<story><title>An Effort To Bury A Throwaway Culture One Repair At A Time</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/world/europe/amsterdam-tries-to-change-culture-with-repair-cafes.html</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>ctdonath</author><text>I just bought a used sewing machine. It cost less than a new one. It&apos;s 98 years old, and with a minimum of care will last another 98. It was built to last.&lt;p&gt;This notion of &quot;bury the throwaway culture one repair at a time&quot; treats symptoms, not roots: there is nothing persuading manufacturers to make stuff which will last. Should the movement take hold, manufacturers may very well respond by making stuff even &lt;i&gt;cheaper&lt;/i&gt;, as the effort to make things so inexpensive it utterly undermines the movement is easier than making things robust and durable. I appreciate the movement&apos;s intentions, but think they should seek means of persuading production of durable goods, not eeking another 20% of life out of something having a very short lifespan to start with.&lt;p&gt;Occurs to me that the only durable products made today are firearms. Ironic.</text></comment>
<story><title>An Effort To Bury A Throwaway Culture One Repair At A Time</title><url>http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/world/europe/amsterdam-tries-to-change-culture-with-repair-cafes.html</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>gouranga</author><text>Good for them.&lt;p&gt;I&apos;m a firm believer that &lt;i&gt;everything&lt;/i&gt; can be repaired cost effectively. You just have to know what you are doing, know when to give up, know how to spot a lemon and start from the right end of the problem. That is the art.&lt;p&gt;The main trick is to start with the broken item, not an item that you paid full price for and broke...&lt;p&gt;i.e. I don&apos;t mean buying a $1000 item new and when it breaks spend $200 on fixing it.&lt;p&gt;I mean buying a $100 broken item to start with and spending $200 fixing it, resulting in not spending that extra $700 on the new item in the first place.&lt;p&gt;Despite the cost of repair in cash and time, the gain usually runs in favour of your own time, satisfaction and knowledge. It also makes you less of a slave to the credit facilities which when you consider interest, results in a lot of time spend earning to pay back.&lt;p&gt;I will repair anything and everything rather than buy new.&lt;p&gt;My latest win: Sony Bravia 26EX smart OLED TV. Paid 25GBP as it was completely dead and just out of warranty. 30 mins diagnostics with a Fluke multimeter (which cost me 10GBP that I repaired) pointed to duff PSU. 30 mins on the Tektronix scope (which cost me 30GBP that I repaired) pointed to a problem with a VRM.  Replaced VRM in PSU from Farnell order (12GBP incl delivery) - was a bit fiddly as it was an SMD component. Works fine now and the kids have a nice TV.&lt;p&gt;Also don&apos;t buy any old consumer junk. If you can&apos;t remove the battery it&apos;s not likely to want to be repaired (yes you Apple).</text></comment>