Is Tool Registration Really Worth It?

[John Hays]

Mods: Please move this post if it is better served in the Off Topic forum. Thanks

So I bought the Porter Cable 14" bandsaw yesterday and am fairly pleased with it. Now usually, I tend to fill out and send in the registration form on all of my major tool purchases, just in case something goes horribly wrong with them... but now I'm not so sure.

This concern stems from the Black & Decker takeover, where I've been hearing stories of less than adequate customer service, no resolutions for replacement parts, etc. On top of it all, I was reading through the registration form that came with my new bandsaw and was stunned by the amount of personal information they inquire about, such as the gender and age of your children, family income, level of education, type of internet access, money investments, home life and the list goes on.

I mean wow... really?!? Sounds to me that they're more interested in selling this information to third party advertisers than they are actually helping anyone with a problem concerning one of their products.

Perhaps my memory is faulty in my old age, but I don't ever recall registration forms ever being this intrusive about personal lifestyles. Has it always been this way?

With that rant aside, is there really any benefit to sending in registration forms these days or am I just wasting my time here?

[Buck Williams]

I guess the only reasons that I can think of for registration would be that you would be notified of a possible safety defect, and have a record of when the tool was purchased. Certainly PC is looking to gain marketing info, no reason you can't just include your name, address and essentials and on the other questions tell them to..............

[Ron Natalie]

Well the internet access is new since the internet got popular but here were always a hundred demographic questions on these things. You can just leave that blank. As log as you have your name and address and date of purchase that should suffice. The primary reason for registering is to get notifications if there ever is a recall on the thing. Some manufacturers offer a better warranty if you register, though usually it matters NOT if you send the card in or not. You do need to have your receipt to show you bought it recent enough for coverage.

It's been about seven years since B&D bought out P-C/Delta

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Don't fill out the personal information. I don't.

I register the tool. Typically Online.....and if the online registration requires to personal information to submit it....I just mail the one that came with the machine....without the personal information.

They really are trying to get marketing information but I don't believe they need all that personal information, so I don't include it.

It's not a big deal.

[John Hays]

You do need to have your receipt to show you bought it recent enough for coverage.

Well alrighty then, problem solved (since I always keep my recipts). ;)


It's been about seven years since B&D bought out P-C/Delta

Wow, has it been that long already? Quite a few years have passed since the last time I bought any major brand power tools, so I guess I'm just out of the loop. LOL

[Sid Matheny]

Likee Ken I do mine online and just fill in what I think is needed.

Sid

[Andrew Pitonyak]

The forms usually marks what must be entered. Then again, even though I am a consumate rule follower, when it comes to things such as race, weight, etc, I just might be a 450 lb female super model from Algeria that eeks by on $2K a year.... It is, after all, only marketing information.

[peter leyden]

I too keep my receipts,but a word to the wise - Make a copy of the receipt!!!. I have had receipts fade so badly the FBI would have trouble getting any information. Damhikt

[Greg Portland]

I too keep my receipts,but a word to the wise - Make a copy of the receipt!!!. I have had receipts fade so badly the FBI would have trouble getting any information. Damhikt
Good point! The thermal paper receipts are particularly bad @ turning all black...

[Ron Jones near Indy]

I do what Ken said.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I rarely fill out any registration for anything, be it tool, appliance or whatever.

With that said, most every manufacturer/supplier of these items already has a record of when said item was manufactured and probably sold. Now, on to stationary power tools (I've already said I rarely fill out registration forms), I've also rarely experience problems that I could not repair myself (in my manufacturing plant, I have a complete machine shop). And finally, my point, over the past year, I experienced an electrical problem with a virtually new Grizzly 17" bandsaw. Since I never sent the registration in, I figured I would be paying for some repair parts, but kudos to Grizzly for having a computer system by which they almost instantly retrieved my machine's data and having the repair parts (a magnetic starter) in my hands within one week.

In the past, I have criticized an aspect or two of Grizzly machines, but in the same vein, I must also praise them for this treatment was equal or superior to any tool supplier/manufacturer, especially when you take into account that I did not register my bandsaw.

[Darren Ford]

I'm going from memory, which may or not be reliable, but...

When I had a new liner installed for an inground pool, it came with a card to register for the warranty. I researched this quite a bit, because I had never sent in a warranty registration before, but IIRC federal guidelines for limited warranties states if the manufacturer requires registration, then they have the right to not honor the warranty if the registration was not submitted.

I hope I'm not feeding you a big line of bull, I did a quick search and didn't find the info I wanted to link to, but I do know that I registered that warranty and I would not have done it if I didn't think I had to in order to be protected.

Not sure if this helps any ....

[Peter Hawser]

John, I always fill these things out, but for every question about me I completely make things up. I'm sure not much comes of it, but I get a kick out of contributing to their database a 82 year old woman who makes over $150k, reads financial magazines and plays sports.

[Rick Fisher]

Its mostly marketing info.. They want to know if their tools are being bought by over 30/ under 30 .. Male / Female.. If they notice a trend in women over say 5-10 years, they may change the way they advertise.. If their tools are being bought by mainly low income people, they may want to advertise more to that group, or maybe more to higher income ..

They don't GARA about any one person.. its not that big a deal.. no secret listening van's out on the street, no wire taps..

Most companies are more cooperative with their customers than their customers are with the company ..


GREAT example..

A Male customer over 40 who makes over $200,000 a year is much more likely to buy expensive accessories than an under 30 who saved up for a year on his $22,000 income.. Knowing that can help them decide if there is a market for a luxury accessory.

[Bruce Wrenn]

On Ridgid tools, I always register them for Lifetime Service Agreement. This means to me FREE BATTERIES for life! Others probably not. But most of my tools are certified preowned.

[Kevin W Johnson]

John, I had this exact bandsaw for about a year and a half. On mine, the upper wheel hinge assembly broke. No big deal I thought, it's inder warranty... Yeah, parts on backorder at the time with no ETA. Lowes actually took it back even though it had been so long, I did still have my receipt though.

I ended up buying the Rikon 10-325 14" steel frame bandsaw, and I'm really happy with it.

[John Hays]

On mine, the upper wheel hinge assembly broke.

Yeah, I've read where a few people had a problem with that in the past. Guess I'll have to check mine to see if PC improved the design any. Considering my budget, I almost bought the Harbor Freight equivalent of this saw, but figured the extra $50 was worth putting toward something a bit more stable.

I suppose I should register the thing... but I'll just fudge the lifestyle questions like everyone else does. LOL

[Kevin W Johnson]

Yeah, I've read where a few people had a problem with that in the past. Guess I'll have to check mine to see if PC improved the design any. Considering my budget, I almost bought the Harbor Freight equivalent of this saw, but figured the extra $50 was worth putting toward something a bit more stable.

I suppose I should register the thing... but I'll just fudge the lifestyle questions like everyone else does. LOL

I don't think it has changed any. But at the least you should get a quick release for the blade tensioner, I'm certain that will help. I never bothered de-tentioning the blade as it was a pain. I'm sure that contributed, but the saw should be able to handle that, with the blade being the one to suffer.

[Brian Elfert]

Some manufacturers are offering to extend the warranty or ship you some accessory for free if you send in the registration card. My understanding is they cannot require registration to honor the written warranty.

[Steven Triggs]

I do not know if this applies to all VISA cards or not, so check with your bank before assuming what I say is true for you:

In some cases, VISA credit card purchases automatically have lengthened warranties. For example, an item that has a 1 year warranty gets a VISA backed 2nd year warranty. My understanding is that to be eligible for this, you have to have done the registration card for the manufacturer's warranty. To me, it is worth it to register just in case it came up and I needed that VISA extended warranty.

Also, I personally think it is a little strange to register with made up information as some have suggested. I believe that they ask this demographic information primarily for marketing and product research. I believe it is important for a manufacturer to understand their audience when designing and marketing their tools, so I for one want them to be aware of my demographic information for these purposes. Also, it seems strange to purposefully mislead a company that you apparently respect (I assume you wouldn't be buying their tool if you didn't like their product).