Yes back in the days of the first video machines, the pressure roller cost
over 12 quid, but one could actually use a bit of ingenuity to skim off the
ragged parts outside the tape path which caused the issue and use it for
another year. All it was really was a metal hub and a rubber outer in a kind
of barrel profile. They had to be churned out like sausages!

Then there was the Sony Betamax vcr loading mechanism which always lost a
tooth in a nylon gear, this could be changed by removing one circlip, but
no, you could not buy the gear for a few pence, you had to buy the loading
mechanism for over 5-0 quid and them pay labour to get somebody to fit it.
Bah humbug.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Tricky Dicky" wrote in message
...
I do not think the over pricing of spare parts is exclusive most cars and
domestic appliances come immediately to mind but I agree the more niche an
industry is the greater the rip off.

We like Bosch products generally as a brand, one reason being their website
shows exploded views of their appliances and lists all the parts and part
numbers down to individual screws. I once did in a moment of boredom an
exercise to see how much it would cost to build a washing machine by buying
all the parts and assembling it yourself and did not even get part way
through it before it was already costing 5 times what we paid never mind the
cost of manufacture. I really would like to know from someone in the spares
supply industry how some of these prices are justified because at the moment
it seem a case of think of a number and triple it!

Richard