Repair Before You Replace

I have an old Macintosh Plus computer at home that I use to do my personal bookkeeping and correspondence. It has been upgraded as far as possible, which admittedly isn’t much, but it continues to serve its purpose well. A few month ago the “7/&” key stopped working. I brought the machine into the local computer shop for repairs. They looked at me like I was nuts. “We use those as door stops,” the sales clerk joked. “It’s going to cost you about $200 to repair and clean that up,” he said. “Don’t you think it’s time to buy a new one?” “Sure,” I said, “if you’ve got one for $200.”

Of course they didn’t, but that was my point. If I could have bought a brand-new replacement for the same price as repairing my old Mac Plus it would have made sense. But since it cost less to repair it than replace it, and it was still serving its purpose fine, why buy a new one? Retailers, distributors, and manufacturers all make far greater profits selling new things than repairing old things (that’s why so many of them don’t even offer repair or parts services anymore). You, on the other hand, will generally profit more by repairing rather than replacing. Remember and focus on that fact and you’ll do better in the new economic world.