Beware of TV repair businesses that claim to have "Factory Trained Technicians" This is and has been a false claim for decades, since all consumer electronics factories are in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Mexico. There is no training going on there for technicians here or anywhere else in the western first world nations for a very long time. Beware of TV and computer repair businesses that claim an up-front "base fee" is deducted from the total repair bill "if the repair is completed". This can be a scam since most of these businesses rarely complete a repair and keep your money.

You will usually get a diagnosis of "not worth repairing" from these type of individuals when they do not have the knowledge to diagnose anything more than simple problem. This situation will cost you much more than their base fee, since you will most likely not get a second opinion and throw away a good piece of equipment or even worse; end up giving it to them so they can eventually diagnosis it by swapping parts back and forth with another identical TV they obtain from one of their next victims. Very often they will eventually sell your TV on Craigslist.

One final note: you should engage a technician in conversation to find out whether they are qualified by asking where they studied or learned electronics, places they have worked previously, and how long they have lived in your area. This can be accomplished without offending if done in a tactful manner.

Many recent immigrants have entered the consumer electronics repair industry after arriving on our shores only to find out the streets are not paved with gold, but maybe a government cash grant and a low interest loan. Even though many of these new immigrants have no formal education in electronics they pursue this business on their own and become glorified junk dealers masquerading as repair technicians and owners of repair businesses at your expense.