Getting started - from a biz standpoint (already have some knowledge and most equip.)

[CorporateX]

So, hey everyone

I decided to sign up for the forum to get some info and contact with other professionals in this field. A little introduction. I type fast so forgive my wordiness. I own a small electronics design and manufacturing company in Massachusetts. I am an electronics designer with 15 years experience in design, assembly, rework, diagnostics, repair, etc. I have a well equipped workshop and I am experienced in SMT board repair and diagnostics. I am looking to bring in some extra revenue and thought I could leverage my existing skills and equipment to do that by offering repair services. The thing is that I really know nothing about repairing Apple stuff, so I emailed Louis and got some good info, and decided to sign up here. I would love you folks insight and comments on my questions....

1) It was suggested that Macbook repair and iPad/iPhone data recovery would be a good place to start (and I agree). I am not an Apple guy and I don't know their products very well. So as for Macbook repair... is there certain models I want to avoid? Certain problems that are not fixable? (for example I know from watching iPad Rehab videos that there are unsolveable problems with fingerprint sensors on iPhones). As a n00b, any tips on avoiding taking on work that is simply not fixable? Or on how to avoid work that is not profitable or how to attract profitable work?

2) As far as data recovery - I get the concept... how do I learn to do it in practice? Is it swapping the data chips onto a working device and letting the customer transfer off the data in-store, then after they get the data, they leave with their non-working device? Or is it just getting their damaged device working to where the data can be read/viewed but it's not fully functional? (i.e. wifi works but the cellular radio doesn't work, or something?)

3) I am a fan of the "no repair, no fee" model, especially when I am starting out. But I watch Louis' videos and he is always grabbing parts from donor boards. Do I realistically need a stock of boards on-hand to start offering repair services or is it feasible to build up your inventory of donor boards/parts as you go?

4) Any advice on getting started - should I try to buy some dead Macbooks somewhere and fix them? I looked on eBay and most of them are being sold by places like "Laptops123" and it says "it won't power on, we don't have any idea why. Oh, and the screws are missing from the case". Which probably means 3 people have already tried and failed to fix it... but how else do I build up a little knowledge and experience?

5) I guess the big thing is always finding customers. We are in a commercial manufacturing facility in a business park - so I do not have a retail storefront but I am on the N Shore of Boston in a relatively swanky area - lots of people with money and lots of Apple products around here. How do reach them? Craigslist? Yelp? Newspapers? Google Adwords? There are a few shops around doing repair, but most of them either do the cheap work like screen/battery replacements, or they offer everything under the sun. I'd rather specialize in a couple of things and do just that. But how do advertise and get those customers? Any tips on that from you experienced folks?

6) Louis mentions the B2B market is shit and I find myself agreeing with his judgement demonstrated in his videos, so I tend to trust him on this. On the other hand, lots of posters mention hooking up with liquidators or insurance companies and getting lots of repair work through them. That does sound pretty ideal for me since I am not really set up for a retail storefront and I would love to do repair work nights and weekends and run my existing business during the day. Any feedback on pros and cons of consumer vs B2B? Where do you guys find B2B work? Or is retail work the greener pasture?

Thanks - I am sure I will have more ???'s going forward and hopefully I can add something to the forum with my knowledge and experience on the electronics side.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[larossmann]

1) Avoid 2011 15" and 17" with dead GPU, the original macbook air(a1237/a1304), beeping 2011 macbook airs, 2010 A1278 MCP89 with water damage by the edge(always a dead MCP89), and any pre-Unibody device.

2) Data recovery is fixing their phone motherboard to the point you can type in passcode and get data. Fuck reception, fuck cameras, fuck wifi, just touch/lcd/USB and we're good. In essence it is kinda a "half repair" that you can charge double for since you call it "data recovery"....

3) Stocking donor boards is key to being able to troubleshoot devices quickly IMO

4) Shopping for machines on eBay is like looking for a date at a mental asylum.

5) Finding customers is word of mouth and putting yourself out there and this is the hardest part of all. I had backpage/kijiji/classifiedads and a website that answered very specific questions, particularly crushing the opponents that charged 50% more than they said they would over the phone, would take weeks and use a bad looking screen. I had to understand the customer experience elsewhere in order to properly market to them.

This is why I am very soon getting rid of the tutoring class on the site, too many people ignore the page and show up with no business. You need to find the business first, then get good at board repair. I know this sounds fucked up; you should know how to do your job before you start doing your job. However, keep in mind all the skills and equipment in the world are pointless if you have no method of getting devices in and out to fix in a manner that is profitable. Solve this problem first.

6) B2B is fine if you find insurance companies or recycling companies that dump things on you cheaply, and is terrible if you are repairing devices for other repair shops. Most repair shops have no idea how to set the expectations of their own customers, no idea how to pay a bill on time, no idea on anything honestly, and will blame you for everything that goes wrong. One example, this dude didn't pay his bill for THIRTY FUCKING DAYS, we chased him down with the invoice, called, emailed, he always ignored us. Then screamed that the stuff wasn't back yet and asked why he had to "harass us for info" during the phone call, at which point he was made incredibly humble and given a huge return shipping bill to account for express return shipping of 5+ fully assembled devices. Just avoid doing business with other repair shops unless absolutely necessary, deal with end consumers. at least with end consumers it is just you and them so there isn't a third party in the mix that you have no control over who can fuck over the transaction.

 

[SMMRepair]

Avoid eBay. You WILL get boards that have been worked on, are stolen/iCloud locked, have known-bad catastrophic failures but "look clean", machines with mismatched parts--all of which don't work, etc. Nothing will discourage you more than buying boards from sellers who have "no history on the item, just that it doesn't turn on" or promise that "no repairs have been attempted", etc., and then getting them and realizing (or even worse--NOT realizing) that they are not repairable. You MIGHT get 1 "good" repairable board for every 10 bad ones. I started buying boards on eBay, and realized my "parts" pile was growing 10:1 as fast as my "possibly repairable" pile. The genuinely good boards/machines go for top-dollar, to the point where the money you make will not be worth anywhere near the time you spend on it (i.e. $400 for a busted MacBook Pro retina, $300 for a busted 2012 non-retina, $350 for a busted 2013/2014 MacBook Air, etc). You'll end up spending $450.00 in repair time/parts/components on a computer worth $500.00.

 

[_Nicco_]

I'm also just getting started. I'm advertising on craigslist (although competition keeps flagging my ad and taking it down), facebook selling groups, and I've made a list of all of the e waste recycling centers around me to call them once a week. Some E- Waste recycling facilities have also just written down my phone number / email to contact me when they have broken MacBooks

 

[rob777]

Good thread!