My night ended with a phone call from someone asking for a quote to repair an iPad. Readers and customers of mine know I no longer repair mobile devices. But when people call me for information and pricing I always give the full scoop about the industry and how pricing works.

Tonight’s call was for an iPad 9 digitizer replacement. Digitizers are the piece of glass that provides the touch function to iPads and other tablets. On iPads the digitizer is glued to the face of the aluminum body and takes less than an hour for an experienced technician to change. It’s as basic a repair as it gets.

I gave her an earful about the reality of Ma and Pa stores like mine and the one who quoted an outlandish price. I’m a firm believer in educating customers so they know what they’re really buying; before they buy it. By the way, I do that with my customers before they commit to a service.

An iPad 9 digitizer is typically under $25.00 from places like Amazon or they can be had for less from wholesalers. Apple uses adhesive to mount the screen to the chassis which requires heat to remove. When I used to repair them we used a hotplate to soften the glues, but a hot air gun can also be used. Typical repairs took 30-40 minutes.

Frustration set in as I was talking with the customer. She was quoted $185.00 from my local competitor to replace just the digitizer. She told me the iPad was approximately $300.00 new and couldn’t justify the money. And for good reason. That iPad sells on eBay for $175.00. I made a few calls on her behalf and found local competing repair shops range from $100.00 to $120.00 for the same repair.

My caller’s screen broke because her daughter bit it. True iPad screens are tempered and don’t shatter. Aftermarket screens are cheaper glass and will shatter creating sharp shards. I would feel pretty bad if I knowingly sold a cheaper part at a premium price and someone was hurt because of my negligence. That’s just bad business.

Aftermarket iPad parts, which is what Ma and Pa shops use, tend to not perform as well as the original. Over time they lift and peel off because the quality of the adhesive is subpar. And they never function quite like the OEM part. I’ve heard stories about shops gluing them in place to make them stick.

I’ve always said, the repair is only as good as the shop that does the work. A warranty is just a number on a piece of paper. When visiting a shop make sure you know the warranty terms and ask what happens if something fails out of the warranty period. A reputable shop should honor repairs due to failure past the warranty period. Especially with such a high profit margin.

Please do yourself a favor and have the shop clarify the job you’re having done before you commit to the repair. Make sure the parts are OEM and not just “quality parts” or something similar. No matter the repair, take the time to call around for competitive pricing asking the same questions with every inquiry.

Shamelessly quoting exorbitant prices for second-rate parts and shoddy workmanship is just bad business. Unfortunately I get these calls all the time and go through the same conversations with customers time and time again. Good business people should volunteer this information. Cute company names and logos only take a business so far, the rest is integrity.

Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. in Greenfield and Gardner MA. You can read more articles at LocalComputerWiz.com