Were they trying to sell me a new one ?

Gremlin

Gremlin

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Ingrid
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Last week I wanted to use my now rather old and obsolete DVD/Video recorder, haven't used it recently and it's been unplugged for a while, it startted up, ran for a short time then stopped, did this a couple of times then died :(
Took it to a local repair shop and was told the power supply had died and that would £120 plus fitting so looking at around £200, but it seems panasonic may still have a few in stock although they have now stopped making them.
Asked they Guy to find out whether they had one and how much, yes about 200 left and £250, sound ok till I asked if they still receive analogue TV, that was a NO and I have a very good reason for wanting it ;)
So they took £35 nonrefundable off me to have a look at the old one and give me a quote, got it today at a grand sum of £90 which the original £35 will be deducted.
Makes you wonder whther they just hope that being a mere female I would buy a new one :bang:
 
Actually I doubt that sexism even comes into it, and it would certainly be wrong if it did.

More likely it's just a fact that it takes time and knowledge (and of course money) to poke around anything electronic and fault find down to component level. More often nowadays complete circuit boards are changed or the entire device is just scrapped as "being beyond economic repair".

I think you probably did ok.
 
The non-refundable "check up" is a bit of a joke. they knew right away it wasn't immediately fixable I'd say. And yes, of course they want you to buy a new one, that is the business they're in.
 
Girls aren't the only ones they'll attempt duping. They will try it on with guys but generally not to the same degree. I would probably have approached this along the lines of "can you repair this, or should I buy a new one off the internet?". You could then expand on this and suggest the quote is more expensive than the one you've seen online.
 
Cagey75 said:
The non-refundable "check up" is a bit of a joke. they knew right away it wasn't immediately fixable I'd say. And yes, of course they want you to buy a new one, that is the business they're in.
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I think you will find that they fixed it for £90.


Why should they spend time looking at something for nothing? £35 is probably what they charge for half an hours labour.


Heather
 
Yep you are correct Heather it is being repaired and the original money for checking it out deducted from the price
I just get the impression that they would rather have scrapped it and sold me a new one as that stock needs to be cleared out too, no one uses video these days and TBH if I could get hold of an analogue DVD recorder then I would have got that instead, but obviously analogue is now being discontinued
 
Gremlin said:
...no one uses video these days and TBH if I could get hold of an analogue DVD recorder then I would have got that instead, but obviously analogue is now being discontinued
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Guess you mean VHS??

If so, I have dozens to giveaway. Shipping to the UK may be too high though?


But seriously, these kinds of electronics sell for next to nothing. There's really no idea in repairs... get another second-hand or buy new. :D
 
Jan K. said:
Guess you mean VHS??
If so, I have dozens to giveaway. Shipping to the UK may be too high though?
But seriously, these kinds of electronics sell for next to nothing. There's really no idea in repairs... get another second-hand or buy new. :D
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neil_g said:
DVD recorder with analogue tv tuner from what I read
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Neil is correct a DVD with analogue tuner and you cannot buy them new.

Actually have the VHS/DVD combo is handy if anyone wants an old VHS film put on DVD, but not many left to do now
 
Gremlin said:
Actually have the VHS/DVD combo is handy if anyone wants an old VHS film put on DVD, but not many left to do now
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Do people actually do that? VHS quality is so poor and DVDs are so cheap, I don't see the point. Unless of course its a personal tape.

Steve
 
steve_v said:
Do people actually do that? VHS quality is so poor and DVDs are so cheap, I don't see the point. Unless of course its a personal tape.

Steve
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Or the special ones! :nuts:

Gremlin, I misunderstood the analoge bit, thought you needed a VHS. Why not use an adapter and connect to the PC. Then burn to DVD...

But the DVD/VHS combo is also in store! :D
It's left-over on the school, where I'm a caretaker. They are just stored, and if anyone can use them, we're free to go ahead. :thumbs:
 
steve_v said:
Do people actually do that? VHS quality is so poor and DVDs are so cheap, I don't see the point. Unless of course its a personal tape.
Steve
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That is exactly it, old videos of kids, weddings, family stuff that [people want to keep for the memories, a bit like old slides/photos that you scan onto the PC
 
Gremlin said:
That is exactly it, old videos of kids, weddings, family stuff that [people want to keep for the memories, a bit like old slides/photos that you scan onto the PC
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Forgive me, Ingrid, but what has that got to do with being able to receive/record analogue TV? Are you planning on broadcasting/receiving the source material over the airwaves? Could you explain more about why you need a device to "receive analogue TV"? Where are these broadcasts coming from?

If your situation is actually one where you wish to copy video tapes to DVD then that has nothing whatsoever to do with being able to receive analogue TV. You're not recording broadcast TV. You're recording a tape. The type of TV tuner present in the device is irrelevant. It won't be involved in the copying process.

Just as a random example, here is a modern VCR/DVD combination device. If your requirement is to be able to copy tape to DVD and no more then something like this would do it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-DVR20-Digital-Recorder-Freeview/dp/B003LO2RIU/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

The DVR20 is a 2 in 1 digital ready DVD and VHS recorder making it ideal for those who still have large tape collections or want to transfer old footage to DVD. A Freeview tuner is included to access up to 50 digital TV channels and 24 radio stations without subscription.
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If I've got completely the wrong end of the stick then apologies. :)
 
Gremlin said:
I just get the impression that they would rather have scrapped it and sold me a new one as that stock needs to be cleared out too, no one uses video these days and TBH if
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I'd be surprised if this is a motivation. The margins for retailers on consumer electronics are measly to say the least. There is far more money to be potentially made from parts and labour.
 
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