"Cleaning" and "servicing" a new camera?

True story about Best Buy Tech service..I worked for them...So this is no
bull... Yeah with a service contract(PSP) you get free cleaning...On a
VCR-we would stick a cleaning tape in-With a printer-clean the heads with
alcohol...Printers do need cleaned-nothing anyone can't do. But I had a
problem with cleaning a Digital camera(at that time it was a Nikon
5000...The supervisor stopped by that day...He asked why I didn't clean and
test that Nikon-5000(They like everything sitting on the finished shelves) I
simply said, "clean what?, I can wipe it off, that's all." He picked up the
camera-sprayed it with window cleaner, took a picture..Then said..There its
cleaned...Mark the work order, cleaned and tested...So would you really want
to know why people buy a service contract? Ok-Mess your camera up 3
times-within your contract...Take it back the 4th time...By then a new model
will be out...And get a new camera/computer/whatever...Dir­ty=yep/low
morals=yep/true=sure is....

I agree.  If the contract is only for periodic maintenance it's crap, as the
camera you bought doesn't require any maintenance.  If the contract covers
repair or replacement, it would cost you far more than $50 to "repair" your
camera should something happen.  Read the fine print.

My thought = very high margin add-on for Best Buy.

A major part of Best Buy training is selling...Warranty...(PSP)....­.They
make a hugh profit off-insecurity...Personally...­If you still can..Take it
back...

Generally, service contracts are one of the biggest rip-offs there are.
Statistically, all electronic and most mechanical devices are most likely to fail
within the first few weeks of use, the failure rate dropping steadily to stabilise
after a few months.
After a few years of use the failure rate will gradually start to rise.
Environment and design factors, maintenance and long term reliability of
components will determine the ultimate failure of any equipment.
Normally, a 12 months warranty covers any initial failures so any extended service
warranty only covers the period when a failure is least likely to occur during the
equipments life (try getting a service contract on a 10 year old camera).
There are a few exceptions to this, for example a service contract may be of value
to a photographer that regularly uses a camera in extreme environments, say in
dirty, humid and/or very hot locations or where a piece of equipment gets a lot of
hard use like a photocopier in a school.

Peter

You first mistake was going to Best Buy....The second was listening to
crap...They have no one....With any experience...Been there/worked there...
"Bob(but not that Bob)" <nob @nowhere.com> wrote in message

In article <1110560082.303325.109 @f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>­,

These cleanings and adjustments don't exist. 95% of the time, servicing
this class of camera consists of throwing it away and getting a new
one.

They don't require periodic maintenance, period.

If, and ONLY if, the service agreement allows for repair or replacment
of the camera in case of accidental damage, might this be worth while.

When I ran my camera stores, I paid the sales people a 40% comission on
extended warranties. They were the single most profitable thing in the
store.

Do it soon and let us know if you got all of your money back.  Did
hook you into a free trial subscription of sports illustrated on the
way out?

Wes

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Highly unlikely that you will ever need this service.  If it does, you will
probably find that you can a newer model with even more features for not
much more that the service.
Jim

sfro asks:
salesman at Best Buy encouraged me to buy a 4 year service agreement
(about $50) because it includes free regular cleanings and adjustments
that he says are very important. There are lenses and alignments that
should be serviced regularly, he said. One cleaning ($40) almost pays
for it. Anyway, do these cameras benefit from regular "cleaning" and
"servicing"? He said most people never service their cameras and they
often live to regret it.<<

Twaddle. Typical salesman's bullshit. What lens service are you going
to get on a CP 4600, fer pete's sake? Cleaning? Get a microfiber cloth
for about 3 bucks. Use canned air to blow out the card slot every so
often. That's it. If they're charging 40 bucks for cleaning, they are
screwing you out of $30. If they charged you 50 bucks for the
agreement, they screwed you out of 50 bucks.

www.bestbuysux.org

You have just been scammed if you bought it (service plan).

Wes

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I suspected as much. It's refundable so there's no real loss. I can get
my money back. Thanks.

He's half right - "most people never service their cameras" - but the
rest is bullshit.

They may have a decent sale price on items like cameras, but never buy
any accessory or add-on of any kind at BB - no cables, memory cards,
readers, batteries, cleaning kits, etc. They nail you on the high-markup
extras.