• cynar@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    45
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 months ago

    They also had a far higher price. This changed the effective disposability. E.g. you likely wouldn’t pay $500 to fix a $400 washing machine. If it were a $10,000 washing machine, it’s more reasonable.

    This is why TV repair shops disappeared. TVs got cheap enough that the labour cost would outweigh the replacement cost. I recently fixed a TV with a dodgy backlight. The parts cost £12, but it took me a few hours. If my time was factored in, in a business manner (including accounting for downtime, profit ,and expenses) it would have been over 75% of the replacement cost.

      • EatYouWell@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        11 months ago

        Eh, not really. If anything it’s easier because all you have to do is swap out circuit boards instead of soldering in new parts.

        • Apathy Tree@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          11 months ago

          This. I had a winterized display (leaky roof inspired water damage) and replaced a board and fixed it. Took about 20 min including the time to disassemble the tv itself. $20.

          The research to figure out what components caused the problem was significant, however. Because tv repair isn’t a thing anymore even tho it absolutely should be.