Even an unmolested radio went on the clock. "unmolested" I found could mean anything from all the tuning slugs broken to still in the box.
Bench fee plus time. As inflation went so did the $$/hour.
I'd fill the calender for two weeks and start over when the shelf was clear. I didn't do it for a living but for a few dollars more. As a union hand and a full time motorcycle business I needed the headache like I needed ...
It only happened at all because I stumbled across a photofact set and a stash of parts. I could always be heard and never sounded like crap no matter what I was on so I acquired a following. Oh what a pain in the ass. Some because they knew me would bring a radio to me and then mark up the repair as if they had done it. Others would bad mouth me because I would give an estimate that was outrageous in their mind and call me a rip off even though I never performed the work or even charged them. I got buried in radios, parts and labor then had the owner never pick it up until I sold it months or even a year later only to have them claim I stole it from them. I'd started sealing and booby trapping repairs so I'd know if someone was in it after I was. I replaced 2290's, 455's 454's 2879's in any number of boxes, returning the dead parts as evidence. About the second repair I did the customer reinstalled the dead parts and called me a thief, then putting the good parts in another box sold it as my work which promptly blew up and was brought to me for "warranty repair" . when I refused he threw it through my window...
You all go ahead and complain about repair all you want . I'm done because the drama just wasn't worth it for all of a few hundred a month after parts and supplies. Years after I quit for good I was still being bad mouthed for not doing it anymore because I owed it to ...
BULLSHIT
I'm only posting because there are at least a couple here that do this for a living. Good on them and the hell with you complaining trolls. If nothing else these few posts helped identify a few assholes that will never get their crap repaired by anyone that sees these posts.
So ....
When do MLB Pitchers and Catchers report ?