Do you have an old suitcase that is broken and you were just going to throw it away? Before you do that consider claiming the manufacturer’s warranty. Did you know that most manufacturers have lifetime or extended warranties on their products? Sometimes it’s just as simple as calling a toll-free number or sending an email to the company. Sometimes they don’t even ask for a receipt because they can tell the year purchased from the model # from the bag itself.
I’ve been successful with claiming the warranty for Ricardo and Dakine.
The handle broke on my Ricardo suitcase, and when I called them about it and explained I was traveling in a few days, they overnighted the replacement handles to me. Even though it took some effort to take out the broken handles and replace with new ones, I was able to use the suitcase that I would have thrown away otherwise. If I had more time, I would have been able to take it to a service center to get it fixed.
Another successful case was with my Dakine low roller snowboard bag. The zipper on the bag was busted. After reviewing the warranty policy on Dakine’s website, I contacted them via the online form with pictures of the broken zipper, picture of the model # tag, and some information on date and place of purchase. They got back to me pretty quickly and informed me that they would replace the bag for me by sending me a promo code for the value of a new bag on their website (including shipping). In order to get the promo code I needed to show that I destroyed the bag by cutting big “X” on the front of the bag. Once I did that and sent the pictures back, they quickly got back to me with the promo code. I ordered a new bag the same day and received a new bag the very next day! Now that’s called service! From this experience I will definitely purchase Dakine again!
While these are just examples from 2 manufacturers, I am sure there are plenty of other manufacturers who would also honor their warranties. Before you throw away those bags/suitcases. it doesn’t hurt to quickly check the manufacturer’s website to see if they cover such things. You’d never know….you could be pleasantly surprised like I was!
Have you had successes with claiming warranty from other manufacturers? If so, leave a comment below and let us know!