Another white lie.

Is it me, or is it that all high-tech stuff I lay my hands on tend to disintegrate within a year or so? Thinking of it, besides my mouse, my earphones have already made a trip to the factory. Yes, the Creative Aurvana In-Ear Earphones I bought somewhere in 2006.

I just collected them from the outlet in Plaza Singapura after sending them for 'repairs'. What happened was that the connecting wires at the base were loose, and I could hear no bass in my earphones. Just in case you were wondering, listening to any music with no bass is like eating prawn noodles without prawns and noodles. The song sounds more like a minus-one, or worse, all you hear is a faint echo of the vocals.

So I decided to make a trip down to the care centre despite knowing that my warranty was supposed to have expired. I thought they could do a repair for me at a decent price. I thought.

"Sir, we do not do repairs. What will happen is we will give you a replacement. And since you do not have a proof of purchase, we will have to levy a charge."

"Wow!" I thought, glad that I would get a brand-new set. That was until he explained that the total cost of replacement and whatever else would add up to the cost of buying a brand-new one - a whole hundred plus bucks.

And my one-year-long warranty expired for less than 5 months. I already sent it for replacement once back in early 2007, and that set broke down this year - less than 12 months since I got hold of that set.

It was stupid to argue with him and so I lied. (Gosh, I really lie a lot.) I claimed that it was a birthday gift from a friend last year - you don't expect a gift to come attached with a receipt, do you? Seeing how desperate I was to get the 'oomph' back for my ear-phones, he relented and decided to let me have it my way.

I admit that I feel bad for lying to them, but look at it this way: I paid a $139 for a set of wired magnets, and you promise me it won't disintegrate within 12 months. It did, just around 6 months into using it. So I got a replacement, and now, less than 12 months into getting that new set, it breaks down again. I really would not bother to pay another $139 just to get another pair that would probably go kaput while I'm studying overseas, would I?

I'm not complaining that their products are lousy - in fact, I'm totally pleased with the sound quality. But fact is, if they insisted I pay another hundred plus bucks to get a set, I'm gladly walk out and pay $200 for a higher-end pair from another brand.

Anyways, I got my Aurvanas back, and I'm happy with it now. Just to keep it in it's optimal shape, I have decided to use the carrying case provided, less the wires get damaged again. Troublesome, yes, but it really beats having to cook up a story on how I do not have a receipt as proof for warranty.

Back to my iPod to test my new Aurvanas.