Manufactures warranty latest way that Sears is trying to get all business out of the stores into online. They are doing a test starting Monday for one week if you by any Kenmore washer or dryer online you will receive a three year manufacturers warranty granted this is not a PA but the average customer will not care. All their hearing is three years. Good luck selling any PAs. Another way we are losing money as commission sales people
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After taking a look at the site it seems like I was right. The sale is %30 which is pretty normal. The prices of the items I looked at were also pretty much what I'd expect normally during most of the year (25-30%) off. Nothing has changed except for the extra warranty coverage.
Which makes me wonder...was it the exact same deal in the stores? I know back when I worked there, some deals you couldn't actually match if they were online. It doesn't specifically say "online only" but it does say "in store deals may vary". If you couldn't match it, how could you deal with it? Store to home?
It's totally legal as long as the follow the correct protocol when it comes to adjusting "sale" prices versus "retail " prices. I doubt they'll actually increase the prices..but they definitely won't put the items on a deep sale.
Is this even ethical? Claiming FREE 3 yr MANUFACTURERS warranty, but it isn't really free when they raise the promo price of the item to cover the cost of the warranty. The customer is actually paying for it, just in the price of the product now. A sneaky, if not illegal. way to get the customers to buy warranty. And with less comprehensive coverage. Should be investigated.
While I agree with most of that statement, I can't help but to point out the fact that sears isn't the same as kenmore. Meaning a warranty with kenmore will likely be valid even if sears goes bankrupt. So it makes perfect sense.
What incentive if warranty or PA, when customers realize Sears is toast in a year! Who wants overpriced Kenmore service anyway!
Exactly, keep telling us that we must sell PAs and then do this. Force the customers to buy PAs at all costs or you will be on calls as to why you are not getting the customers to buy. Poor way to run a somewhat business.
The incentive is the fact that it's a free 3 year warranty on an item you can only purchase from sears and Kmart. It's new and I'm sure people will jump on it when they're use to only having a 1 year warranty. It sounds nice to customers even though it's not really that great.
So it's to drive the most profit margin friendly items in the department in the most profitable way, which is online due to reduced overhead costs. The warranty itself is extremely low risk. Really, extended a limited manufacturing warranty an extra 2 years costs sears nothing except for the potential PAs. I'm assuming the PA number have dropped significantly enough for it to be a worthwhile trade off but who knows. It wouldn't surprise me based on the recent bad press. The rules on a factory warranty are usually pretty stiff. So if someone buys it and if it breaks in 3 years and if it wasn't their fault in any way then they will get a repair. Lots of "ifs". Most likely, the rare breakdown won't even be honored because the consumer never follows the rules when it comes to understanding what's covered and what voids your coverage.
I definitely see the PA numbers falling off the cliff though. Samsung and LGs have a 5 yeah warranty on all direct drive motors and linear compressors and I've seen even something as limited as that kill a PA attempt with some consumers.
Tonight on Pebble there must have been over 50 or more responses to this information post about the new warranty on dot com,just more to compete with in the stores.
It's a counter to the fact that people are beginning to really doubt if sears will exist for another 3 years, including themselves. It's probably an attempt to capitalize on this and give people a bigger reason to buy kenmore products. It's online only, kenmore, and doesn't actually involve much risk for sears since the manufacturer warranty is so limited anyways. It's wins all around for sears because both the fact that it's kenmore, as well as the fact that it's online all increase profits. It sounds a lot more appealing because you're getting triple the coverage and it's free. And people are likely to confuse a kenmore warranty with the actual sears warranty so they really think it's an amazing deal.
It's an attempt to push out a lot of volume with the maximum possible profit margins. I wouldn't be surprised if the prices are all on the higher end of their "sale" prices either.
The only reason this is being tested is because Eddie knows damn well that Sears won't be around to honor it. So it's no cost and all gain. Either Kenmore will cease to exist by then, or it will have been sold to someone else to foot the bill.
"any Kenmore washer or dryer online you will receive a three year manufacturers warranty"
If its a MANUFACTURER warranty just what the 'F' is the incentive to even buy the product - sounds like some corporate idiot fell out of bed as an adolescent
1mkh-- Survival of the fittest. Only the strong will survive!! That's the plan
dang. I feel for y'all if that turns out to be true. PAs were really the only good source of money since they changed to the new commission structure years ago.
Great! Just another way we get to compete against online. Yay commissioned salespeople!
It seems as if online/call centers are just as serious as a competitor than Lowe's, Home Depot and whatever else.
Mister Ediot Lampert (yeah, I meant to spell it that way) wanted this to happen. He called for pitting parts of the company against each other. Even the executives below him think this is a bad idea.