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I have a Samsung fridge that has an integrated water pitcher setup (keeps it full inside the door). It's actually pretty cool. Nice pitcher too. However, I mad

I have a Samsung fridge that has an integrated water pitcher setup (keeps it full inside the door). It's actually pretty cool. Nice pitcher too. However, I made the mistake of putting it in the dishwasher on a Sanitize cycle (normal cycle is meant to/should be okay). The heat deformed the pitcher (just plastic). I did some various heating myself to make the top sit right again, but it just never did, and it being very slightly off-kilter was enough to not trip the fill mechanism. So I went to buy a new one. Holy hell. One hundred and twenty dollars. For this: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-DA97-17395A-Refrigerator-Reservoir-Manufacturer/dp/B07FNBVX5X/ https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-DA97-17395A-Refrigerator-Rese... And this is not someone on Amazon gouging. Indeed Samsung themselves want $140. https://samsungpartsusa.com/products/da97-17395a https://samsungpartsusa.com/products/da97-17395a for a plastic water pitcher. > I paid over $60 for that pilot light wire. Not Samsung, but I had a double oven whose circuit board died. The manufacturer wanted more than the cost of the oven for a new circuit board (was an older oven). That one thankfully ended up being a fairly common and simple fix (some capacitors and some other things - there was someone on eBay selling repair service - "$59, send me your board, and I'll send it back in three days repaired").

gknoy 2y ago
My LG refrigerator had similarly priced replacement parts for the removable shelves in the doors, several of which cracked. It was bonkers. Is this partly because the demand for these specific parts is relatively low?
- pessimizer 2y ago
  It's entirely because the demand for replacement parts cannibalizes the demand for new refrigerators. If they can sell you a plastic shelf for $100 with a 99% margin, for them that's like selling you half a refrigerator.
  - fuzzfactor 2y ago
    Just wait until your model has been long discontinued but the remaining replacement parts have been sitting on the shelf experiencing every across-the-board price increase for years. When prices started out not just expensive but beyond that overpriced to boot.
gosub100 2y ago
You're not paying for the plastic pellets and energy it takes to melt them for injection molding. You're paying for the shipping and storage and interest on the money it took to make and store for you. It's a very specific shape and it doesn't seem that expensive to me.
Suppafly 2y ago
>And this is not someone on Amazon gouging. Indeed Samsung themselves want $140. It's almost understandable if it's a one off part that not many people will buy because it costs money to make extras and keep them stocked, but something like a pitcher, you could imagine that lots of people would like to have multiple of them.
pessimizer 2y ago
> And this is not someone on Amazon gouging. Indeed Samsung themselves want $140. The one from Amazon is probably going to be counterfeit, was manufactured for $1, and doesn't fit quite right. That being said, the stock one was probably manufactured for 25¢.

gknoy 2y ago

My LG refrigerator had similarly priced replacement parts for the removable shelves in the doors, several of which cracked. It was bonkers. Is this partly because the demand for these specific parts is relatively low?

pessimizer 2y ago
It's entirely because the demand for replacement parts cannibalizes the demand for new refrigerators. If they can sell you a plastic shelf for $100 with a 99% margin, for them that's like selling you half a refrigerator.
- fuzzfactor 2y ago
  Just wait until your model has been long discontinued but the remaining replacement parts have been sitting on the shelf experiencing every across-the-board price increase for years. When prices started out not just expensive but beyond that overpriced to boot.

gosub100 2y ago

You're not paying for the plastic pellets and energy it takes to melt them for injection molding. You're paying for the shipping and storage and interest on the money it took to make and store for you. It's a very specific shape and it doesn't seem that expensive to me.

Suppafly 2y ago

>And this is not someone on Amazon gouging. Indeed Samsung themselves want $140. It's almost understandable if it's a one off part that not many people will buy because it costs money to make extras and keep them stocked, but something like a pitcher, you could imagine that lots of people would like to have multiple of them.

pessimizer 2y ago

> And this is not someone on Amazon gouging. Indeed Samsung themselves want $140. The one from Amazon is probably going to be counterfeit, was manufactured for $1, and doesn't fit quite right. That being said, the stock one was probably manufactured for 25¢.