How to get an extended warranty for free

Most consumer advocates will tell you never to buy an extended warranty. However, 7 On Your Side isn't one of them.

Many times an extended warranty is too high priced to justify the cost -- but not always. Especially if you can get the warranty for free or at a deeply discounted price.

The last days of post-holiday shopping are coming to an end. The gift cards are being used and soon the holiday decorations will be gone. What you buy will remain and may eventually need repair. And that's where the website FreeWarranty.com comes in.

"FreeWarranty.com is the first website that combines comparison shopping on more than one million items with free extended warranties on the items our members buy," says Tom Forrest of FreeWarranty.com.

Buy through the website and you get an extended warranty for no additional charge. FreeWarranty.com doubles the manufacturer's warranty. So a year warranty becomes two years.

"Since we have all the product data and we have your information, filing a claim is as easy as clicking one button on the website and then we will contact you and explain how we are going to service the product," says Forrest.

If you didn't buy through FreeWarranty.com and still want an extended warranty, you can go back to the store where you bought the item. Most will gladly sell you an extended warranty.

But before you do that, go to SquareTrade.com, a San Francisco-based company that offers extended warranties, sometimes priced at less than half what retailers charge.

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retail, shopping, 7 on your side, michael finney

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