WiGoMan Blog - Tech Care (Repair, Reuse, Recycle) Industry Leader

The Tech Care industry is a fractured one, tribal in nature. A collection of thousands of companies in repair, support, reuse and recycling that often really only care about themselves and their own tribes' success. Sometimes that tribalism gets nasty. For instance,  I recently heard a story about a repair shop that once had to take out a restraining  order on the owner of a rival store. I often hear p arts suppliers who take every opportunity to trash a competitor over the "real" quality of their parts.  R2 certified recyclers saying that other R2 recyclers aren't REALLY following R2 standards .  YouTube personalities that constantly complain  about the work of other companies. Then there is the  folks who are supposed to be trying to help the industry move forward but put down companies that don't support a cause they claim should unite the industry. Now imagine for a second what this tribal cannibalistic industry could do if it worked together. Imagine if we al

As I walked into the conference area of the hotel in Nashville on the first day of ERC 2020 I realized that this year was going to be much different than years past. I took a deep breath as I prepared for non-stop interaction with many of the great people in the tech repair, reuse and recycle industry. I was really looking forward to shaking some hands, giving some hugs and getting up close and personal with my friends in the industry. But then it hit me like a ton of bricks as I heard an all to familiar sound...   ...my alarm clock that snapped me back into reality. As I awoke from my slumbers I decided that today -- since it was the first day of the virtual conference -- I would go ahead and take a shower before noon and even wear pants before logging into the first session of the  VIRTUAL ERC 2020  show. As I headed into my HOME OFFICE I took the opportunity to shake hands with my 13 year old daughter -- who is attending virtual school and working on her handshake -- then I gave my

If you repair, refurbish, or recycle electronics congratulations! You are on the forefront of what is becoming one of the largest industries in the world over the next ten years. Why, you ask? Because everything is becoming computerized (Tech) and it will require someone to take care of it (you) from beginning to end. Allow me to introduce you to the... Over the last ten years we have seen more and more products rely on computerization to operate which has fundamentally changed the way we take care of these products. This has opened tremendous opportunity for people already have some experience in the repair, reuse, and recycling of this type of products.  The age of the smartphone ushered in this trend as companies started to look for ways to make their products "smarter" and more "connected" to the world. The smartphone wars over the 20 years have aided these efforts by forcing the size of electronics components to get smaller and cheaper. As they did engineers sa

While our country remains divided on who the next president will be, among other issues, one thing is clear – seriously just one thing because this election cycle was a bare knuckle brawl up and down the ballot all over the country – people all over the country want THE RIGHT TO REPAIR  and the freedom to do whatever they want to do with the stuff they own! In a clear, without a shadow-of-a-doubt, win (by knockout) 74.9%of the voters in Massachusetts said “screw you auto manufacturers, we want to be able to fix our cars when and where we choose.” This is a huge victory for the right to repair movement and will help companies in the automotive industry gain more market share. Let me repeat that for the people on the backrow. A right to repair victory means MORE BUSINESS for those that are in the auto repair business. It means more business for anyone and everyone in this industry. Especially the small business owners who support local communities across the country! QUICK HISTO

On Thursday, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Facebook reported a blockbuster quarter,   earning a combined net profit of $38 billion. After crushing much of their own competition AAAF (Amazon, Apple, Alphabet & Facebook) now want to crush small businesspeople too. And why not ? The federal government isn’t going to do anything about it! Afterall, these big ole huge monopolies tech companies spend a lot of money on the powers that be in Washington DC. Before I get to that lets take a minute to review their transgressions towards the tech repair, reuse & recycling industry first. APPLE Apple can best be described as the industries frenemy. Lots of Apple repairs along with high resell value for refurbished pieces makes them the ‘Apple’ of the industry eye. PLUS, people who work in the industry love Apple product despite how poorly they treat the industry. For the first 3-4 years of iPhone Apple didn’t care independent repair nor did they do any type of repair work in their st

As a 15-year professional in the tech repair industry and someone who is connected with hundreds of tech repair professionals all across the country,  without any reservation,  I want to denounce John Paul Mac Isaac. Mr. Isaac should shut down his business, The Mac Shop in Wilmington, DE immediately and no longer do business in the tech repair industry. Politics, truth, and reality aside, Mr. Isaac has done the one thing that is NEVER acceptable as someone who is entrusted with someone's private device. In fact, Mr. Isaac has three strikes against him in this case and, unlike baseball, any one of these strikes should take you out of the game. Mr. Isaac should be ejected from the industry -- for you football (aka, soccer) fans this is the equivalent of three red cards. Done, done, and done! Allow me to briefly explain the three ways that Mr. Isaac has violated norms in the tech repair industry.  He took responsibility (aka, liability) for a $5,000 (+/-) MacBook without collecting in

It has been awhile since I have had a chance to share my musings with the world about the tech repair industry. While 2020 has been a decade of a year, your friend, the WiGoMan has been busy diving deeper into the tech repair industry. In fact -- or just to sound dramatic - deeper than any human before him.  Now I stand at a crossroads. A year after joining repair.org fulltime, I am leaving the association --  but more on that at a later date -- because now I want to jump into things a little bit and talk to you about the tech repair industry. What it is exactly and why I think NOW MORE THAN EVER the industry is poised  to grow into a powerful, profitable industry. Let me share a few things that I have learned over the last year at repair.org and 14 years in the tech repair industry. First up, WHY THE HECK DO YOU KEEP CALLING IT THE "TECH REPAIR INDUSTRY" WiGoMan? What was originally called the "Cellphone repair industry" has evolved greatly and continues to evolve

This is a big year for right to repair legislation in statehouses all across our great country. State legislators are hearing about the need for more repair options from repair people all over our country and rejecting lame excuses from corporate lobbyists who represent manufacturers who want to keep an iron fist of control on our electronic devices. But why listen to me ramble on when you can read actual quotes from actual state legislators who seem to be leaning in our direction. Enjoy (unless of course you like draconian rules for repair) these quotes from the Washington State hearing today: Senator Hasegawa "I’m here to advocate for small businesses. We need to create opportunities for digital entrepreneurs. This bill opens up opportunities." Senator Rolfes "My grandfather was an immigrant and a cobbler. Back then, shoes were expensive and built to last. Those who repair technology are the cobblers of the 21st century." The Senator, who is