One part of a home theater equipment transaction that

salesman will try to get you on is the extended warranty. I'm sure you've

experienced this.

The bottom line is that they are almost always a waste of

money. I have purchased several extended warranties and never used any of them.

It's basically free money for the big box retailers. Most equipment is reliable

these days.  And if you ever do try

to use your extended warranty, they will use the cheapest means possible to fix

your problem, and only replace the equipment as an absolute last resort. Most of

the time you're better off taking the money you would have used for the warranty

and setting it aside for repairs/upgrades on your own time.

The only warranty that I've ever seen that was worth the

money was from a company in the UK called 'Richer Sounds'. Their warranties are

great value and definitely worthwhile.

The other thing about warranties is that the manufacturers

guarantee their equipment free from defects. If you can trust yourself to take

good care of your equipment, chances are very good that you'll never need to use

an extended warranty. Be very, very careful of extended warranty plans, they are

rarely worth it.

Finally, the most important rule of all, the rule you

should always remember: The Customer Is Always Right. Always. Sometimes you need

to remind the salesman of this rule. You are in charge of the sale. You're the

one with the money! You choose what you want. This is especially important when

purchasing audio equipment. Don't let someone else tell you what sounds good!

You decide what sounds good, and you decide what you want to buy.

One last thing: there's a certain big box store where all

the salesmen will tell you that they don't work on commission. This is only half

true. While they don't get commission on individual sales, their bonus is based

on how well their department does. It's still a commission, just in a roundabout

way, which means they are just as motivated to sell, and even more motivated to

up-sell (those in-house warranties are worth big bucks).

Never forget that the retail world is out to get you. 

They want your money. Never let your guard down, and do your research

before going to the store. Everybody loves a sucker. Do everything you can to

make sure you aren't that sucker.