Gamers Nexus and LTT debate.

[digitalwanderer]

Steve at Gamers Nexus called out Linus for his no warrantee backpack, and Linus responded with a line of "Trust Me Bros" t-shirts to belittle those who thought his $250us backpack should have some kind of warranty. I believe that Steve rightly took offense at that and he posted up a bit of an editorial explaining on how Gamers Nexus' coverage of LTT and LMG (Linus Tech Tips and Linus Media Group) will be treated by them going forward. I can totally see GN's side of it but no so much Linus'. Linus seems to be taunting an issue he should have taken seriously, and I've been getting tired of Linus' "My most expensive toy!" and "You won't believe how much what's in this box cost!" videos. Linus has totally lost touch with the regular gaming community imho and I'm sad for it, but I still unsubscribed to all their channels.

This morning Hardware Unboxed had a piece up referring to the GNN/LTT situation and concluded that warranties don't really mean shit and Linus was just taking a piss with the shirts. They said the were in the loop and up to speed on the situation, but didn't seem to realize that Linus put out the shirt days before he put out the warranty. Unsubscribed.

Anyone else following this have any thoughts? I feel Steve had a lot of valid points and he presented them well, I haven't seen any kind of rebuttal to those points that holds any weight. If anyone has please let me know.

 

[Malo]

I realize Linus prefers a very casual approach to running his company but you can't be selling $250 backpacks without some kind of warranty in writing. And really didn't like the ethics around the trust me bro shirts, though obviously his followers loved it as it sold massive amounts apparently.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Just shows he's got a lot of assholes for followers.

Here's the original bit that got Linus all pissy, and Steve I thought was very nice about it:

 

[BRiT]

Have not heard about this but will be as it sounds entertaining.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Steve makes a pretty good point that LMG is actually bigger now than a lot of the tech companies they cover, which is kind of terrifying.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I haven't followed this whole feud (because I couldn't care less) but I do remember when Linus was plugging the backpack in one of the videos, they mentioned something about warranty. A quick google shows they do offer (limited) warranty that at least on the surface reads to me like the type of warranty you'd usually get on a similar product. In short I don't really understand why Steve claims no warranty while there actually is warranty? But Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[digitalwanderer]

I haven't followed this whole feud (because I couldn't care less) but I do remember when Linus was plugging the backpack in one of the videos, they mentioned something about warranty. A quick google shows they do offer (limited) warranty that at least on the surface reads to me like the type of warranty you'd usually get on a similar product. In short I don't really understand why Steve claims no warranty while there actually is warranty? But Maybe I'm missing something.

You're pretty much missing everything. Linus said he didn't need to offer a warranty because people either trusted him or they don't, it wasn't until he was called out by Steve and then a bit longer before he added the official limited warranty. He put out the "Trust Me Bros" shirts before he put out the warranty, sort of tells you his priorities.

 

[Remij]

Linus can go to hell. Every single thing on that store is a complete rip-off... and I honestly can't believe people buy anything from it.

He's a clown who has forgotten his role. Glad Steve checked him.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

You're pretty much missing everything. Linus said he didn't need to offer a warranty because people either trusted him or they don't, it wasn't until he was called out by Steve and then a bit longer before he added the official limited warranty. He put out the "Trust Me Bros" shirts before he put out the warranty, sort of tells you his priorities.

Ah okay in that case it makes perfect sense. Linus always goes on about the quality of the stuff on their store so not sure why they just didn't offer written warranty from the start.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I don't care about LTT or backpacks, but are manufacturer warranties explicitly required in the US? I.e., isn't there a legally implied warranty for any product sold commercially a statutory right? In Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan and plenty of other countries, manufacturer warranties exist on top of the statutory warranty.

Is that not a thing in the US? The US feels like an entire country testing out the Darwin principles!

 

[BRiT]

It's pretty much the wild wild west in the US. Items can be sold "as-is" in most states (all but 11.5 states) which has no warranty of any kind. Most warranties are simply stating the product is functional and in good condition. The laws around this seem to vary by state. The seller can even limit their liability or lesson it if they want.

However, each seller may limit their liability in a warranty. For instance, a seller may choose not to warranty a product beyond a certain period of time

Warranty Laws By State | UpCounsel 2022

A warranty is a seller's acknowledgement of liability for the condition and performance of a product.

www.upcounsel.com

However there is a Federal act which should apply in this situation. It seems LTT was in violation of this when they first put their backpack up for sale without specifying these details. Maybe?

---

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
An important federal regulation relating to warranties is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. This Act requires sellers and manufacturers of consumer goods to clearly delineate the bounds of express warranties and to expressly state the requirements for maintaining warranty coverage. In addition, sellers must also disclose whether warranties are "full" or "limited". Offering limited warranties allows sellers to limit an implied warranty to the duration of the express warranty.

The act also facilitates buyers in suing sellers and manufacturers of consumer goods in breach of warranty cases. For example, the act allows buyers to sue in a federal court (in addition to a state court) by claiming damages to the excess of $50,000—a much lower limit than applied to other types of claims. In addition, buyers can recover attorney's fees and any other types of court-related fees when successful. Furthermore, the act also enables more class action cases to be litigated under federal law.

 

[Pressure]

Isn't Linus Media Group and their store based in Canada for those citing laws from USA?

 

[BRiT]

Isn't Linus Media Group and their store based in Canada for those citing laws from USA?

Perhaps but they sell things directly in the US so have to follow those laws, same as they have to follow laws in the EU when they sell there.

 

[Pressure]

Perhaps but they sell things directly in the US so have to follow those laws, same as they have to follow laws in the EU when they sell there.

I can't find any evidence to suggest the store actually operates within the US border but shouldn't the debate be on the weak-ass consumer laws instead of these two YouTube influencers?

I'm definitely happy to be in the EU when it comes to consumer laws, privacy and rights.

 

[Malo]

I can't find any evidence to suggest the store actually operates within the US border but shouldn't the debate be on the weak-ass consumer laws instead of these two YouTube influencers?

I'm definitely happy to be in the EU when it comes to consumer laws, privacy and rights.

It's not that Linus wanted to get away with no warranty, rather that he wanted to just use his apparent reputation and dedication to his customers/followers to ensure the buyers that if they have a problem that it will be taken care of no matter what. Hence "Trust me bro" T-shirt he monetized before caving and having an official warranty that contained the usual limitations.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I can't find any evidence to suggest the store actually operates within the US border but shouldn't the debate be on the weak-ass consumer laws instead of these two YouTube influencers?

I'm definitely happy to be in the EU when it comes to consumer laws, privacy and rights.

I could go both ways on it. I rarely ever file a warranty claim on something, instead opting to fix it myself or eat the cost.

That works out for me in cases where the limited warranty is short and thus the cost of the item is lower. In most cases, I'd prefer a lower overall cost to the increased cost of an item with a longer warranty.

However, there are certain cases where I will actively seek out products with a longer warranty and bear the additional cost burden. I just recently got a new refrigerator and the only refrigerators I looked at were LG and Samsung because they were the only ones to offer a 10 year warranty on parts for the compressor. All other manufacturers offered only a limited 1 year warranty.

It's the rare instance where I preferred having extra warranty coverage which increases the cost of the item.

So things like food storage, data integrity (storage devices), vehicles and other things where long term reliability is key, I want a good warranty which is more about reassuring myself of the long term quality of a product than it is about the actual warranty.

For other things like TVs, CPUs, kitchenware, microwaves, air conditioners, etc. I could care less whether they have a 30 day warranty or a 5 year warranty. So in those cases, I'd much rather pay a lower cost rather than a higher cost for a longer warranty ... as long as the quality of their products is good and they have a good reputation.

Basically the cost savings combined with the general reliability of most things I buy (customer reviews is helpful for risk assessment) outweighs any potential "savings" from having to file a claim for warranty coverage. Also, I absolutely hate the headache associated with warranty coverage in the first place. If I have to file a warranty claim on TV, for example, I'm likely out a TV for potentially 1-4 weeks depending on how the warranty is handled. Not acceptable to me.

So, while I think Linus should have just offered a warranty for the backpacks in the first place, I find it hard to get upset over it since I would never in a million years file a warranty claim on a backpack in the first place. Either it reviews well and I take a chance on it or it doesn't and I don't. If I buy a backpack and it fails, I'm much more likely to just buy a new backpack or repair it (sewing skills are awesome to have or knowing someone with sewing skills) than I am to try to get warranty coverage on one, especially if I've been using it heavily. If it's a reputable brand, I might buy from them again, if it's a no-name brand selling imported generic good, then I'd probably buy from someone else.

Hell, when buying stuff online, half the time you can't even get the claimed warranty coverage anyway since they are often fly-by-night companies selling imported generic goods. So many will offer "lifetime" warranties with no plan to honor any of them after X period of time since they'll just start selling products under a different "company" name after X amount of time.

Regards,
SB