Try this in insurance: if you just fake your death, you get millions!!!

Nice material for a class action suit

@Hoss:

In fact, you can die every 3 years and if you don't collect on the policy, you can upgrade to an even BETTER policy.....

One of my friends got offered an extended warranty for a $10 soldering iron, and the extended warranty costs more than the item itself.

How is Radio Shack still in business? The store seems hopelessly dated and irrelevant in today's market.

If you want to buy an Extended warranty on a product you are going to purchase(or already have), call the manufacturer to purchase it. They will provide MUCH better service when it comes to items such as televisions, computers(hardware repair/replacement, don't expect software help), dishwashers, washer/dryer, and other large electronics. The manufacturer warranties are generally less expensive, and they will usually match the typical price points of a B&M retail stores warranties.
Small electronics such as cordless phones or hard drives usually have painless replacement warranties within the first year, and often if the issue occurs within a year of an expired warranty, the manufacturer will offer discounts to buy their products again.(Examples: Western Digital hard drives, Fellow's paper shredders, Uniden cordless phones)

Looks like my policy of not shopping at Radio Shack anymore is still a good idea. Are they still doing the give name and address when you buy everything?

When faced with the "Would you like an extended warranty with that?" at a local electronics chain I asked if I could see the policy first. They refused, I explained I wanted to know if it covered accidental damage. 2 sales assistants and the cashier agreed it did. So I took the extended warranty, whip out the policy and check. It didn't so I turned around and asked for an immediate refund. They then had to explain to the manager why I needed a refund within a minute of leaving the store :P

@ilikemoney: Head to the back of the store and you'll see that they still sell all that nerdy electrical stuff. You can't get that at Best Buy or Home Depot. I think that's the foundation that's still keeping them around.

And the margin on that stuff has to be astronomical.

Some credit cards automatically give you an extended warranty of double the manufacturers original warranty period. Buying an extended warranty on top of that gives you no extra coverage.

I find it interesting that two of the three examples given involve the customer making fraudulent claims in order to get the "benefit" out of the plan. A salesperson giving such advice is either screwing the company they work for, or screwing the customer - so why would I trust ANYTHING he/she says, much less BUY anything from their store?

I must say though, that like others observed above, Radio Shack does sell some items that are hard to find elsewhere, at least for those who have an occasional need for such things. I'm sure anyone with a frequent need has better sources than an overpriced retail store.

@I Love New Jersey: They seem to have stopped that. I know I always gave a fake one and a plausible but non-existent address on my street. Do they even mail stuff any more?

@ilikemoney: Mobile phones. They make massive amounts of revenue on selling phones and the plans for them. There are still a lot of old people who think Radio Shack is THE place to be if you need anything electrical.

Every time I am there, the reps are trying to sell a phone to some old couple.

In fact, Radio Shack seems to live off anything with a subscription; satellite radio, satellite TV, mobile phone etc...

Why don't all of us email Radio Shack at ethics@radioshack.com and ask them to explain what we have read here. Tell them where we've read it as well. We can use throwaway addresses so we don't have to worry about getting spam.

Let's see if/how they respond to us. We can post our responses here if we're allowed.

@ilikemoney: Cell phones and plans mostly. They do still have the the electronics selection in the back. The employees know nothing about it and the prices on that stock are obscene. We needed a $2 computer processor fan for work asap because it had a machine down. The ONLY place in town that had one that size was Radio Shack. $29.99 for a $2 computer fan.

@ilikemoney: batteries and wires. The market up on them is huge and that's almost 40% of the store. Plus they sell adapters and chargers that before the internet you couldn't get else where, and honestly most people will still go there to get.

I remember working at Radio Shack many years ago and had to toss a battery when I went to our inventory system to remove it said the cost to the store was .17 cents we sold it for 3 dollars and some change. If that doesn't explain why radio shack is still around I don't know what will. (button cell batter like a cr2015 i think :P why do i remember this shit)

@GillianDampie: I know most warranties do not cover accidental damage. Also I think they have to disclose the terms of the service before they sell it? Or is this another thing we need to have reform on?

I've had to go out of my way to remove an extended warranty plan that was added as a "courtesy" to my purchase without my consent. The associate working the cashier simply rung it up w/out even asking about it. I've become unfortunately accustomed to this behavior from credit card companies, but this type of upselling harrassment is ridiculous...eBay also is constantly emailing me about adding a warranty to my purchases now after I already declined them at the time of purchase also.

Does anybody know if the warranty from Verizon Wireless actually cover accidental damage? I was told it does but I'll be damned if I can find the terms and conditions.

I actually got it because I bought the new Alias 2 and so far it's actually one of the best Verizon phones I've used in a while, but I'm nervous about the Dynamic Key pad just up and dying. It's such an unexplored territory for cellphones or really most electronic devises (which is a shame it truly is a great concept) I'm afraid it won't last the 2+ years I like to keep my phone.

@ZebediahLaomedon: eBay offers warranties? As a seller on eBay I've never seen an option for this. Though I sell mostly Athletic stuff I hope they don't' spam people with that crap...

@Skankingmike:

They do have to disclose the terms of service but that just means handing you a little brochure with walls of text. Most people don't read it and just Trust the sales rep. The problem is a lot of sales reps will lie to sell you the plan then deny it later or claim policy change.

@Skankingmike: Cell phone warranties typically only cover manufacture defects like a non functioning key or a screen or speaker stop working. The key wording is they have to break under normal wear and tear. So if you drop it and break something its not covered. From what your saying the Dynamic Key pad just up and dying should be covered. Though most cell phones are only covered one year unless you bought extended coverage. If the sales rep said two years was included I would get it in writing, just to cover your own butt when you try to do a warranty claim.

@ilikemoney: Plus there's the convenience factor. As a former mall employee, you wouldn't BELIEVE how many customers are willing to pay WAY more for a CD or DVD from FYE or electronics from Radio Shack simply to avoid having to take a trip to Best Buy.

@Bogart's Falcon aka Philly Falcon:
Doesn't sound like a bad idea, except, how are we supposed to get responses with throwaway addresses?
I have a nagging suspicion that they would just throw some PR "It is not our policy to mislead" (read, "we create many situations where employees have to lie, but don't want the bad flack.") or "We are taking this situation VERY seriously" ("We will say anything to get you to come into the store just one more time to bend over for us, but bring your own lube.")

@TehQ: No i pay extra for a warranty that's suppose to cover everything and anything I really just didn't trust this phone working past a year which is why I pay 6 bucks for it. We'll see.

@Skankingmike: It's called SquareTrade or something like it.

@Skankingmike: I go to RS about once or twice a year to buy one of those over priced button cell batteries. RS is the only place within a reasonable drive that carries the ones I need and I usually need it quicker than the internet can deliver. Other than that I stay clear. But every time I've gone in there they try to sell me a new cell phone. Sometimes it's been way too pushy. Since I doubt my twice a year purchase is keeping them in business I'm always surprised that they still are in business.

@rpm773: I was one of those "nerdy electrical" geeks when I was a kid. I still have tons of RS resistors, circuits and electronics books shoved in some box around here.

I forwarded the following email to ethics@radioshack and did not receive a reply or witness any correction from the managers involved.

That's because the email wound up in Ernie Thics' inbox. He's actually just an assistant payroll clerk, who's working part time for the summer so that he can run a vacation bible school in Missouri. He's dating Babs Broomall, an overweight, unemployed hairdresser from Springfield who's 7 years his senior.

Unfortunately, Ernie can't help you with your issue. He has enough problems.

@Skankingmike: Agreed. The only thing that I buy at Radio Shack are AV and microphone cables. Whenever possible, I will plan ahead and order from MonoPrice for about 1/4 the cost, but if you NEED a specific cable NOW, my only choices are Guitar Center (Closest store to me is 35 minutes away), or Radio Shack (5 minutes away).

@mrsultana: When I said "throwaway addresses" I was talking about an address that you can use without worrying about spam because after awhile you can, if you want, simply stop using it and open another. You would be able to receive the response at that address.

I have a few on Hotmail and Yahoo that I use. You don't even have to give your real information if you don't want to.

Even though we would probably receive canned responses it would be interesting to find out if all of them are the same (cookie cutter). After we post here about the responses we could invite Radio Shack to view them.

@ken2148: Hey, I hope you didn't take offense...I was buying that "nerdy electrical" stuff just last week. I was hardwiring in a radar detector in my 4Runner.

I was wearing a Groucho Marx ensemble in order to lower my profile. There were chicks about.

@Skankingmike: For $6 a month, that's most likely insurance (and possibly a warranty). I pay Sprint $7 for insurance ($100 deductible) through Asurion and warranty replacement (no deductible, but only for hardware failures - i.e. not for dropping it in a cup of water or losing it).

I've stopped buying from most retail stores due to deceptive practices like Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio Shack, Sears, et. al. I'll still buy from MicroCenter, Costco, and a few others. But you can't trust any store anymore. Also, don't buy something unless Amazon has over a hundred reviews so people can blast the product if there are chronic problems with it. Buying new technology is VERY risky these days. Look at Amazon's Kindle! WOW!

@ilikemoney: I think Radio Shack's days have to be numbered. How many people still mess with component level electronics hobby/repair?
So it's the few people left that are still buying that stuff at full retail and old people buying cell phones with extended warranties that keep them in business.
That reminds me, the one time over a decade ago I did buy a cell phone from them, they tried to sell me on the ext.war. by claiming it would pay for my battery replacements; since batteries go bad 'every six months' on cell phones.
To this day I have never had to replace a battery on a cell phone.

@Bogart's Falcon aka Philly Falcon: I'd guarantee you that this wouldn't accomplish anything. The ethics department at any major company isn't going to hand out inquiry results to any random email address that comes along, or anyone outside the company without going through an arduous Communications approval process. I don't doubt they're already investigating it based on the original tip, and once that's through, they'll release the results to those people who need to know within the company...not to "joeshmoe39281@yahoo.com."

Frankly, by spamming them, you'd just slow up the process and annoy people with a job to do.

At least they are admitting that you get a gift card when you make a claim. When I worked for RadioShack we were told to act as if the customer can just come back to the store and get a replacement, instead of needing to call a 800 number and plead your case to a third party who will do anything possible to deny your claim and then wait for a gift card.

@rpm773: LOL.
Sounds like you have first hand knowledge of this.

I have to say that as a former employee of Radio Shack that these type of practices make me embarrassed to say that I worked there. Through my store I was never told to explain the warranties in that matter. The warranties work thus:

For phones they cover the phone through NORMAL wear and tear. They also cover they batteries but only one replacement per phone per year of the policy.

The policy only covers the devices if they don't work due to faulty equipment and normal wear and tear (in other words if you drop it, hit it, throw water on it, or lose it it is not covered).

Yes Radio Shack STRONGLY encourages the sales of the warranties. Yes they increase profits. No the salesperson does not get commission just for selling it. Yes for some things like Home electronics, GPS, Ipods and phones they are a good idea to get. Not really for things like a 2GB SD card.

Again though, the above article and some of the stuff I read here makes me feel for anyone who has such experiences in what was once a electronic hobby store.

@supercereal: In retrospect if anyone was to do this it should be through one of their corporate email addresses. What should be asked of them is why the corporate hierarchy is doing this to us. As someone who they want to purchase from them, I have the right to know why they are telling their salespeople to lie to me.

@I Love New Jersey:
For such things I always give 1313 Harbor Blvd., Anaheim CA 92802, which is Disney Land's address.

I'm a RadioShack employee myself, and I've NEVER seen or heard of these examples. When I offer a customer an RSSP, I tell them exactly what it's for: it's an extended warranty that (in the case of the usual 1- or 2-year replacement plan) covers product defect, normal wear and tear, and power surge; and for products with rechargeable batteries, a free battery replacement per battery per year.

Neither I nor anyone at my store since I've worked there have ever tried to trick a customer into getting an RSSP.

This doesn't look like an official corporate communiqué to me, even allowing for "transcription."

I work at Radioshack also, and this would be the first I've heard of anything like this. We are specifically told not to do things like this at my store/district. Sounds like someone is making up a story for attention.

@Skankingmike: The insurance verizon sells you does cover that kind of damage. The $5 a month is worth it. It covers EVER! if you lose your phone they will send you a new one. If you run it over with your car with will replace it. There is a $50 charge for a new phone that you get but its worth the protection. Also verizon does not do the insurance a 3rd party does it.

@Skankingmike:

If you are paying for the insurance, yes it does cover it. You have to pay a deductible, like $50 or so, but it gets you a new phone even if yours is lost/stolen.

@ZebediahLaomedon: As if best buy warranties are band enough, never trust a warranty on a product the entity selling the warranty has never seen. It's pretty much guaranteed they don't have to honor the warranty at all.

@Rhainor: Obvious troll is obvious.

There is NO reason I can think of to shop at Radio Shack, unless you need some little electronic widget you can't find at another electronics store or even a Walgreen's.

Their house brand-stuff has always SUCKED. I'm not even sure they still sell anything with their name on it.

Otherwise, you can beat their prices elsewhere and avoid the hassle of these worthless upsells, as well as their annoying practice of taking your name and address, even if you're just buying batteries.

RS= Rotten Sh*t

Another Radio Shack employee here, again, this is defenitely not something sent out by corporate or all stores would have gotten it. The part about batteries for cordless phones is a valid and valuable point though, I've used it several times myself.

@I Love New Jersey: Haven't heard that in a very long time, though I avoid Radio Shack.

I remember many years ago being told by a Radio Shack clerk that I couldn't buy the $3 thingy I was trying to buy, for CASH, unless I gave him my personal information. I told him that was illegal, he argued. I got loud (there were other shoppers in the store) and started asking him for his personal information so I could report him. He sold me the thing, but I've hated Radio Shack ever since.