{"id":1880,"date":"2018-10-13T07:27:28","date_gmt":"2018-10-13T11:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=1880"},"modified":"2018-10-13T10:31:15","modified_gmt":"2018-10-13T14:31:15","slug":"are-extended-service-plans-a-rip-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/are-extended-service-plans-a-rip-off\/","title":{"rendered":"ARE EXTENDED SERVICE PLANS A RIP OFF?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Are<\/div>\n

Everywhere you go, everything you buy, has some kind of service plan or extended warranty for that product.<\/p>\n

\nJewelry is no different!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nBut the debate goes on; are extended service plans<\/strong>, or jewelry protection plans worth it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Or are they a rip off?<\/h2>\n

\nTo buy or not to buy, that is the question.<\/p>\n

\nLet’s find out…<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Do you want the service plan?”<\/h2>\n

\nSome jewelers will offer you an extended service plan (E.S.P.<\/strong>) on your jewelry while they’re ringing you up. And if you’re like most people, you nod, wave your hand<\/strong>, and say “No Thanks!<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

\nI mean, who ever uses service plans anyway?<\/strong> Aren’t they all the same? Isn’t it just another way for jewelers to make money? It’s not like you’re buying a car…<\/p>\n

What could go wrong with jewelry?<\/h2>\n

\nMany believe: <\/strong>If the product you’re buying is a good product, and the company that makes that product stands behind it, then you shouldn’t have to purchase a plan<\/strong>. Is that thinking wrong?<\/p>\n

\nAre service plans really needed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nI will say right to your face without blinking an eye:<\/strong><\/p>\n

YES!<\/h2>\n

\nYES, extended service plans are a very important purchase for jewelry.<\/p>\n

\nYES, you should buy them with your next purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nYes, they are worth every penny.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And I’ll tell you why…<\/h2>\n

\nHave you ever seen the price of jewelry repairs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nDo you realize how much repairs cost?<\/p>\n

\nA simple ring sizing<\/strong> could cost you up to $50 (or more). Fifty dollars for one single repair. Just a cleaning and polishing alone could cost you another $15. Retipping prongs, they cost about $15 a prong. Yes, $15 for each and every prong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nThat’s hundreds of dollars over the course of a lifetime just waiting to be lifted from your wallet. Tightening channels, reshaping, do you realize how much money you’ll fork out for all of this?<\/p>\n

So what do normal extended service plans cover? <\/h2>\n

\nService plans will vary from store to store, but most cover these basic repairs:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ring sizings, refinishing and polishing, earring repair, chain soldering, labor and parts required for resetting stones, retipping, bracelet soldering, restringing pearls, tightening stones, reshaping rings, rebuilding prongs, tightening channels, soldering rings together…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\nThey cover almost everything that could happen to the mounting for a lifetime<\/strong> (or until the warranty is good for, some are lifetime, some are yearly).<\/p>\n

Some exclusions apply:<\/h2>\n

\nKeep in mind normal service plans always have some exclusions like:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Normal wear and tear, rebuilding shanks, losing gemstones or diamonds…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\nIt’s always a good idea to read the service plan thoroughly, so you know what is covered and what is not.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How did that happen?<\/h2>\n

\nThink about how many times you nick your fingers or get paper cuts or bruises… How many times do you look down and see your hand is bleeding<\/strong> and you wonder to yourself, “How did that happen?<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

\nYour hands take a lot of abuse and punishment. And your rings and jewelry take even more.<\/strong> You’ll bang your rings and not even know it. They get snagged, caught on things, prongs get pulled back, channels loosen up, stones fall out…<\/p>\n

\nIt’s a fact of life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Things happen!<\/h2>\n

\nChances are good that you’ll need to get your rings sized a couple times at some point in time.<\/p>\n

\nYou’ll probably want them polished or refurbished<\/strong> to make them look new again.<\/p>\n

\nAnd the biggest expense of all is:<\/p>\n

Retipping!<\/h2>\n

\nRetipping prongs is adding gold to your prongs when they wear down (like tread on a tire).<\/p>\n

\nProngs wear down about every 7 years or so, you’ll have to get them retipped.<\/p>\n

\nIf you run your fingers over the top of your stones (do it now) and the prongs are flat and smooth, then it’s past time for a retipping.<\/strong> Get it done a.s.a.p. If not, you’ll lose your gems.<\/p>\n

\nRetipping prongs builds them up so they’re strong and durable and will keep holding your stones in.<\/p>\n

\nSo when it’s all said and done, you’re going to spend way more money in repairs<\/strong> then the service plan costs. $40 bucks here and there add up. So I ask you, “Is it worth NOT having a service plan?<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

\nNO!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Will everyone use the plan?<\/h2>\n

\nIf I had to guess, I’d say yes<\/strong>, most everyone will use the jewelry service plan sooner or later.<\/p>\n

\nRepairs add up:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nEventually you will need to go in and have some work done on your rings. That’s inevitable.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nThings break, scratch, dent, loosen, you’ll need it repaired or cleaned or something.<\/p>\n

\nYou wouldn’t want to have your wedding pictures taken with scratched up bands now would you? Plus, you’ll need the wedding rings soldered together<\/strong> after the wedding.<\/p>\n

\n

So these plans are worth every penny.<\/h2>\n

\nIn my eyes, I would advise buying an extended service plan<\/strong> for all your jewelry. Without a doubt, even if it runs you $200… Buy it!<\/strong> It will cover your rings and will pay for itself. <\/p>\n

ESP prices:<\/h2>\n

\nSome jewelers charge $25 for a service plan<\/strong>. Other places charge you more. Some service plan prices depend on the amount of purchase. The higher the ticket is, the more you’ll pay for that plan. No matter what, you’ll be glad you bought it.<\/p>\n

\nI write up jewelry repairs daily. I see the rings come in for sizings, tightenings, polishings, reshapings… (Women get pregnant and still want to wear their rings, they’ll have to be sized up and then back down) I see broken prongs, dented rings, smashed shanks… you name it. If you paid for all these little repairs separately, you’d pay a small fortune<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Good only at the time of purchase:<\/h2>\n

\nDo note that most service plans have to be purchased at the time the jewelry is purchased<\/strong>. It’s like insurance, you can’t buy it later when you need the repairs; the damage is already done. So buy the plan when you buy the item. I’ve never met anyone who’s ever regretted buying a service plan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nPeople will bring in rings that need 15 prongs retipped (Normally a charge of $225<\/strong>), the channels need tightening ($30<\/strong>), the band needs polished ($15<\/strong>), and I’ll look at the pieces and ask, “Do you have an extended service plan?<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

And the customers will smile and reply:<\/p>\n

\n“Yes! Yes I do!<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

\nGet yourself a plan the next time you buy… It’s protection and cheaper!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\nCheers! :)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everywhere you go, everything you buy, has some kind of service plan or extended warranty for that product. Jewelry is no different! But the debate goes on; are extended service plans, or jewelry protection plans [Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jewelry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}