# Applecare or store extended warranty? ie;Futureshop



## voxx (Apr 27, 2006)

Was just wondering what people thought of extended warranties. I have in the past bought applecare for my iMac and will be very shortly buying a Macbook Pro. 
so the question would be to go with either applecare waranty or for example a Futureshop extended warranty. Cost wise the futureshop warranty is more expensive than the applecare ... 399 vs 565 both being 3yrs coverage. take away price being a factor, is either one really superior to the other? You would think that applecare would be better though... any opinons greatly appreaciated.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

No question, get AppleCare. AppleCare is useable all over North America (for desktops) and world wide (for laptops). You also get 3 years of telephone support with Apple, instead of whatever FS offers (if any).

I'd avoid buying from Future Shop at all, but maybe that's just me.


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## Ottawaman (Jan 16, 2005)

Applecare


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

No question - go with AppleCare.


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## teknikz (Nov 20, 2006)

Ottawaman said:


> Applecare


If Best Buys plans are any indicator of their level of service , heres my story. 

I take the computer in to the geek goons , I tell him in plain english motherboard is bad. Hes like we'll try a software reinstall. I could tell it was going to be long and painful.

I get a call threedays later , they tell me my computers ready. I pick it and calmly state im not leaving the store until i test it. Sighing he agrees , I open three games of soltaire and the computer turns into a snail (keep in mind this is a decent machine , not more than 2 months old)

Hes like oh , we better take another look at it.


IT TOOK THEM 3 WEEKS TO GET IT OUT OF THE STORE! 

Then after a long bout with HP , them loosing my machine TWICE(another long story) . 

I get my machine , scratched to hell with a nice letter saying they replaced my motherboard. 2 MONTHS AFTER THE FIRST VISIT.

Anyways all their going to do when in the house goons call it quits is send it to apple.

Eliminate the middle man and get applecare

On my macbook , I had a logic board replacement done in 2days. I went in , convinced the SP to order the parts and they came in 2weeks later and I had it installed same day.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

I used to work for future shop... Their turnaround times can be upwards of 2 to 3 weeks. Also, they can take up to 3 months without replacing a product. If it gets sent off and they find no fault found, you have to pay for shipping costs. They're overpriced too...

The only time i'd recommend it is if it's an over the counter exchange (ie: on peripherals). I was there for 3 years and would still get stellar service, yet i'm going with applecare. Now THAT says something.

- Adam


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

voxx said:


> Was just wondering what people thought of extended warranties. I have in the past bought applecare for my iMac and will be very shortly buying a Macbook Pro.
> so the question would be to go with either applecare waranty or for example a Futureshop extended warranty. Cost wise the futureshop warranty is more expensive than the applecare ... 399 vs 565 both being 3yrs coverage. take away price being a factor, is either one really superior to the other? You would think that applecare would be better though... any opinons greatly appreaciated.


My understanding is that Future Shop's 'extended warranties' start the day you purchase the machine which means that you are giving them money for something that the manufacturer gives you for free. 

My main rule is to look at the purchase on a case by case basis. I purchased an 80 Gb iPod last fall. I will be purchasing the Applecare on that before the end of the year. At $69 it is a little high (17% of purchase price) but I also know the failure rate for iPods. 

The easiest decision of the bunch. I purchased an iPod Shuffle for my Mom at Staples and purchased their 1 year replacement plan for $9.99. Two total years of coverage for a little more than 10% of the purchase price and if anything goes wrong, Staples replaces the product with a brand new one, on the spot. No waiting.

Now the tricky one, I purchased 4 Gb iPod Nano's for each of my kids from Apple. My only option on those would be to purchase Applecare at $49 each. This works out to be 21% of the purchase price for each. I'm still leaning towards getting them before the year is out but I am still undecided.

One thing with the retailers extended warranties, if the retailer goes out of business, there goes your warranty. The chances of Staples going out of business are slim. The chances of Apple going out of business are even slimmer. The chances of Future Shop going out of business are probably much higher. And depending on how Best Buy has structured the company, there may be a chance that they could simple close up the Future Shop division and claim it to be bankrupt which might get them out of honouring the warranties. 

Also, if a retailer drops a product that it has sold extended warranties on, it could claim that they cannot get parts, repairs, etc. done and just give you a buyout offer (check the fine print, most retail extended warranties have that condition) that may not be fair and reasonable.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

Oakbridge said:


> One thing with the retailers extended warranties, if the retailer goes out of business, there goes your warranty. The chances of Staples going out of business are slim. The chances of Apple going out of business are even slimmer. The chances of Future Shop going out of business are probably much higher. And depending on how Best Buy has structured the company, there may be a chance that they could simple close up the Future Shop division and claim it to be bankrupt which might get them out of honouring the warranties.


Trust me... it'll be a cold day in hell before future shop goes under. Between Best Buy and Future Shop they have more than 30% of the market share in Canada. Best buy owns future shop but they're dual branding is a great idea. If you don't like future shop you go to best buy, if you don't like best buy you go to future shop. Either way the money goes to Kevin Layden (CEO). 

Best Buy Canada is continually building more future shops. With a chain that large they'll transfer warranties over to best buy or face a class action lawsuit if they DO go funder. Compusmart on the other hand... thats another story. LOL

Cheers. 
- Adam


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## wtl (Mar 15, 2006)

John Clay said:


> I'd avoid buying from Future Shop at all, but maybe that's just me.


I totally agree. I no longer buy anything "big" from Future Shop or Best Buy. I'd much rather deal with a small business that actually cares about the sale.


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## Jarooda (Jul 18, 2006)

Well at Staples (*works at Merivale Staples in Ottawa) our warranty for a MacBook Pro would be $199. We do not get paid commision and the warranty starts the day the manufacturers ends. We have a very quick turnaround rate (1-2 weeks even for a motherboard replacement). Therefore if you are thinknig of the two (Retail warranty or Applecare) dont use Future Shop as an example. That $569 (1/4 of the cost of the machine I may remind you) goes right into the salesmans pockets.

Just an idea...


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## kloan (Feb 22, 2002)

Applecare.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

Jarooda said:


> Well at Staples (*works at Merivale Staples in Ottawa) our warranty for a MacBook Pro would be $199. We do not get paid commision and the warranty starts the day the manufacturers ends. We have a very quick turnaround rate (1-2 weeks even for a motherboard replacement). Therefore if you are thinknig of the two (Retail warranty or Applecare) dont use Future Shop as an example. That $569 (1/4 of the cost of the machine I may remind you) goes right into the salesmans pockets.
> 
> Just an idea...


He's right... it does. The salesman will get 8% of that. LOL! Man ... i used to work right down the road from you! I was at FS on merivale! I heard rumours that you guys weren't doing so well... I know that compusmart up on merivale is closing and so is Audiotronic. 

Cheers. 
- Adam


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## voxx (Apr 27, 2006)

*ok...*

well i thought it would be overwhelming in favor for applecare. When comparing cost, going with applecare is a no brainer. Comparing apple to futureshop, another no brainer. Will be going with applecare when i get my macbook pro. Certain reasons apply when buying from futureshop for me personally but to that extent i have no issues really. I mean its new in the box and sealed,what can they screw up on that?

Thanks to all whom responded.... its really appreaciated.
now, have to buy applecare for my daughters new nano...


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## Jarooda (Jul 18, 2006)

adam.sn said:


> He's right... it does. The salesman will get 8% of that. LOL! Man ... i used to work right down the road from you! I was at FS on merivale! I heard rumours that you guys weren't doing so well... I know that compusmart up on merivale is closing and so is Audiotronic.
> 
> Cheers.
> - Adam



No man do you realize how much we sell in office supplies!!

We'll be around for awhile.

We are actually the highest grossing staples in our district, so


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## King Mob (Dec 5, 2006)

Is Futureshop even an Apple Certified Service Center? Can they even open your Mac without voiding your warranty?

Stick with Applecare. Theres a reason Consumer Reports called it, and extended warranty on rear-projection flatscreens the ONLY items to buy extended warranties on.


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## voxx (Apr 27, 2006)

my understanding with all apple products,future shop sends them out to apple or local authorized apple repair,not in house. Same applies to xbox360 they send them out to microsoft... at least they did up to a few months ago.... Those are the only 2 i am aware of, all others are in house/techs


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

adam.sn said:


> Trust me... it'll be a cold day in hell before future shop goes under. Between Best Buy and Future Shop they have more than 30% of the market share in Canada. Best buy owns future shop but they're dual branding is a great idea. If you don't like future shop you go to best buy, if you don't like best buy you go to future shop. Either way the money goes to Kevin Layden (CEO).
> 
> Best Buy Canada is continually building more future shops. With a chain that large they'll transfer warranties over to best buy or face a class action lawsuit if they DO go funder. Compusmart on the other hand... thats another story. LOL
> 
> ...


I'm 47 and I've seen more bankruptcies in the Ontario Home Electronics category than I can remember. I also worked for a very short time as a teenager for a company that I think was called Ava Electronics. They went into receivership and Brack Electronics bought them out. However because Brack bought them from the receiver, they didn't have to honour things like extended warranties, video rental memberships, etc. 

From what I have heard, Best Buy and Future Shop are run as two very separate companies. I don't know that much about corporate business but I believe that there are ways to separate companies so that if one fails, the other doesn't have to pick up the pieces, they can just put it into receivership. Why do you think that the two brands are still run separately? My guess is that there is some form of legal protection that is one of the benefits.

I'm not suggesting that Future Shop is in trouble. 

But that category of retailers is not the most stable in the retail industry.


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## ROFF (Feb 21, 2001)

AppleCare, no doubt about it.


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## TheBat (Feb 11, 2005)

I've read over and over that extended warranties, overall, are not worth buying. I never buy them. Am I someday going to get hit with a big repair bill? Possible, but unlikely, and if I do, all the money I've saved by not buying the warranties will go to foot the bill.

As a rough estimate, in 5 years of buying stuff, I've saved in the region of $3-4 thousand by *not buying the extended warranties*, enough to give away my non-warrantied PB and just buy another...

But...., it's always a personal decision. For me it has made financial sense. Maybe I've just been lucky....

I do agree that it make sense to insure items that will cost a lot to replace; house, car, cottage, etc.


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## ch1zo (Feb 20, 2007)

hey guys, first time poster on the forum
but when i purchased my imac...i spoke with one of the salesman at bestbuy and he told me straight up that their warranty is a rip off and you should use applecare. where as the guy at future shop kept trying to push me to purchase theirs and he was also saying how mac's dont last long and always break down...

i hate future shop!

but for the OP go with applecare


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

*A great example of:

Best Buy = no commission

Future Shop = commission
*

And a demonstration of how to spot a less than useful FutureShop employee.




ch1zo said:


> hey guys, first time poster on the forum
> but when i purchased my imac...i spoke with one of the salesman at bestbuy and he told me straight up that their warranty is a rip off and you should use applecare. where as the guy at future shop kept trying to push me to purchase theirs and he was also saying how mac's dont last long and always break down...
> 
> i hate future shop!
> ...


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## TheBat (Feb 11, 2005)

HowEver said:


> * a less than useful FutureShop employee.*


*

You mean that there are useful FS employees ????*


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## funkylizard (Mar 12, 2003)

> I've read over and over that extended warranties, overall, are not worth buying. I never buy them. Am I someday going to get hit with a big repair bill? Possible, but unlikely, and if I do, all the money I've saved by not buying the warranties will go to foot the bill.


I agree with TheBat. Extended warranties in general are a ripoff... Most Visa cards offer a year warranty over the manufacturers if you use it to purchase the product (I would highly recommend using a Visa card for such purchases in general anwyays). So, why would I pay $399 to extend my MBP warranty to 3 years (2 years over the 1 year you get to begin with) when I used my Visa card to pay for it giving me 2 years? I would be basically paying $400 for a one year warranty. No thanks...


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## Jarooda (Jul 18, 2006)

funkylizard said:


> I agree with TheBat. Extended warranties in general are a ripoff... Most Visa cards offer a year warranty over the manufacturers if you use it to purchase the product (I would highly recommend using a Visa card for such purchases in general anwyays). So, why would I pay $399 to extend my MBP warranty to 3 years (2 years over the 1 year you get to begin with) when I used my Visa card to pay for it giving me 2 years? I would be basically paying $400 for a one year warranty. No thanks...


Have you ever tried to use those extended warranties?

Visa will make you pay for three diagnostic visits until you find the person who will do the work the cheapest. Therefore do NOT fall back on a visa extended warranty it is not worth the hassle.

For example staples would charge $40 just to look at your computer and find out was it wrong. So at the very least you are paying $120 and you still dont have a fixed computer and still have to pay for shipping!


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

TheBat said:


> You mean that there are _useful_ FS employees ????


Nice. I tried to find a tactful way to say that. Couldn't find a good way.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

Oakbridge said:


> I'm 47 and I've seen more bankruptcies in the Ontario Home Electronics category than I can remember. I also worked for a very short time as a teenager for a company that I think was called Ava Electronics. They went into receivership and Brack Electronics bought them out. However because Brack bought them from the receiver, they didn't have to honour things like extended warranties, video rental memberships, etc.
> 
> From what I have heard, Best Buy and Future Shop are run as two very separate companies. I don't know that much about corporate business but I believe that there are ways to separate companies so that if one fails, the other doesn't have to pick up the pieces, they can just put it into receivership. Why do you think that the two brands are still run separately? My guess is that there is some form of legal protection that is one of the benefits.
> 
> ...


Up until about 5 years ago it wasn't owned by Best buy. Before then there wasn't a best buy Canada. Future Shop was owned by a guy who lived in the middle east believe it or not! Best buy moved up to canada and instead of re branding everything, just acquired FS.
- Adam


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

TheBat said:


> You mean that there are _useful_ FS employees ????


Hey.... my mom said i was useful. LOL!


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

NO doubt you would never make those remarks about Apple computers, but would instead describe them based on actual experience, utility and functionality. He meant the _other_ guys.



adam.sn said:


> Hey.... my mom said i was useful. LOL!


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

HowEver said:


> NO doubt you would never make those remarks about Apple computers, but would instead describe them based on actual experience, utility and functionality. He meant the _other_ guys.


Lol i know  I'm just kidding around. I'm never going back to a P.C. again :clap:


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

It won't make any difference on a Mac purchase, unless you are buying something else at the same time. However, for anything else, or if you are buying something else along with the Mac ...

You explain that, of course, you want the extended warranty. But, money is tight, I don't know if I can really afford it, blah blah blah ...

Since the extended warranty is, oh, I dunno, 99% profit for the store, they really want to sell them. Also, the store manager, the salesperson, ... probably the janitor ... all get bonuses, promotions, and all-around Karma from the extended warranty conversion (% of sales with warranty) figures. So, they really are motivated to sell the warranty.

So, generally make it known that if only there was a little more room ... you know ... can you do anything about the price ... then I can get the warranty too ...

When you get the additional discount (don't worry, you will ) and its time to check out, you say, ummm, well, I really can't afford that extended warranty now, but I can add it within 30 days, right ? ... and they go yes, that's right! Thank you for your purchase, sir!

You get the extra, secret, this is as low as we can go discount, and leave.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

I dunno man.... that's kinda low. If you're making your livelihood off comission and someone does that to you it's a bit of a piss off. It would be like someone taking part of your paycheck away b/c it was easy for them. Now multiply that timex 100 ppl a day. It ends up being alot of cash. I would always make the discount contingent on a package deal. No warranty , accesories, etc, no deal. It wouldn't be fair to other customers who paid full price.

There's a big markup on accesories but hardly ANY markup on computers themselves. I think apple has a 2% markup between what the store pays for it and what you pay for it on computers. It's not much higher with other companies either. In fact i've seen many occasions that products have been sold below cost due to region wide sales. Thats right... the company LOSES money each sale and relies on you to buy accesories. Microsoft does the same w/ an xbox. Very low profit on the unit itself, HUGE markup in games. Accesories on the other hand have HUGE markup. 

Example: USB cable = $30 , actual cost $3 , comission = $8 (unusually high)
Macbook = $1299, actual cost $1230, comission =$20
Warranty = $300, actual cost $150) (roughly), comission =$26

Dollar to comission to markup ratio the usb cable comes out on top. If you're gonna ask for a discount go for it in accesories


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## funkylizard (Mar 12, 2003)

> Have you ever tried to use those extended warranties?
> 
> Visa will make you pay for three diagnostic visits until you find the person who will do the work the cheapest. Therefore do NOT fall back on a visa extended warranty it is not worth the hassle.


Actually, I have used visa for extended warranties before. Not sure what you are talking about though. You call them up and tell them that you need to get something repaired. They ask you to make sure you take it to a authorized centre... you pay for the repair and then they reimburse you a few weeks later. Have done it twice now without issue. 

Buying extended warranties, especially Apples, is stupid. At least, if I am going to spend $400 for 2 years of warranty, I want accidental warranty like Dell or IBM (Lenovo now I guess)...


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

funkylizard said:


> Actually, I have used visa for extended warranties before. Not sure what you are talking about though. You call them up and tell them that you need to get something repaired. They ask you to make sure you take it to a authorized centre... you pay for the repair and then they reimburse you a few weeks later. Have done it twice now without issue.
> 
> Buying extended warranties, especially Apples, is stupid. At least, if I am going to spend $400 for 2 years of warranty, I want accidental warranty like Dell or IBM (Lenovo now I guess)...


Like many things, it all depends on the Visa card you have. My understanding is that the 'basic' level cards that offer the 'double the warranty' will require that you find three quotes at your own expense. The 'premium' cards don't. Best to check with your credit card issuer before assuming anything.


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## Oakbridge (Mar 8, 2005)

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread:

Applecare = Worldwide
Store Warranties = Canada Only

Even Staples and Best Buy's extended warranties are only good in Canada. You cannot deal with their US counterparts if you happen to be traveling and require service.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

Oakbridge said:


> Applecare = Worldwide



This is only true for laptops and Mac mini computers. iMac and Mac Pro AppleCare is only valid in the US and Canada.


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## adam.sn (Feb 7, 2007)

FS and Bestbuy are worldwide... you have it repaired at an authorized local repair depot and they reimburse you when you get back... Seen it a few times. Although i'm sure apple's would be alot smoother.
- Adam


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## Wpgnelly (Nov 26, 2008)

*A little education can go a long way*

For whatever reason people believe that Futureshop employees make phenominal commission especially on warrenty I would like to point out that of the supposed $569 for warrenty does not go in the salesmans pocket and I know cause I work there, trust me we get 2.7-3% of that ammount so that's maybe $15-$17 Max. Also Futureshop employees don't even make comission off apple products so there is no underhanded reason to sell a mac the cost is literally the retail so don't always believe
The hype, maybe find out first hand before you judge now I'm not defending futureshops product service plans cause apples is arguably as good or better I'm just saying don't always believe stories cause if it's true that Futureshop employees pocketed the $569 don't you think we would all be driving mercedes and living the life? Seriously I could sell 1 warrenty and make a weeks pay?? Doubtful


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## Britnell (Jan 4, 2002)

I never buy an extended warranty from Future Shop. Ever. On some products, the salesman makes more commission from the warranty than from the product. And when it comes to service, the Future Shop guys have their heads stuck up their back sides.

My personal approach is to buy the machine, then at the 11th month (still in warranty) give Apple a call and get the extended warranty on mobile products (ie laptops).

I have never bothered with an extended warranty on a desktop machine. Either it is going to fail relatively soon, or it will be a workhorse.


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