I'm not much one for advertsing people's stuff on here, but I gotta sing some praises here.
I've been sucked in many times by extended warranties for various stuff. I have wasted so much money for extra protection on telephones, dvd players, stereos, etc. I'm a sucker for the sales pitch. While I rarely ever need one (in fact, I've never cashed one in to date) and they generally run out of time, never used, the one time I didn't buy one on a dvd/vcr combo, I needed it. Then I bought a replacement (sans warranty), and it died again (different brand). I finally bought a refurb from Overstock.com (their service contracts are dirt cheap - and I bought one) and I have had no problems with it. But the time I didn't buy one, I could have used it, so I'll continue to be a sucker for them unless they're incredibly outrageous.
There are times that they are warrented - like a computer. Ok - I fibbed. Every tower computer I have ever owned has gone back at least once under the service contract, and the laptop has gone back once, but that's it. Anyway, I bought an auto warranty for the first time with my Neon. I generally don't like long-term auto financing (too much stuff goes wrong during the duration of the loan), but I had to finance it for 4 years, so I opted for 3 years, 36,000 miles. The Neon's were notorious for engine troubles. I only ever had one problem that might have been covered, but they wouldn't cover it. And the Neon is still going strong, despite being largely devoid of paint.
So re-wind to last March, when I bought the KIA. KIA offers fantastic warranties, but not if you buy used. I got 12 months or 10,000 miles. That ran out in November, when I hit the cap on miles. We had declined the warranty that the dealer offered us. It would have added too much to my payment. I was firm in that I didn't want to finance for more than 3 years, and I wanted a payment of less than $200/month. When we divided out the cost per month, they were asking a lot for the warranty they were offering. It just wasn't worth it.
During the time that we had a warranty, the car was in the shop for a loose heat shield (it made a rattling noise - we didn't know why), a malfunctioning panic alarm that fired at will, and some transmission noise (which turned out to be nothing). While these were minor problems and I didn't consider any of it adding up to a lemon, I slightly regretted not getting the extended warranty. That, and unlike the Neon, the KIA isn't something that Nelson, or any of his mechanic friends, can easily work on.
In December, anticipating some nice overtime and a generous bonus, I began to shop for extended warranties. Most looked shady at best. That's when I found Warranty Direct. They came highly recommended by many auto makers who do not offer extended warranies through their company (Lexus and Porche, to name a few), and I could find only two complaints online after exhaustive searches (and the complaints I did find were unreasonable). My salesman - John Crumbliss - was fantastic, and answered every tiny annoying question I had. They require a car inspection (something I actually thought was a great idea), but they will deduct the car inspection fee off the cost of the policy. The policy covers almost everything (sans paint, tires, mufflers, stereos, window glass/windshields, brake pads and similar things like that), goes for 37 months or 37,000 miles which will more than cover my financing, and takes the car to almost 100,000 miles. Considering the travelling we do, it seemed like a good idea. It offers rental cars, and great travel interruption service. And your card will get you discounts on things the warranty doesn't cover. Total cost of the contract: around $1700. I put a nice chunk down, and pay the balance in monthly increments through December.
I have the KIA in the shop for it's 60,000 mile maintenance. It's actually at almost 65,000 miles, but the shop neglected to tell me it was due (and noted my service records that they neglected to do so). Thank heaven for the stimulus check, as half of it went for this expensive service. It's not expensive in the context of what they do to the car, but I don't randomly have $600 laying around.
Long story short (I know, TOO LATE), I got a call telling me that they noticed my water pump was "going bad". It's beginning to leak slowly. Parts wise it wasn't bad, but involved tearing a big chunk of the engine compartment down (so does the 60,000 mile maintenance, albeit a different part, hence the cost), so I knew labor would kill me. I got nervous for a mintue (figuring I could kiss the rest of my stimulus goodbye, which had been earmarked for vacation), then I realized that I had a warranty, and looked up online whether it was covered via Warranty Direct's website, and then gave him my contract number, and their phone number. He balked at dealing with a 3rd party company, but I assured him that they pay via credit card at time of service, so he relented.
On a whim, I explored their site about 10 minutes later (something I hadn't really done), and I noticed my claim listed - approved and everything. They're paying almost $500 after my $100 deductible ($0 deductible plans are availble, but they cost more). I'm SO glad that I had this done now. I'd have been in a world of hurt if the car crapped out while on vacation. Granted, I do have great trip insurance with my policy, but it still would have been a real issue.
So yay for Warranty Direct! It's already paid for 1 years worth of it's contract in one fell swoop. They get the Funky-Rat Seal Of Approval! **
**void where prohibited by law
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Ebay Is Not For The Faint Of Heart........But It Is For The Opportunist
We had money put back for the upcoming trip, and we'll be good to go in that respect, but with the rising gas prices, we decided to see if we could raise a bit more. After scouring through 15 years of accumulated junk.....er......collectibles, we found that the only thing we have that is worth anything at all is......Nelson's World Wrestling Federation stuff. My friend Karen helped us sell 72 Hasbro Figures, Two Rings, and some accessories for a cool $260. The figures are going to their new home in Canada, to a collector who will hopefully take care of them as good as Nelson did. We have more things in the WWF world that we want to get rid of, but this was a good start.
Which brings me to the subject of ebay itself. I've never sold on there, so when an ebay drop-off opened up a few miles up the road, I decided to give it a shot. I sold an antique musical instrument a few years back (which I rescued from the dumpster at school) on consignment on ebay through the local music store, and so I figured that I knew what I was in for. I was wrong.
After being told to catalogue everything and much work, I was basically told by them that I needed to pay them an $80 non refundable listing fee, all the final value fees and Paypal fees, AND a flat 30% after all that was taken out. I politely declined, and called my friend Karen who knows how to sell on ebay. I took the photos and gave her the info, and she did the rest.
We set a reserve - the bottom line, won't accept any less price. She started the auction at $.99, and put it up for 10 days. And we waited. And waited. And watched. Watched auctions don't bid - or at least quickly.
By the end of the first weekend, it was up to $51. Several days went by, and I saw that it suddenly went to $150 - the reserve price. The next morning, it was back at $51 - the person who bid decided they didn't have the money, and retracted. CURSES!
By the last day, it had hopped back up to $150. At the beginning of the last hour, it was at $207. I decided not to check again until it was done, and it stopped at $260, plus shipping (not cheap - it's a lot of stuff and takes a big box). Fine by me.
So today, after a lot of e-mailing back and forth and setting additional shipping costs (as ours were only for the US), Karen called me tonight to tell me what we cleared after Paypal took their 3%. She said "You owe me for the listing fee - do you want me to deduct it from the proceeds?". I asked her how much. She said "Oh, it's $5.70". I said "HUH?!?!?" She double checked, and that is what it is.
So I understand that the guy up the road is running a business, and he needs to make some profit, but jeez! A whopping $80 just to list it?? That's massive profit (don't ask me for the percentage - I suck more massively at math)!! Totally unnecessary to charge that much, ON TOP OF the final value listing and Paypal fees, and BEFORE the 30% consignment charge.
He was a nice man, and I'm sure his wife was a nice lady, but I still can't get over the disparity. Even accounting for them to take the photos (I did well with 6, I think it was - maybe 8 at the most) it just doesn't add up. Plus, he runs a shipping business too, so he's making a healthy profit from the shipping. He even insinuated that my stuff wouldn't bring in much money. Well, I'm happy to clear what I did. It will pay for one of my hotels, freeing up some money for the ever-rising gas prices.
Ebay drop-off? I think I'll pass.......
Which brings me to the subject of ebay itself. I've never sold on there, so when an ebay drop-off opened up a few miles up the road, I decided to give it a shot. I sold an antique musical instrument a few years back (which I rescued from the dumpster at school) on consignment on ebay through the local music store, and so I figured that I knew what I was in for. I was wrong.
After being told to catalogue everything and much work, I was basically told by them that I needed to pay them an $80 non refundable listing fee, all the final value fees and Paypal fees, AND a flat 30% after all that was taken out. I politely declined, and called my friend Karen who knows how to sell on ebay. I took the photos and gave her the info, and she did the rest.
We set a reserve - the bottom line, won't accept any less price. She started the auction at $.99, and put it up for 10 days. And we waited. And waited. And watched. Watched auctions don't bid - or at least quickly.
By the end of the first weekend, it was up to $51. Several days went by, and I saw that it suddenly went to $150 - the reserve price. The next morning, it was back at $51 - the person who bid decided they didn't have the money, and retracted. CURSES!
By the last day, it had hopped back up to $150. At the beginning of the last hour, it was at $207. I decided not to check again until it was done, and it stopped at $260, plus shipping (not cheap - it's a lot of stuff and takes a big box). Fine by me.
So today, after a lot of e-mailing back and forth and setting additional shipping costs (as ours were only for the US), Karen called me tonight to tell me what we cleared after Paypal took their 3%. She said "You owe me for the listing fee - do you want me to deduct it from the proceeds?". I asked her how much. She said "Oh, it's $5.70". I said "HUH?!?!?" She double checked, and that is what it is.
So I understand that the guy up the road is running a business, and he needs to make some profit, but jeez! A whopping $80 just to list it?? That's massive profit (don't ask me for the percentage - I suck more massively at math)!! Totally unnecessary to charge that much, ON TOP OF the final value listing and Paypal fees, and BEFORE the 30% consignment charge.
He was a nice man, and I'm sure his wife was a nice lady, but I still can't get over the disparity. Even accounting for them to take the photos (I did well with 6, I think it was - maybe 8 at the most) it just doesn't add up. Plus, he runs a shipping business too, so he's making a healthy profit from the shipping. He even insinuated that my stuff wouldn't bring in much money. Well, I'm happy to clear what I did. It will pay for one of my hotels, freeing up some money for the ever-rising gas prices.
Ebay drop-off? I think I'll pass.......
Holy Hiatus, Batman
Well, after minutes of scratching my head, I consulted the Metaverse Excuse-O-Mat , and I have an answer for my absence:
So, yeah. Winter blahs, nasty colds running concurrently, a sudden busy spurt at work, a newfound appreciation for doing the Nautilus circuit - they all work. My week is packed: Monday is for groceries, Tuesday is for the gym, Wednesday is for Bible Study, Thursday is back at the gym, Friday is for chilling, Saturday is for working (at least for now), and Sunday is for napping.
Sometimes, I think about just walking away. Barely anyone reads this, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm a procrastinator, but not generally a quitter. Bible Study has taken a break for the summer, so I have at least one night free now. I need to make the time to do something besides complain on here.
I see my last post was about Nelson's dad's military records. We retrieved the records in February, but they weren't a whole lot of help. We've narrowed down his Parris Island graduation month, but not his platoon number, and no one can help us without it. We're still waiting for his medals and certifcates. I had some leads on the Parris Island thing, and I need to do some follow-up. I don't like to pest, but it's been 2 months, so I think I'm ok.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work is exhausting. We had a push earlier this year than usual, and it's left me hopping. My job is too much for one person, but not enough for two, and it's a lousy spot to be in. Most people are understanding, but every now and again (like today), I find myself in a borderline yelling match because people can't or won't understand how things work in my end of the world. After much heated exchange today, and general unrest, I settled an issue that arose. Turns out I was right all along. I'm not a gloater - I won't run around singing "I am so smart. I am so smart. SMRT. SMRT." So frustration abounds, but we're implementing a new computer system in July, and if it makes just a few aspects of what I do easier (which is the goal), then hopefully it will be worth it.
And I've got the big vacation on the horizon.
I'm SO looking forward to the 10 day whirlwind through several states that starts in Cleveland and ends in Pittsburgh with a stop in Tennessee for several days. Looking forward to seeing friends and dead malling (Cleveland), looking forward to a once-in-a-lifetime experience (Tennessee), and looking forward to visiting Nelson's last remaining non-estranged family (Pittsburgh). I also got us booked - finally - in for the House Of Blues Gospel Brunch. We missed out on it last year.
And that's just vacation #1. The second one comes later, when we return to Illinois to spend time with good friends. The internet keeps us in touch, but it's no substitute for sitting together in a restaurant, or cruising down the highway listening to Sirius Raw Dog, and then quoting it for the next few days.
Three weeks and counting until my first change of venue. But I'm not counting......
I oh gosh-- I guess I blew it and all. What I'm trying to say is, well, my apologies. You know, sorry-issimo. Is that enough?
So, yeah. Winter blahs, nasty colds running concurrently, a sudden busy spurt at work, a newfound appreciation for doing the Nautilus circuit - they all work. My week is packed: Monday is for groceries, Tuesday is for the gym, Wednesday is for Bible Study, Thursday is back at the gym, Friday is for chilling, Saturday is for working (at least for now), and Sunday is for napping.
Sometimes, I think about just walking away. Barely anyone reads this, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm a procrastinator, but not generally a quitter. Bible Study has taken a break for the summer, so I have at least one night free now. I need to make the time to do something besides complain on here.
I see my last post was about Nelson's dad's military records. We retrieved the records in February, but they weren't a whole lot of help. We've narrowed down his Parris Island graduation month, but not his platoon number, and no one can help us without it. We're still waiting for his medals and certifcates. I had some leads on the Parris Island thing, and I need to do some follow-up. I don't like to pest, but it's been 2 months, so I think I'm ok.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Work is exhausting. We had a push earlier this year than usual, and it's left me hopping. My job is too much for one person, but not enough for two, and it's a lousy spot to be in. Most people are understanding, but every now and again (like today), I find myself in a borderline yelling match because people can't or won't understand how things work in my end of the world. After much heated exchange today, and general unrest, I settled an issue that arose. Turns out I was right all along. I'm not a gloater - I won't run around singing "I am so smart. I am so smart. SMRT. SMRT." So frustration abounds, but we're implementing a new computer system in July, and if it makes just a few aspects of what I do easier (which is the goal), then hopefully it will be worth it.
And I've got the big vacation on the horizon.
I'm SO looking forward to the 10 day whirlwind through several states that starts in Cleveland and ends in Pittsburgh with a stop in Tennessee for several days. Looking forward to seeing friends and dead malling (Cleveland), looking forward to a once-in-a-lifetime experience (Tennessee), and looking forward to visiting Nelson's last remaining non-estranged family (Pittsburgh). I also got us booked - finally - in for the House Of Blues Gospel Brunch. We missed out on it last year.
And that's just vacation #1. The second one comes later, when we return to Illinois to spend time with good friends. The internet keeps us in touch, but it's no substitute for sitting together in a restaurant, or cruising down the highway listening to Sirius Raw Dog, and then quoting it for the next few days.
Three weeks and counting until my first change of venue. But I'm not counting......
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