The Founder
My name is Gareth Watkins, and I am the Service Manager at Foster Appliance, in Iowa City, IA. Foster Appliance is an Authorized Whirlpool Servicing Dealer. I came to Foster Appliance in November, 2011. Though I did not have a great deal of appliance-specific knowledge at that time, I had spent the previous 16 years in warehouse management and inventory control for one of the world's leading medical manufacturers, Medtronic, Inc. Pairing the knowledge gained from the last few years of appliance repair, with the tips and tricks of inventory control and location, I have become somewhat of a Parts Guru (at least in our store). If a customer needs it, and it can be found, we'll get it. It is that philosophy that brought me to the creation of Spare Appliance Parts.
The Inspiration
In the summer of 2013, we had a customer whose Maytag Epic-Z washer needed bearings. While Whirlpool provided the parts for the repair, the customer still had the expense of the labor charges for the repair. The repair was completed, and life was good... until a few months later. In early 2014, the start button on the panel of his matching dryer broke through. The panel/UI had been discontinued! Ultimately, after spending the money to fix the washer, they still had to buy a new washer/dryer (to have a matched set), trading in the old ones.
In an effort to repair the dryer and sell it as used, the hunt was on for this discontinued part. As I searched, I found that there was one available through a 3rd party, but they were asking full retail price + shipping. From that, an idea was born!
The Solution
It's almost a guarantee that any given servicer has discontinued OEM parts on the shelf that are collecting dust. Parts on the shelf = money on the shelf, so there comes a point where it's worth selling at or near cost to get that money off the shelf, and into the bank.
I determined that what is needed is an exclusive network of appliance servicers that are willing to clear those shelves! Each member listing the discontinued OEM parts that they have, on this site, making them available to other members at (or very near) cost. This achieves a couple of goals:
- The seller benefits by being able to sell parts that are losing money by sitting on the shelf collecting dust, thereby getting the money off the shelf, and into the bank.
- The buyer benefits by being able to locate and buy discontinued parts at less than retail, allowing them to keep their repair costs down, and still make a few bucks on the part.
In addition to the main goal of parts accessibility, an exclusive network of appliance servicers also opens the door for knowledge sharing in cases of difficult and/or unique appliance repairs. As appliance technology escalates, the field of appliance repair is ever-growing, and having access to a large number of colleagues can only help ensure great service, resulting in more business, and a bigger bottom line.