Consumers are also becoming more comfortable with new technology and feel less need to have a service warranty for possible repairs.
"Some of that initial fear that drove me to buy warranties has dissipated," Michelle Andrew, a 44-year-old paralegal told the newspaper. "I guess I've outgrown them."
Andrew says she consults Internet message boards or her teenage boys for tips on solving problems with her home electronics.
Still, the extended warranty industry generates roughly $6 billion annually, according to the Star Tribune. And Consumer Reports says they make sense for some products, such as rear projection HDTVs which are more likely to require repairs than the average TV.
But, generally, consumers have concluded that money spent on warranties are a "sucker's bet," says Tod Marks, a Consumer Reports editor.
Of course, CE retailers continue to aggressively push multiyear "protection plans" because they can generate enormous profits.
Best Buy reported $790 million in commissions from extended warranties in the last year, the Star Tribune reports. Only about 20 percent of warranty payments ever go to repair.
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