• cynar@lemmy.world
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    10 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
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        10 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
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          10 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.