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"Make Do & Mend" Again
Mike_1101
Posts: 8,012 Forum Member
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I wonder if the current economic situation will lead to people looking to have equipment repaired rather than "throw it away and buy a new one".
The reason I ask is that a saw a television item, the other day, about a woman running a company repairing computers (desktop and laptop) as well as gaming equipment such as the Nintendo Wii. She identified the demand from people who had faulty units who were no longer able to go out and buy new ones.
I am also aware of a company in my area providing a similar service which includes repairs to LCD and Plasma televisions. I have had no dealings so cannot comment how good they are.
If enough people get good at "reverse engineering" we may one day have an industry again!
The reason I ask is that a saw a television item, the other day, about a woman running a company repairing computers (desktop and laptop) as well as gaming equipment such as the Nintendo Wii. She identified the demand from people who had faulty units who were no longer able to go out and buy new ones.
I am also aware of a company in my area providing a similar service which includes repairs to LCD and Plasma televisions. I have had no dealings so cannot comment how good they are.
If enough people get good at "reverse engineering" we may one day have an industry again!
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On the other hand, I prefer older electronics as they last longer than today's equipment of which isn't meant to last.
Well it would but the short life of some equipment is nothing short of ridiculous. I recently took some junk to a local tip and saw a container full of televisions and other electronic items, most of it seemed to be less than 5 years old.
Is 10 years too much to expect from expensive equipment these days?
You are right about older kit though, I have a couple of old valve items from the early 1960s. They still work although I only switch them on a 3 or 4 times a year.
Depends what you mean by 'expensive' - most of the very short life stuff is the cheap supermarket rubbish, which is never going to have a long life.
Compare the prices in real terms, back then it was VERY expensive.
For example, I've recently put a new screen into a friends laptop for £70 (she'd closed it with a pen on the keyboard and cracked the screen). I've also fixed the kids PS2 (DVD drawer was not opening). Took it apart and reset the draw position on the gears. A PC I built stopped working; PSU had gone - that was easily fixed.
Last year I purchased a couple of newish and decent CRT TV's (a 32" and 28") for throwaway prices. Nothing wrong with them; owners were upgrading to flat panels.
My dishwasher broke (jammed impeller on drain pump - took it apart and removed offending item). It needs a new spring on the powder drawer - that'll set me back about a tenner to fix.
Next job is to fit a new motor to a model train of my sons (£5) and sort out a problem on my ZX-Spectrum (probably a faulty RAM chip or oscillator) before selling it on eBay!
I guess like Nigel implies, you buy cheap and you buy twice.
I still use a seperates stacker hi-fi system from 1980 and it is still going strong and although the radio is analogue, the reception is far better than some of the narrowband RDS tuners I have used. All that has been replaced are the 8" speaker drivers and the turntable belt.
10 years these days is pushing it somewhat. I recently visited a TV warehouse in Birmingham where they sell refurbished LCD/ Plasma TV's...can you believe that these are recent models (some less than a year old) that have broken down and have been repaired or refusbished! At the back of the warehouse there is nothing but LCD/Plasma TV's in bits waiting for parts to be repaired...unbelievable! Once they are refurbished/repaired, they are then re-sold very cheap. You could pick up a 32" LCD TV for around £150 with a three month guarantee - that's how reliable they are hence the reason why I am sceptical of ever buying one.
I prefer the older stuff to be honest as It was made to last as oppose to todays plastic rubbish.
A lot of people come into our shop and regail paying £500 for a TV 15 years ago (probably a 21/25" 4:3 analogue TV) and are horified to find that a new 32" HD ready IDTV is selling from £400 upwards. "Why so much?" they ask, failing to realize that in "real terms" (which is a phrase i hate) the new TV is technically far superior to their old one and probably half the price by comparison.
We have all become victims of our own greed. We want low prices, then complain when things go wrong. We can't have it both ways. The sooner we realize this the better for everyone and the environment.
When our company started trading, the TV's that they were delivering were more expensive than the van they were delivered in!
eg, in a computer, all the components are seperate items, & are available seperately
there are also so many components, that it makes sense to replace 1 if it fails
the average consumer electronic item, its just a circuit board & a screen
eg, on an lcd screen, if the screen breaks, the whole item is effectively broken
the 'value' part of the item has broken
But how many of us buy something new just because the latest make is just a bit more sexier, cooler or because our friends have one, when in truth what we have already does the job? I have mates who are hostage to their whims and the mercies of marketing and have half a dozen old mobile phones gathering dust or every game console known to man, not to mention a collection of MP3 players thrown in the draw.
I think peer pressure plays a big part and it is why those who profess to be at the poor end of our society always by hook or by crook, seem to have the latest gizmo or gadget. Make do or mend? I've certainly not seen it so far in this economic crisis as retailers seem to be offering more discounted products in their never ending sales and promotions.
I take your point about "A lot of people come into our shop and regail paying £500 for a TV 15 years ago (probably a 25" 4:3 analogue TV) and are horrified to find that a new 32" HD ready IDTV is selling from £400 upwards." I have upgraded from such a set to a 37"LCD and the difference is unbelievable. The old set is 16 years old, works well and is now in another room, it just seems so primitive when I watch it!
I recently found a receipt for the first television my parents bought in 1955 - 90 guineas (ie £94.50), at a time when they paid £1,500 for a house now worth £125,000. They used it for 2 channels in black and white although it had an FM tuner as well - luxury. I wonder what £94.50 in 1955 money is worth today?
I am amazed there are places selling refurbished LCD and plasma. I remember places selling reconditioned ex-rental sets many years ago but they all closed years ago.
The last few years have seen the return of pawn shops in many places. Maybe we will see the return of rental companies if people cannot afford to buy.
According to this site, the RPI in May 1955 was 10.7.
The RPI in April 2009 was 211.3.
So the value of £1 in 1955 in today's terms (what you'd need to spend today to buy the goods you'd be able to buy for £1 in 1955) is 211.3 / 10.7 = £19.75.
So your 1955 telly would cost 94.50 * 19.75 = £1866.38.
Reminds me of a time when I read that the first electronic pocket calculators from the 70's cost a couple of month's salary. At the time, I was using a Tesco Value calculator for my accountancy studies, which cost 68p (I've since splashed out on one from Asda which cost £1.97!
If you buy any electrical or mechanical device, which isn't a consumable - like, for instance, brake shoes or tyres on a car, and you can show that the piece of equipment has a design issue, or is built with components that should, but don't last for less than 6 years, you are entitled to a replacement or a portion of your money back.
I had an VideoSeven LTV30C 30" LCD TV which only lasted about 3 years before it started showing signs of failing.
I did a search on the Internet to see if others had found similar problems and was lucky enough to find a number of people who's sets had failed in exactly the same way.
Some one had 4 of these sets and all 4 had failed in exactly the same way as mine.
I gave V7 several attempts to repair it, which is their right, but they were unable to do so. They attempted to repair it the first time - no luck. They replaced it with another one of the same model - again, no luck, a similar fault occurred within a couple of days.
When that failed they offered a partial refund (50% of the original purchase price). I considered this and taking into account that I had been able to use it for some time without problem I accepted their offer.
The original price was double that of a modern HD Ready TV with a much better specification. So the offer was more than enough to immediately buy a superior specified modern version.
So, it is worth remembering that things like TVs and HiFis fall into the 6 year rule category, and if you can show an inherent design fault, or that the device has been assembled with components which won't last long enough, you are entitled to some compensation.
I urge everyone to at least attempt to get something back, as this will encourage manufacturers to take a more responsible and reasonable approach towards ensuring their products have a reasonable life span.
It may be a quick job to repair a dvd player but why not upgrade to blu-ray? If the screen on my laptop broke I wouldnt want to pay £70 for it to be repaired because for £400 I could buy a brand new laptop with a higher spec.