Unlimited software warranties (was Re: Mach from mt Xinu)

[Peter da Silva]

In article <8135 at rsiatl.Dixie.Com> jgd at Dixie.Com (John G. DeArmond) writes:
> >But this is beside the point. The subject at hand is an *unlimited* money
> >back warranty. I admit the shortage of 30 or 90 day money-back warrantees is
> >a high priority on my "what I'd fix if I was god for a day" list, but an
> >indefinite one is really just asking for trouble.

> Why do you say that?  There is some really basic merchandising psychology 
> involved here that should be intuitive but if not, is outlined in 
> a number of books on the subject.  There are three important aspects of 
> unlimited money-back warranties.  The first is, the no-questions-asked
> removes the dishonesty quotient from the equation.  People no longer 
> have to lie about the product or worse, destroy it, in order to 
> get their money back.  Just like at K-mart.  You hand them the package and
> the receipt and they hand you money.

OK, we'll drop the Sears bit... but I have never seen this behaviour from
any merchant that I have done business with. Unless I've got a *recent*
receipt or the merchandise is in "like new" condition, you can't return
it. Period.

The psychology argument is compelling, but as I've never seen it actually
implemented I don't buy it. Limited (30, 60, 90, whatever) guarantees are
common. Unlimited, open-ended ones? At K-mart?

Sears *used* to do this, 10 years ago. The treatment I got when I brought
in a broken Sears bicycle I bought second-hand and asked about replacement
parts was amazing. They didn't even require a receipt! But I haven't seen
it since then. From anyone.

> Let's take our old whipping post friend, ISC Unix.  Would you really have
> the guts to use the product for a year and then arbitrarily ask for your 
> money back?

I wouldn't. J Random corporate purchasing agent, with no causal connection
to the product... sure. Before folks started cracking down on it, piracy
was practically corporate policy many places, and that's not just a matter
of being a deadbeat. Corporations do not suffer from embarassment.

And the main customers of software like UNIX are corporate.
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter at ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"