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Originally Posted by intinerious
I thought the tabs, even when cut off, would still allow the BBU to fit the original marui frame or any other kits since you're just removing a non-load bearing part, and that given the rear screw that imitates the firing pin is what really locks the BBU in place with or without the tab won't make a difference.
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That tab is used to guide the nozzle. The Guarder slide replaces the busted tab with its own guide formed in the slide surface.
Quote:
Originally Posted by intinerious
Then again I don't do this for a living so I guess my opinion may well change if I were in their shoes; it's just that for a lot of the issues my friends and I get in any of our airsoft equipment a simple google search will suffice; I don't see why a 5-10 min google search and some self-labour in disassembling the guns to figure out the issue can cost 100 bucks. I only go to gunsmiths nowadays if I can't find my answer with google or if I don't have the tools to modify the parts myself.
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Why? Because for the exact reason that there are some people that are:
1) Not internet savvy, and don't know how to use Google
2) Don't care to spend the time researching
3) Don't care to get their hands dirty
4) Scared of causing more harm than good
5) Don't have the tools required to perform the job, and have no interest in investing the up front costs of aquiring said tools
6) JUST PLAIN LAZY
I'm sure everyone realizes there's ways to discovering how to do everything themself... but does it mean you should? Not necessarily. It depends on your own personal situation. I'm sure if I search hard enough, I can figure out how to take apart my entire car and put it back together, but am I going to do it? No. I'm going to pay someone else to do it for many of the above reasons. Most of all, the time I spend trying to figure it out, doing it, and potentially fixing any screw ups I make along the way, would probably be better spent actually doing work where I'd make better use of my time rather than learning something I don't care to have any vested future in. Pricing is also determined by supply and demand. I've priced my labor rates at probably the top 1% of all Canadian gunsmiths, yet I still have more business coming in than I can handle. Does this mean I should jack up my rates more? Possibly. But it goes to show that people are willing to pay for skilled labor because they don't care to do it, or are too scared to do it themself. In fact, I recently had a guy asking me for help to figure out how to put a pin in a hole. It wasn't rocket science. In fact, I think I recall learning that skill in per-kindergarten class... Put the cylinder in to the round hole... not the square hole...
Quote:
Originally Posted by intinerious
The part where I emphasised that you have to pay for the aftermarket parts they installed was for my intent to convey that sometimes the smiths just throw in upgrades for some reason that does not actually fix the problem or are not worth as much (i.e. adding expensive advised Systema parts to AEGs when certain China or Taiwan made items costing 1/2 or 1/4 the price of the Systema part would have been sufficient) and that adding up all the cost of the parts and the inspection fee the cost of 'upgrading' or 'fixing' an airsoft gun in HK seem way too expensive in my opinion.
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Systema has been the de facto upgrade standard across most of HK for the better part of the past 10 years. Their products are very consistent. Installing it, gunsmiths and players know what to expect from the part. The thing with Hong Kong people, is that if they trust a brand, it's hard to break their loyalty. Given that mentality, it's hard for new products to break in to the market - especially in Hong Kong. The gunsmiths aren't installing the parts to rip off the customer... they do it because it's worked for them in the past. I personally don't use cheap China made parts for a number of reasons... particularly due to reliability problems. They carry a higher chance of the part breaking or failing sooner, rather than later... and when MY work and reputation is on the line, and a player doesn't care about "why" his gun doesn't work anymore, they're just as likely to blame my work for it, when it could have nothing to do with my work at all - just a crappy economy product. You get what you pay for. This is a mantra preached and proven time and time again in many aspects of life.
As for the 'smiths throwing in parts that wouldn't fix the problem... well... that's another issue altogether. It could be the smith not knowing what they're doing, or just trying to offload parts. I personally make an effort to educate my customers on all parts that are going in, what they do, and will advise if a part they want does not help them to achieve any of their goals. But that's me. I can't speak for all gunsmiths. I'm just saying I can understand their mentality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by intinerious
I know that my friend was willing to part HKD 1500 just to install bushings, a stronger spring and have a general look over the shimming and any other issues with the gun. When you think about it, shimming at most takes an hour (and I've only reshimmed my gearbox three times after reading up on all the technical issues with shimming a gearbox correctly and that took me 1/2 and hour or so) and it's not that hard, the spring costs only HKD60 (for the guarder springs within SP100-SP140 IIRC) and even the hardest bushings you can get (the Modify ones) cost HKD 172 at WGC (and that's probably one of the most expensive set of bushings). Adding the total together (assuming labour cost should be HKD 100) the smith is charging HKD1168 over what I expect would be the maximum he charges.
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That sounds like a very extreme case, and even in Canada, that price (approximately $200CAD) would be considered absolutely ludicrous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by intinerious
Another thing, I dunno about your experience, but in general most Hong Kong airsoft retailers don't like to tell you anything in the shops when you ask whether certain parts fit certain guns unless it's already written in the package of the item or if it's very obvious. The service in almost all the shops are extremely limited and in some places like I feel like the staff look at their potential customers with disdain unless they start whipping out cash.
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When you ask very specific questions (like you said, for "niche" applications), chances are, the retailer simply doesn't know the exact answer to your question because they are most likely not specialized in the product to know the answer. Simple as that.
As for the retailers looking at you with disdain, I've had the same experience. If they don't know you, they're going to assume you're the typical Hong Kong shopper: A guy who is going to ask a billion-and-one questions, and at the end of it all, you'll leave the store and apply your new found knowledge to buy the part from the cheapest supplier (not the guy who just spent all his time answering your million questions.) And you're surprised that they act annoyed from the start? It ends up being a waste of time on the retailer's part, and leaves them feeling highly unappreciated. The end result, is disgruntled store owners and employees who simply don't want to waste their time on you, unless you are showing serious intent to buy (ie, cash in hand, ready to slap down on the table.) Me, personally, I find customers like this annoying as well, but you win some, you lose some. I'm glad to have customers who appreciate the time and effort I put in to educating them, even if it means a non-sale. I do, however, carry a mental note of certain people who continually abuse my giving nature, and I provide them with limited answers if I give them anything at all, now. Because quite frankly, I have better things to do with my time than to waste it on them - I'm obviously not going to get anything back in return from them.