, though. There are, I’m sure, countless examples of companies like Duluth Trading with garbage “warranties” that perhaps once used to mean something (I actually use their pants regularly and like them quite a bit), but those are disposable pieces of trash once one has finished with them.

8

I remember I used a backpack warranty, I think Eastpak, when I was in college. I had bought the bag in high school and a pocket ripped or something and I was very happy to get a free replacement.

I am pretty sure the Eastpak backpack I have in my closet is the one that I got as a replacement. And it has a ripped seam. I think I’ve been meaning to try that 30-year warranty again to fix the problem but, eh. It’s been ok with the hole for 20+ years now.

9

ScanPan (cooking pots) has a lifetime warranty that I’ve used repeatedly. Every 5 years or so I contact them and send back several well-used pans whose nonstick surfaces are no longer nonstick. I have four of them in a box in the car right now to drop off.

I can only assume that most people don’t avail themselves of the warranty. I don’t think I’m abusing them–I cook a lot, the pans DO wear out, and that’s their policy.

We also have several Nutone bathroom fan/light combos with lifetime warranties that we had installed when we bought this house in 1990. Over the years, several of the fans/heaters have died; they’ve honored the warranty, though it was often a bit of a hassle getting ahold of their local person to do the work. But definitely less hassle than replacing the units.

10

My best warranty experience was in the 90s with a 6 year old Specialized Hard Rock. I had hit a big pothole and got a small crack in the frame. When I took it in to see if it could be repaired I was informed the frame had a lifetime guarantee. They gave me a new frame and only charged for labor for transferring the components over. They also replaced the cables and brake pads and adjusted the derailleurs at no charge so it was like getting a brand new bike for about $60.

11

Yeah, I see where you are coming from, I guess I kinda appreciate the value they provided, and in light of that, I don’t mind giving them some more business. Sorta like I’m less likely to use a coupon at an independent store or restaurant, than a big international (tho, who knows. Maybe Darn Tough is owned by Hanes or someone.) A new pair would be - what - $20 or so? Won’t exactly break the bank.

As I read their website, socks are to returned by mail, not to the store, and they send you new socks, not a coupon.

I remember when Sears gave lifetime guarantees on their Craftsman tools. I bought a long wooden handled round point shovel - and proceeded to beat the hell outta it! Prying up rocks and stumps, bending the handle until it invariably snapped. I returned that at least 2-3 times before they finally gave me one with a fiberglass handle and told me not to come back again!

And, speaking of Zippos - do you know the difference between a hippo and a Zippo?
One is a really heavy animal. The other is a little lighter!. :wink:

12

I had one of those mesh back style office chairs from Office Depot. The plastic frame that surrounds the mesh broke a few years after I bought it. I managed to dig up the warranty and original receipt, and realized it was still under warranty – I think it was a 3 year warranty, and it broke after 2 years, 11 months or something like that. So I called them up, explained what had broken, and they sent me a replacement part. I replaced the seat back and the chair was as good as new… until the exact same part broke in the exact same way a few years later. I’m not sure if I could have gotten them to replace it again, since now it had been more than 3 years since I purchased the chair, but the broken part was probably less than 3 years old. I didn’t bother, since there was clearly a weakness in that chair’s design, and I decided it would be better to replace it with a better quality chair.

One of the perks that used to come with my credit card (which they quietly got rid of a few years ago) was a free extended warranty on anything you purchased with that card. I had a laptop that died within the extended warranty period, so I had a computer repair place write up an estimate for repairing it, gathered up all the other required documentation, and sent it in. A few weeks later I got a check for amount of the estimate (which I put towards a new laptop rather than repairing the old one).

13

Now that I think about it, I’m pretty hard-corp about making companies stand by their stuff. Mostly outdoor garden stuff, like hose bibs, irrigation timers, hoses. Orbit had a six-year warranty, but they kinda dropped the ball after Covid. Can’t talk to real people and there were costs involved getting replacements. But still cheaper than having to purchase again.

Chase-Harper (motorcycle stuff) also had this policy. Sent in a damaged bag, got a brand-new one shipped to me. Great company! I was in the business and sold a butt-load of their stuff, telling customers they could expect a quality product and excellent service. I was going by their “factory” once and decided to visit. It was basically run out of tiny little garage!

14

Unless its a new car, not at all. For myself, it’s more trouble than it’s worth.

I am returning an unopened box that holds a sound bar for a new TV that I didn’t end up using.

I did by 2 pairs of jeans that I bought from Amazon that I ordered in the wrong size. Totally my fault. I donated them to ARC. It’s a gift to a stranger (that’s a little skinnier than I )

15

That reminds me that I have a very very expensive SitMatic desk chair. One of the casters broke and I contacted them for a new one. They sent me a box of 4 new casters, and I do believe they were heavier duty than the originals. Anyway, I replaced the one broken one and have replaced the others as they broke over the years. I think I’ve had this chair since 2008.

I remember hard drive warranties used to be a big deal for me. Maybe not so much now that they are all SSDs (no moving parts to break). I did a couple of those kinds of returns in the early 2000s.

16

You can do it that way.

But any retailer that sells Darn Tough socks will also exchange in person. REI, or whatever random tiny shop. They’re supposed to, anyway. I think that’s probably literally written into their vendor agreement or whatever paperwork exists between those entities.

That’s my understanding the last time I looked at their website, which has all kind of good info.

The only “catch” I’ve heard of is it that they’ll only exchange pair-for-pair…so if you step on a nail on one sock and it develops into a larger hole (which is not necessarily evident, given the tight quality of the weave), you have to do both socks at once.

A bonus: once I started “collecting” DT socks, I got a pair from that online place that turned out to be counterfeit. The quality was just not there. So, using DT’s system, I sent a series of photos to them, they verified that they were bogus, and whatever third party seller got to lick me and give me back my money as a reward for their fraud.

No, AFAIK, DT is not owned by Hanes or anything like that. I “enjoy” the occasional pair of Hanes boxer briefs, but I cherish my Darn Tough socks and will not wear any other sock, ever.

OK, forget everything I said.

You just made my list. That is an awful, awful thing to say. And I think I’ve heard it before. :innocent:

17

Didn’t LL Bean also have a generous lifetime policy that they had to modify due to abuse? I think people were buying old LL Bean brand stuff in garage sales or thrift stores and sending them in for replacement under the warranty. It’s very annoying when a few people ruin a good thing for the rest of us.

18

I’m pretty aggressive about using warranties, with a few exceptions. The length of the warranty often plays into my buying decision, because I think of it as a proxy for the manufacturer’s idea of their own quality.

Similar examples to others. An Eastpak bag where a seam or zipper broke; a North Face jacket where a zipper broke (repaired and returned); A Price Pfister soap pump that was part of a faucet; Craftsman tools (now backed by Lowe’s).

Most recently isn’t a long warranty, but I’ll call out the company for good support, even if they made a poor quality product. I had some Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds. During the one year warranty period one of them started using much more battery than the other, so Sony replaced them. At almost a year the replacements’ battery life dropped to about 20 minutes, so Sony sent me a check for the original purchase price.

The biggest exception for me is USB memory drives. Even with a lifetime warranty, when I can buy a name brand USB-3 64GB drive for $6, it’s just not worth my time to bother.

19

Waaaaaaay back in 1975, before I developed sales-resistance, I bought a set of Cutco knives and utensils for around $225, which was a lot of money back then! They’re not kidding when they guarantee their products. I’ve had 2 or 3 knives, as well as a spatula, replaced for free over the years. One of those knives now sells for $188, and it looks like the set of knives I bought now sells for $1175. Yoiks!!

At this moment, I have one of their table knives with a broken handle sitting on my desk, but at this stage of my life, it’s too much of a hassle to send it in for replacement. I’m pretty sure the knives I have will last till I die.

20

Well, 225 USD in 1975 equals 1330 USD today, so those knives have gotten cheaper.