The electronics repair industry in New Zealand has been in decline for the past two or three decades for various reasons including the flood of cheap commodity goods, poor support from the manufacturers, and rapidly changing technology.
One indication of the decline of the repair industry is the plight of component suppliers. The company that I first worked for, TESA (an abbreviation of Television Engineers and Supplies Associates), has been subsumed into Lacklands. And now, as of last month, Trade Tech, one of the other large component suppliers, has gone into liquidation.
The annoying thing is that I placed an order for some parts with them not knowing that they were in liquidation. Only three parts out of an order of ten turned up. I am still waiting for the remaining seven after about three weeks. I might not see the rest of the parts.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.