just starting out

[pcpete]

We are mainly a residential computer repair company who has dabbled with ipod screen replacement in the past and decided it was not for us. In looking back, we did not do it with commitment and did not put the effort in to do it as professional as possible.

Now we want to get into the mobile repair market. In the beginning we are going to keep the mobile repair services narrow and gradually expand them. This means only apple products for starters, and only cracked screens.

To break down the Apple products is where I am not quite sure how to approach this. I like the idea of starting with iphones since they are not glued like the ipads and I understand easier to repair with less headaches than ipads. The downside of the iphones in comparison to the ipads is stress factor of getting them done fast and not making a mistake. Just starting out, what would you guys recommend?

I think I am leaning towards starting with ipad repairs first. Now more decisions. Would it make sense to by some gtools for the corners? Any ones in particular? Any other tools we may need?

If you were to impart some wisdom to someone just starting out in mobile repair, what would it be?

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I can't say what model to start with, but I can strongly recommend Group Vertical for parts if you're in the U.S. They have been great for us. We first used eTech, and it just didn't work for us, but others have reported having no issues with them. Either way, take your time with whatever model you are working on. You might try getting some non-working devices to work with first. Also ifixit has great repair guides for almost any device you're likely to run across.

 

[gadgetfixup]

We've used GV for quite a while but let me tell you what I discovered last week that still has me a bit peeved. We have a "wholesale" account at GV and been seeing quite a few iPad minis come in. We order the digitizers assembled as it's not worth our time to solder home buttons or IC boards to the digitizer. I don't remember the exact price but it was about $28 a pop for those. I had just happened to see a post on FB where some pizza tech offered a gal to replace her's for $30 if she bought the part and he dropped an Amazon link. Just out of curiosity I clicked the link and I'll be darned if it wasn't that same GV item on Amazon but for $19.76 with shipping.

I checked our iPad inventory and found we needed quite a few pieces of glass and by the time I was done ordering restocks, I had 15 items and saved $73 by ordering them through Amazon instead of GV direct. A couple items were cheaper on GV but not the glass. I checked the label when the items arrived and they came from a company called iParts Outlet.

Just a heads up to watch that GV pricing.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

We've used GV for quite a while but let me tell you what I discovered last week that still has me a bit peeved. We have a "wholesale" account at GV and been seeing quite a few iPad minis come in. We order the digitizers assembled as it's not worth our time to solder home buttons or IC boards to the digitizer. I don't remember the exact price but it was about $28 a pop for those. I had just happened to see a post on FB where some pizza tech offered a gal to replace her's for $30 if she bought the part and he dropped an Amazon link. Just out of curiosity I clicked the link and I'll be darned if it wasn't that same GV item on Amazon but for $19.76 with shipping.

I checked our iPad inventory and found we needed quite a few pieces of glass and by the time I was done ordering restocks, I had 15 items and saved $73 by ordering them through Amazon instead of GV direct. A couple items were cheaper on GV but not the glass. I checked the label when the items arrived and they came from a company called iParts Outlet.

Just a heads up to watch that GV pricing.

That certainly is interesting, did you reach out to your rep? I wonder if they will price match? I haven't had a mobile repair for awhile. I just got into mobile device repair and decided we were completely focusing on MSP business clients. I won't turn down mobile work, but not pushing/advertising it either.

 

[gadgetfixup]

I didn't reach out to my rep and frankly was a more than a little ******. We've seen this progression in the PC business for years now and frankly most of our wholesale accounts are just a joke. Here we are, a real business getting our clocks cleaned by a pizza tech not only willing to to do the labor for cheap but also able to purchase the part almost 30-50% less than we have been paying. Some days I feel like such a fool for believing these "wholesalers" and the games they play.

My wholesale price breaks

What my local pizza tech has to pay for the same item retail

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

Well, if that's how they want to play, looks like I'll be purchasing through Amazon......They can't blame you when they caused the problem themselves.

 

[gadgetfixup]

Well that's what I figured as well. And this item isn't the exception. Every digitizer I checked had that sort of price spread. Now I see how pizza techs are doing digitizers on ipad minis for $50 a piece. Less than $20 for the assembly and $30 for their time - smh.

The small items are still cheaper on GV like the lightening ports and jacks but glass for sure is much cheaper on Amazon..

 

[Shut Updan]

Doing mobile device repairs may be the only way you stay in business. Apparently computer repair is not something people pay for any more :/
You should advertise that you buy broken devices as well, so then you can learn to fix them and make a quick buck flipping and selling them. I know that I personally have a drawer of outdated or broken devices that I would sell to someone if they wanted.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

The problem is residential grade computers are disposable and business grade computers have business grade warranties. When I started working on computers for money I thought for sure I would get rich building custom computers, lmao, boy was I wrong. I very quickly went to break fix and now MSP, that is the trend. Not for all, but is for most. Those that are doing break/fix well, more power to them. Those that want to do MSP, do it right or don't do it at all. Advice only goes so far. It's up to the tech to make the call.

 

[Shut Updan]

Technically I am an MSP... Anyways good luck on your mobile device repairs I hope it goes well for you.

 

[Baykun]

I've been doing solely mobile repairs for the last few years. Just starting out I would stick with iPhones at first and buy a couple of cheap busted iPads to practice on and resell if it goes well. Watch as many YouTube vids as you can and put every screw back exactly where it came from or bad things will happen to the phone.
While the gTools are nice to have they aren't worth the investment right away. Half the time it's easier for me to tape up a pair of needle nose pliers and rework the corners with a washer then file it down smooth if I have to.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions though, always happy to help

 

[Matthew Bradley]

The problem with these Amazon screens and really through most wholesalers is they are crap. We find about 20% of these end up DoA or a few weeks later develop problems. Try replacing an iPhone screen in an hour or two window only to find that screen is also bad. There is a special place in heaven for your mobile tech.

 

[Steve Morse]

I didn't reach out to my rep and frankly was a more than a little ******. We've seen this progression in the PC business for years now and frankly most of our wholesale accounts are just a joke. Here we are, a real business getting our clocks cleaned by a pizza tech not only willing to to do the labor for cheap but also able to purchase the part almost 30-50% less than we have been paying. Some days I feel like such a fool for believing these "wholesalers" and the games they play.

My wholesale price breaks

What my local pizza tech has to pay for the same item retail

Thanks for posting this info about this part - I am the wholesale account manager here at Group Vertical and would be more than happy to assist. First off, we never, ever sell any part on eBay, Amazon or any other avenue for less than we offer to our wholesale customers. If this is not true then there has been an error of pricing somewhere and should be corrected immediately.

Amazon is quite confusing sometimes & you have to be careful when purchasing via that source. The listing you provided does indeed feature our "listing" info and picture. However, there are most likely many other sellers "selling under us" and using our listing at the info. If you look more closely at this listing you will see that the actual seller on this is a company called "Device Doctor" - we would be listed as well as a seller somewhere if you clicked on the link to see all of the companies selling this product, but they are offering it for the lowest.

So, what the difference in price? Most likely they are offering a different grade of the product - usually it is a much lower grade. Group Vertical parts are simply a higher quality and therefore cost a bit more than other companies may offer on Amazon or elsewhere. We have found that our wholesale customers are fine with spending more per unit if the quality is good. There is nothing worse than a repair shop losing business over bad digitizers when trying to save a few bucks per unit.

Hopefully what I am saying makes sense here - I am more than happy to discuss with you direct however if you still have questions or need assistance. We value the many wholesale customers we have and look forward to continuing our relationship with them. We always offer the best pricing and best customer service to them. I can't speak for others who happen to be able to sell under our listings on Amazon.

Steve Morse
Wholesale Account manager
Group Vertical
steve.morse@groupvertical.com

 

[gadgetfixup]

I apologize if I wasn't clear about the source of the product. Although I'm not sure why the source is more important than the price. My point was this is the same product you're selling with not only your trademark but your copyright images and logos. If you suspect these sellers are using your trademark, logo and images on Amazon and selling a product that is not yours then you have even a larger issue than wholesale pricing.

Amazon has 13 different vendors selling this item at this time. 9 of those vendors are offering this GV item not only to me but to my customers cheaper than you're offering it to me "wholesale". So obviously you're wholesaling products to some of your customers so cheaply that it's worth their time to list this item on Amazon, pay Amazon's huge commission, cover the shipping and STILL MAKE MONEY. 9 out of 13 Amazon vendors will sell me your product cheaper and pay the freight than you'll sell me your product charging me freight. That was my point.

Of course by now I've received the products and if they're not your product they sure look like it. I matched them up to what we have in stock from your website and they look identical.

I have nothing personal against GV just to be clear. I just don't like buying "wholesale" at a higher price than my customers are buying the same product retail. I'm in business to make money, not be made a fool. Selling GV items in my store makes me 20-30% higher than Amazon if I price them at my cost. Clearly that's an issue.

GV should have MAP pricing policies in place to protect wholesale customers from this problem. I'm sure many more will realize they can buy your products from your large customers cheaper than they can buy it from you directly. That's your business though and none of mine.

 

[Steve Morse]

I appreciate your response! The point I would like to relay is that they are not selling the same product as we are - they are incorrectly listing under our information and then most likely selling an inferior product.

For example, our overseas vendors will offer many versions of an iPad digitizer for sale (or almost any product you can think of in the industry). We only carry the highest quality products they offer as our customers have told us this is most important. Others sellers will purchase a lower grade product and then list it for sale under our Amazon listing. The product will look and feel the same. There is no difference you will be able to see most times by inspection. The differences come down to the components that are used, the longevity of the product and the overall defect rate. The same can be said in most any industry where items are sold to be used in repairs. If you go to your local auto parts store you will find that they will carry many differences in brake pads. Most of them will look the same, feel the same and perform the same way in the short term. There are differences however in a pair of pads that cost $50 vs. a pair of pads that cost $100. Even when you can't see this with simply a visual inspection.

It is a constant battle we fight with the Amazon portion of our business and one which will not soon stop. We are always requesting sellers to stop these sort of listings but ultimately as soon as we are successfully able to get someone removed from selling incorrectly under us, 5 more will pop up in their place very quickly. And the confusion continues. Combine that with the fact that we carry over 3,500 different items and you can see where the scale of this issue is very large.

I can assure you that no one receives lower pricing from us than our valued wholesale customers. I can also assure you that no company selling products for less than we give to our wholesale partners on Amazon has obtained them from us. I could offer the same lower quality parts as others do on Amazon for the same prices, or lower. The rate of order return would not be acceptable however and I suspect we would lose business overall due to this. Group Vertical takes pride in the fact that we offer a high quality part that is priced competitively when comparing apples to apples in the industry (pardon the pun!).

I really do appreciate the discussion and look forward to more - thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Steve Morse
Group Vertical wholesale manager

 

[Krynn72]

My experience tends to line up with what Steve is saying. A lot of sellers just copy/paste the info from one seller and use it as their own, even though they're not actually selling the same exact product. The quality from sellers like this tends to be piss poor.

 

[Pasotech]

As a tech I find the Ipads easier to deal with. Especially just doing cracked screens. Don't run into to many problems till its charging issues or batteries. Then they can become a nightmare. Iphones there is more competition, and although the 5's and 6 are fairly straight forward the 4s can be a bugger, takes more labor and ironically is the one people want fixed cheaper.

As a side note, Tablets suck, they are a pain to fix and I find people less willing to pay a decent price to fix them.