Service Contract Pricing: Printers:
The average printer protection plan cost 18% of the product price. The price pairings ranged from a $110 two-year plan for an $8,000 large-format printer, at 1%, to a $60 five-year plan for a $40 inkjet printer, at 150%. 22% of the plans on offer covered accidental damage from handling.
Last week, we went shopping for laptops, so naturally, this week we're shopping for printers. We cast our net wide this week, and collected data on extended warranty service contracts for printers ranging from portable models, to laser and inkjet printers for home offices, to large-format and industrial printers that cost thousands of dollars. We also gathered data on extended service contracts and protection plans for photo printers, inkless printers, and even a few 3D printers.
Similar to the laptop service plans, we found a few plans that actually cost more than the printers themselves, for some of the inexpensive inkjet models. On the other hand, for the most expensive printer in this survey, an industrial laser printer that cost nearly $14,000, the offered extended protection plan cost just 7% of the product price.
Generally speaking, we found that for expensive large-format and industrial printers, extended warranties cost a low percentage of the total product price, while extended warranties for cheap printers under $100 cost a high percentage of the product price.
We collected data on 185 unique printer extended warranties, sold by 23 online retailers. These plans represented 13 obligor/ administrator teams, eight underwriters, and 11 insurance groups.
Overall, the average printer protection plan cost 18% of the total product price. On the low end of the spectrum, we found a $110 two-year Protection Plan for Printers from Office Depot, provided by Allstate, for an $8,025 HP large-format printer; the plan cost just 1% of the product price. On the high side, there was a $60 five-year Extended Protection Warranty provided by P.C. Richard & Son, for a $40 HP inkjet printer; this plan cost 150% of the product price.
Methodology
The 23 online retailers we surveyed were: Abt Electronics, Adorama, Amazon, B&H, Best Buy, BrandsMart, BuyDig, DataVision, eBay, Electronic Express, Epson, HP, HSN, Micro Center, newegg, Office Depot, P.C. Richard & Son, QVC, Sam's Club, Staples, Target, Tech for Less, and Walmart.
To collect the data for this survey of printer extended warranties, we honed in on five general price points from each retailer: under $100, $250, $500, $1,000, and over $2,000.
At many of the retailers, the most expensive printer cost less than $1,000. In those cases, we collected data for every price point we could, as well as the most expensive printer available. At Best Buy and Sam's Club, the most expensive printer was $800; at P.C. Richard & Son, the most expensive printer was $500; and at Abt Electronics, Electronic Express, and QVC, the most expensive printer was about $300. On the other hand, the most expensive printer with an extended warranty available from B&H was $13,700, and the most expensive from Office Depot was $8,000.
We only collected data on new-in-box printers, and excluded all refurbished, factory refurbished, used, and open-box printers. However, we noted that the Consumer Priority Service plans sold by Tech for Less, the Extend plans sold by Adorama, and the Likewize plans sold by newegg covered refurbished, used, and open-box printers, as well as new ones. The other 20 retailers only offered extended warranty plans for new printers.
Survey Results
We gathered data on 185 printer extended warranties. Figure 1 shows the types of printers those plans protected.
Figure 1
Type of Printers Surveyed
144 of the printers were color printers, while 32 were monochrome, or black and white, printers. Generally, the small, cheapest printers were color printers, as well as most of the mid-range, while the monochrome printers were mostly large industrial printers. Eight were 3D printers.
Figure 2 shows the brands of the printers surveyed.
Figure 2
Brand of Printers Surveyed
101 of the printers were made by HP. 29 were Epson brand, 26 were Canon, and 12 were Brother.
The brands in the "Other" category were: Bambu (3D printers), Kodak, Lexmark, LulzBot (3D printers), Snapmaker (3D printers), and Xerox.
Figure 3 shows the price ranges of the printers.
Figure 3
Price of Printers Surveyed
40 printers were under $200, 54 were between $200 and $400, 31 were between $400 and $700, 29 were between $700 and $1,500, and 31 were over $1,500.
The cheapest printer was $39, from Walmart, and the most expensive was $13,761, from B&H.
The median price was $350, while the average price was $1,179.
Before we take a look at the length and pricing models of the extended warranties offered for these printers, let's explore the administrators, obligors, and insurance groups of these contracts.
Service Contract Administrators
21 of the online retailers in this survey were third parties, while two were online shops of the printer manufacturers.
Epson sells Guardsman Protection Plans; Guardsman is the administrator and obligor of these plans, and Technology Insurance Company, Inc., owned by AmTrust, is the underwriter. Canon administrates its own CarePAK plans, but uses AmTrust as the obligor and underwriter.
HP the obligor and administrator of its of HP Care Pack extended warranties, and uses AIG as the underwriter of these plans.
Best Buy also uses AIG for its Geek Squad plans, but Best Buy only supplies its repair network, and uses AIG as the administrator, obligor, and underwriter.
The most common plans sold across the online retailers were from Allstate. Ten different online retailers sold Allstate plans, with obligor CE Care Plan Corp., administrator SquareTrade Inc., and underwriter Allstate Insurance Company: Abt Electronics, B&H, BuyDig, eBay, HSN, Office Depot, QVC, Sam's Club, Target, and Walmart.
Two online retailers, Amazon and Staples, sold plans from Asurion, which uses underwriter Continental Casualty Company, owned by insurance group CNA. Adorama sold plans from Extend, which also uses Continental Casualty Company as the underwriter.
Micro Center has its own service network, and is obligor and administrator of its extended warranties, using Assurant as the insurance underwriter.
And although BrandsMart sold Allstate plans for laptops, for printers, it sold plans using obligor First Shield Consumer Service Corp., administrator ProtectALL USA, LLC, and underwriter Arch Insurance Company.
DataVision and Tech for less both sold plans from obligor and administrator Consumer Priority Service. The plans sold by DataVision covered accidental damage, while the plans sold by Tech for Less did not cover accidental damage, but did cover refurbished printers as well as new ones.
Online electronics marketplace sold plans from obligor and administrator Likewize Device Protection, LLC, and underwriter Universal Underwriters Insurance Company, owned by Zurich American Insurance Company.
And then there were two local, regional online retailers that were the administrators and obligors of their own extended warranties: Electronic Express, based in Tennessee, and P.C. Richard & Son, based on Long Island, New York.
Service Contracts Surveyed
Figure 4 shows the length of the 185 service contracts from the 23 different online retailers.
Figure 4
Length of Service Contracts Offered
Eight were one-year plans, while 69 were two-year plans. Note that five of the eight one-year plans started after the manufacturer's warranty ended, a statistic we'll take a look at in Figure 5.
76 were three-year service contracts. 27 were four-year plans, and five were five-year plans.
Figure 5 shows the start dates of the 185 extended warranties.
Figure 5
Service Contract Start Dates
175 of the plans started at the date of printer purchase, while just 10 started when the manufacturer's warranty ended.
Five of the ten warranty extension plans were the one-year Guardsman/ AmTrust Epson Preferred Plus Protection Plans sold on the Epson website. Two were the Micro Center/ Assurant two- and three-year Extension Protection Plans for 3D Printers. And three were the three-year Extended Warranty Plans from CPS sold by Tech for Less.
Figure 6 shows which of the 185 plans covered accidental damage from handling (ADH).
Figure 6
Is Accidental Damage Covered?
145 of the plans did not cover accidental damage, while 40 did cover this.
The plans that did cover accidental damage from handling were: Allstate plans from Abt Electronics, Extend plans from Adorama, Canon CarePAK plans sold by B&H, CPS plans from DataVision, Allstate plans from QVC, and Asurion plans from Staples.
One- and Two-Year Service Contracts
The next three charts show the prices of the extended warranties, divided by the corresponding printer prices, as a percentage.
Figure 7 shows plan price as a percentage of product price for the 77 one- and two-year printer protection plans.
Figure 7
One- and Two-Year Service Contracts:
Price of Service Contracts Offered
(as a percentage of printer price)
On the low end was a $110 two-year Protection Plan for Printers from Office Depot, provided by Allstate, for a $8,025 HP large-format printer. The plan price was just 1% of the product price.
There was also a $50 two-year Connect Device Protection & Tech Help Plan from Staples, which includes ADH protection, provided by Asurion, for a $1,980 HP printer (3%).
On the high end was a $30 two-year Extended Protection Warranty from P.C. Richard & Son, for a $40 HP printer. This protection plan cost 75% of the total product price.
The next-highest plan was a $26 one-year warranty extension Replacement/ Repair Extended Service Plan from Epson, provided by Guardsman, for a $60 printer (43%).
The average one- or two-year extended warranty cost 14% of the total product price. 54 plans were below average, while 23 were above average.
The most expensive two-year plan was a $673 HP Care Pack Next Business Day Onsite Support w/Defective Media Retention plan from HP, with insurance underwriting from AIG, for a $4,925 large-format printer (14%).
Three-Year Service Contracts
Figure 8 shows the price pairing percentages for the 76 three-year extended warranties.
Figure 8
Three-Year Service Contracts:
Price of Service Contracts Offered
(as a percentage of printer price)
At the low end was a $135 three-year Protection Plan for Printers from Office Depot, provided by Allstate, for a $8,025 large-format HP printer (2%), the same printer at the bottom of the one- and two-year plans.
The next-lowest plan was a $59 three-year Walmart Protection Plan, provided by Allstate, for a $2,500 HP printer (2%).
At the high end was a $40 three-year Extended Protection Warranty from P.C. Richard & Son for the same $40 HP printer at top of Figure 7 (100%). Yes, the three-year extended warranty cost the same amount as the printer itself. The plan does not cover accidental damage.
The next-highest plan was a $105 three-year HP Care Pack Next Business Day Advance Exchange service plan from HP, underwritten by AIG, for a $230 printer (46%).
The average three-year printer extended warranty cost 18% of the total product price. 51 plans were below average, and 25 plans were above average.
The most expensive three-year plan, as well as the most expensive plan in the survey, was a $1,475 HP Care Pack Next Business Day Onsite Hardware Support w/Defective Media Retention plan from HP and AIG, for a $5,830 printer (25%).
Four- and Five-Year Service Contracts
Figure 9 shows the price pairing percentages for the 32 four- and five-year extended warranties.
Figure 9
Four- and Five-Year Service Contracts:
Price of Service Contracts Offered
(as a percentage of printer price)
At the low end of the spectrum was a $60 four-year Connect Device Protection & Tech Help Plan from Staples, with ADH protection, provided by Asurion, for a $1,980 HP printer (3%).
Next was a $77 four-year Walmart Protection Plan, provided by Allstate, for a $2,500 HP printer (3%).
At the high end was a $60 five-year Extended Protection Warranty from P.C. Richard & Son for the same $40 printer at the top of Figures 7 and 8 (150%). The two-, three-, and five-year plans available for this $40 HP DeskJet printer topped each of our three charts.
The next-highest was a $20 four-year Connect Device Protection & Tech Help Plan, with ADH protection, from Staples, provided by Asurion, for the same $40 HP DeskJet printer (50%).
The average four- or five-year service contract cost 26% of the plan price. There were 21 plans below average, and 11 plans above average.
The most expensive four-year plan was an $850 Adorama Protect plan, provided by Extend, for a $4,020 Canon large-format printer (21%).