Wouldn't that be better than having a broken unit that doesn't work, and wasting hundreds of dollars because it broke?
I would rather pay $50.00, instead of loosing all my investment.
And who cares if it's refurbished; your own broken unit would need to be refurbished anyways, so unless you are willing to wait weeks to get it repaired, it's always better to get a working unit as a replacement right on the spot.
Unless you're willing to wait weeks for the iPad 3 to surface on apples site as a refurb you mean.
I still don't know why Square Trade has not been mentioned in this thread yet. By far the best deal for either device and they offer discounts every time a new apple product is launched to cash in on the hype.
For example, the 4S has been available for months and still, for little more than a decent accessory ($59.99) you can get one year accidental with square trade.
SCENARIO 1
$200 iPhone @ contract price
$100 SQ warranty 2 years. $300 total
Week before contract & warranty expire, iPhone has accident. Free shipping both ways to square trade after filing claim with cost of $50. Maximum 4 claims total. Guaranteed 5 days process time or refund of warranty cost & device still fixed/replaced.
Paid out by ST at purchase price of $200 cash by check or card, purchase new model iPhone at launch. Net loss/gain: -$50 -3 karma points. +1 brand new current gen model.
SCENARIO 2
$200 contact price for phone
$100 AppleCare+
Week before contract & warranty expire, iPhone has accident. Free shipping both ways to Apple after filing claim online with cost of $50. No Guaranteed processing time, max of 2 claims. New or refurbished same gen model.
Option 2: go to Apple retail store, pay $50 deductible, bear in-person scrutiny and get iPhone as replacement or device repair if possible. New or refurbished same gen model. Read: you will likely not have the option to upgrade to the new model, especially at launch.
Net loss/ gain: -$350. -1 karma points, same old iPhone for 4 years
To be clear, I'm talking about warranties because that's what the thread is about. Never mind selling a one year old phone sans warranty, sans engraving, in white with a simple case and gentle use. Sold on eBay you have potential to break even if not make money due to being only a year old oh, and you're not commiting fraud.
Of course there are final value fees, gas to the post office, shipping fees and seller feedback to worry about there so that is a breakdown for a whole nother day.
To me the choice is clear.