Companies use a wide variety of techniques to convince us to buy their wares, and one of the most confusing is the warranty — basically a guarantee that the product will work as advertised for a specific period of time. Most of us don’t think too much about warranties because we suspect companies wouldn’t offer them unless they had good reason to believe most of us won’t ever use them. So, it might surprise you to learn that there are products that actually come with built-in, automatic lifetime warranties. Be aware that “lifetime” refers to the life of the product, not
your life. In some cases, lifetime warranties are limited to just a few years because that’s what the company sees as the lifetime of the product. There are, however, a short list of products that have true lifetime warranties, and if you own one, you’re set for life......
your life.
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| No matter how long you’ve owned your Cutco knife, they’ll replace or repair it at no charge as long as the damage doesn’t stem from “unconventional use” — and even if you did break your knife trying to pick a lock or something, they’ll still replace it at half-cost. They also offer free sharpening for the lifetime of your knife. |
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| Zippo will repair or replace a Windproof Lighter, no questions asked, whether its 5 years, 25 years, or 50 years old. Note that this only applies to the Windproof model — other lighters have separate warranties. |
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| Stanley offers a true lifetime warranty on its mechanics tools, and Craftsman offers one for its hand tools, most mechanics tools, and a selection of other tools. This means they’ll replace any of those tools at any time without even asking for proof of purchase. Other tools typically have a limited “lifetime” warranty, so be sure to check before assuming you can mail those rusty wrenches back for a fresh set. |
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| If you bought a Vermont Teddy Bear and it gets damaged — in any way, at any time — you can send it to their “hospital” for a free repair. This doesn’t apply to the bear clothes or accessories, just the bear itself. If your bear is so old that its materials are no longer available, they’ll send you a new one. |
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| As long as you use your Calphalon pots and pans according to instructions, they’ll replace them at any time. Note that the company states it will examine the returned item and if it can’t see the defect, it will send it back to you with a letter of explanation, so you can’t just swap out old pans for new ones. |
