Plunked down $300 for a card reader and it died after 6 months

I run a small booth at the farmer's market here in Tucson and bought a Square reader through their site because I wanted something compact. Worked fine for 5 months, then one rainy saturday it just stopped reading chips. Support said it was out of warranty. Now I'm using a $40 used one from a friend and it's actually holding up better. Anyone else have a Square reader fall apart that quick or did I just get a lemon?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_west2121d ago

Used to think spending more meant better quality but you guys are making a lot of sense honestly. My crew buys cheaper stuff all the time and it holds up better than the fancy brands I used to push for.

miller.rowan21d ago

Gotta call this out quick - Square doesn't actually make their own card readers. They rebrand hardware from a few different manufacturers depending on the model you buy. So your $300 reader might have come from the same factory as a $40 one, just with a Square sticker slapped on it. That's why some die fast and others last forever, it's basically a lottery on which components you get that day. The warranty thing is brutal too, I had a similar issue where mine crapped out at 8 months and they basically told me tough luck. The used ones from friends tend to be older models that were actually built better before they started cutting corners to hit lower price points.

taylorshah21d ago

Man I had the exact same thing happen with my first reader from them. I bought mine brand new for around $250 and it started glitching out at 7 months, the chip reader just stopped reading cards completely. When I called support they made me jump through hoops for two weeks before saying sorry, no warranty coverage because it was a "wear and tear" issue. @miller.rowan you're totally right about the lottery thing, I actually opened mine up after it died and the battery was this cheap generic brand I'd never heard of. My buddy gave me his old one from like 2018 and that thing still works perfect, no issues at all. It's crazy how they got away with this for so long while charging premium prices.