Scooby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

naturegirl

naturegirl

Rolling down the highway
We need you to open a small appliance repair shop!! We have become a nation of throw away stuff, I don't wanna throw it away. My Kitchenaid mixer can be fixed, it cost a lot of money, I don't wanna throw it away! That toaster oven needs a new heating element, should be an easy fix. Yea we can buy new but all that's now made in China. It will only last a year or two anyway.

Just work it right in there with your mower stuff, it'll give you year 'round business!!
 
naturegirl said:
We need you to open a small appliance repair shop!! We have become a nation of throw away stuff, I don't wanna throw it away. My Kitchenaid mixer can be fixed, it cost a lot of money, I don't wanna throw it away! That toaster oven needs a new heating element, should be an easy fix. Yea we can buy new but all that's now made in China. It will only last a year or two anyway.

Just work it right in there with your mower stuff, it'll give you year 'round business!!
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I bet he could do it! He can fix almost anything.
 
he is good.. Fixed my lawnmower up right purdy... to bad it got stolen back in May =)
 
Folks most likely I CAN do it. One problem remains that keeps us in a "throw-away" society...it's what they charge for replacement parts. This is where they really get you!! When I see a new riding more on sale for $999, I had to ask myself, how are they doing this? Well....let me tell you. First of all, the mower has structural design flaws- many of those are structural STEEL flaws. I did study structural concrete, steel, and a host of other building materials, their strength under a variety of conditions, etc.

While that brand new riding mower may have only cost you $999, you should consider that a new deck (just the deck shell with no spindles, blades, etc.) will run you about a THIRD of the cost of the entire mower! Add on the spindles and blades at about $120 on each side------120+120= 240 + new deck (300-500) = up to $750. If your engine blows up, really hang on- up to $700-800 for one of those puppies. And all it takes is you not checking the oil ONE time....or the carb needle sticking and filling your crankcase up with gas laden oil....another blown engine, unless you're lucky enough for the contaminated vapor to shut it off in time.

Customers always tend to have the same comment on a repair price- "Well, I could buy another one for just a little more than that". Sure you could, and you can also expect that money to go to waste again. I come armed with design-flaw "fixes" and most of all, EDUCATION- things not covered in your manual that will preserve the life of your equipment. If I repair you ONE TIME- I will show you in detail, ways to avoid the problems you incurred. Replacement parts are how these companies make you end up paying $2,000 for that $999 lawn mower. Trust me on this!!
 
Scooby said:
Folks most likely I CAN do it. One problem remains that keeps us in a "throw-away" society...it's what they charge for replacement parts. This is where they really get you!! When I see a new riding more on sale for $999, I had to ask myself, how are they doing this? Well....let me tell you. First of all, the mower has structural design flaws- many of those are structural STEEL flaws. I did study structural concrete, steel, and a host of other building materials, their strength under a variety of conditions, etc.

While that brand new riding mower may have only cost you $999, you should consider that a new deck (just the deck shell with no spindles, blades, etc.) will run you about a THIRD of the cost of the entire mower! Add on the spindles and blades at about $120 on each side------120+120= 240 + new deck (300-500) = up to $750. If your engine blows up, really hang on- up to $700-800 for one of those puppies. And all it takes is you not checking the oil ONE time....or the carb needle sticking and filling your crankcase up with gas laden oil....another blown engine, unless you're lucky enough for the contaminated vapor to shut it off in time.

Customers always tend to have the same comment on a repair price- "Well, I could buy another one for just a little more than that". Sure you could, and you can also expect that money to go to waste again. I come armed with design-flaw "fixes" and most of all, EDUCATION- things not covered in your manual that will preserve the life of your equipment. If I repair you ONE TIME- I will show you in detail, ways to avoid the problems you incurred. Replacement parts are how these companies make you end up paying $2,000 for that $999 lawn mower. Trust me on this!!
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There was a place in Chicago that charged a flat rate for fixing it whether they could or not. Then you paid for the parts. If I had to pay $100.00($50.00 fee and $50.00 for parts) to fix a $300.00 Kitchenaid, I'd do it. If it couldn't be fixed, I'd only be out 50 bucks, but it was worth the try. The fee was paid up front.
 
These smaller gadgets, yes they can be fixed......problem is, most of what I find are expensive replacement parts that are integrated into a CHEAP plastic housing. "Integrated" is the key word here. It means that although a cheap piece of plastic was your only problem, you have to buy the expensive stuff INTEGRATED into that plastic.....so you lose again. It's a marketing approach that merges the engineering with the cost of replacement parts. You fuse an expensive part into a cheap plastic housing, then make the consumer have to buy the whole sha-bang....bingo!!! They just took another HUGE chunk of your money. The only way to avoid this is to buy what few expensive products still exist today (and they are few). While they might cost more, they are service friendly and not attached to junk housings and retainers.

I see it every day, and it does not take a rocket scientist to see what's going on here. I also majored in economics and free enterprise, but this was in the 80's, when the approach was different- "sell QUALITY products, and people will remember that name. IN short, today's strategy is to lure you in with cheap prices on cheap products, so that when they break down, it will cost you a small fortune to have them repaired. You simply CANNOT win by buying cheap, China built crap....and I do mean CRAP...well designed to keep you coming back for more parts. Just a little FYI from someone who knows and sees it all the time. And it's only getting worse. Welcome to the "new" marketing of today's America. BTW, all those replacement parts with bloated pricing- most of it goes right back into China's hands AGAIN.
 
Scooby said:
These smaller gadgets, yes they can be fixed......problem is, most of what I find are expensive replacement parts that are integrated into a CHEAP plastic housing. "Integrated" is the key word here. It means that although a cheap piece of plastic was your only problem, you have to buy the expensive stuff INTEGRATED into that plastic.....so you lose again. It's a marketing approach that merges the engineering with the cost of replacement parts. You fuse an expensive part into a cheap plastic housing, then make the consumer have to buy the whole sha-bang....bingo!!! They just took another HUGE chunk of your money. The only way to avoid this is to buy what few expensive products still exist today (and they are few). While they might cost more, they are service friendly and not attached to junk housings and retainers.

I see it every day, and it does not take a rocket scientist to see what's going on here. I also majored in economics and free enterprise, but this was in the 80's, when the approach was different- "sell QUALITY products, and people will remember that name. IN short, today's strategy is to lure you in with cheap prices on cheap products, so that when they break down, it will cost you a small fortune to have them repaired. You simply CANNOT win by buying cheap, China built crap....and I do mean CRAP...well designed to keep you coming back for more parts. Just a little FYI from someone who knows and sees it all the time. And it's only getting worse. Welcome to the "new" marketing of today's America. BTW, all those replacement parts with bloated pricing- most of it goes right back into China's hands AGAIN.
Click to expand...

You have nothing to lose if you charge a fee up front. I have lots of old stuff that can be fixed. For less than $100.00 in parts, I've fixed my dishwasher and I have the parts to fix my kitchenaid mixer. That's almost $700.00 in replacement costs if I had to buy new ones. I would have paid someone to do this for me, but since there is no one to do this, I'm doing it myself.
 
naturegirl said:
Scooby said:
These smaller gadgets, yes they can be fixed......problem is, most of what I find are expensive replacement parts that are integrated into a CHEAP plastic housing. "Integrated" is the key word here. It means that although a cheap piece of plastic was your only problem, you have to buy the expensive stuff INTEGRATED into that plastic.....so you lose again. It's a marketing approach that merges the engineering with the cost of replacement parts. You fuse an expensive part into a cheap plastic housing, then make the consumer have to buy the whole sha-bang....bingo!!! They just took another HUGE chunk of your money. The only way to avoid this is to buy what few expensive products still exist today (and they are few). While they might cost more, they are service friendly and not attached to junk housings and retainers.

I see it every day, and it does not take a rocket scientist to see what's going on here. I also majored in economics and free enterprise, but this was in the 80's, when the approach was different- "sell QUALITY products, and people will remember that name. IN short, today's strategy is to lure you in with cheap prices on cheap products, so that when they break down, it will cost you a small fortune to have them repaired. You simply CANNOT win by buying cheap, China built crap....and I do mean CRAP...well designed to keep you coming back for more parts. Just a little FYI from someone who knows and sees it all the time. And it's only getting worse. Welcome to the "new" marketing of today's America. BTW, all those replacement parts with bloated pricing- most of it goes right back into China's hands AGAIN.
Click to expand...

You have nothing to lose if you charge a fee up front. I have lots of old stuff that can be fixed. For less than $100.00 in parts, I've fixed my dishwasher and I have the parts to fix my kitchenaid mixer. That's almost $700.00 in replacement costs if I had to buy new ones. I would have paid someone to do this for me, but since there is no one to do this, I'm doing it myself.
Click to expand...

I'll have to remember this! I too don't like to throw away anything that can be fixed. You are a smart lady! :yeah
 
Scooby fixed our chain saw last week. I think it works better now than it ever did before. He's a life saver!
 
I'm Floored said:
Scooby fixed our chain saw last week. I think it works better now than it ever did before. He's a life saver!
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I'm so glad to hear that! I appreciate the business too, especially this time of year when things are really slow.
 
Scooby said:
I'm Floored said:
Scooby fixed our chain saw last week. I think it works better now than it ever did before. He's a life saver!
Click to expand...

I'm so glad to hear that! I appreciate the business too, especially this time of year when things are really slow.
Click to expand...

So did you hear I fixed over $1000.00 worth of stuff for under $100.00?? Yep, sure did. See, you could have a lucrative business year round. LOL
 
naturegirl said:
Scooby said:
I'm Floored said:
Scooby fixed our chain saw last week. I think it works better now than it ever did before. He's a life saver!
Click to expand...

I'm so glad to hear that! I appreciate the business too, especially this time of year when things are really slow.
Click to expand...

So did you hear I fixed over $1000.00 worth of stuff for under $100.00?? Yep, sure did. See, you could have a lucrative business year round. LOL
Click to expand...

Yes, I did. I even thought about making a thread about how much stuff I have fixed, although most of it has been my own stuff...gas dryer repair, garage doors, and the list went well beyond what I realized, including all of my computers, save my own personal one form the company I worked for were brought to me, and given to me. They said they took them to shops an declared them DOA...bad MB's, etc. They are all working just fine, one for my music studio, a couple for the kids and a spare just in case. ;) There are plenty of things that can be repaired. I was only stating that a lot of newer stuff is designed in such a way as to facilitate more money in the repair than the item cost to begin with. Even so....if it's my own stuff, I still tend to repair it, simply because I have more time than money. Time vs. money is a different animal when you are repairing "other people's" things. But hey....it's my down season. Bring it to me, whoever may....I'm SURE I can fix it. It may not be cost effective, but I'll take the hit just to make a buck. That's Winter for me, ya know. :) Something is better than nothing. And, I'm pretty sharp at fixing just about anything under the sun, and then some.
 
I'm Floored said:
Scooby fixed our chain saw last week. I think it works better now than it ever did before. He's a life saver!
Click to expand...
You guys making those movies again?
 
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