Think Tank makes great photography bags. Like all manufacturers they stand by the quality of their product. However, they believe the “Lifetime warranty” is nothing more than marketing BS.
Here’s a great statement from their No Rhetoric Warranty page:
If you’re 30 years old when you purchased a bag, are you really going to return it 30 years later for repair? The only way this is possible is if the bag has stayed in your closet the majority of the time. Remember the leather cases in the 1960’s? Is anyone returning these bags for repair under the “lifetime” warranty? This is why the lifetime warranty is more of a marketing gimmick than the truth. Is it the life of the bag, or your personal life? The normal life of a bag, if it is used weekly, is four to 10 years, which is not “lifetime.” If lifetime means your personal life, when you’re dead, you won’t need the bag, unless it’s a body bag.
I found this statement refreshing. I’m not sure how big Think Tank is — how many employees or revenues. This straight-talk made them feel like a shop around the corner, and I like that.
Drake
on 25 Jan 11I thought they sound like a douche. Why not eliminate all the rhetoric on that page except from the “OUR WARRANTY” heading on down? That part is simple and sincere. The rest is rhetoric.
Pies
on 25 Jan 11A lifetime guarantee means that if you ever find a hidden defect you can get it fixed or replaced. This is especially important with stuff one rarely uses, such as travel bags.
Eric
on 25 Jan 11Saddleback Leather has a ‘100 year warranty’ on everything they sell. I have no idea if they’ll be in business in 100 years, but it would not surprise me at all if the bag I bought from them is still functional in the next century.
Anonymous Coward
on 25 Jan 11I have functional objects in my kitchen and my home that were originally used by my grandmother and my father uses fishing gear he bought in the seventies. I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect luggage objects to last.
Rick
on 25 Jan 11But isn’t their warranty “for as for long as you use the product” exactly the same as what most people would consider a “lifetime warranty” to be?
In which case, they’ve just made a prospective customer wade through paragraphs of fluff when they could have summed it up in two words.
whatsthebeef
on 25 Jan 11I find the statement human and personable which is perhaps where it’s appeal may lie to some people.
The statement ‘life time garuntee’ can sound insincere and like artificial marketing talk in certain contexts, however in this case it is more to point.
Anonymous Coward
on 25 Jan 11@Jamie
Props to you for actually reading the warranty page.
(Which makes me wonder, did you only read the warranty page because you experienced an issue with the product).
Anonymous Coward
on 25 Jan 11Their site is down? 19:00 GMT+2 on 25.01.2001.
JD
on 25 Jan 11Anonymous Coward #2, I usually read the FAQs and stuff like that before I buy anything over $100. I think I get that from my parents.
Art
on 25 Jan 11Very different from the warrantee we got on a Samsonite bag we bought recently. We bought a high-end check-in bag, which cracked around the wheels the first time we used it. Samsonite’s response when we talked to them was that that was airline damage and they wouldn’t cover it.
In other words, Samsonite guarantee their bags unless you use them for what they were made for.
hasen
on 25 Jan 11I think actually most people would find it offensive, specially the part where “you’ll be dead anyway and the only bag you’ll need is a body bag”. bad bad bad ..
Jeremy Meyers
on 25 Jan 11If you send Zappos a 40 year old lighter with a broken mechanism, they’ll repair it and send it back.
Thats what a ‘lifetime guarantee’ means. Its especially useful for collectible high-quality products that people have an emotional attachment to.
Whether their camera bags fall into that category, I dont know.
aztec69
on 25 Jan 11Here’s a different perspective. I happen to sell luggage. Some buyers can’t or won’t understand the difference between a lifetime warranty (rare) and a manufacturer’s defects warranty (more common). And nobody seems to understand that “third party damage” includes things done by the airlines, airports, tour companies, etc. Few warranties cover that kind of damage, although people try. I’ve had people bring in luggage with tire marks, bullet holes, and even alligator bites and seemed surprised when I tell them it isn’t covered by their warranty. On the other hand, a polite customer looking for help with a smile on their face will often get the benefit of the doubt on a warranty issue.
Lester
on 26 Jan 11I’m pretty sure you meant Zippo, Jeremy. Heheh. Although with Zappos’ legendary customer support, hell, they might do it too.
I think the warrantee wording in this case kind of hops around on both sides of the line separating cute, human wording and douchey wording.
Sime
on 26 Jan 11Hi Folks,
I look after ThinkTank Photo social media stuff—Facebook, Twitter, that sort of thing.. I also wander about the web looking out for people that might be wondering what our warranty actually means… It means this, with no BS / long worded speak… As long as you purchased the bag, even if that was 50 years ago, and a wheel falls off, we’ll fix it or replace it – in 98% of cases it’s a no questions asked kind of deal, the other 2% we’ll ask because it’s always nice to know what went wrong and how we can stop that from happening next time. (actually, we’re always open to hearing what went wrong, though thankfully, that isn’t often)
So, if you have one of our products and it’s broken, don’t sit around teary eyed… just email Chris ( [email protected] ) and ask him to make it better.
Any questions – please get in touch, we’re always up for a chat.
@thinktankphoto or facebook.com/thinktankphoto or my email directly [email protected] or via customer service.
Thanks folks!
—Sime
German Coward
on 28 Jan 11Nobody needs a better definition what lifetime warranty exactly means. If I buy a product with lifetime warranty, I know any problems will be solved easily.
This discussion is closed.