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Just Fix It? More computer owners are choosing repairs
Journal Photo by David Rolfe
Michelle Reopel, a co-owner of Dragonware Computers, says she has seen a shift in customers' attitudes from 'replace' to 'repair.'
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Published: February 19, 2009
When Michael S. Clapp's laptop computer screen went bad, he had the choice of replacing the screen or replacing the computer -- and getting a more powerful model.
He chose the cheaper repair option.
"My feeling on it is this: If it works and it can be fixed relatively cheaply and does what you need it to do, I tend to repair rather than replace," said Clapp, a Winston-Salem real-estate appraiser.
He's not alone in his frugal approach. Since the economic slowdown started a year ago, computer-repair companies have seen a rise in the number of customers who want to keep their old computers running.
"(In the past) we've seen people take perfectly good machines and look for excuses to replace them," said Phillip Reopel, a co-owner of Dragonware Computers on Hanes Mall Boulevard. "Now they're looking for ways to keep the machine going for another two years."
His wife, Michelle, also a co-owner, said she saw a change in attitude from her customers starting in late August and September. People have become more conscious about the decision to spend, for example, $300 for a repair vs. $600 for a new laptop. Before, only about 30 percent of customers would choose the repair route. She said she now sees close to 100 percent at least trying to get their old computer fixed before they buy a new one.
There was a lull in repair requests around Christmas, when sales prices led more people to buy new computers, but that faded by January as prices returned to normal.
"When things get tight, that extra couple of hundred bucks will buy gas or groceries," she said. "And people who would normally buy a second computer and hand the other down to their kids are now doing memory upgrades."
Those memory upgrades, she said, are one of the most effective ways for people to make their old computers run better.
John Pappanne, the owner of the Laptop Shack on Knollwood Street, said he has also seen a steady increase in repair requests.
"We're kind of like the auto-repair places," he said. "As the economy goes south, our business sometimes increases."
He has run some type of electronics shop for about 30 years, and he said that the last time he remembers a spike in business like this was a tight period in the 1990s.
"Pretty much what we hear is, ‘Can you guys get me another year out of this thing?'" he said.
Geek Squad, a service that operates out of Best Buy stores, installs and repairs computers. It has seen business in computer repairs pick up lately, according to Matt Johnson, a Geek Squad agent who works out of the Winston-Salem store.
"A lot of people are feeling financial strain," said Paula Baldwin, a spokeswoman with Geek Squad's national headquarters. "They are looking for ways to be smart about how to spend their money. We suspect that more people may choose to refurbish computers they already own."
Tim Herbert, the senior director of research at the Consumer Electronics Association, said that the CEA had not surveyed consumers, retailers or repair shops recently on the subject of repairs, but he said that "anecdotal evidence points to repairs being on the rise."
The last time the CEA did an in-depth study on repairs was in 2000. They found that when the repair cost was one-third the value or less of replacing the computer, consumers were more likely to go ahead with a repair. Another factor making repairs a more appealing option, he said, was that 2008 was the first year when more laptops were sold than desktops.
"It's certainly easier to take a laptop in and have at least an initial screening to tell you what may be the problem," he said. "It's more difficult to do that with a desktop."
Clapp said he was happy to be able to keep his existing laptop going a while longer rather than have to buy a new one.
"If I can spend 300 bucks and get it solved and get on with life, then I'm going to do that," he said. "A lot of people don't agree with that, but they're not paying my bills."
■ Tim Clodfelter can be reached at 727-7371 or at tclodfelter@wsjournal.com.
Repair or replace?
Michelle Reopel, the co-owner of Dragonware Computers, offered these tips on deciding whether to repair or replace a computer:
□ Repairs that usually don't cost much money include replacing the power supply; replacing the hard drive or disc drive; resoldering or replacing power jacks on notebooks; and upgrading memory. Having viruses and spyware removed can improve the computer's speed and functionality. And adding more RAM (Random Access Memory) can make a huge difference in how well a computer performs.
□ More expensive repairs, which Reopel describes as "Money Pit" repairs, involve such issues as replacing the motherboard, processor or video card. Replacing older parts can cause other parts to need to be replaced as well. In those cases, it sometimes isn't cost-effective to do a repair.
□ If you want a computer for simple tasks such as surfing the Internet, doing homework and other basic functions, Reopel said that refurbished computers may be the way to go. Most computer- repair services in the area either sell those or can suggest good places to get them.
"At approximately half the price of a new PC," she said, "maybe the built-in webcam and other bells and whistles of a new PC aren't worth the difference in money that could otherwise be used for fuel or groceries."
□ It's important to ask your technician what your options are, she said, and weigh the pros and cons of getting your computer fixed, buying a refurbished one or buying a new one.
TIM CLODFELTER
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