Friday, August 2, 2013

warranty and lack of product markings

Here is a photo of my garden clippers that fell apart in my hands when I was pruning.


Now you will note that these clippers have no brand name on them.  I checked the other side as well.  It also has no brand name, no phone number, no information at all indicating where this clipper might have been made.

OK, so I went and bought some new clippers.



Looks pretty similar to my old clippers, but, again, nowhere on the actual clippers is there any brand name, website, phone number, or anything that might allow me to trace where the clippers might have been made.

The packaging does have such information, as shown here


You will note that this packaging indicates a lifetime warranty.  Obviously, tho, if this new pair of clippers were to break next year I would most likely no longer have the packaging, nor would I remember where I got the clippers or be able to find a receipt.  Therefore the lifetime warranty is inherently useless.

While this clipper looks very similar to the one that broke, I have no way of proving that the manufacturer is in fact the same.

I would submit that this type of packaging/marking is essentially fraudulent, inducing people to purchase substandard goods, based on the promise of a lifetime warranty, without any real possibility of claiming the warranty.

I would further submit that this type of packaging should be illegal where the product itself has no indication of where to claim the warranty.  

Laws to protect consumers should require that this type of warranty be enforceable without the packaging or receipt.

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