Roku – What to do?

[Dimitri]

This afternoon I almost ordered a Roku 3500R Streaming Stick from Amazon.  I haven’t had cable for probably close to a decade these days and it would be nice to have a little more content than what I can get from antenna television.  That said, I have a problem.

Amazon sells the Roku for $49 with free shipping.  But there is the option to purchase 2 Years of Protection for an additional $2.97.  So now I have a dilemma.  Normally I would laugh at the idea of purchasing an extended warranty for something so cheap.  I mean, who in their right mind insures a $49 piece of electronics?

But would buying the 2 Years of Protection give me Protection Value?  I’m not so sure that one can put a price on Protection Value.  I have the money to replace the Roku if it breaks.  But maybe it would be nice to have the Protection Value just in case something goes wrong.

I was going to write a blog post about this to drive some traffic to my blog.  You know, help out with the SEO and other stuff.  Make a few bucks on some clicks.  Let's fact it - this topic is nonsense.  The only reason to post something like this is to try to make some money off of it.  But I don’t have a blog.  In fact, I don’t have any way of monetizing this post.

That is a pity.  Maybe it can serve as an example for others.  Thanks for reading.

[fetzer85]

Get the Roku 3. I have one and to me it's well worth the money.

[solon]

I have what I call an Extended Warranty fund. You could call yours a Protection fund, or whatever. Every time I'm offered an extended warranty, I ask how much it costs and how long it is effective - and then I decline. Later, I pay that amount into my Extended Warranty fund, and make a note that my new toy is covered for that period of time. Over time, the fund has really grown in value - and I've never had to use it.

So I get the coverage being offered, but I also get to keep the premium, and I even earn a little interest to boot.

[Dimitri]

fetzer85 and solon -- thank you for playing along. 

@fetzer85 - I'll take your recommendation into consideration.  Right now my internet is at 1Mbps (if I understand all this stuff correctly) which I think is probably too slow for Roku.  If I decide to kick it up a notch I'll certainly keep the Roku 3 in mind.

@solon - I'm 100% with you.  Extended warranties are for suckers.  A few years ago I bought a toaster at KMart for app. $11.  It was replacing another toaster that I think I paid $8 for several years prior.  Both among the best investments in my life.  I love toast.  It gives me great pleasure to have toast in the morning.  Frankly, it (along with ice) is part of civilization.  Actually, ice is civilization.  After all, without ice, how can you have a gin and tonic?  But I digress.  The clerk wanted to sell me an extended warranty for $5 on an $11 toaster.  Hello?  Are you kidding me?  I don't hold it against her - she was reading what she had to read off the screen. 

Buying an extended warranty on a toaster is just plain stupid.  Almost as dumb as buying a home warranty when you can afford to pay for repairs out of pocket.  But I digress again.  Talking about something so asinine would make no sense unless you were trying to drive people to your blog where you were going to make money.  Frankly, nothing that a person with a sense of decency would do in my opinion when they are posting on some else's blog.

Anyway, thanks for reading.

[Grateful Stache]

Actually, ice is civilization. 

Harrison Ford, Mosquito Coast.

Nice!

[Davids]

Don't get the extended warranty regardless of how cheap it seems. I have had my Roku for 2.5 years now and no issues.

[2lazy2retire]

amazon fire tv, much more open