Yup, NB. And in a small village, which probably hasn't helped.

ryan wiehle wrote in message ...
Chris F. wrote:

As a child in the 1980's, I was always fascinated with anything
that ran on electricity. Whether it was a flashlight, a calculator,
or a tape recorder, I was always taking things apart to see how they
worked, and trying to repair them. I remember, when I was about 4,
spending a couple of hours trying to "repair" a disposable flashlight
that was getting dim. My parents wouldn't let me tinker with the
family TV; I'm not sure whether it was safety concerns, or the fact
that we couldn't afford to replace the 19" black-and-white set. I'd
have to wait until I was older to tinker with those.....
So not surprisingly, as I got older, I knew I'd want to go into
this line of work someday, repairing consumer electronics. At 19 I
began rounding up broken TV sets, and then VCRs and other appliances.
I began repairing things for customers before I had gained adequate
experience, but it was just as well; because by the time I became
properly experienced, there would be almost no demand for my skills.
For a while, business wasn't too bad. I kept fairly busy, with
customers coming and going on an almost daily business. Not bad
considering this was just a small shop, run in a small building next
to my house. At it's peak, I took in about $6k in one year - that may
not seem like much, but it kept bills paid and gave me some extra
spending money (I had little overhead so almost everything was clear
profit). But in the last 2 years or so, things have gone downhill
at an alarming rate of speed. At first, sales of used electronics
started to dwindle. Then more and more customers were turning down
repair estimates, saying "I'll just buy a new one".
So where do things stand now?
Earlier this year, the local corner store changed hands, and I set
up an agreement with the owner to let me sell electronics from a
corner of his store (the only store in the community). With deals
like 25" stereo TVs for $79.99, you'd think they'd sell fast wouldn't
you? Wrong. In the nearly two months I've had my display set up, not
a single television set has sold. A few other misc items did sell,
netting me a grand total of just over $100. In short, the results of
this venture have been very disappointing indeed. If the store owner
decides to give me the shaft to make way for something more
profitable, I won't blame him at all. And while sales have fallen
through, it seems repairs have taken a drastic drop as well. Fewer
and fewer items are coming into my shop for repairs, and those that
do are often left there when the owner decides to buy a new unit.
Either that, or replacement parts are no longer available - even for
sets less than 6 years old. I think the best indication of the
industries decline, would be the things I see in the trash each
spring. This spring I rounded up what seemed like a bounty, hoping it
would be stuff I could resell. The haul was unbelievable. More stuff
than I could list here. And the vast majority of the items were
untampered with - it appeared that the owners hadn't even bothered to
get an estimate of repairs, they just threw them in the trash and
bought new ones. Another indication would be the activity of this
very newsgroup. In the years I've been posting here, I've noticed a
big drop in activity. I'm guessing it's no coincidence. At
present, I have two buildings full of hundreds of appliances. Dozens
of nice, remote color TV's, dozens of nice VCRs, mini-systems, audio
equipment, and so forth. Ten years ago this stuff would have been
worth a fortune - now it appears that most of it will end up as
landfill. Nobody wants it anymore. Everyone just wants to buy
something new, even if it's just a piece of junk. Nobody appreciates
quality anymore. It seems that the world is rapidly going to hell in
a handbasket. So what do I do now? Part of me just wants to trash
the whole works of it, and try to find some other line of work. But
it breaks my heart to throw out so many nice appliances, which could
be easily repaired and provide years of useful service. But what's
the point in keeping it all? I can't sell it. I probably couldn't
even give most of it away. TV's and VCR's could be stripped for
aluminum and copper, though most sets yield less than $1 worth of
such metals. I could just throw it out, but like I say, I hate to do
that. But it appears that I'll have to do something, and soon.
There's no point in carrying on this charade any longer - the
business is dead and it's time to bury it. I also have to wonder
what's going to happen within 10 or 20 years, when the landfills are
full, and the economy perhaps in turmoil. People may once again turn
to the electronic tech, looking for repairs of their sets or to buy
something used. But by then, such businesses will all be long-gone.
People will be left with nothing, and those of us who tried to warn
them today will just say "I told you so". I look forward to your
input on this subject; I'm guessing the vast majority of you guys are
going through the same thing.

judging by your news provider you are in new brunswick?