I like the environmental prospective.
Where can one drop off old personal electrical equipment tomorrow at the east lansing project pride?
Firm.
-----Original Message-----
From: "Hoort, Brian" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 5/30/08 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: [MSUNAG] Dell service -> what warranties make sense cost/benefit wise?
This past fall, while all of the office-supply and electronics big-box
stores were courting prospective college freshman (and their parents)
with laptop sales and rebates, I purchased an Acer laptop (with which
I've been most happy with, despite my fears) for $450 after a $200
rebate. Of course it came with a one year warranty. The sales clerk
attempted the hard-sell for extended coverage for one year for $150. I
believe this covered most accidental damage. An hour later, after
opening the box, I discovered a note inside from Acer offering a year of
coverage for $100. In retrospect, I don't believe this probably covered
accidental. I called my insurance agent, and discussed adding the
computer with an "anything goes" style accidental coverage policy, and
it was significantly less than $100 per year. Of course, I understand
that the type of "coverage" would be very different in this case, still,
this might be an option worth mentioning to parents.
I did not purchase any extended coverage. If the laptop breaks, I'll
research repairing it myself, and likely purchase another.
Purchasing a $3000 laptop every four years doesn't pay. If you count on
a $500 laptop lasting two years, you can have two $500 laptops in a four
year period, and the second will be faster than the 4 yr. old $3000 one,
for a cost of $1000. That said, this idea of disposable computers
bothers me a great deal from an environmental perspective. Properly
disposing of these cheap machines is critical. Incidentally, tomorrow
is East Lansing's Project Pride -- I'll be recycling a box of electrical
components there, including two old laptops of the $3000 variety.
Brian Hoort
|