All Replies on Warranty for your work?

Any piece can be abused/mistreated. When I present my Prie Dieux, I try to educate the recipient about the possibilities of wood movement and the fact that my shellac finish will not really like direct sunlight. Once said, I offer my services to repair anything that might go awry in the near future. To date … that has not happened!  If it did, I would assess the situation and immediately repair anything due to my failings, and offer  to repair anything caused by abuse.

I gave service on anything that was wrong with a new guitar I shipped, but after a couple months of playing, that was done. Too many people do things. I had a guy change his wiring, and tell me that the guitar would not perform correctly. He was fairly close, so I drove there. Waste of my money and time…Took me about five minutes to tell he had been inside, and screwed it up.

Most of the other stuff I sell, if anything goes wrong, if it is local, I’ll take a look and fix it, but again, after a couple months, no.

-- Tsunami Guitars and Custom Woodworking, Cleveland, TN

in my opinion, if a guarantee or warranty goes “past a handshake” ,
a builder should have all the parameters drawn up in some kind of written format
that covers what you will and will not cover once it leaves your shop and for how long.
the buyer does not have to sign it. but it is a good idea for the builder to sign and date it
and keep one copy for yourself and give one copy to the buyer. many samples on the WWW.
“good fences make good neighbors” concept.

Warranties: written or implied ?
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0252-warranties

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-- there is no educational alternative to having a front row seat in the School of Hard Knocks. --

I ve got a bit of free time coming up and with some spare steel/timber in the shed and nothing I really need for myself I wondered about making a few pieces and putting them up for sale. Do professional woodworkers usually guarantee their work by any means of a warranty? Should a hobbyist do the same whichever the answer?

I have no issue with the concept as I d bet the value of anything I ve made that it won t fail prematurely but does putting it in writing expose you in any way?

What about for pieces like cutting blocks that can be abused/mistreated?

Any thoughts appreciated, thanks!
Josh

- JoshNZ

Just do cash “as is” pieces

Interesting comments. Thanks for the link John I’m sure there are similar laws in NZ.

Would you write a disclaimer in your auction/classified then or just leave it at what is implied by regulation

I would probably sell cash as-is but mention to folks that if something goes wrong in the short term to let me know and I’d take a look at it. In other words, no guarantee, but some “service” could be available at my discretion.

It comes down to whether you want to sell stuff, or have a business. You can sell stuff on Craigslist and say tough luck if it fails. If you want to have a business, you’d better stand behind your product and worry more about your reputation and customer satisfaction than squeezing $50 out of them for a repair, even if they did the damage.

-- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner

I’m not really interested in running a business but I’d stand behind my stuff anyway. Realistically if someone came back with a table that had split down the middle I’d do a full refund and just take it back, since I’m busy with other professions I won’t necessarily have time to do a repair anyway.

So all I’m really asking is do you put that into writing and expose yourself legally somewhat, or let that be implied. I’ve pretty well got my answer I think.

I’ll often do minor repairs either free or at minimal cost (regardless of who’s fault it is) using the Carl Sewell principle. If it’s something that you wouldn’t charge a friend for, don’t charge the client. I don’t have any written warranty, just a reputation for keeping customers happy. This week I patched up a chip on a piece of furniture sold four years ago to a church. A couple months ago I built some extra shelves and spent an hour doing touch-ups at a restaurant that has our cabinetry for less than half the normal shop rate.

None of that is profitable but small services like that keep clients coming back and generates referrals. They know that they may need to spend thousands to buy new furnishings but the knowledge that someone will take care of them gives them peace of mind. The cost of doing this is defrayed by timing trips to coincide with profitable jobs nearby.

I find that people seldom try to take advantage of this generous policy. If anything, they repay us with more jobs and loyalty.

-- See my work at http://altaredesign.com