Sony really knows how to screw its customers

We know there are many costs associated with the complicated process of screw production -- especially the process of fabricating special screws -- but this $82 unit really hurts. Although to be fair, the above Sony screw might not have been Sony itself screwing a customer, but rather some screwball retailer drilling down on Sony's behalf.

[Via Gadget Lab]

[Dave @ May 25th 2007 2:33AM]

Why the hell would you pay so much for a dang screw?! I can't think of a single electronic device I've ever owned that was so fragile that it wouldn't work if it lost a single screw. Hell, my laptop's been missing five and it still works fine.

[paloooz @ May 25th 2007 2:42AM]

Why would you pay so much for a dang Blu-Ray player?!

:-P

[Neo.Sanity @ May 25th 2007 2:36AM]

I've got screws excalty like that in my toolbox at home. The packet posted me about $2. What ever happened to those days where a company was more subtle about ripping you off?

[Neo.Sanity @ May 25th 2007 2:55AM]

Sony make one of the cheaper Blu-ray players with their PS3, over where I live there aren't too many Blu-ray units and the PS3 is probably the cheapest over here,

[ML @ May 25th 2007 2:44AM]

in this case i think the retailer screwed him, i have access to the sony part system, and though these prices never should be mentioned to someone else, at least not on the internet, i feel this situation called for it since this is one of the biggest techno sites on the net with many many readers, and people love to give sony flac without reason, and this situation is one of them.
In euro this screw cost 3.13, that is about 4.2 usd..
Parts is very special because of handling, stock, and so on, but in this case the ball should lie dead, sony is not the screwer...

[boing @ May 25th 2007 4:30AM]

to be perfectly honest even four dollars is too much for a screw, you could buy a bag of 50 for that much in most hardware shops.

[[redacted] @ May 25th 2007 2:47AM]

Maybe if you're stupid enough to pay $82 for a screw, you *deserve* to pay $82 for a screw?

[Alex Yee @ May 25th 2007 2:50AM]

@ Palooz

I don't see any mention of Blu Ray or PS3 in the article at all. Sony make oter stuff too.

[kiriad @ May 25th 2007 2:58AM]

It seems like they charge $38.40 at US sony service store, if this domain (sony.biz) really belongs to Sony.

Go to https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz/sony-parts.aspx , and put 32401891 in quick part search form.

[colorblue @ May 25th 2007 3:16AM]

ya, my sony vaio was broken which was bought for 1800 , and they charge me for 2800 to fix it...
nice going!

[supaflydaddyc @ May 25th 2007 4:39PM]

That's why I bought a service plan with my $2000 SZ VAIO. :-)

[KC @ May 25th 2007 3:22AM]

Oh, that's cheap compared to a $6,000 toilet seat that the Navy uses...

[Mojo_Yugen @ May 25th 2007 9:19AM]

Maybe the screw is for a $6,000 toilet seat. That would be in line.

[las6 @ May 25th 2007 3:22AM]

hah,
no wonder it's that expensive - that paper was printed out in Finland. (top right corner.."sivu" means page) Everything here is expensive...especially special screws.

[Isaac @ May 25th 2007 10:45AM]

@las6 - Special screws weren't all that expensive last time I visited Finland... 50EU got me a much better screw than that one. ;)
(kidding)

[David @ May 25th 2007 3:28AM]

http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ecom/accessories/web/productSearch.do

Part number 324018911

SCREW, SPECIAL


Currently In Stock: Yes
Unit Price (in USD): $38.40

[Jonathan Kim @ May 25th 2007 3:29AM]

i have a vaio sz laptop, and the little sticker covering the camera fell off, and it cost me 32 dollars to replace it. A STICKER!

[Dan @ May 25th 2007 3:50AM]

Sometimes I wish Sony would just go away......

[tchiseen @ May 25th 2007 3:52AM]

Ah, it makes sense to me now. Before, I wondered how Sony could make a loss selling the PS3 for $1000 (aussie dollars), but now it's crystal clear. They HAD to spend $82 per screw, they HAD TO. It all makes sense now....

[xbit @ May 25th 2007 3:52AM]

No, this isn't a one off.

The battery recharger for my Sony minidisc player once broke. It was a small lump of plastic with a plug on one side and a small compartment for the special battery on the other.

Sony wanted to charge me $200 for a replacement. Even the guy serving me in the Sony Centre I was in was shocked. I wrote a few letters of complaint and they agreed to reduce this price to $120 as "an act of goodwill".

So, I went down my local electronics store and bought a universal charger for $12. Job done.

[Justin @ May 25th 2007 3:53AM]

+1 for [redacted]

"Maybe if you're stupid enough to pay $82 for a screw, you *deserve* to pay $82 for a screw?"

[Phil Perman @ May 25th 2007 3:55AM]

"61.31 EUR excl VAT"

So it'll in fact be even more than $82 when you throw taxes on top. Personally I'd just sticky tape whatever it was back together rather than pay that.

[drtekger @ May 25th 2007 4:44AM]

Maybe the screw is made of kryptonite or platinum.
One screw to screw them all

[Rupert Taylor-Price @ May 25th 2007 5:52AM]

I went to a Sony shop for 3 screws that fell out of my camera (a design fault if you ask me) and they asked for about $40 so I called Sony and they wanted even more because of delivery.

I threw the camera out.

And that’s not all.

I have a Sony vaio laptop. I came with an intermittent mouse problem. I called them within a week of delivery. They told me if the intermittent problem did not occur when they tested it they would charge me $190! for wasting their time. So I did not send it in, only to find out later that it was a known design fault with the laptop. (Still using an external mouse thought I have get very got at getting around with the keyboard)

OH and that’s not all!

I bought a PSP in Hong Kong as it was not out in the UK yet. I purchased it for $180, it died 2 months later and I called Sony UK - not covered by warranty (no surprise) but they wanted $250 to look at it!!!! Fixed it myself.

Sony really screw their customers, buy they do produce some amazing stuff.

[plobo @ May 25th 2007 6:55AM]

Sony hates you:
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=sony_bullshit

[Jeff @ May 25th 2007 1:06PM]

that URL must be an attempt at irony...

you know, i don't even really care about Sony. I've never owned a PS, and have replaced most of my stereo equipment with Denon as my sony stuff broke... but even so, i have to say that your link was fucking retarded.

are you the guy who keeps spamming out the different pages on that moronic site? ....well stop it. every time you link to that moron piece of shit, i'm sure somewhere a kitten dies or something. or at least it becomes clear that you, too, are an idiot.

[Mak @ May 25th 2007 7:02AM]

What an idiot, paying that much for a screw...

What's even funnier, is that now the PS3 is kicking the 360's butt in functionality and quality, they have to find something else to pick up on...

[Stratusrunner @ May 25th 2007 7:44AM]

Nothing has changed at Sony. I haven't bought a Sony product in years because of their after market gouging and poor reliability.

[Nelsushi @ May 25th 2007 7:52AM]

Screw In Stock: Yes

Price of Screw: $82.00

Idiot paying for $82.00 screw: Priceless

[ArtVandelay @ May 25th 2007 8:22AM]

Okay engadget this is pretty weak.

This is no different than getting a part or getting your car serviced at the dealer. You are going to pay a premium because you are getting the "genuine manufacturer's part/service." ;-) (yeah right)

Everybody does this, and if a consumer is dumb enough to not walk into Lowe's, Radio Shack or the like with the old screw and find one just like for $.02 rather than going back to the manufacturer, who's fault is that?

Is it fair that companies do this...nope, but it's a known practice and consumers have to use a little common sense in the matter.

[mikgigs @ May 25th 2007 9:05AM]

this is just mistake, probably such screw would cost 0.62 euros...this is just mistake, it happens

[Brian Paul Ehni @ May 25th 2007 9:26AM]

Sony wanted $400 for a 40gb hard drive for a TR3A laptop. Buying an iPod and stripping the drive would have been cheaper.

[Brent @ May 25th 2007 10:19AM]

This is not news, this is just flame-bait. Slow news day, Engadget?

[Josh @ May 25th 2007 10:54AM]

My recent experience with Sony and replacement screws was nothing but wonderful.

I stripped the screws when trying to replace the PS3 60gb harddrive with a 160gb drive. I called Sony and asked for a new set of screws and a new hard drive caddy. I was told it's not something they typically have available, but they'd look into it and try to help me out. About a week later, 4 new screws came in the mail, but no caddy. I called again asking about it and they told me they were still working on it. Two days later, a new caddy shows up. All free, all painless. I appreciated how they helped me out even though I screwed up in the first place by stripping the tiny screws on the hard drive while trying to replace it.

I feel good about Sony and I love my 160gb PS3 even more now. I feel they've got my back if something goes wrong with it.

[stuart @ May 25th 2007 10:56AM]

Maybe the store screwed up. If that price was supposed to be yen then its like a 50 cent screw.

[Brandon @ May 25th 2007 11:26AM]

It's my way of sticking it to the man.... But you are the man... right!!!

I think it's the screw that connect the unit to the wall next to the Sony flat panel.

[vaiyach @ May 25th 2007 11:29AM]

You got screwed :)

[Adam @ May 25th 2007 11:33AM]

I work in broadcast and used to be pretty chummy with the guys who fixed everything (literally - the only thing sent out for repair was glass to Canon). The "$80 Sony part" is a notorious feature of sony products... On the pro side, no Sony part can cost less than $80. Plastic cover? $80. Hardware kit? $80. Play button? $80.

You get the idea. But a single screw... The boys will enjoy this. LOL!

[Jimmy @ May 25th 2007 11:39AM]

This is a huge cost to pay for a single screw; however, spare parts are expensive.

Consider this. A manufacturer builds a couple million widgets. There are 250 parts that go into building that widget. Then the assembly line shuts down for that widget. No new orders for the 250 parts get placed. The manufacturer takes a few hundred of each of the 250 parts and puts them in a warehouse. A few years go by.

How much has it cost the manufacturer to store these parts for 5 years? They have to be inventoried, temperature and humidity controlled, individually packaged, etc. This all adds to the actual cost of the part.

Now also consider what it costs the manufacturer to replace this part. You call up supplierA and ask if they can make 100 of part 32401891. SupplierA says well we don't make that part any more and so it will be special order. SupplierA pulls one of their machinists off and tells him to cut 100 of these screws. The machinist goes and pulls the specs for the screw and manually cuts them. All of a sudden you have screws that cost $12 each at wholesale. Put in a markup for the manufacturer. Then put in a markup for the retailer and boom.

Now consider that the manufacturer does not really want you to repair the widget. They really want you to buy the new widget, widget2K.

I am not saying that any of this is justification for over priced screws but it is why I pay more for parts to repair a 10 year old VCR than I can buy a new one for.

[Nobuyuki Idei @ May 25th 2007 1:21PM]

This makes sense for specialized parts. But a screw?

[brendan Sheehan jnr @ May 25th 2007 11:44AM]

You think that's bad Engadget? I paid €85 for a screw in Amsterdam!

[Isaac @ May 25th 2007 11:53AM]

@Josh - So, how long have you been a shill for Sony, mmm? ;) I think this the wrong place to try to preach the Good Word of Sony...

[Josh @ May 25th 2007 12:20PM]

It's just my personal experience. If a company does right by me, I'll say it, if they do wrong, I'll say that too.

It's the first and only time I've had to contact Sony about any of the products I own and it was a good experience. That is all.

[Isaac @ May 25th 2007 1:13PM]

Oh I know, I was only teasing, I've had the same kind of experience, where everyone says bad things about a company but the one or two times I used them they were great to me. I'd speak up too. It happens.

[Charles @ May 25th 2007 12:02PM]

I find this funny because the company I work for is Sony's biggest authorized distributor on the east coast and I see things like this sold for outrageous prices all of the time. And Sony really isn't that bad about overpricing its parts compared to other companies. Sharp for instance often prices LCD panels for repair use at almost 40% over the retail price of the entire TV.

[Aaron @ May 25th 2007 12:06PM]

@ArtVandelay

Doubt the car-dealer analogy is this egregious. For example, I have a recent model Audi TT in the US. One of the cheap plastic lug caps got cracked when a non-Audi service tech did not realize and used an impact wrench over top of it. Final cost at the Audi dealer: $2.90. Yes, a high price to pay for a piece of plastic, but nothing like this.

Sony does an incredible job at alienating their (ever shrinking) customer base.

[hong @ May 25th 2007 1:57PM]

i hope someone got a screenshot of that page with the screw for 32 bucks cause now it is not listed! lol way to go sony,

[Darren Tilley @ May 25th 2007 7:16PM]

I'm sure that there are divisions of Sony that need to be overhauled, but the PS3 is the only console of this generation to fully support open standards as well as non-proprietary upgrades and accessories. How is this gouging their customers?

[Mark @ May 25th 2007 7:21PM]

I bought an 80$ sony mp3/cd player about 5 years ago. Broke a week after the warranty ran out. When I brought it to the sony store and asked how much it would cost to repair, they said that in order for me to get an estimate it would cost 36$.

[Steve @ May 26th 2007 12:12AM]

Some of those posts were funny as hell.

"This is the screw that adds the fun to the PS3"

"It costs so much because it's made from the crushed souls of gamers..."