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iFixit feels a bit off to me they promote right to repair, but are doing some "not ideal" things, like reselling stuff from china at 2+ times the price without

by arein3 5y ago

iFixit feels a bit off to me they promote right to repair, but are doing some "not ideal" things, like reselling stuff from china at 2+ times the price without providing better quality seems like they are just a business and have chosen a good niche that now became very popular

rblatz 5y ago
iFixit provides curation, support, and keeps stock to improve shipping times. This 2x price increase is a very typical markup from wholesale to retail.
- fomine3 5y ago
  Also iFixit offering parts should be reliable than buying random parts on AliExpress.
- arein3 5y ago
  I have a Google Pixel 4 from which the back plate detached and broke Decided to swap the battery as well iFixit parts list Google Pixel 4 Rear Panel Assembly - 75$ Google Pixel 4 Battery Fix Kit - 37$ total - 112$ I bought them from AliExpress, same quality (official parts I guess) Rear Cover With Camera Glass Replacement For Google Pixel 4 - 23$ High Quality Replacement Battery GO2OI-B For Google Pixel 4 - 12$ total - 35$ seems like a serious rip off, which makes me not like them
  - porbelm 5y ago
    Wow, business resells thing for 2-3x the price of Chinese direct-to-market almost bulk prices after paying shipping and customs and storage and employees and warranties and do you know how a normal business works?
    - arein3 5y ago
      If you are paying 112$ instead of 35$ for the exact same product (except shipping times, but perhaps you could find them on ebay/amazon with fast shipping) and you do not feel taken advantage of, good for you. To make it clear, it's not theoretical, I bought the parts for 35$ instead of 112$, and the are exactly the same as from iFixit or better. I just dislike the aura of "iFixit is fighting for you, doing the right thing!" and then proceed to rip you off. Also, on aliexpress things go trough a few middlemans (and aliexpress cut). They probably buy bulk from alibaba or another channel, and prices there are lower.
      - bradknowles 5y ago
        It's not a ripoff. The additional markup pays for all the other things that iFixit does for you, but for which you are not directly paying. Like those guides, and curating the tools that look exactly like the other tools but actually are much lower quality. And so on. The fact that you can buy from the same suppliers and avoid that markup also means that you're now responsible for waiting the extra time to ship from China instead of iFixit, and you're responsible for making sure you really are getting the quality tools instead of the lookalike ripoff tools, etc.... If you value your time so little that doing this process makes you think that iFixit is a ripoff, well that tells me that you're looking at the wrong end of the telescope.
        arein3 5y ago
        As long as there are people like you that value their time so much, I guess they could increase the price even more. Just mention to people when talking about iFixit that they could by the same product for a few times less. I don't have a problem if anyone uses them, just that usually resellers increase the price much less than them. I am sure they could reduce the price to half and still make a very good profit, but that is not in the interest of the business. A lot of people are hearing about iFixit now with the right to repair push and I assume they don't know that the products they are selling on their website have such inflated prices as compared to real price.
        bradknowles 5y ago
danudey 5y ago
Another commenter pointed out that 2x markup is reasonable, but I want to point out that, without iFixit, 99% of those parts would be useless to 99% of their customers. I can't count how many gotchas I would have missed, or how much permanent damage I would have caused, if I didn't have their guides to point out hey, these screws are technically slightly different or hey, this cable may as well be made out of gossamer threads with how fragile it is.

by arein3 5y ago

rblatz 5y ago

iFixit provides curation, support, and keeps stock to improve shipping times. This 2x price increase is a very typical markup from wholesale to retail.

fomine3 5y ago
Also iFixit offering parts should be reliable than buying random parts on AliExpress.
arein3 5y ago
I have a Google Pixel 4 from which the back plate detached and broke Decided to swap the battery as well iFixit parts list Google Pixel 4 Rear Panel Assembly - 75$ Google Pixel 4 Battery Fix Kit - 37$ total - 112$ I bought them from AliExpress, same quality (official parts I guess) Rear Cover With Camera Glass Replacement For Google Pixel 4 - 23$ High Quality Replacement Battery GO2OI-B For Google Pixel 4 - 12$ total - 35$ seems like a serious rip off, which makes me not like them
- porbelm 5y ago
  Wow, business resells thing for 2-3x the price of Chinese direct-to-market almost bulk prices after paying shipping and customs and storage and employees and warranties and do you know how a normal business works?
  - arein3 5y ago
    If you are paying 112$ instead of 35$ for the exact same product (except shipping times, but perhaps you could find them on ebay/amazon with fast shipping) and you do not feel taken advantage of, good for you. To make it clear, it's not theoretical, I bought the parts for 35$ instead of 112$, and the are exactly the same as from iFixit or better. I just dislike the aura of "iFixit is fighting for you, doing the right thing!" and then proceed to rip you off. Also, on aliexpress things go trough a few middlemans (and aliexpress cut). They probably buy bulk from alibaba or another channel, and prices there are lower.
    - bradknowles 5y ago
      It's not a ripoff. The additional markup pays for all the other things that iFixit does for you, but for which you are not directly paying. Like those guides, and curating the tools that look exactly like the other tools but actually are much lower quality. And so on. The fact that you can buy from the same suppliers and avoid that markup also means that you're now responsible for waiting the extra time to ship from China instead of iFixit, and you're responsible for making sure you really are getting the quality tools instead of the lookalike ripoff tools, etc.... If you value your time so little that doing this process makes you think that iFixit is a ripoff, well that tells me that you're looking at the wrong end of the telescope.
      - arein3 5y ago
        As long as there are people like you that value their time so much, I guess they could increase the price even more. Just mention to people when talking about iFixit that they could by the same product for a few times less. I don't have a problem if anyone uses them, just that usually resellers increase the price much less than them. I am sure they could reduce the price to half and still make a very good profit, but that is not in the interest of the business. A lot of people are hearing about iFixit now with the right to repair push and I assume they don't know that the products they are selling on their website have such inflated prices as compared to real price.
        bradknowles 5y ago

danudey 5y ago

Another commenter pointed out that 2x markup is reasonable, but I want to point out that, without iFixit, 99% of those parts would be useless to 99% of their customers. I can't count how many gotchas I would have missed, or how much permanent damage I would have caused, if I didn't have their guides to point out hey, these screws are technically slightly different or hey, this cable may as well be made out of gossamer threads with how fragile it is.