5 May
2002
5 May
'02
9:50 p.m.
From: Richard Erlacher <edick(a)idcomm.com>
The guys who can't afford more than $100 are not a
big part of the
market.
However, it's not fair to ignore 'em.
The reason most shops here croak after a couple of years is because they
*do* ignore them. In fact, many send this sort of customer to me.
I just don't see how one can make a
living selling used parts when a replacement for the whole she-bang costs
$10
like the one I snagged last week. Are people really willing to pay $100
to
repair something they could easily replace for $10 if
they were to look?
Yes. Many of these folks are using hand-me-down computers and wouldn't
have a clue of what to buy if they were looking for a replacement. A
number of my customers are SOHO, auto repair, day care, etc., and need to
retain their data and applications, so for them to just buy a replacement
would be disruptive to their business.
As far as making a living doing this, I charge about $100 (*new* parts and
labor) to replace a power supply, modem, or CD-ROM drive, or to wipe the
hdd and reload Windows and the device drivers (which the customer almost
never has). After 10 years in business we have a reputation for doing the
job right, and for honoring the warranties we put on our work.
Can you see how it would be possible to make a living doing 10 or 15 of
these easy jobs every day?
Glen
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