Ritz Camera ESP Question Before I Buy??

[kaibar]

I'm ready to purchase a 20D and the salesman at Ritz says the warranty they sell for an additional $200+ dollars is great. Says it covers everthing but fire or theft.. Has anyone had good experiences with this ESP plan or bad. I hate to lay out $200 for a scam. Please adivise I plan on purchasing Wednesday..

-Kaibar

[cactusclay]

First of all, Ritz camera is going to charge pretty close to that much more than some place like B and H will just for the camera. You might want to shop around a bit.

[cactusclay]

Actually, BanH is pretty close, but I got mine at BUYDIG and it was close to 200 less than Ritz. I can't find a price for them right now, but you might want to look. What you save could go toward a warrenty.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Canon warranty should cover most anything for the first year.

[Steve Parr]

The first digital camera I ever bought was purchased at Ritz; an Olympus. I also got their warranty.

About three months after I got the camera, my daughter dropped the camera on pavement. It cracked the battery cover, and shook loose all kinds of things inside the camera that probably shouldn't be shook loose.

It was covered...

Steve

[kaibar]

Thanks Steve that's the kind of info I was looking for. I have been stiffed by B&H as well as many other online merchants so i'm back to brick and mortar.

[Twist]

Personally what I did was just took a personally articles policy out on my cameras, lens, and laptop computers that leaves the house through state farm insurance. I have 2 cameras, 2 lens, and a new laptop on the policy. It costs me 3 bucks a month for the whole thing. It actually covers if anything happens to my camera or lens. Lost, stolen, dropped. Best part say in a few month my camera breaks or gets stolen. I get a check for $1000 to replace me camera allowing me to upgrade to the latest replacement model.

[MDJAK]

Twist, I've had replacement coverage through my insurance company for years. One thing I can tell you that you didn't indicate is: The insurance company has vendors they use to replace equipment. They will offer you a replacement in kind for what you lost. If you refuse that, and you don't want to suffer depreciation, then you must go out first and buy a replacement (whether upgrade or not) and then when you provide proof they will pony up the original price.

As far as extended warranties, Consumer Reports (which I don't hold out as the holy grail) recommends against them. They recently said it might make sense for a very expensive plasma or lcd television as their longevity is not yet known.

Personally, and I don't mean to sound flippant, I like to trade-in my equipment within a year or two and so never take extended warranties.

[coarphoto]

the first camera i purchased was a canon- i had used a bulk film container that had malfunctioned and had to retrive the film in the dark room- in the dark, i pulled and pulled on the film but it just would not come out! angry i stormed out of the dark room to get the film out no longer carring about the film when i realized i had been pulling on th shutter blades.......ritz replaced it no hassels...vic

[PhotosGuy]

Some credit cards have a feature that extends your warranty. Don't know which ones though.

[drandy1]

American Express adds a year onto any manufacturer's policy. Not bad for free (or sort of?). You still have to pay the bill!

Best Regards,

[DSMITH131]

Tristate Camera has them on Ebay $1295.00 and shipping took only 3 days

[vwpilot]

I used to work at a Ritz and their ESPs are no scam. They do make them an ok amount of money because they are not cheap for sure, but they do just what they say.

You can literally throw the camera against a wall in anger and smash it to total bits. You can go in there and TELL them you did it and they will give you a new one without question.

Now, the one caveat is that you will NOT get it generally on the spot and repairs can take some time (I have had some take as long as 6 or 8 weeks) but the bottom line is they are covered without any questions asked. Problem is they send so many things back to vendors that the vendors are not out to get Ritz stuff back as soon as those that come directly from customers. But if you drop your gear, no Canon warranty is every going to cover it, but the Ritz one will.

I replaced quite a few cameras under this policy so I know its no lie. And if you buy a multiple year one and your camera is not made anymore you will get a gift card of the original purchase amount.

Also its not a one time use thing, if you buy a 2yr policy you can break your camera 3,4,5,10 times during that time and they will replace it every single time.

You can also renew, so you can start with a one year and then renew it each year you keep your camera. But, if you buy more than one to begin with you are locked into a lower price as if you go year to year it generally goes up some each year and you pay a higher yearly rate.

Bottom line, its a good way to go if you are rough on gear. And it wont be counted against you like an insurance policy can if you are constantly damaging gear. It will be slightly more than a general insurance policy is though.

[Marvinspu36]

For some, these policies may make sense. But if I bought every extended warranty policy that was offered to me for all the electronics I've purchased, I would easily be spending $1000 a year just on the extended warranties. For a $1000 a year savings, I could easily replace anything of mine that breaks, and still save money. I haven't spent more than a few hundred every few years replacing equipment which has failed outside of the manufacturer's warranty. As for loss or theft, my home owner's policy has full replacement value.

If you are hard on your gear and find things breaking often, they may make sense. But the reason these companies offer them is because they are in the business of making money, and they make a lot from these warranties. That's why they push so hard to sell them. Some companies have started servicing their own policies instead of going to outside companies, because they are so lucrative.

[RodneyCyr]

I bought a 4-year replacement/repair warranty at Best-Buy for my Rebel Digital. So far, I have not needed it, but had very good support from them on replacement warrenties for other products.

Caveats:

1) Best Buy may have changed its policy since I last used their warranty about three years ago.

2) They may or may not sell the 20D. I don't know.