Comments on: Decline of the repairman

By: Ian Bourne

Ian Bourne — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 22:51:38 +0000

All six cars I had were either second-hand (at least) or reconditioned like the last one (2002).

When I moved into my home I bought the furniture from the previous owner and use it all like now!

My fridge has had repairs twice since I paid off for it, the last time I had shoes re-soled was in 2003, but that repair is a bit of a pinch, literally!

It seems the process they used reduced the size slightly but in a noticeable manner, ouch! My arches and bunions let me know until I got new pairs in early 2005.

By: corey

corey — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:39:53 +0000

The biggest problem is that large manufacturers don’t produce well-made products anymore. (Especially things like electronics and appliances.) They make poor-quality products so that they break down in a few years and are much cheaper to replace than repair. It’s called planned obsolescense.

I think everybody should read the book Cradle to Cradle. The authors present a business model that considers products as services. So you buy a washer, it breaks after a few years, you send it back to the manufacturer and buy a new one. You get a new washer, they don’t have to pay for new materials, everything gets recycled.

By: Latharia

Latharia — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:30:50 +0000

I actually just called the furnace repairman today … what a Godsend!!!!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 03:55:26 +0000

We had our old washing machine looked at when it broke because we couldn’t afford a new one. It cost 50 bucks for the guy to look at it and tell is it would cost 250 bucks to fix it. That wasn’t going to happen so I ended up paying $300 for a brand new one. The problem with having repairment for small applainces is it is often cheaper to buy the same thing only new, and hopefully less likely to break again.

By: JERRY

JERRY — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:29:33 +0000

i have been in the appliance parts and service business for 35 years. to the person who was told 400 dollars for a defrost part either your repairman was a crook or incompetent. the guy that says to buy new stuff to save energy,well it is true that new appliances are more energy efficient they are also much less reliable and way more costly to repair. many appliances today are over engineered. they have all kinds of bells and whistles and electronics that just add to their unreliability and expense. the average life span of most new appliances today is 10 to 15 yrs. less in some cases. if you have a older machine and can still find parts for it i suggest keeping it as long as you can. most repair/parts places like where i work offer technical advice for the do it yourselfers, or we will service it for you. we are not cheap but we are competetive. people do need to realize that to put a fleet of trucks stocked with parts and a technician insured and bonded on the road and pay for gas,vehicle maintainance,and insurance is very costly. but you get the convenience of in home service rather than having to bring it in to a shop like you car,tv stereo, computer or most other consumer products.

By: Ginny

Ginny — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:57:57 +0000

I’m blessed to have a wonderful shoe repair shop within walking distance from my office, and I have had some pairs of shoes and boots resoled several times. I wear size 9EE, so it’s very hard for me to find shoes that fit and are comfortable, so getting shoes repaired is a necessity.

By: Larriann

Larriann — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:03:21 +0000

I just refinished 2 nightstands that my grandfather made. It almost felt like I got to visit with him again. And I just don’t understand not repairing clothing — however I do draw the line at darning socks. I cut the cotton ones up to use as rags, though.
I will bring up the reason for the demise of television and electronics repairmen, though. One simply cannot repair a circuit board. These circuit boards are incredibly reliable compared to the old tubes, etc. of TVs and radios in “the old days”. We’ve had the same television for almost 20 years and never had a moment’s trouble with it. Believe me, this would not have happened 50 years ago!

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:59:38 +0000

10 years ago I took a VCR and a boom box that wasn’t working to the only repair shop I could find and they just laughed at me. They said they don’t even mess with that sort of stuff anymore and just buy a new one.

I can buy good quality shoes for $1-10 at a garage sale, much less than the cost of repairing the ones I have. I’m about to sell a huge box of children’s shoes at my garage sale for $.25 – $1.00 a pair. Only my husband takes his expensive shoes to the repair shop. The only shoe repairman in town is ancient, once he dies, who will even be able to resole shoes?

I can buy good clothes at the thrift store and garage sales – for much less than the cloth would cost me, not to count buying a pattern or the cost of my time. But I and my daughters sew for the pure pleasure of it… We do save by doing our own hemming, alterations, and buttons rather than hiring someone to do that.

The only repairs we pay for are for the house and cars. And my expensive sewing machines.

By: Karen C

Karen C — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:32:35 +0000

I’m a huge Birkenstock aficionado and have been wearing my very first pair for close to 7 years now. You can find companies online offerering fantastic repair services (at not horrible rates). On your standard pair of clogs, a total resole where they replace everything but the leather (or synthetic, for you vegans) upper and the buckle runs anywhere from about $45-$65 (still only half the cost of the original pair of shoes). I’ve had some of my pairs recrafted up to 4 times, and everytime they come back looking brand new. You also get a little environmental bonus since the footbed is made from real cork, a renewable resource.

By: Barry

Barry — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:11:14 +0000

The toe of a recent pair of $100.00 shoes I bought had a hole worn in them only after a month or so of wearning them. I returned them and got a new pair. However, I immediatly took the new shoes to a shoe repair place and had the toes reinforced. I generally get clothes repaired or altered rather than replacing them. I even spent $150.00 to get a $400.00 lawn mower repaired. However, paying $75.00 to get a $100.00 string trimmer repaired was definitly not worth it. I did spend $250.00 on the new string trimmer hopefully this one will last. It is also hard to justify getting a $125.00 DVD player replaced when the repair shop wants $75.00 just to look at it!