Warranties do more than save you money. They tell you a great deal about the company that’s offering a product and whether or not that company is willing to take a risk on having to replace the product. Most of the time, new products carry the longest, most comprehensive warranties because they’re not likely to break. Refurbished equipment tends to carry shorter warranties (just like a pre-owned car) because the company wants to account for wear and tear from the previous owner. A company with a comprehensive warranty on a refurbished product is willing to take a chance on having to replace the product, either because they want to provide superior service to their customers or they know the product has been retooled to factory specs and is therefore less likely to break. Either way, a good warranty is great for the customer.
Here are warranty comparisons between five major companies that provide networking equipment:
1. MULTI-LINK Communications Products (MLCP). The best we found. This company offers a standard one year warranty on all equipment it sells (and even longer on some products) whether the equipment is new or used. In some cases, they warrant their refurbished products nine months longer than Cisco’s warranty on the same product new.
2. Network Liquidators Very good, but you better read the fine print. This company also offers a standard one year replacement warranty but with limitations. According to it’s site: “[warranted] products will be materially free from defects under normal use and service for as long as the original End-User owns the product, or for five (5) years after the original manufacturer of the product discontinues such product on their then current price list, whichever is sooner.”
3. Lanstreet.com Not so great. According to the site, “Lanstreet will gladly accept returns on any unsatisfactory products within 30 days of your product’s shipping date. We guarantee an exchange or full refund with the return of the product. Customers are then responsible for the costs of two-way shipping. If a return is made after 30 days of your product’s shipping date, there will be a 15% restocking fee deducted from credit, but we reserve the right to reject a return after 30 days.”
4. Hardware.com The worst. According to the site, they warrant for 30 days and have a whole list of conditions that must be met to take advantage of their warranty.