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Walked into a retro repair shop and got hit with a $40 bench fee before they even looked at my VCR
Stopped by that place over on Halstead in Chicago last Saturday, the one with the tube TVs stacked in the window. I brought in a 1988 Panasonic VCR that eats tapes after about 20 minutes of play. Dude at the counter told me the $40 fee just covers opening it up and testing the belts, and that goes toward any real fix if I say yes. I get that rent is high, but I could buy another used VCR for $50 on eBay. He did show me a busted capstan motor sitting in a tray, so at least they're actually breaking things open back there. Has anyone else gotten burned by these inspection fees, or is this just the new normal for keeping old gear alive?
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dylan_green587d ago
Yikes, forty bucks just to peek inside is rough. I get that shops gotta cover their time, but that stings when a whole replacement unit costs fifty. Feels like the fee should come down if you actually greenlight the repair.
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