Anthony successfully navigated the obstacle course of buying an HDTV—turning down bogus pricey add-ons. But then Sears called him at home, imploring him to buy a warranty because plasma TVs need to be recharged. WTF?


A few days after Anthony bought his plasma HDTV and turned down Sears' $300/3 year protection plan, a rep called him at home and asked why he chose plasma over LCD. He told her it was because the TV was cheap.


The rep proceeded to fill his ears with enough BS to power an entire alternative energy economy: Plasmas, she said, needed to be "recharged" every five years, at a cost of $500 a pop, so you should buy our three-year warranty. Compete, utter crap. Not to mention, that three-year warranty would be, um, expired by then.

My guess is that since he gave a non-technical answer ("it was cheap" vs. "plasmas have better blacks") the rep decided to play on his lack of technical knowledge to try to make the sale. Thankfully, Anthony realized that three is less than five and backed out, though he had to look on the internet to verify that what she told him was a lie. Always do your homework before you go to the store, because some, though not all, of these people are very much out to screw you. [Consumerist]