No Parts Available: Business Model For An Unsustainable Future

It is repairable, you just don't want to pay for it:

"A local sail maker and an upholster both quoted ridiculous custom fabrication prices."

I'm not sure if it's something that would interest you, but I am almost 100% certain that one of the thousands of craftsmen and women on Etsy could assist you in making a new one. http://www.etsy.com/alchemy/ - You list all of the specifics of the product, including the amount you'd like to pay for the item. People bid on the work and you get to select the bid that sounds best to you.

Good luck on your venture!

It is a gazebo cover though. You should be able to make a new one pretty easily.

1) Rip the seams on the old one using a seam ripper
2) Make a pattern by tracing the pieces of the old cover onto paper, then using a ruler add about a half-inch around the edges for a seam allowance.
3) Cut out your pattern.
4) Trace your pattern onto a new piece of fabric. Use a tracing wheel to mark where the seam should go.
5) Sew the new cover on the seams.

I agree with the problem in general, but this is a pretty easy DIY project. Part of the reason I buy Sears craftsman tools as often as possible. Sears seems to be dedicated to replacement parts with an almost anachronistic zeal.

Couldn't you just use the old cover as a pattern to make a new one? You could even do something funky like paint it (google canvas rugs).

Maybe some sort of patching situation? If the tear is small, you could cover it with some kind of coordinating fabric. Maybe you could whip up a pillow or two for the chairs in the same fabric, to make it look intentional?

I encountered the same problem when the frame for our storm door screen broke. I figured you could just buy a whole new screen.

Um, no. They want to you buy a whole new door. You can buy new screen if the actual screen rips or tears, but break the frame, and you are out of luck.

The guy at local big box actually suggested I call and claim it as part of the warrenty. He thought I might be able to get a new door. I don't need a new door. Just the frame of the screen.

So I'm constantly checking our local ReStore to see if anyone donated a screen that would fit our door.

Most cell phones are replaced in less than 2 years.

"We wouldn't tolerate it for our vehicles or bicycles or cell phones or packaged foods."

=== author's response follows ==

True in general. But my new LG Rumor, which cost about the same as my gazebo at the time, failed in the first month and the company fixed it ASAP at no charge.

Why not repair it yourself or find a tailor or seamstress who can help you out?

It is just another example of our throw away society. I watch young people today buy this kind of stuff and just shake my head knowing in a year maybe two it will be on the trash heap. I come from an upholstering family and it's amazing how long a decent piece of furniture can last. If you grow tired of it you don't throw it on the scrap heap, you recycle and renew it. My dad raised 8 kids doing upholstering, I'll bet he'd starve trying to do it today.

I just avoid buying anything at Home Depot.

We wouldn't tolerate it for our vehicles or bicycles or cell phones or packaged foods.
Actually, we do. We throw away our cell phones after an average of about two years. Cars are made to last five to ten years at the most. Lots of "durable goods" are no longer durable. You see less and less repair shops for things like appliances as it becomes cheaper to just buy a new one at Wal-Mart.
My suggestion? Next time, don't go to the big box store. Buy one from a quality manufacturer that makes replacement parts. It might cost more then 200 bucks, but really, all this junk in the end costs us more then we think.

The problem is that we expect to be able to buy something like that for $200 and we can because it uses cheap labor in polluting factories in countries like China. Basically we use underpaid servants (quasi-slaves) overseas to do all our dirty work.

We even outsource the pollution. No doubt that steel was made in a coal-fired factory with no pollution controls. The waste water was dumped back into the sterile river without treatment. The fabric was probably made of cotton grown with tons of pesticides and the farm laborers probably were exposed to it with no protection.

At least the canvas will rot and the metal can be recycled.

The moral of the story is don't buy cheap crap made overseas and if you do, accept it for what it is.

You could also do something with those wavy fiberglas or galvanized steel panels like they use to build houses in the 3rd World but that's probably not the look you're after. ;-)

The outrageous price is not the sailmaker's price--it's the low price of the original product. Our sense of what things ought to cost is skewed by the low-cost labor and lack of accounting for environmental impacts of manufacturing processes without environmental controls in those countries.

Thanks to Mox, Tim, Holly and Becky for excellent suggestions.

You've already written of the tarp because it is looking a little worn and has a tear in the corner. Why not take it down and try to repair the tear. The worst that can happen is it won't look perfect and you may still have to replace it in a season or two, but at least you would have tried to solve your problem yourself with the sweat of your own brow.

=== author' response follows ==
You are all wonderful..great comments with humor and intent.

Yes, I think I shall try that first Jared.

Sidebar: I once deconstructed a canvas boat cover (21 foot cabin cruiser) and rebuilt it to a pattern in the method as one commenter described. This caused the sewing machine to break, as it was not made for sewing heavy cloth on such a scale. Hence the reluctance to go for it on my own.

please don't say a small tear and "fading" are the reasons you need a "new" cloth top.
Last i checked, tears can be repaired/patched (mom used to do it on our jeans growing up) and fading doesn't effect the performance of the top one bit.
It's nothing but your own vanity that requires you to have a "new" cloth top.

There are a lot of great, durable outdoor fabrics, both to the public and to the trade.

http://www.outdoorfabrics.com/

is a great resource. Supplying your own fabric might even take the cost away from the construction. Especially if you go the etsy route.

good luck!

I had a similar problem, try here:

http://www.gardenwinds.com/replacement-canopy-c-28_81_83.html?osCsid=5l1i2i6hkgs3kn0pquooqjjgu4

I absolutely agree. the same is true for canvas umbrellas. ours just disinigrated last year after 2 month in the california sun. isn't that what it's supposed to do. This year I got gazebos (as outdoor classrooms for kids) and after 2 weeks they fliped over, bent and are ruined now. what a waste!

Have you noticed how hard it is to find a cobbler these days? shoes are disposable too these days

==== author's response follows ===
Yes. As the fabric on all of these devices are petro-polymers, the design life is controlled by the selection of Ultraviolet interrupt additives: e.g. sun tan lotion for plastics. If the maker picks the wrong fabric, months is all you will get out of it before it turns to tatters. Cotton lasts far longer. But good quality nylons can do Ok (as in sails).

I absolutely love this article and all the comments. What a great topic and debate!

There is plenty more to say about it, and I just can't resist.

I agree with the author up to a point about bicycles and cars, but not all bikes and cars. I definitely oppose his decision-making process as a consumer.

My 2005 Chevy Aveo (made in Korea by Daewoo in fact) broke down beyond repair just after the warranty expired. The Midas mechanic literally gave up and told me that I could keep giving him more money to try different things, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong after I already spent $2000 in diagnostics, parts, and labor. I was so mad, I had no inclination to buy a replacement car. Come to think of it: I hate traffic, hate paying too much for gasoline that runs out too fast, hate talking to car salesmen, hate waiting for oil changes, etc, etc, etc. I HATE CARS!!!

I put $4,000 on the credit cards and built a bicycle piece by piece. Yes - this is a lot of money for a bike, but let me tell you about it. If anything was to ever break (doubtful), it is very easy to swap the part out.

- All parts are made in the US, Japan, Canada, or Italy by the very best manufacturers. There is not one screw that I am aware of that was made in China.
- I purchased used parts wherever possible, to include a 2001 titanium frame on eBay for $500 (Made in the USA).
- Installed a Bionx electric motor (Made in Canada) to cruise to work fast!
- Installed White Industries single speed components, which are sealed and last forever (Made in the USA). BTW: Single speed is the simple, ecological way to go.
- Speaking of forever, also installed a Phil Wood sealed bottom bracket, which have been known to last 25,000 miles before needing servicing (Made in the USA of course)
- Schwalbe tires which are so thick and strong, you can run over nails all day through construction sites without a blemish (Made in the USA).
- Forte seat with titanium rails (also lasts forever - Made in Italy)

So, you see...I have a bicycle that will last forever, provided Americans with jobs, and have an AWESOME carbon footprint.

If I can ditch my car and ride a bike 26 miles to and from work every day, why can't the treehuggin' author who wrote this article, just plant a nice big oak tree in his yard for shade instead of buying cheap crap Made in China and then whining about it breaking?

== author's response follows ===
I planted 2 hazel nut bushes and 2 heart nut trees this past spring. One heart nut died and will be replaced next spring. The gazebo was bought initially to handle a graduation party being rained out and is having it's life extended on general principles. The flowering vines were full of emerald humming birds this summer and I simply can't bear to let it go. Wish I had your mechanical talents.

I had a similar but opposite problem. The canvas was fine but the flimsy aluminum poles under the canvas bent, snapped and broke.

Finding that I couldn't purchase replacements I attempted to fix it myself by purchasing slightly larger diameter poles in an effort to mend the unit. In the end I would have needed to spend more on aluminum poles (not to mention other hardware, time, etc.) than it cost to purchase a new one.

This time I went with a higher-cost but stronger unit. You do, often, get what you pay for.

I have to agree with Charlie: your sailmaker and upholsterer are simply asking prices commensurate with the effort that goes into making something by hand. You know the sailmaker will put a lot of care (= skill + time) into the job, and will produce something that will last a good while. So why not pay for that? Especially since the initial price for the thing was so low. Have some perspective here.

"My 2005 Chevy Aveo (made in Korea by Daewoo in fact) broke down beyond repair just after the warranty expired. The Midas mechanic literally gave up..." You bought the cheapest possible car-- nobody buys a Daewoo because they think it will last forever-- and then you took it to the grease monkey at the muffler shop for repairs. It's a bummer that your car is broken, but you obviously didn't consider it a long-term investment.

Complaining that "they don't make 'em like they used to" is nonsense. Cars today are stronger, safer, more efficient, and easier to maintain than they have ever been, to take just one example. But many people believe that things should be both cheap to buy and utterly maintenance-free. And when things (inevitably) need repair, we are utterly flummoxed and end up feeling ripped off...

i'm glad to hear that you plan to patch the hole, and feel myself compelled to state the obvious: reinforce the other three corners!

also, if the tear was caused by the metal support structure, maybe some type of padding between the two to prevent further damage.

i think "pimp my crappy big box store item!" could be a hit new show.

Congratulations, you've just discovered planned obsolescence.

My dad told me about this concept some 20 years ago. It goes like this:

Widget X will last for two years, at best. But it costs 1/5 as much as widget Y, which performs the same function, but will last for 20 years. Clearly, the thinking person would buy widget Y, right? Well, no. 1/2 of consumers can't even afford widget Y, and even if they could, why *would* they pay the extra dough for it? If Widget X breaks, they can afford to buy a new one.

Now, look at the manufacturing side. Say it costs $50 to make Widget X, and $170 to make Widget Y. With Widget X's lower price point, they don't make as much profit per unit, but with buyers coming back again and again, they're making more money and have a better revenue stream. Makers of Widget X would have to charge even more than they do to make the same kind of money on the far fewer units sold, making them even more unpalatable to the market.

In the past 70+ years, there have been innumerable companies that have tried to beat back the tide of cheap, shoddy products by making high-quality but expensive ones. And you know what?

They have *all* failed.

That's why so many things are being made in foreign countries by workers who are paid a small fraction of what American workers would (or could) ever accept. Capitalism is about exploiting workers (or robots and workers) at the cheapest possible wage, and keeping them in that situation for as long as possible. This is as true now as it was 100 years ago, before the advent of minimum wages and trade unions.

==== author's response follows ====
Agree with your analysis in principle. However, I was hoping to leverage an unintentional design "flaw:" iron framework has design life up to 10 years, but canvas top less than half that.

Since this frame is a commodity item of standard dimension, I was hoping (but could not locate on my own) a supplier willing to exploit that unmatched design life and offer a replacement part for the shorter lived part (top). One of the commenters above did know of such a supplier, gratefully, and other very constructive suggestions and insights have also been put forth.

It is a good harvest.

Do what we did with our tipi. Get yourself a little piece of canvas, cut out a little heart and sew it on the tear. It's easy and it makes you smile everytime you see it.

Now how hard was that???

Surely, though, all this is just the effects of industrialisation.
Right from the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution here in the UK back in the 1700's, the watchword for industrial manufacturers has always been: make more products, make them cheaper and make them need replacing more often so that one can sell more at the same time make your buyers dependent on your cheap products so that it is no longer viable to make your own...
Strange that 30 years ago the same complaints were emanating from the western economies that Japan was stealing all the jobs and making things too cheap, then it was the turn of Taiwain and so on around the Pacific rim...these developing nations even got labelled "Tigers" for their economic prowess.
I am absolutely certain that the same complaints were being made by the members of the British Empire whose livelihoods were being replaced by cheap goods from the sweatshops and factories of Britain, a nation that still shoved it's children down mines or up chiminies...In fact the Independence of the sub-continent of India was won by one man and his quest for returning to the ways of his youth Mahatma Ghandi...
Even 2000 years ago another fighter for human rights was criticising the martial/industrial regime of Rome - Jesus turned over the tables of the moneylenders.
Thus the situation is not a new one, but it is certainly one that has accelerated with Industrialisation across the world. Soon we will be able to complain that Africa is stealing all our jobs etc. when the countries there begin to become industrial giants or have us over a barrel with their food production...
and on and on and on until???

thanks.

The gazebo was bought initially to handle a graduation party being rained out and is having it's life extended on general principles. The flowering vines were full of emerald humming birds this summer and I simply can't bear to let it go.

Ah, so you bought it quickly and cheaply, largely intending it to be used for one main event and then 'We'll see.' Yup. That's the way it goes. I can respect having the sudden need, and I understand, but don't complain too much. After all, you got what you paid for.

Now I'd suggest you be creative. Lose the canvas and replace it with something more green. Spiderweb some twine around the structure that held up the canvas. Let the vines grow up and cover the structure's "roof". Yeah, it won't keep out the rain, but it's a great continuing use.

Replace the hanging candle lantern with a planter, too. Turn it into a great outdoor space, it'll look all artsy and post-apocalyptic (but in a pretty way).

I wholeheartedly agree with many of your comments regarding cheaply made products, but lets be a little more forgiving to the author. Have none of you ever made a mistake in purchasing a subpar product in your entire lives?

For Starters
"No doubt that steel was made in a coal-fired factory with no pollution controls"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel
Though I will give you that their controls are a bit lax.

I feel some people are being a bit harsh to the poster of this topic: It is the great wal-mart debate. Wages have been static in the this country for the past 10 years but the cost of good has risen. Therefore we have to choose maintain our quaility of life with disposables or cut back.

"Some people say we've always had a choice, and its in the form of money spent. But you know good and well where you money goes when there is only one product on the shelf"

I disagree that it is hard to "to find a cobbler these days". That might be true in some cities, but none where I have lived so far (I have lived in many cities, but only in Canada - maybe it is different in other countries). I needed to have two pairs of shoes re-soled this week and upon doing a google search discovered that there are 5 cobblers within walking distance of my downtown office. It only cost me $6 for a pair of high heels and $15 for a pair of loafers. The cobbler seemed to be quite busy, as was the last one I used a few months ago in another part of the city. Maybe this is just a result of people becoming more frugle due to economic worries.

As someone else already said. The truly ridiculous part is that the original price of the item probably didn't cover the full cost of producing it.

Have a look at:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

which I found quite an insight!

I have a bit of an issue with people lumping an entire continent as big as Asia and generalising it. Some of the best quality stuff comes from Asia, and yes, some of the worst - just like anywhere else in the world.

"A local sail maker and an upholster both quoted ridiculous custom fabrication prices."

It seems the problem is not the fact that Asia produces things with no spare parts - it seems that the US overcharges for it's workmanship and spare products.... or maybe it's just the shop you went to.

How about sail tape? (not all of us can sew or own a sewing machine) It can patch a tear but will only be a temporary solution which might last another season or two. It is outrageous that one cant get a replacement inexpensively. Kudos for not spending another $200 or paying ridiculous custom fabrication prices. Money/finances for some of us dont come easy, so dont call the author cheap for wanting to save the gazebo from the land fill.

To John Laumer (original author):
I think some people who are critical about the OP's decision making process are missing a fundamental point. I like the comment on Planned Obsolescence.
I have a related question for John:
would you mind revealing the brand name of the manufacturer/store where you bought it?
Also, were there other alternatives for the gazebo that would have allowed you to replace components that fail?
Thanks for the info.

Patch it til you can patch no more. Then remove the fabric and let the vines take over the roof. Steel is never a good idea for something that stays outside. Too late now, but next time, look for aluminum to avoid rust. If you ever need to dispose of this, someone will pick it up free if you put an ad on Craigslist. They will scrap it, or find a way to reuse it.

First I ask, why are you buying Chinese products to start with? Have you no patriotism?
Second, having made my living in the trades for many years, I can tell you that very few are willing to pay the price of a good repair. You have a mass produced product that was made with fabric so cheap you can't buy the same, and the Chinese who made it are paid a pittance and have no right to join a union. When you went to the upholsterer, he was showing a standard quality fabric to be sewn by people who are paid enough to eat regularly. I have little doubt that his product would have far outlasted the chinese item that you bought, but you love low price without seeing the consequences. Buying products of this sort not only fills the dumps, it also lowers your wages, because you ask the upholsterer to compete with a Chinaman who lives in a factory dormitory.

This is an interesting article and people have written a lot of good comments to it.

@ Anonymous

"The problem is that we expect to be able to buy something like that for $200 and we can because it uses cheap labor in polluting factories in countries like China [etc.]"

I couldn't agree more with your comment. We use Chinese as our half slaves to allow us to keep buying more and more products. The quality of those products keeps getting worse, because we want to pay less and less. The same products are manufactured unnecessarily many times because of the bad quality, which actually is ultimately expensive. Those who suffer most because of all this are the environment (which hurts us too) and the Chinese workers (which should hurt us too). People here also get used to unrealistically low prices, and begin do mental tricks to themselves to avoid seeing the big picture.

@ Brian Clark

"If I can ditch my car and ride a bike 26 miles to and from work every day, why can't the treehuggin' author who wrote this article, just plant a nice big oak tree in his yard for shade instead of buying cheap crap Made in China and then whining about it breaking?"

This sounds somewhat arrogant to me. The fact that you ride 26 miles every day doesn't give you perspective over the author's life and needs. It seems obvious to me that a tree may always not give the same protection against weather that a gazebo does (trees are nice of course).

Reading about your bike project made me smile, because I've been initially planing to do something similar. What drives me to this is the mostly lousy quality of bikes and bike parts generally available. My plan has been like your's: picking up the most durable parts one by one and then assembling a bike. I wouldn't make it a single speed though, but use the Rohloff gearbox instead:
http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/speedhub/index.html
I'll take a look at the other components you choose, although because I live in Europe, it may be easier to get my hands on parts manufactured here.

I'm afraid Schwalbe tires aren't manufactured in the USA. The company behind them is German (Bohle), but the tires are made in South Korea:
http://www.schwalbe.com/gbl/en/company/company/

@ batzel

"Ah, so you bought it quickly and cheaply..."

I can't see anything in authors post that suggests that the gazebo was bought "quickly". Even if it was, what's wrong with buying a gazebo quickly (how many weeks should one use for buying a gazebo? I don't think the time it takes is the problem with buying a quality gazebo anyway). Also, one can criticize buying a cheap product that breaks, but what's wrong with buying a product that has one known initial need, but may be very well used later too? If the later need doesn't come, one can always give or sell the product to someone who needs it.

The problem here is you pay a couple hundred bucks for a CHEAP patio set and then expect it to last like a high end set. It will not...and the reason you cant buy the parts is because you are buying cheap CRAP.

Quit fooling yourself what the big box stores and a lot of other sellers are selling is noting more than disposable goods. You bought them and then now cry foul when it comes out that they are only disposable and not repairable. Go spend 10X that amount or more and you can get a quality set that you children will be able to use after your gone.

Seriously....if you are too stupid to figure out the difference do the world a favor and dont both posting them.

You want quality, reliability, and durability you pay for them.

Instead you like so many WAL-MART ZOMBIES who want it cheap and want it to last forever. Well smarten up...you get what you pay for.....you paid squat and you got crap...A fair deal.