iPod Repair Follow-up

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Blue Raven is now offering a one-price/fix-anything iPod repair kit. You buy a $129 empty box at your favorite retailer, drop your broken iPod into the box, and ship it to Blue Raven (UPS shipping in both directions is included in the price). They’ll fix whatever’s ailing your iPod and send it back within three business days.

Having damaged my own iPod while replacing its battery using Blue Raven’s DIY iPod Battery Replacement Kit, I jumped at the opportunity to have the company undo my clumsiness (in all fairness, however, the tools in their kit are crap). I shipped the player out Monday and it came back to me on Thursday with not only a brand-new screen (and a new battery, I presume, since that’s also part of the deal), but a new bezel to replace the one I’d mauled while opening the device to replace its original battery.

One thing I hadn’t thought to do, however, was back up the contents of my iPod, which came back to me wiped clean. That loss is my own fault, but Blue Raven could improve its product offering by reminding its customers that any repairs, particularly a battery replacement, could result in the loss of any data and/or music stored on their iPod.

Aside from that, I have absolutely no complaints about Blue Raven’s service. The company exceeded my expectations by replacing the chipped bezel (which I hadn’t reported on the paperwork I filled out describing what was wrong with it), as well as the more obviously damaged display.

Blue Raven’s service might not be the rock-bottom-cheapest alternative if there’s only one thing wrong with your iPod. You can have its screen replaced at RapidRepair.com for $90, for instance, but you’ll need to provide your own packaging and pay for shipping to their facility. iResQ.com’s screen-replacement service costs $104 and includes shipping. And both of these competing service providers charge extra to replace your iPod’s battery.

Anyone considering repairing their iPod should also consider the cost of replacing it. An iPod Classic with an 80GB hard drive would have cost me $120 more than the cost of repairing my 30GB model, but I would have gained 50GB of storage capacity. For me, repair provided the better value.