What does "Lifetime Warranty" mean to you ?

You must be careful with the word "lifetime warranty" A certain outdoor gear company sells lifetime socks, shoelaces and at one time lifetime work pants. These items are pricey for what they are but hey, you get new ones if you wear them out....right? Years ago I was looking for a rugged pair of pants and I spent the cash for the "lifetime" work pants. The tags said "lifetime" and I asked an employee what that meant and they said "wear them out and we will give you a new one, just like the socks".

Years later they were really ragged and I set out to get them replaced, took the receipt AND the tags I had saved with me. I was told that they were not lifetime, it was just a descriptor used on the tag to depict quality. I thought this was misleading because the "lifetime" socks bear the same wording and style as the pants and I know people gat the socks replaced without argument.

Be careful of the word "lifetime", it may not mean what you think.
 
For most companies it is just a sales gimmick but there are exceptions.
Some use the term but don't honor anything and aren't around long enough to complain to if you have issues.
Some do honor replacement or repair warranties but in some cases they might not if they think know they are being scammed or the merchandise is deemed too expensive...there is always some excuse they can use to not honor a warranty claim.
Some do honor and believe lifetime warranties.
Tesoro did it for everyone no matter who owned them for years until they got smart, did the math, and figured out how much that actually cost them over the years...then they finally changed to an original owner lifetime warranty.
Then there are some very rare companies like Zippo.
They state they have lifetime warranties and they mean they have lifetime fix or replace warranties...and prove it.
 
This is one of the best I know of, by Vortex Optics. They call it a VIP Unlimited Lifetime Warranty. Vortex Optics also has a very generous Military and First Responder program.

"Our VIP warranty is about you, not us. It's about taking care of you after the sale. VIP stands for a Very Important Promise to you, our customer. We will repair or replace your Vortex product in the event it becomes damaged or defective—at no charge to you. If we cannot repair your product, we will replace it with a product in perfect working order of equal or better physical condition.
You see, it doesn't matter how it happened, whose fault it was, or where you purchased it. You can count on the VIP Warranty for all Vortex Optics riflescopes, prism scopes, red dots, rangefinders, binoculars, spotting scopes, tripods, and monoculars.

"Unlimited Lifetime Warranty
Fully transferable
No warranty card to fill out
No receipt needed to hang on to

"If you ever have a problem, no matter the cause, we promise to take care of you.

"Note
The VIP Warranty does not cover loss, theft, deliberate damage or cosmetic damage that does not hinder the performance of the product.
"
 
A Warranty of any kind means Nothing once a company goes out of business. Laying off all employees indicates that they did not even have enough cash on hand to make payroll.

If perchance another company purchases Tesoro there is no way that they would assume the financial obligation of repairing an untold thousands of machines that were manufactured prior to their acquisition of the company.

Wish as we might it will not happen. It is just not financially feasible.
 
Maybe a 5 year, or a 2 year, and make it transferrable or not. Simple and, honestly, it would work better than trying to continue offering ... or honoring ... Lifetime Warranty repair.

<snipped>

Warranties ... who needs them if you have a decent product and take care of it?

I look at it this way, if they offer a Lifetime Warranty, odds are they build it so they don't have to see it again.

A 3 year Warranty? That's job security.

Over rated hype.....That is what it means to me.

If you happen to be the same Goodmore on TD's site.....I'd buy you a beer anytime. I have enjoyed some of your recent posts!

:yes:
 
If another company takes on and continues selling Tesoros, but does not honor the lifetime warranty of previous deals, I think that is a form of bankruptcy.

If someone else takes over Tesoro, as far as I'm concerned, there is no "Tesoro" any longer. You could not assume or even hope that things will be the same. They might be better, or worse, but the Tesoro company is history.

And if production is moved to China, well I'm probably less interested. Although there have been a few cases where the China goods are as good or better than the American made ones- the Buck 371 pocket knife on my desk is a little nicer than the American produced similar model. Buck demanded quality and the Chinese provided that quality.

I like Tesoro and wish it would work out but definitely does not sound good.
 
If another company takes on and continues selling Tesoros, but does not honor the lifetime warranty of previous deals, I think that is a form of bankruptcy.

If someone else takes over Tesoro, as far as I'm concerned, there is no "Tesoro" any longer. You could not assume or even hope that things will be the same. They might be better, or worse, but the Tesoro company is history.

And if production is moved to China, well I'm probably less interested. Although there have been a few cases where the China goods are as good or better than the American made ones- the Buck 371 pocket knife on my desk is a little nicer than the American produced similar model. Buck demanded quality and the Chinese provided that quality.

I like Tesoro and wish it would work out but definitely does not sound good.

China produces what the customer asks for. Problems occur when purchasers try to up their profit margin.
Same could be said about an 18k ring (20% profit margin) vs a tungsten (500% profit margin). People have to open their eyes and see "China" isnt the problem here.
 
Lifetime warranty begins at point of purchase and ends when the company bellies up. No company, no warranty.
What’s the percentage of buyers that are over 60 years old. In this instance, Lifetime may mean 10 to 20 years.
Sorry to see Tesoro fade away but outdated business model and product design
is a sure recipe for eventual failure. Always has been, always will be.
Best of luck to the employees who were laid off. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
 
Lifetime warranty begins at point of purchase and ends when the company bellies up. No company, no warranty.
What’s the percentage of buyers that are over 60 years old. In this instance, Lifetime may mean 10 to 20 years.
Sorry to see Tesoro fade away but outdated business model and product design
is a sure recipe for eventual failure. Always has been, always will be.
Best of luck to the employees who were laid off. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.

Watch it :laughing:
 
Usually somewhere in some fine print on a form not often seen ,....there is a definition of what " lifetime " means to the company in regard to the warranty. Usually , it involves what is seen as the " reasonable " lifespan of the product. This reasonable lifespan is all they are legally bound to honor. ..... " Lifetime warranty " has a legal definition that does not necessarily have anything to do with how long you live or how long you plan to use the product.
 
The Ridgid line of cordless power tools seems to have a good warranty, that I've read that they honor. It's called a LSA, lifetime service agreement. That's all I buy now.

My Tilly hat is lifetime guarantee, also guaranteed against loss (once)...

Chaco sandles are/were? Lifetime guarantee too, I love mine..

Gator gripp sockets, were lifetime too, they no longer exist...

Many Harbor Freight tools come with a lifetime warranty, I'm liking some of the hand tools I've bought since Sears Craftsman has gone Chinese, and probably belly up soon if not already..

St. Croix fishing rods have a "conditional" lifetime warranty..

<°)))>{
 
.......Many Harbor Freight tools come with a lifetime warranty, I'm liking some of the hand tools I've bought since Sears Craftsman has gone Chinese, and probably belly up soon if not already..

St. Croix fishing rods have a "conditional" lifetime warranty.

<°)))>{

I own a lot of craftsman tools because of their warranty and bang for the buck as such. Now I'm thinking I have to collect all the busted and damaged ones for exchange quickly. Snap-On makes great tools, great warranty, but it hurts to think about the prices. (LOL)
 
I laugh every time I see some Navy Seal on TV hocking some cheap junk....with a Lifetime Warranty......and knowing in 5 years or less, those companies will be nowhere to be found.
 
The Ridgid line of cordless power tools seems to have a good warranty, that I've read that they honor. It's called a LSA, lifetime service agreement. That's all I buy now.

My Tilly hat is lifetime guarantee, also guaranteed against loss (once)...

Chaco sandles are/were? Lifetime guarantee too, I love mine..

Gator gripp sockets, were lifetime too, they no longer exist...

Many Harbor Freight tools come with a lifetime warranty, I'm liking some of the hand tools I've bought since Sears Craftsman has gone Chinese, and probably belly up soon if not already..

St. Croix fishing rods have a "conditional" lifetime warranty..

<°)))>{


Stanley/black and decker owns craftsman tools , we sell them at Lowes now. Lowes made a big deal of announcing we now carry craftsman.
 
Craftsman stopped making sense to me a few years ago when they shifted production to China. If I'm buying Chinese tools, don't really need to pay Craftsman prices. Harbor Freight quality actually seemed to be better than Craftsman in many cases, and much cheaper. And I was not trusting that Craftsman warranty anymore anyway.
 
Craftsman stopped making sense to me a few years ago when they shifted production to China. If I'm buying Chinese tools, don't really need to pay Craftsman prices. Harbor Freight quality actually seemed to be better than Craftsman in many cases, and much cheaper. And I was not trusting that Craftsman warranty anymore anyway.

My feelings as well..

<°)))>{
 
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