You’ll never use that warranty
You are probably never going to take advantage what the manufacturers offer, so don’t be afraid to void your warranties.
My turntable has become a treasured item in my home, and especially during the pandemic, playing records has definitely been a big part of my self-care.
My current turntable, the Audio Technica AT-LP1240, has a built-in phono preamp, but if you want to use an external one, there’s a bit of a snag: the audio output is worse. This is due to an in-line LC circuit in the output stage that causes the upper frequencies to be attenuated.
How do you fix that? You mod it, either through rewiring, or, as I did, literally removing the surface mount components with a soldering iron.
Doing a bunch of research before I did this, there was a lot of talk on online forums about whether it was worth it, because of how it would void the warranty.
This was yet another reminder of how people live in fear of warranties. It’s a low-grade fear, admittedly, but one that goes unchallenged.
And it’s time to challenge it. Because, in pretty much all cases, you’re never going to use that warranty anyway.
Manufacturer warranties
I’m talking about the warranties that manufacturers add on to their products for free. Usually capped at “1 year”, but sometimes much longer (10–20 years for mattresses or carpets, say) these protect against defects.
Everything I buy seems to have something like this. Every time I buy a high-quality product from Amazon from TOUYOU, SEQUIT, AQUVAA, QUEEZE, or any of the other totally-not-shell-companies on Amazon, there’s not only a card saying “happy? tell us!” but there’s often a warranty card in there too.
For the first year, if ever your three pack of 1lb propane tank brass caps fails, then you definitely can get that money back.
Obviously this sort of thing is irrelevant when buying on Amazon, because they will effectively let you return anything you want.
So what about more traditional objects like toaster ovens or chairs?
I’ve got to give it to you straight, here: you’re not going to use the warranty. And if you bother trying, you have zero assurance that the company is going to pay.
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