Masterbuilt warranty only 90 days???

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mummel

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Apr 8, 2015
2,294
64
Massachusetts
Wow.  That's pretty bad.  Has it always been like this?  For other goods, I normally stay away from any manufacturers that dont offer at least a 1 year warranty (heck how often do you see anything less these days?).  Less than 1 year and it's my belief that manufacturers dont trust their own product.

Perhaps there is a valid explanation (these smokers are very popular so Im probably missing something)?  But to sell a bluetooth smart digital smoker for $400 and offer a 90 day warranty seems really sketchy.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/warranty
 
 
Wow.  That's pretty bad.  Has it always been like this?  For other goods, I normally stay away from any manufacturers that dont offer at least a 1 year warranty (heck how often do you see anything less these days?).  Less than 1 year and it's my belief that manufacturers dont trust their own product.

Perhaps there is a valid explanation (these smokers are very popular so Im probably missing something)?  But to sell a bluetooth smart digital smoker for $400 and offer a 90 day warranty seems really sketchy.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/warranty
But for 90 days they will send you the parts needed,for you to install whether you have any mechanical ability or not. I bought mine from Sams club and took the extended warranty so if I don't want to replace something Sams will make good.
 
Yeah but it's 90 days....... Seriously.  Their warranty even specifically excludes rust???  By comparison, The WSM has a 10 year warranty on their metals. 

Agghh, this is really disappointing.  An American made $400 smoker should at least have a 2 year warranty, MINIMUM. 
 
 
Yeah but it's 90 days....... Seriously.  Their warranty even specifically excludes rust???  By comparison, The WSM has a 10 year warranty on their metals. 

Agghh, this is really disappointing.  An American made $400 smoker should at least have a 2 year warranty, MINIMUM. 
Its Made In CHINA That is why it is cheap.
 
Even the $80 Brinkmann Gourmet Electric Smoker has a 1 year warranty......................
 
 
Wow.  That's pretty bad.  Has it always been like this?  For other goods, I normally stay away from any manufacturers that dont offer at least a 1 year warranty (heck how often do you see anything less these days?).  Less than 1 year and it's my belief that manufacturers dont trust their own product.

Perhaps there is a valid explanation (these smokers are very popular so Im probably missing something)?  But to sell a bluetooth smart digital smoker for $400 and offer a 90 day warranty seems really sketchy.

https://www.masterbuilt.com/warranty
Probably 60 days more then you will need!
 
@mummel  you are comparing apples to oranges. A WSM has no mechanical parts to fail and is made from a heavy gauge steel. A ECB has no relay or controls just a heating element that is always on. MES units have circuit boards, controls, relays, etc that are prone to damage from operator error. The odds are that those items will fail in the first few uses if they are defective. If they warranted the units for 2 years they would be replacing units that were left in the rain, snow, etc.

There are numerous posts on this site of people having great experiences with the Masterbuilt service department.

If you are that concerned about a warranty than buy an extended warranty when you buy the unit. I think it was $25 for the warranty when I bought my 30".
 
 
@mummel  you are comparing apples to oranges. A WSM has no mechanical parts to fail and is made from a heavy gauge steel. A ECB has no relay or controls just a heating element that is always on. MES units have circuit boards, controls, relays, etc that are prone to damage from operator error. The odds are that those items will fail in the first few uses if they are defective. If they warranted the units for 2 years they would be replacing units that were left in the rain, snow, etc.

There are numerous posts on this site of people having great experiences with the Masterbuilt service department.

If you are that concerned about a warranty than buy an extended warranty when you buy the unit. I think it was $25 for the warranty when I bought my 30".
Yeah I just spoke to Squaretrade.  Probably around 20% of the cost for a 3 year plan.  If you buy it through the retailer, then its about 10% of cost.  Great option IMO.  This gives me a lot of comfort.

Re: apples to oranges.  Forget about the components.  What about rust on base metals??????????  Naaaaa man, Masterbuilt needs to step up and back their own product.  I wont worry about it now because of the Squaretrade warranty, but still.  Not acceptable IMO.  Not in today's world. 
 
An outdoor piece of equipment that cant get rain on it?  That's even worse.  It doesnt matter to me because of the Squaretrade warranty and clearly MES is the right choice for the majority of people around here.  I'm excited about getting mine.  But geeeez, I'm just saying.  It's been a very long time since I've seen a company get away with such a worthless warranty (in addition to excessive restrictions).  Companies that dont stand by their products normally get crushed by the competition.  I can only assume the smoker market is a small market giving Masterbuilt a lifeline. 
 
 
An outdoor piece of equipment that cant get rain on it?  That's even worse.  It doesnt matter to me because of the Squaretrade warranty and clearly MES is the right choice for the majority of people around here.  I'm excited about getting mine.  But geeeez, I'm just saying.  It's been a very long time since I've seen a company get away with such a worthless warranty (in addition to excessive restrictions).  Companies that dont stand by their products normally get crushed by the competition.  I can only assume the smoker market is a small market giving Masterbuilt a lifeline. 
An outdoor piece of equipment that cant get rain on it?

Would you leave or use any other electrical tool in the rain, Big Bug Zapper.
 
 
There is nothing weird about that. Do you leave your lawn mower out in the rain year round? 
Not all year round...but it's happened 
hit.gif
 
 
Yeah I just spoke to Squaretrade.  Probably around 20% of the cost for a 3 year plan.  If you buy it through the retailer, then its about 10% of cost.  Great option IMO.  This gives me a lot of comfort.

Re: apples to oranges.  Forget about the components.  What about rust on base metals??????????  Naaaaa man, Masterbuilt needs to step up and back their own product.  I wont worry about it now because of the Squaretrade warranty, but still.  Not acceptable IMO.  Not in today's world. 
Said it before, I'll say it again. WSM. 10 year Warranty. Weber Kettle, 10 year Warranty. Doesn't really matter because they will most likely outlast most of us anyway. You want waterproof. Get an EZ up shelter or build something. 
 
 
But for 90 days they will send you the parts needed,for you to install whether you have any mechanical ability or not. I bought mine from Sams club and took the extended warranty so if I don't want to replace something Sams will make good.
 Actually, they sent me a completely new replacement smoker for my MES40 Gen1. I might be special though.... I always feel special.
 
You are comparing the least expensive electric smoker on the market, add technology equiped, made in China, you should feel good you even got 90 days. Seriously had this been made and backed in the US, it would cost 5 times as much and you'd complain it was priced out of the market.

Is it half full or half empty?
 
Since I think that Masterbuilt makes the best entry level electric smokers I chose to buy one fully aware of their short warranty period. I can't afford the more expensive, better-made smokers with the longer warranties anyway. .

But the skimpy warranty just goes to show that Masterbuilt is fully aware of all the problems that can arise with their smokers, they acknowledge that their some of their smokers are unreliable pieces of crap (mine is fine, though) so they've decided to keep their losses to a bare minimum. I'm sure they've got reports which show major problems will start to occur after 90 days either due to manufacturing defects or some of the yahoos who buy smokers and either never bother to learn what they're doing or start modifying the crap out of it. So, you're out of luck if you buy a Masterbuilt and because of various reasons in that first 90 days the farthest you get is taking it out of the box.

So, I malign Masterbuilt for having such low confidence in the quality of their smokers but I praise the company for marketing a very good and inexpensive entry level smoker, the MES 30 Gen 1.
 
 
Since I think that Masterbuilt makes the best entry level electric smokers I chose to buy one fully aware of their short warranty period. I can't afford the more expensive, better-made smokers with the longer warranties anyway. .

But the skimpy warranty just goes to show that Masterbuilt is fully aware of all the problems that can arise with their smokers, they acknowledge that their some of their smokers are unreliable pieces of crap (mine is fine, though) so they've decided to keep their losses to a bare minimum. I'm sure they've got reports which show major problems will start to occur after 90 days either due to manufacturing defects or some of the yahoos who buy smokers and either never bother to learn what they're doing or start modifying the crap out of it. So, you're out of luck if you buy a Masterbuilt and because of various reasons in that first 90 days the farthest you get is taking it out of the box.

So, I malign Masterbuilt for having such low confidence in the quality of their smokers but I praise the company for marketing a very good and inexpensive entry level smoker, the MES 30 Gen 1.
I was right about the electric smoker market being small.  I looked up Masterbuilt.  They are doing ~$80 million in revenue with only ~$3 million in net profit.  This revenue is across the entire company (which includes their other product lines like grills etc).  They are a small company with ~60-70 employees. 

The bottom line is that they need to adjust their pricing in accordance with what they are offering.  I think everyone agrees that $430 for a smoker with a 90 warranty is way too much.  This does not compute in my mind.  However, with such slim profit margins, they cant.  They are boxed in. 

So they are damn lucky there is enough niche demand to support current pricing levels, and that the market is small enough to not attract competitors.  Otherwise I believe they would get smoked (excuse the pun). 
 
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