Extra warranty? Worth it?

[Sam6644]

Sometime within the next few days I will be ordering a Canon 7D.

As a college student, money is obviously very tight and cutting corners where I can is key. I have this package in my shopping cart at B&H currently and am just waiting for the money so I can pull the trigger.

Canon | EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera w/ Essential Accessory Kit

The package includes a 3 year 3rd party warranty that covers accidental damage, maintenance, and stuff like that.

It appears to me that this is a good thing to have, especially as a photojournalism student and the well-being of my gear is in jeopardy fairly frequently. Stuff like getting hit by a basketball, or having a football player fall on me, or even stuff as simple as weather conditions are all common threats to my stuff.

I'm aware that the 7D is pretty sturdy, but anything can happen.

My question is if these 3rd party warrantees are worth the extra money. Are they all they're cracked up to be? Will they reall fix/replace my stuff like they say? Should I just save the money?

Thanks in advance

 

[Sam6644]

Sagemax by NEW


anybody?

 

[Garbz]

Usually no. Your equipment itself is covered by a manufacturer's warranty anyway, and for most other things there's insurance.

You're money is tight and you're cutting corners now, but things change and in 2 years if your camera accidentally takes a dunk in the river for which your warranty may or may not have been applicable anyway, chances are you may even be able to afford a new camera.

It's really a personal question of how much you tend to look after your stuff and how prone to bad luck you are, as well as what EXACTLY is covered by the warranty. For me I fall into the category of reckless. But I have insurance covering my camera gear, and not a warranty.

 

[Derrel]

I looked at the link to the 7D and "essential accessories" kit for $2009, as opposed to the 7D body-only for $1699. I'm not sure why the junk shown with the first offer jacks the price up to $2009...that offer didn't look too good to me.

Extended warranty coverage...it's one of the single highest profit margin items in the photo retail business. Some people feel it's a good value. Others do not. Camera sales people absolutely love it,since selling one carries with it a huge spiff. Chances are good that no warranty work will be needed, and so when a company collects $200 to $300 for a service that is never delivered, the result is 'almost' 100 percent pure profit. With a mail-order company, since no sales associate is involved with the selling of the warranty, the amount of profit goes even higher,since the store does not pay a sales associate $25 for selling the EW.

 

[Overread]

$300 more for the upgraded kit is way overpriced for the acessorites you get. Cleaning kits are very cheap whilst memory cards are also very cheap (I tend to find amazon gives good cheap memory card prices). The Infra red remote might sound nice but its my understanding that they are often limited and that you can only triggor the camera from a set position (usually infront). I would say a radio remote is far superior and gives you more flexability but that a remote is possibly not hte first thing you need (A tripod would be though)

 

[Sam6644]

The thing is that unlike most warranties, this one covers accidental damage and wear & tear. This camera is going to be put through the paces, and I won't have money to replace it if gets damaged.

You can get the waranty seperate from that package for $214.

 

[Valethar]

The list of 'exclusions', etc.. makes me think this one is probably not going to be a good deal. Just the 'acts of god' clause alone can be a huge loophole. Just getting it wet outdoors could trigger that exclusion, and then you're SOL.

These companies bank on the premise that you're going to be worried about what MIGHT happen to your gear, and prey on that fear factor.

I'd re-check the warranty coverage on their website, and think very carefully about what they say isn't covered vs what you're going to be doing. Chances are, quite a bit of that is going to overlap, and you're going to be throwing away money on a warranty that they'll be able to slide away from when the time comes.

It might be worth looking into a personal insurance policy on the equipment instead. If you're at school, your parent's homeowner's policy may already have you covered, and an insurance policy will usually cover theft/loss where a warranty will not.

It's worth a little time to check the options before you take that plunge, at the very least.

 

[Garbz]

Yeah I should mention that is how I did it. My camera was a rider on the parents home policy. Thus it's covered for fire, theft, accidental damage, natural disasters etc. It's a yearly payment but I think of it like this:
- A company that sees your warranty as a once off sunk cost will do everything possible to not pay. You are NOT a repeat customer to them.
- A company who sees your camera as a small claim to a much larger insurance policy with ongoing income to them will be more likely to cough up the pittance that a damaged camera is worth in comparison to the insurance on a house.

 

[Sam6644]

Spoke with my insurance (State Farm) agent today.

He told me they offer an extremely extensive insurance plan for professional photography gear which includes accidental damage, theft, fire, and lots more with ZERO deductible.

After he ran the numbers he said it would only cost $36 to completely cover it. I'll definitely be going with that!

Thanks to everyone for your help, especially those who recommended speaking with my regular insurance guy... I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.

 

[skieur]

I fall into the category of very careful and have not damaged a camera or related equipment in several decades, so not worthwhile in my opinion.

skieur

 

[RyanMR05]

Insurance company is the way to go! :thumbup:

I pay about $6 a month for all my camera stuff. The cool thing is I can drop my camera off the side of a mountain and my insurance company will put the money in the bank to go buy a new one just like that. Well worth it!

 

[Sam6644]

I fall into the category of very careful and have not damaged a camera or related equipment in several decades, so not worthwhile in my opinion.

skieur

I'm as careful as it gets, but you never know and when you rely on your camera for your job and your grades in school you can't afford to risk it.

I've had my current camera for 3 years without a single scratch on it but that doesn't mean it wont get destroyed tomorrow. I can't afford to be without a camera for any more than a day or two and I definitely have no way of replacing a $2000 camera body if something were to happen to it.

 

[skieur]

I fall into the category of very careful and have not damaged a camera or related equipment in several decades, so not worthwhile in my opinion.

skieur

I'm as careful as it gets, but you never know and when you rely on your camera for your job and your grades in school you can't afford to risk it.

I've had my current camera for 3 years without a single scratch on it but that doesn't mean it wont get destroyed tomorrow. I can't afford to be without a camera for any more than a day or two and I definitely have no way of replacing a $2000 camera body if something were to happen to it.

Understood. I have the advantage of more than one camera and access to several others.

skieur