I don't know how many of you make a living out of repairing electronics, but I have an interesting question about this.

If I go to your shop, with my 2013 Samsung curve TV 4K, $2999, that suddenly stopped working (it won't turn on). How much would you charge?
Imagine you open the giant device and it's only a loosen cable of the power cable.

Well, for starts, I wouldn't take that tv to just any technician, but rather to an authorized Samsung Service Center that I'd look up in their website or in the yellow pages.
As to how much I'd charge for a loose wire in the TV... I wouldn't know, but maybe at least $150 dlls

 

House is the Last doctor I would go to. Never did understand the premise of him being a good doctor.

Would you take your tv set to a guy that has to repair it 3 or 4 times, before he gets it right?

#12.......that use to be the min shop charge for such a repair. All quick simple repairs were min charge.

Until the number of repair shops started decreasing. No competition.

Then......outrageous and fraudulent repair bills.

 

There are excellent surgeons out there, but people like Dr House are hard to find.

Yebut... He'll always be Bertie Wooster to me...

If I go to your shop, with my 2013 Samsung curve TV 4K, $2999, that suddenly stopped working (it won't turn on). How much would you charge?
Imagine you open the giant device and it's only a loosen cable of the power cable.

While not a technician per se -- my opinion (cynical though it may be) is that the cost of most any (non price controlled) service is a reflection of what the market will bear - and, I hasten to add, inversely proportional to the client's (apparent) technical savvy -- Hence the servicing cost will (IMO) be relative to the perceived cost of replacement --- IOW, all else being equal, the larger the 'price tag' the larger the 'repair bill' --- My $.02

Best regards
HP

PS -- Are there consumer electronics repair shops anymore???

 

#12.......that use to be the min shop charge for such a repair.

Why can't I see @#12 's post?! -- I hope this doesn't mean he's 'reverse ignoring' me???

Best regards
HP

 

Yebut... He'll always be Bertie Wooster to me...



While not a technician per se -- my opinion (cynical though it may be) is that the cost of most any (non price controlled) service is a reflection of what the market will bear - and, I hasten to add, inversely proportional to the client's (apparent) technical savvy -- Hence the servicing cost will (IMO) be relative to the perceived cost of replacement --- IOW, all else being equal, the larger the 'price tag' the larger the 'repair bill' --- My $.02

Best regards
HP

PS -- Are there consumer electronics repair shops anymore???

Of corse there are. If your laptop suddenly gets broken, you can take it to a shop where they repair them. Of course, it's very expensive. I know a shop where they charge you $30/h. And that's only hand's work. It does not include any material required for the reparation. What do you do if your "new" TV from 2010 stops working? A laptop? An oven? Your HiFi audio equipment?

 

I couldn’t even tell you why.

I was addressing rambomhtri of course. Pardon me.

Your lucky if you can find anyone to work on anything for 30 dollars an hour.

And I wasn't ignoring you either, Hypatia.

Protégé is an unusual last name. Have you had trouble with it before?

 

What do you do if your "new" TV from 2010 stops working? A laptop? An oven? Your HiFi audio equipment?

Assuming said equipment is out of warranty and with a replacement cost of over $2k - I may, given some uncommitted time, 'take a look at it' --- Otherwise my standing policy is "toss and replace" --- IMNSHO money is as nothing by comparison with time! I yet recall replacement of a 'laptop' lid hinge -- Looked to be a straightforward task at the outset - 6 Hrs of my precious leisure time later I thought differently - For $1,200 I could have replaced the device with a superior system carrying a five year service contract --- Though difficult to quantify I'm certain that what little free time I have is worth more than $200 an hour --- IMO consumer grade equipment (service literature or not) is 'repair hostile' by design (witness, for instance, 'snap together' assemblies - as opposed to proper fasteners)...

I was addressing rambomhtri of course. Pardon me.

All's kewl! I'm just too paranoid of bugs!!!

And I wasn't ignoring you either, Hypatia.

No worries! -- I thought, perhaps owing to 'bugs', I was somehow inadvertently "ignoring" #12's posts -- apologies that my drollery seems to have gone astray

Protégé is an unusual last name. Have you had trouble with it before?

Um... I think you're under some misapprehension - I consider myself a student/disciple of Hypatia of Alexandria (q.v.) Hence "Hypatia's Protégé"

Best regards
HP

 

It was an attempt at written dry humor.

 

It was an attempt at written dry humor.

I wondered - Still, on fora featuring many ESLers - I chose to err on the side of courtesy

Best regards
HP

 

Apology accepted. The devil is in the details and he/she was definitely there.

I very happy you accept apology but not follow point of whole post?

But then it's addressed to @Aleph(0) and she seems to have a language all her own

Watch it HP! You're already on the thin ice!

 

Wait... what do you do in your free time?
If your laptop's hinge gets broken, you rather buy a new one than spend 6h of an afternoon fixing it? I thought this kind of forums attracted to the type of person that likes to fix electronic devices,no matter how hard, complicated or tedious it seems at first (I mean, you always give it a try)

 

Wait... what do you do in your free time?

That would be telling!

If your laptop's hinge gets broken, you rather buy a new one than spend 6h of an afternoon fixing it?

I'd rather pay fully six times fair market value than waste six hours fixing a piece of consumer grade dreck!

I thought this kind of forums attracted to the type of person that likes to fix electronic devices

Speaking for myself, my involvement with electronics is from an engineering (as opposed to technical) standpoint --- Tis a matter of 'different strokes' (not to be confused with golf or CVAs despite the former's reputed status as a risk factor for the latter)

no matter how hard, complicated or tedious it seems at first (I mean, you always give it a try)

For vintage or quality equipment I agree!

Best regards
HP

 

Wait... what do you do in your free time?
If your laptop's hinge gets broken, you rather buy a new one than spend 6h of an afternoon fixing it? I thought this kind of forums attracted to the type of person that likes to fix electronic devices,no matter how hard, complicated or tedious it seems at first (I mean, you always give it a try)

I try to fix everything, and I'm as guilty as anyone of putting more time into it than it could possibly be worth. If I can fix it, I usually keep plugging away until I do. I've had to give up a few times, and I find that very painful. It may be logical to give up, but it's not my nature. It's getting easier as I get older and learn (and accept) my own limitations.

 

I've had to give up a few times, and I find that very painful. It may be logical to give up, but it's not my nature.

Man, you and I are too much alike in that respect... God knows how many hundreds of hours I've spent trying to fix things or make things work that are not worth the time. And I'm also too much of a perfectionist, I can spend an entire day just fiddling with code, trying to find the fastest algorithm, or even the most aesthetic interface for a program.
Still, that sort of seemingly impractical work always leads to richer learning experiences.

 

El Clasico is coming!

 

Yep, fixing stuff and more than it worth. Even chairs. I took apart two lawn chairs and had them powder coated $125 USD for one and $100 for the other. But there are more costs involved. The new stainless hardware is like $30 USD and it's not findable at the local store. They sandblasting put holes in the pieces. They have to be repaired after the powder coat is done. So, it automotive body work. Then you have to get lacquer paint and clear that matches the powder coat. Powder coating for one chair too 12 weeks and the other 8. I still don't have one together.

A "curtain rod" was $40 to powder coat. Why? It's in a bathroom and I like the rod.

A bathroom overhead vanity light I'm still working on. It's a plastic/metal combination with globe lamps.
The metal lamp hardware I got powder coated. Not crazy about the color. It took too log to find a gold lacquer spray for the rest of it. I would have had the gold powder specially mixed, providing the powder coater would use it. I could also paint over the powder with gold. There is some specialty two color design that required re-painting with an artist's brush. It got electrical updates so the 3-way switch is arthritis friendly.

So, not just electrical projects get that amount of detail.