Uneconomical to Repair
Uneconomical to Repair - I can remember when that was a rarely heard declaration. But consumer products being what they are, it's the norm today.
Just read the MSNBC story about a guy whose $1600 13 month old 55" HD TV died and was told this. And I nodded. I used to be in the repair business and today it isn't nearly what it used to be. In the 60's TV repair shops were everywhere. Average wage back then was $2.50 an hour. TV shops charged $5 to $10 an hour and the TV sets cost $100 to $500, around 400 to 2000 times the hourly wage. So repair work was profitable and affordable. Most repairs (replacing a tube) took less than an hour. But the variety of TV designs were few and the usual failing parts were common amongst them, so parts stocking wasn't a major headache. Not like today where wages are much higher and product costs are much lower.
That $1600 HD TV? The backlight assembly is a big ticket item. And it's physically large, which means storage and shipping is expensive. The TV maker would have to charge a lot for it just to break even. I'd estimate $500 to $800. Then the time to install it, make it three hours. And then who does that sort of work anymore? No one I know. Geek Squad? Gimme a break. Those doofusses talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. They ship it back to the maker for them to diagnose and repair. And hence, Uneconomical to Repair. They don't have teams of talented and trained repair people here in the states, they're back at the factory... across the ocean. And so they much prefer to replace with a repackaged (refurb) working customer return unit. No tech required for that.
So what's a consumer to do? Make darn sure the high ticket items are reliable. Having a backlight go out in less than ten years is a disaster. So check whatever consumer reporting outfits you can. Find out all you can about the maker. Don't expect much from the store outside of replacement while still in the warranty period. A long warranty period is better. A lot better. If it's only a year, walk on by, unless the product is cheap. And the warranty extensions offered by the store? All they're offering is to replace the thing.... eventually.
Just read the MSNBC story about a guy whose $1600 13 month old 55" HD TV died and was told this. And I nodded. I used to be in the repair business and today it isn't nearly what it used to be. In the 60's TV repair shops were everywhere. Average wage back then was $2.50 an hour. TV shops charged $5 to $10 an hour and the TV sets cost $100 to $500, around 400 to 2000 times the hourly wage. So repair work was profitable and affordable. Most repairs (replacing a tube) took less than an hour. But the variety of TV designs were few and the usual failing parts were common amongst them, so parts stocking wasn't a major headache. Not like today where wages are much higher and product costs are much lower.
That $1600 HD TV? The backlight assembly is a big ticket item. And it's physically large, which means storage and shipping is expensive. The TV maker would have to charge a lot for it just to break even. I'd estimate $500 to $800. Then the time to install it, make it three hours. And then who does that sort of work anymore? No one I know. Geek Squad? Gimme a break. Those doofusses talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. They ship it back to the maker for them to diagnose and repair. And hence, Uneconomical to Repair. They don't have teams of talented and trained repair people here in the states, they're back at the factory... across the ocean. And so they much prefer to replace with a repackaged (refurb) working customer return unit. No tech required for that.
So what's a consumer to do? Make darn sure the high ticket items are reliable. Having a backlight go out in less than ten years is a disaster. So check whatever consumer reporting outfits you can. Find out all you can about the maker. Don't expect much from the store outside of replacement while still in the warranty period. A long warranty period is better. A lot better. If it's only a year, walk on by, unless the product is cheap. And the warranty extensions offered by the store? All they're offering is to replace the thing.... eventually.