SquareTrade Seller Blog

New York Times highlights SquareTrade Value: Warranties about half as much

It's no secret - traditional warranties are generally overpriced. On the other hand, SquareTrade provides a refreshing choice for consumers - and news about this unique option continues to spread!

The New York Times draws attention to SquareTrade's value - extended warranties that give control to consumers with prices that are usually about half as much as traditional store warranties:

For instance, a four-year warranty on the Nikon D3000 camera at Best Buy is $150, or more than 27 percent of the $550 price. The warranty on a Hewlett-Packard N270 netbook is $130, or just short of a third of the computer’s $400 price. Such profit margins are high enough that companies having nothing to do with selling the original products have jumped into the market, offering warranties for about half as much. SquareTrade, which offers warranties for products bought in stores or online, will sell you a three-year warranty on that Nikon for $75. The netbook can be protected for $60.

  

Prepare for Q4 and the year of the e-reader!

As consumers and retailers alike gear up for the holiday season, many are wondering what will be on this year's list of hottest items.

According to PCWorld's Brennon Slattery, we should "Prepare for the year of the e-reader."

This fall, even students at Princeton are putting the Amazon KindleDX to the test with a semester-long pilot.  Google reveals e-readers are building momentum as a trending topic.

So, what's all this noise about e-readers? More importantly, why should you care?

Earlier this week, the New York Times cited a report that projects e-reader sales will continue to skyrocket:

"By all accounts, e-readers are set to have a breakout year. Slightly more than one million of them were sold globally in 2008, according to the market research firm iSuppli. The firm predicts that 5.2 million will be sold this year, more than half of them in North America, driven by the popularity and promotion of the Kindle, which is available only through Amazon’s Web site."

Bracing for eBay's Upcoming Announcement?

There’s a buzz in the eBay seller community, in anticipation of the ‘major’ announcement to be made by eBay on Monday (August 3^rd). This will be the second announcement this year, and following April’s, which saw changes to listing layout, the introduction of Multi-variation Fixed Price listings, Smart FAQ, and changes to the dispute resolution process, sellers have every good reason to be bracing themselves for the announcement.  

Nothing is certain at this point, but eBay CEO, John Donahoe has been reported as suggesting two upcoming changes to Wall Street analysts, and the Wall Street Journal published an article on Saturday suggesting a number of expected developments. There’s also a great article at AuctionBytes with a number of changes that they predict.

We’d be very interested to hear from eBay sellers like you, about how the changes announced last April have affected your eBay business, and what developments you’d like to see announced this Monday.

What’s your take on all this? Sound off below.