What does “Lifetime Warranty” really mean?

[railfancwb]

Some might think it means “As long as I live”.

More cynical people might say it means “Until it is needed”.

Others “Until the thing breaks or wears out from normal use”.

Sometimes though it means “Lifetime of the manufacturer”. Here is one such...

[jmohme]

Lifetime of a company would certainly be a limiting factor to any warranty.

I hate to see anyone go under, but it does happen, especially in a time when people are forced to stay home and have no money to spend.

 

[FullClip]

Ha-Ha!  Those "Lifetime Warranties" don't seem to be such a hot deal when you hit my age.   Not much of an incentive anymore.

 

I remember when it hit me.  I was buying some silicone caulking when replacing a few windows.   They had the 50 year stuff, 30 year stuff and the 20 year stuff.   I laughed and went the cheap route.  It will be somebody else's problem when the warranty runs out.

[LostinTexas]

On 11/17/2020 at 3:48 PM, jmohme said:

Lifetime of a company would certainly be a limiting factor to any warranty.

I hate to see anyone go under, but it does happen, especially in a time when people are forced to stay home and have no money to spend.

 

^Agreed^

I had one experience with a "Lifetime Warranty" a few years back. The kydex on my holster broke after many years of use, and I was trying to get in touch with the company to find out if I could just buy another shell. The company was new when I bought the holster, and the delivery was very slow, but they warned you of it right up front.

Anyhow, expecting the former turn around time, I hit them up on the weekend email. Monday morning, I got a response, that they had a lifetime warranty and meant it. Just send it to them, make sure I had a good return address in the package, and they would replace/repair it. OK, I didn't want to be without for a month or so, but what the heck. Sent them my info and the shipping tracker from USPS. That was on a Tuesday. The next Tuesday, I had a box in the mail, and two holsters. They said they weren't comfortable with the repair, so they sent me a new holster. The repair didn't hold up for long, but I didn't expect it to, and neither did they.

Hard to argue their turn around or their CS. There are good companies out there. When I originally purchased they were a one man show, literally. There is a staff now, I don't know how many,but they have grown enough to allow for several employees and some inventory on hand.

Edited November 23, 2020 by LostinTexas

[blueiron]

Deleted.

Edited November 23, 2020 by blueiron

[Maser]

I have never and will never buy warranties.  Less money spent of warranties, more money that gets to be spent on more fun stuff. ?

Edited November 24, 2020 by Maser

[janice6]

2 hours ago, Maser said:

I have never and will never buy warranties.  Less money spent of warranties, more money that gets to be spent on more fun stuff. ?

Just happened today again.  I tell them "Hell no, I don't want a warranty.  If it breaks I'll just buy another one, or a better one".  I never buy warranties.  The clerk just laughed at my response.  They know it's just another scheme to make more money.

 

[railfancwb]

On 11/23/2020 at 11:10 PM, Maser said:

I have never and will never buy warranties.  Less money spent of warranties, more money that gets to be spent on more fun stuff. ?

In some cases I think the goods where they now offer extended warranty are the same as before. They just decided to offload the cost of warranty service onto the customer while creating a new revenue stream.