Are you talking specifically about electronics, or is this all-inclusive?
I do many of the repairs on my car, most of the maintenance around my house, and in general repair pretty much everything I own, except my phone and laptop (and even then, I have repaired my old ThinkPad). YouTube is a fantastic resource for fixing nearly everything, and I only play for someone to fix something if it's dangerous or requires skills or expensive tools I don't have (e.g. welding).
An iPhone battery replacement is $29 (at least until the end of the year), how much do you think an iPhone screen would cost on the open market?
I’m seeing prices of $170 for an iPhone X repair kit.
https://www.digitalsupplyusa.com/collections/iphone-x
It’s about $100 more to get it done right with a warranty.
So because Apple releases new software and hardware every year, that means that the phone I’m already using immediately stops working?
Such “planned obsolescence” is one reason Apple and rivals like Samsung, with its unending parade of new Galaxy phones, make so much money.
If Apple wanted to “obsolete” their phones, they would not update older phones, allow old devices that can’t be upgraded to download “the last compatible version” (it works back to my iPad 1 from 2010), etc.
For instance, the company uses proprietary screws that make it tough for consumers to tinker with their devices. It has also spent some of its considerable resources lobbying against “right to repair” legislation that would make it easier for third-party shops to fix your gadgets, creating roadblocks for consumers who would rather keep their old devices than buy new ones.
Or you can just take your phone to an authorize repair center. There is nothing I own that I could fix myself besides the one desktop I have.