[ThorSanchez]

Manufacturers brought this on by their own policies.


Staying on-topic, I'll use a repeating example with Ricoh. They only have one authorized repair center in USA and do not make parts available to consumers. So, when someone breaks a removable lens foot and needs a simple replacement part, the customer is forced to ship their entire lens and pay for a "lens repair".

Ricoh's policies are hostile to consumers. 70-200 "lens repair" costs $478; that's insane for a lens foot. Shipping the lens when it doesn't really need to be shipped needlessly risks damage to the lens. Customers can't use the lens for several weeks while it's in transit and sitting at the repair center.

Or, the aperture solenoid failure. In my case I was relatively new to Pentax, and KEH said they could fix my six-months-out-of-warranty K-30. Turns out they couldn't, because they couldn't get the part, presumably because Ricoh only sells it to Precision. So after about a month of shipping the camera around I got it back, still broken. Then I sent it to Precision. About a month later I got it back, after sending them over $200 to fix a $30 (IIRC) part. But when I got it back from them, they'd messed up the autofocus calibration to the point where the micro-adjust wasn't enough, so back it went to Precision to have that fixed.

So... it failed in early September, and I had a fully functioning K-30 back in December. All to replace a cheap solenoid that we now know can be done in a few hours by anyone with halfway decent patience and a soldering iron. Knowing what I know today I would have sourced the part on eBay and done it myself. But it would have been nice to have the part and some instructions from Ricoh before that whole odyssey started. I'd even have signed a worthless piece of paper stating that if in the process of repairing my broken-and-out-of-warranty camera I further broke it I wouldn't sue them.

[AstroDave]

Have you seen Apple's home repair kit? It weighs 79 lbs and comes in two large cases...to replace a 1.1 oz battery...

Apple shipped me a 79-pound iPhone repair kit to fix a 1.1-ounce battery - The Verge

That was AMUSING!!

[pschlute]

on fair and reasonable terms

...and on this alone the law will be useless.

[Mooncatt]

I'm always torn on this. It's nice to be able to get things repaired independently, but I also hate government intrusion into private businesses. It's also the businesses that really hold the power. As was mentioned earlier, manufacturers could choose to back out of those markets. There's no law I'm aware of stating they must sell in every region of the U.S, and I routinely see places that don't/can't offer their products and services in various states. A right to repair law is only as effective as the companies are willing to let themselves be controlled.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

The law has been passed by the state legislature. It still needs governor signature but that's expected to happen soon. The law has curious exceptions for automobiles, home appliances, and less common items like police radios and medical devices. There's no exception for consumer cameras.

Ricoh/Pentax would have to make parts available to repair shops and consumers. We wouldn't have to ship cameras to Precision for everything.

I suppose Ricoh could stop selling anything to NY customers to skirt the law, but the loss of B&H (because they are in NY) would further cripple USA Pentax sales, and I don't know whether Amazon would get into the middle of the right to repair battle by limiting products by state. Other states also have pending right to repair laws.

Text of the NY law and status is available at https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/S4104

Maybe I am wrong, but it says nothing about were the equipment is sold. So if you buy the equipment outside of New York State a local repair shop in New York State is entitled to everything that, in this case, Precision can have, as they do repairs for the whole of the US, if they so request it from the OEM. So Ricoh should stop selling their products all over the US, not only the Pentax camera's but all their products or simply state the part is no longer available, which means that also the repairs through Precision are affected.

There is nothing in that legislation mentions having to supply parts, only information.

But if you read on there is an elaboration that mentions parts specific. The quote you gave is lacking either punctuation or is a expressed in an unlucky choice of words. So not only information but all they need to repair any appliance.

[Oldbayrunner]

But if you read on there is an elaboration that mentions parts specific. The quote you gave is lacking either punctuation or is a expressed in an unlucky choice of words. So not only information but all they need to repair any appliance.

Had you looked further down the post list you would have noticed my acknowledgement of missing this and maybe not have felt compelled to repeat what I had already been informed of.....LOL

[AfterPentax Mark II]

To think that it took me more than an hour to write that little piece.... You are quite right, should be ashamed of myself.

[35mmfilmfan]

I strongly suspect that any legislation of this nature will apply only in the US - can't see it happening in Britain.

[aslyfox]

perhaps this article might be of interest to those who have posted in this thread:

Harley-Davidson hit with class actions over 'right to repair' restrictions
By Mike Scarcella

Harley-Davidson Motor Co Group LLC has been hit with a federal lawsuit in California and another in Wisconsin alleging the U.S. motorcycle maker forced bike owners to pay inflated prices for repairs by limiting where and how they could get their vehicles serviced.

The two purported class actions come after Harley-Davidson in late June settled a U.S. Federal Trade Commission complaint over "right to repair" issues and agreed to end some restrictions that required motorcycle owners to purchase the company's own parts for use in repairs. . .

Harley-Davidson hit with class actions over 'right to repair' restrictions | Reuters

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) and a Westinghouse generator maker have agreed to drop some restrictions on who repairs their products, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.

The agency voted last year to make it a priority to push manufacturers to stop requiring consumers to use licensed dealers to repair items ranging from smartphones to farm equipment. Critics say the practice raises prices for consumers and shuts out independent repair shops.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ftc-revs-up-right-repa...nt-2022-06-23/