Research before Scrap -- Painful learning

In response to a CL add, I picked-up some broken/dust-collecting electronics from the basement of a woman in San Francisco.

One item was a relatively old Amana Microwave (just learned Amana is Maytag's flagship brand).

A few days ago I tested the Amana Microwave. The touchpad worked for programming time, and the interior light illuminated, and it made an appropriate "whirring" sound after hitting start; but the glass of water I placed inside was still cold after 1.5 minutes. It seemed like something was wrong somewhere, thereby explaining basement storage and the pickup request....

so I srapped it (my first scrapping experiment).

I dissected the parts that looked interesting and then reassembled the empty shell. I have an end-user who has agreed to take my empty appliance shells.

For pics see the following:
Pic #1 = Pre-Op
Pic #2 = Post-Op scrapping products with empty shell
Pic #3 = Post-Op scrapping products closeup (note circuit board)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/4886509...7629061706306/

I removed the circuit board from the touchpad (see pic #3, post-op closeup, bottom right corner), but I reassembled the touchpad surface to my empty shell and gave it to my end user.

After doing some research on the website repairclinic.com, I think I might have made a mistake by removing the circuit board from the touchpad.
Under the Amana microwave section of repairclinic website, I found an entry for a very similar touchpad and circuit board -- selling for $90! (touchpad is picture #1, and it's exactly the same as the one I removed; click on picture#2 to see the back side of the touchpad with a circuit board that is very similar to the one I removed).
http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDeta...0163209/223582

Based on this appliance repair website, I don't think I should have removed the circuit board from the touchpad. Given that the combo sells for $90 on repairclinic.com, I probably shot myself in the foot (assuming I could somehow get some, even small, fraction of that price).

Question: Who is supplying www.repairclinic.com with spare parts? Can we somehow sell to them or to whomever is supplying them with spare parts?

Clearly, all of us could be suppliers of spare parts, so how can we get some small piece of that $90 spare parts action in the future? That $90 price, for a single low grade circuit board and touchpad is much better than scrap. But then again, considering a new Amana microwave goes for >$200, perhaps the repair market makes sense. I was just very surprised by the results of this research and I'm wishing I hadn't given away that touchpad surface plate with the rest of the "shell." Live and learn I guess.

I'd be curious if anyone here has figured out a way to be a supplier to this spare parts market. It seems like another route for electronic component liquidation (apart from the regulars: CL and Ebay).

Your thinking about selling old used parts that may or may not work, been setting ,remember. The place with the parts probably were contacted by the company and bought up all the old repair parts for certain makes and models knowing there would be a market someday. I know a CB radio supplier that did that. He almost went out of business during the slump but managed to survive and he picked up inventory from closed down factories and started selling "new" old parts, and the older they get, the more expensive they get. Today he is one of very few places to still get original factory parts for some models. Same way with anything else.

EM, if you have the storage space, you may want to think about creating a website with various photos of your parts. Then you could email your website link to repair and parts websites. The problem with vintage items such as this is going to be finding a buyer. I would venture to say that even with the proper exposure you might sit on products such as this for years before finding a buyer. You may want to reconsider an area of specialization.

The microwave you had, probably had a blown fuse, the big one near the big transformer.

Thats caused by one of the safety switches arcing shut when the doors opened while the ovens still operating.

Check the micro switches & ones probably not working.

You have to then replace all of the micro switches & the large fuse.

Then it'll work, replacing only one switch will make it work for a while, then a different one will fail.

mine popped a couple or 4 years ago and i fixed it with a dollar fuse from radio shack :D

Quote:

---

In response to a CL add, I picked-up some broken/dust-collecting electronics from the basement of a woman in San Francisco.

---

That is one big a$$ed woman,,,lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

That is one big a$$ed woman,,,lol

---

Hey, junk in the trunk is worth money.


Or something. I dunno.

And sometimes that junk in the trunk cost ya money!