We thought that we would take a moment to share our thoughts on a “marketing” theme which has become prevalent in our industry. The “Warranty” on driveway sealers.

We realize that consumers tend to purchase products which advertise warranties under the belief that a warranted product must be a better product. Driveway Sealing is a time consuming task so why buy a product with a life expectancy of 3 years when there is one on the market offering 6 years. Seldom do consumers get around to actually reading or acting on the warranty.

Over the last few years, we have run across competitive claims boasting 5 year, 6 year and even 10 year protection. However, further reading of the warranty reveals that many of these warranties contain disclaimers or limitations on what is actually covered. We have seen warranty language with limitations such as: “must be single family residence”, “2 coats required”, “must have original receipt and container”, “ removal of snow & ice will void the warranty”. Also most of these warranties are pro-rated and limited to the amount of material required to remedy the problem area.

These warranties are misleading to the consumer. Is it realistic to sell driveway sealer in the Northeast or Midwest and not allow snow removal? Or keep used pails for 6 years?

We offer a realistic 3 year warranty period on our Polymer Modified Driveway Sealer without all of the disclaimers associated with competitive warranties. If a consumer has a problem within that period, we will visit the job site and resolve the issue in a timely manner. We believe that this is what your customers expected when they read the front of the can and not the limiting liability typical on back panel.