Oldsoftware.com
I had a rather disappointing experience with this Computer Bargain Store. I solicited them for what I diagnosed as a bad chip that handles the joystick/keyboard I/O. Its symptoms perfectly matched the problem-resolution matrix in this useful C64 repair guide, which I was referred to after soliciting advice from the Denial user community. I had opened up the unit to see if I could easily pull the bad chip, but alas, the chip was not in a socket, but rather soldered to the motherboard. So I asked this shop if they would de-solder the bad chip, put in a socket, and insert a working chip. They replied that job would cost only $50 including return shipping.
I thought that was a very reasonable price to charge, even though I could get another C64 from ebay for around the same price. But why not get this unit fixed? So, after getting two more follow-up emails from them for shipping and payment instructions — with annoying reminders to pack the unit well — I did just that during my mancation.
A week later, I got a couple of voice mails at work (I was still away) and no emails. Basically, the voice with the distinct Utah dialect was claiming that “the chip was already socket-ed” and “swapped to test all other socket-ed chips” and “a lot more than $50 of my time was spent working on this unit already”. He also claimed that the unit was not worth repairing nor worth anything for parts. Then came the follow-up email offering me “choices” of what to do with the dead unit, including donating it to him, or paying for return shipping, or using it as a $20 store credit towards a working refurbished unit that sells for $157. My favorite part of the message was, “I think there may be a bad trace on the main board or a bad solder connection on one of the sockets or something equally difficult to troubleshoot.”
Interesting.
So, I calmly replied with my confusion on why all the fuss was put into this “dead” and “worthless” unit to begin with. First, if I was the idiot that mistakenly took a socket-ed chip as a soldered one, then you SAVED a lot of time and scrupulous work from not having to bother to de-solder the defective chip. So, it was simpler matter of just swapping the chip with a working one and testing it. If it did not work, then why not just let me know that upfront and we could have worked out any additional details? Or, simply ship it back with the SOL assessment.
His reply was even more useless, “You must have shipped a different unit to me than you had intended to. Or, perhaps someone else had worked on the unit without you realizing it.” Er, okay. I re-tested the unit BEFORE packing it (well) and shipping it first class postal. After his insistence that I was mistaken, I also checked my other (broken) unit, which is completely dead, and yes, it is still in my possession and it is still very much dead.
The last corker from him was, “I actually spent more time on this unit checking out all of the other possibilities than I would have spent if the problem had been as you had originally indicated. However, since you had not agreed to cover this extra time I cannot charge you for this extra time ethically without your consent. I’m into this unit $50 worth of time at least. A $10 handling fee still leaves me $40 behind for the time spent.”
Even more interesting.
First, I cannot even assess his technical abilities, because nothing technical was done to the unit — I do not consider using a screwdriver to open the case and swapping out some already socket-ed chips as invested technical work. That does not take a lot of effort nor a lot of time to do, as there are only a few chips that can be pulled (except for the “extra” CIA chips). Before this comeback statement, he was requesting an additional $15 for return shipping and $10 for handling — and by his estimate and math, he insinuated here that if he waived the $10 handling fee, then he was “put out” even more with only $40 for all the work done.
Wow.
I attempted to call his toll-free number — only to get repeated busy signals for over an hour — to just pay him over the phone that $25 return fee. But since I could not get through to him, and after re-reading his emails the following morning, I just said, “forget it.” Well, I used another F-word, but you get the feeling here.
If anything, this guy is a shrewd business person. In my estimate, he basically got a computer filled with working parts and a check for $50 delivered for his tinkering and future consumption. Oh, he won’t see it that way, and I don’t really blame him. After all, I was the sucker looking and he was the smarty taking. My take away from this is to make absolutely certain that the statement of work order is crystal clear upfront, and not what took place here:
ME: “I have a bad 6526 CIA chip — the one that controls the keyboard & joystick. It requires desoldering, a replacement IC, and re-fitted with a socket.”
HIM: “If that is all that is wrong we can install a socket and replace that chip for a total of $50. This includes return shipping.”
Oh, wait, that IS crystal clear!! Forget him.
