您知道这个问题：“您愿意为该产品投资延长保修期吗？” (Would you like to invest in the extended warranty for this product?”)销售人员向消费者推动延长保修期，这听起来可能是个好主意。毕竟，如果您在一台新笔记本电脑上花费超过 1,000 美元，您将需要某种保护，以防它坏了。在消费者半笑着回答“不，谢谢。我不需要那个。”
停顿是客户辩论的时候；延长保修值得吗？这对于父母为年幼的孩子购买可能会意外或无意损坏设备的技术尤其如此。
延长保修对技术来说值得吗？(Are Extended Warranties Worth It For Tech?)
简短的回答是否定的，延长保修不值得。绝大多数延长保修期都未使用并为零售商创造收入。在绝大多数情况下，产品不会自行破裂。如果您碰巧弄坏了笔记本电脑或平板电脑，那么自付费用的维修费用通常低于您为延长保修支付的费用。
让我们换一种说法。有一个名为Warranty Week的时事通讯专门针对保修行业(warranty industry)。根据2017 年 9 月发布的通讯(newsletter sent out in September of 2017)，保修是一个价值 230 亿美元的行业。人们在产品生命周期的最初几年中发生过那么多事故吗？不见得。
您最好拒绝延长保修期，而是将这笔钱存入可在紧急情况下使用的储蓄账户。唯一值得考虑延长保修期的情况是，如果您知道设备具有很高的损坏风险，例如用于野外工作的笔记本电脑或平板电脑(laptop or tablet)，其热量、冷凝和其他风险因素超出了正常范围。
但是，请确保您的保修涵盖以工作为中心的机器可能遇到的损坏类型。如果您的延长保修(warranty doesn)不能为您的机器可能遇到的损坏类型提供保护(offer protection)，请跳过它并购买坚固的外壳。
其他类型的保修是否值得？(Are Other Types Of Warranties Worth It?)
虽然延长保修期可能不值得您花钱，但还有其他类型的保护绝对值得。例如，您的移动运营商的保护措施。根据SquareTrade的一项研究，美国(America)每小时(5,761 smartphone screens break every hour)大约有5,761 个智能手机屏幕坏掉。作为一个国家，我们对移动设备并不温柔。当然，该研究还表明，这些中断中的大多数来自一个广泛存在的蝴蝶结案例——74% 的中断是由于设备掉落造成的。
尽管许多人满足于使用屏幕破裂的手机，只要损坏不是(damage isn)太大，但没有理由这样做。几乎每个提供商和运营商(provider and carrier)都提供保护计划(protection plan)，让您几乎可以更换破裂或破损的屏幕。随着屏幕更换成本的上升（iPhone Xs Max的平均维修费用约为 330 美元），运营商保护是一项可靠的投资。
为什么是手机而不是笔记本电脑？由于(Due)手机的性质，它们因使用频率而受到损坏的风险要大得多。人们在旅途中发短信，拿出手机查看或回复消息，而无需查看他们面前的路径。您最后一次在四处走动时积极使用笔记本电脑是什么时候？
但是，有一个警告。在您同意智能手机保险之前，请仔细查看条款和条件。如果您每月在保险上花费 10 美元，但仍有超过 100 美元或更多的自付费用免赔额(pocket deductible)，那不值得。如果您需要更换屏幕，您可以通过从阿里巴巴订购的更换件以及在(Alibaba)YouTube 上(YouTube)几个小时的更换来完成。
其他产品是否值得延长保修？(Are Extended Warranties Worth It For Other Products?)
几乎所有您购买的东西都提供延长保修期。如果您正在投资智能设备，请跳过保修。内置的制造商保修将涵盖产品中可能导致退货的任何缺陷。不需要延长保修期。
购买视频游戏时，您可能会获得延长保修。GameStop尤其因此而臭名昭著——一年的保护费用约为 3.99 美元。公司也不断为游戏机提供保护计划。它们是不必要的。任何制造商造成的问题都将得到修复，因为游戏公司试图保持游戏玩家的青睐。
最后，您的电视不需要延长保修期。由于电视(TVs)通常是家庭的中心点，因此公司说服买家确保它受到所有成本的保护。想一想(Think)，电视(television broke)上一次出现延长保修期的故障是什么时候？进入虚拟现实游戏(VR game)并砸碎屏幕很可能不在延长保修的保护范围内。
其他需要考虑的因素(Other Factors To Consider)
延长保修很少物有所值。可能有一些特定的实例是值得的，但这些实例很少而且相差甚远。另一方面，您可能已经拥有延长保修期，甚至没有意识到这一点。如何？两个词——信用卡。
许多信用卡(credit card)公司在购买时提供自动延长保修，作为对客户的奖励。美国运通(American Express)倾向于提供最全面的覆盖，万事达卡和维萨卡(MasterCard and Visa)紧随其后。您的制造商的保修有时也可以延长。检查细则。在许多情况下，您可以向制造商注册并增加保险期限，而无需额外费用。
帮自己一个忙。跳过延长保修期，将这些资金投入储蓄账户或可靠的保护套。
您过去购买过延长保修吗？你(Did)找到延长保修期了吗？请在下面的评论中告诉我们。
OTT Explains: Is It Worth Buying Extended Warranties for Tech?
You know the question: “Would you like to invest in the extended warranty for this product?” Sales people push extended warranty on consumers, and it might sound like a great idea. After all, if you’re spending over $1,000 on a new laptop, you’ll want some kind of protection in case it breaks. There is an almost universal pause after the question is asked before the consumer answers with a half-smile, “No thanks. I don’t need that.”
That pause is when the customer debates; are extended warranties worth it? This holds especially true for parents buying tech for younger children that might break the devices, accidentally or not.
Are Extended Warranties Worth It For Tech?
The short answer is no, an extended warranty is not worth it. The vast majority of extended warranties go unused and serve to generate revenue for the retailer. Under the vast majority of circumstances, products do not break on their own. If you do happen to break a laptop or a tablet, the cost of repair out of pocket is often less than what you would pay for the extended warranty.
Let’s put it another way. There is a newsletter called Warranty Week dedicated to the warranty industry. According to a newsletter sent out in September of 2017, warranties are a $23 billion industry. Do people have that many accidents in the span of the first few years of their product’s life? Not likely.
You are better off saying no to an extended warranty and instead placing that money into a savings account that can be used in the event of an emergency. The only time an extended warranty is worth considering is if you are in a situation where you know the device has a high risk of damage, such as a laptop or tablet for fieldwork where heat, condensation, and other risk factors are outside the norm.
However, make sure your warranty covers the types of damage a work-focused machine might encounter. If your extended warranty doesn’t offer protection for the type of damage your machine might see, skip it and invest in a sturdy case.
Are Other Types Of Warranties Worth It?
While an extended warranty might not be worth your money, there are other types of protections that absolutely are. Your mobile carrier’s protections, for instance. According to a study from SquareTrade, roughly 5,761 smartphone screens break every hour in America. As a country, we are not gentle with our mobile devices. Of course, the study also revealed that the majority of these breaks come from a widespread case of butterfingers—74% of breaks are the result of dropping a device.
Although many people are content to use a phone with a cracked screen as long as the damage isn’t too great, there’s no reason to. Almost every provider and carrier provides a protection plan that allows you to replace a cracked or broken screen for next to nothing. As the cost of screen replacements rise (the iPhone Xs Max averages around $330 to repair), carrier protections are a solid investment.
Why phones but not laptops? Due to the nature of phones, they are at far greater risk of damage due to the frequency of use. People text on the go, pulling out their phones to check or reply to a message without looking at the path in front of them. When is the last time you actively used a laptop while walking around?
There is a caveat to this, however. Before you agree to smartphone insurance, take a close look at the terms and conditions. If you’re spending $10 per month on the insurance and still have an out of pocket deductible of upwards of $100 or more, it’s not worth it. If you needed to replace a screen, you could do so with a replacement ordered from Alibaba and a few hours with YouTube.
Are Extended Warranties Worth It For Other Products?
Extended warranties are offered for nearly anything you purchase. If you’re investing in a smart appliance, skip the warranty. The built-in manufacturers warranty will cover any defects in the product that might result in a return. No extended warranty is needed.
You will likely be offered an extended warranty when purchasing video games. GameStop in particular is notorious for this—$3.99 or so for a year of protection. Companies constantly offer protection plans for game consoles, too. They’re unnecessary. Any manufacturer-born problem will be repaired for little to no cost as game companies try to stay in the gamers’ good graces.
Finally, you do not need an extended warranty for your television. Because TVs are often the centerpoint of a home, companies convince buyers to ensure it is protected all costs. Think, when was the last time a television broke in a way that an extended warranty would cover it? Getting too into a VR game and smashing the screen most likely falls outside the protection of extended warranties.
Other Factors To Consider
Extended warranties are rarely worth the money. There might be a few specific instances where they are worthwhile, but those are few and far between. On the other hand, you might already have an extended warranty and not even realize it. How? Two words – credit cards.
Many credit card companies provide automatic extended warranties on purchases as a perk to their customers. American Express tends to offer the most thorough coverage, with MasterCard and Visa following behind. Your manufacturer’s warranty can sometimes be extended, too. Check the fine print. In many cases, you can register with the manufacturer and increase the length of coverage at no extra cost.
Do yourself a favor. Skip the extended warranty and invest those funds into a savings account or a reliable protective cover.
Have you purchased an extended warranty in the past? Did you find the extended warranty was it? Let us know in the comments below.
