This is no surprise to anyone, but we are in a throwaway society. Think of the things that you used to keep or maintain that now you throw away. Ink pens, grocery bags, TV’s, cups, dishes, drink bottles, et al; the list goes on. I used to have a fountain pen that I put ink cartridges in, now I simply throw the pen in the trash when it runs out of ink. We used to have our groceries delivered to us in cardboard boxes, then the driver would take his cardboard box back. How about Styrofoam or plastic cups? We used to have plastic cups that we would wash for the picnic, not throw away the cup.

How about appliances? It depends on the cost of the appliance. I have a room air conditioner that cost me $200. After 2 years, it went kaput. Do you think that I will try and get the compressor motor replaced? Ha! It was made in China. I doubt if I will get someone to come to my house and replace it for under $150. When was the last time that you tried to get your laptop or Ipad repaired? If it had any age on it at all, you probably gave it away to a charity after reformatting the hard drive.

I sell repair parts for power tools. If it wasn’t for the owner of the tool providing their own labor, I’m sure my business would be kaput as well. There used to be a law under the FTC that manufacturers had to keep replacement parts for their products for 10-20 years based upon the cost of the product, but this keeps getting reduced further and further and it does not apply to all products or industries.  This makes it very frustrating for people who do not want to add to landfills, yet simply want to repair their product with a very easy to replace part so that they can:

• Save money
• Keep their product from the landfill
• Continue to use a product that is no longer being made
• Have a sense of accomplishment by repairing something instead of ordering a new one.

Our company Facebook page had a recent comment from a customer stating that we let them down because we were unable to source a new capacitor for their motor. I read that and was dismayed because I know that we do all that we can to try and find parts for customers, even after the manufacturer stops making the repair part.
New isn’t always better. Have you ever had something that finally broke that you loved using, only to find out that the replacement parts were no longer available? You had to go out and buy another product. Was it better than the tried and true one that you had? Maybe it was, but maybe it just didn’t fit right in your hand like the old one. This is the reason that I started my business many years ago. I enjoyed bringing something back to life, giving a tool mechanical CPR and giving it back to its owner. There is something to be said for this, but  there is also a time when it is time to just come to grips with something that is worn out, but not before its time. Something that should last 5 years, shouldn’t break in 2 years, but as we all know, “they don’t make ’em like they used to” and for very good reason. The companies want you to buy a new one!