The TCA is a Member Based Group for Serious Tech Repair People
The TCA (Tech Care Association) launched in November of 2000 with the primary goal of helping to unite the tech care industry — those that take care of tech after it’s sold. In other words, people in: tech repair, tech reuse/refurbishing. tech support, and tech recycle. The vital businesses in tech circularity that care for tech from the cradle to the grave and keep it in the market longer.
Organized as a not-for-profit corporation in the state of Virginia and recently recertified by the IRS as a 501(c)(6) organization. Founded by Rob Link who got into the industry in 2000 after a successful career in the wireless industry. He was inspired to start the TCA by the Auto Care Association, a longstanding and successful trade association for people that take care of automobiles after they are sold. The similarities of the two industries is uncanny and only separated by the price of the product (cars v. tech) and the time in market (over a century v. decades).
One of the biggest similarities in the two industries is the common cause of fighting for Right To Repair legislation across the country. The Auto Care Association fought and won its first battle in 2012 and they have been fighting the OEMs ever since. The other similarities in the two industries are the number of products that they support in the market (288M cars v. 310M phones). Repair and reuse is a major part of both industries, as well as recycling. Aftermarket accessories are a big part of each industry as well.
In addition, other similarities are the distribution model: cars are serviced mainly by independent community based shops and so is tech repair. The industry structure: cars have parts distributors that offer various types of parts – so does tech repair. As with most repair industries the repair techs that work in these two industries are, to quote a friend, “fiercely independent”.
What Sets Apart The TCA from Other Organizations?
First of all, we support anyone and everyone who is serious about helping tech repair people. In fact, we even list other organizations on the TCA website and invite them to partner with us to help further the industry. We don’t see any of these groups as competition to our mission and goals. Our industry can support multiple groups. Additionally we invite our members to join and support other organizations. We work closely with many of them and hope to work with more.
So in no particular order, here are some of the ways we help the industry:
- The TCA www.WhereToRepair.org is the only nationwide directory of community based tech repair businesses that anyone can join.
- We offer FREE resources in the TCA Resource Hub that are available to anyone.
- Your TCA works daily to promote the industry to more people in order to help you get more business.
- We are actively seeking unique partnerships that will drive business into your shops.
- The TCA works on matchmaking companies within the industry to help everyone get better and more productive outcomes.
- We help support and promote Right To Repair legislation so that we can all have an even playing field to succeed.
- Your TCA is working on software products in collaboration with other companies to help further the industry.
- The TCA is zealously searching for companies outside of the traditional phones, tablets, and computers that need and want our member services.
- We invite you to visit our website for more information at www.TechCareAssociation.org
Why is it The Tech Care Association and Not the Tech REPAIR Association?
This is a question we get a lot and one of the reasons we have grown so slowly. People get confused and we’ve had to work on raising awareness in the industry itself.
To complicate things even more, others use different names to refer to the industry. Some still call it the “cell phone” repair industry — which is outdated and simplistic. Others want to refer to it as the “wireless” repair industry — kind of limits what we do to just wireless devices. And there are other names too. We believe our industry is complex can can serve many areas that includes smartphones/wireless devices and so much more. Consumer electronics is a great place to start but if it has a cord and a board then consider it TECH!
Let’s start with why the word TECH. Tech is a higher category that encompasses so much more and leaves a lot of opportunity for the future. Cell phones and smartphones are tech. Tablets and computers are tech. Consumer electronics are tech. Using the word “Tech” leaves open many more opportunities than one specific category.
Now the tricky one, the word CARE. Again, let’s think big picture. Repair is a form of care for tech. So is tech support, which many of our members do each day. Reuse and refurbishment are also forms of tech care. Many of our members participate in this process, from buyback to reselling devices and the repair/refurbishment process in between. In fact, I could give you a long list of companies that started as repair shops and moved into refurbishment of devices and now process millions of devices a year.
And what about the missing word REPAIR? First off, our founder coined the phrase Tech Repair almost two decades ago when he switched the name of his “cell phone repair” company to “Tech Repair” and then continued to promote the phrase on his industry blog, The WiGoMan for years. During his time as an industry consultant he worked with companies to adopt the phrase, which culminated in Asurion renaming UBIF stores in 2021. Since that time, many other repair shops have adapted “Tech Repair” into what they name their business. And in a recent trend, Google search serves up multiple results within the industry when using the search term, “TECH REPAIR”.
While Tech Repair is a big part of what we do, Tech Care is all about device circularity, or taking care of tech after its sold — Repair, Support, Reuse, and Recycle = Tech Care.
In the End, Tech Care is All About Reducing eWaste!
Outside of our main goals of supporting the industry and helping our members thrive the TCA wants to promote the reduction of e-waste, a global crisis according to a recent UN report. We firmly believe that if more people participated in tech care we could reduce e-waste significantly.
In our industry that starts with tech repair people, who are on the front lines of the industry. These are community based repair people who take care of tech every day by fixing broken devices in their communities. Recent estimates have the number of tech repair businesses in the US alone at somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000 locations. As demand increases that number grows almost daily. These shops, stores, mobile techs, and depots often participate in all four areas of tech care (repair, support, reuse, & recycle). The TCA seeks to unite these locations to build a network marketplace to service more devices, thus reducing eWaste.
A local model works because it is community based. Easy. Simple. Convenient for the customer. When these goals are met by a network of maybe only a quarter of the total number of tech repair shops in the US they could help collect tens of millions of devices each year that could flow into the reuse market. Devices could also be mined for parts to repair more. At end of life, they could be properly recycled and kept out of local landfills — improving the lives of people in that community.
Put simply, reducing e-waste benefits our industry while saving our planet and improving life for us all!
How & Who Can Become a Part Of the TCA?
The TCA is open to anyone who wants to help move the industry forward. We welcome any business from any part of the industry (repair, support, reuse, and recycle), as well as anyone who wants to partner with our members. Let’s breakdown membership categories:
Tech Repair/Retail Businesses – Shop, Store, or Mobile
We make adding your tech repair business to our network easy and affordable. You select the plan that works best for you, starting at FREE. We hope you will find value in what we do and want to upgrade your membership to a paid plan. But we want to eliminate any second thoughts you might have and get started now.
Membership gets you listed in our consumer facing http://www.WhereToRepair.org directory that will do two things for your repair business, 1) Get you more business when someone searches for a local repair business in your area, and 2) Increase the SEO of you existing website while adding legitimacy to your business.
Click on the link above to join and find out additional benefits of membership.
Tech Care Industry Partners
This is an exciting way to support the industry while promoting your business to our members. Industry partners are listed in various categories in the TCA Resource Hub so that our members can find you and do business with you. Basic listings are free (email us for inclusion) but membership gives you a lot more exposure and opportunity to get your name in front of more potential customers.
We also can help you develop a unique program to expand your business into thousands of member locations across the country. We know our programs can help you grow!
To join click the link above and find the right investment for your business to help support our mission and grow your bottom line.
Tech Care Alliance Organizations
Alliance organization membership is designed for organizations that want to participate in the Tech Association and are aligned with the TCA mission. Membership is restricted in each of these categories to organizations that are described below. All applicants must be approved before becoming members.
Click the link above to find the right membership for your organization.
