So I hit up Sports Authority today as I was near the mall with my girlfriend and I needed some new running shoes as my current ones are nearing the 500 mile mark and are feelin beat. They have a decent selection of New Balance, Asics, and Saucony as well as Nike (which i hate IMO). Anyway I picked out a set of NB 758s which were on sale for $80 and the girl at the register asked me if I want the shoe protection plan for $10. I was curious so I asked, and she basically said it covers the shoes for 13 months from the date of purchase if they rip, fade, seperate, wear, etc. I said “Listen I am going to cook these things in about 6 months or less, they aren’t going to rip or anything, but they will definitely be worn out.” She replied “no problem, come back with your recipt and the shoes and we will refund you and you can get another pair for the same price or less.” Not only that I can repurchase the plan on the next pair for $10 again. I jumped on that deal!
If they have your brand of shoe thats a deal that can’t be beat. Just wanted to pass it along to my fellow STers.
If it really worked this way, I would never have to buy another pair of shoes. Ever.
There have been a number of complaints regarding this warranty:
Sports Authority is pushing a new “Extended Coverage Plan” for footwear that runs for one year after Sports Authority’s 30-day warranty expires. The extended warranty, which costs between $4.99 and $15.99, supposedly even covers normal wear and tear. So how is this profitable?
Sports Authority associates tell us that most people simply forget they have the extended warranty, which we find hard to believe. When we asked what would happen if we requested a new pair after cutting the tongues off our shoes for an art project, we were told that “managers have been very lenient.”
Sports Authority associate Taylor Smith writes on his blog that the warranties are part of a new corporate effort to upsell extras:
i sell shoes and we have this “Operation Big Foot” thing that just started in February 2009… we are supposed to basically ANNOY the customer by trying to persuade them to purchase an “ECP” aka Extended Coverage Plan, Insoles, shoe cleaner, sneaker balls (deodorizer), heart rate monitors watches, socks and any other product that we offer.
It gets so redundant throughout the day but the up side is we get a little money for each thing we sell. Like if i were to sell you an insole that costs $19.99-29.99 each i would get $1. If i sell you an ECP and your shoes cost $79.99 your ECP would cost $9.99 and i would get $.50 but if your shoes cost over $100.01 then the ECP would cost $15.99, and i would get a buck!
The extended warranty is administered by the National Electronics Warranty Corporation, which has several complaints against it on RipOffReport.
We distrust most extended warranties. A warranty on shoes that including wear and tear seems to good to be true, which means that it probably is.
Keep your receipt, they don’t keep track of it on their computers. I went back and tried to get a pair of trail shoes, they said it only works for the same shoe you originally bought. they did not sell it to me that way…cost me ten bucks. I don’t know anybody who’s done it successfully.
Keep your receipt, they don’t keep track of it on their computers. I went back and tried to get a pair of trail shoes, they said it only works for the same shoe you originally bought. they did not sell it to me that way…cost me ten bucks. I don’t know anybody who’s done it successfully.
Yeah I figured that from working retail in the past. ALWAYS save the receipt. The extended warranty actually usually is a ripoff, so I should have qualified my statement. With these warranties you need to know how to work the system. I can really only see this warranty working for people like us who eat through stuff like running shoes fairly quickly. I’ve never had a shoe rip, sole separate, etc in my life of using NB shoes.
First off I can definitely see where they can make money as I am sure 90% of people lose receipts for shoes they bought. IF the warranty works like the associate says then its a great deal, and I figured for $10 its worth a shot.
I also checked out the “Terms and Conditions” on the back, and it explicitly states you have the option of receiving cash, cash equivalent gift card, or store credit for the shoes. So the store you were in screwed you, I’d recommend making a complaint to management.
I worked in an electronics store and we had a guy buy a $5 warranty on a $15 pair of headphones, but how it was written it allowed exchanges and the warranty would continue. So he was a runner and would destroy em pretty fast, so basically for a total of $20 we supplied him with headphones for 2 years. We all knew who he was and laughed at the company because of how he beat them at their own game.