this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2023
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1021
Too many products are easier to throw away than fix—consumers deserve a 'right to repair' (techxplore.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
69 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Too many products are easier to throw away than fix—consumers deserve a 'right to repair'::There was a time when the family washing machine would last decades, with each breakdown fixed by the friendly local repair person. But those days are long gone.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (3 children)

That's why it's extra important to make it mandatory for manufacturers to build repairable products. So nobody NEEDS to go out of their way to obtain a product they can get repaired.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Indeed. There are a ton of categories where repairable is just not a thing. The obvious example is most electronics. If my TV, phone, etc, breaks, I should be able to go to the manufacturers website and at bare minimum find wiring diagrams and buy parts, and more reasonably actual step by step troubleshooting to repair it. Think about how many of these types of devices are in a landfill for something like a burnt capacitor or a dead backlight or just an aged out battery.

Speaking of batteries, I should absolutely be able to walk into a CVS, buy a battery and replace it in 20 minutes or less. And so should even the least techie person I know. I don't think that I necessarily want to go back to hot-swappable batteries like it's a Nokia brick from 1997, but we absolutely should be able to easily replace a battery in basically all electronics sold.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Absolutely!

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Consumers have shown that, overall, they'd rather replace than repair. Why should companies fight their consumers?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Their reputation is probably the biggest reason.

If I buy something that has a real standout defect, especially if it doesn't show sign of improving, I'm not going to buy it.

It's like restaurant reviews. Most people likely won't be vocal about a good or mediocre experience but from what I've seen they will comment about a negative one.

For example if I bought a Switch Lite and was stuck with joycon drift you bet I'd tell someone who was looking for a Switch.