> can't use the service if they have any external/cosmetic damage
My guess is that you're not getting your own airpods back, but someone else's. Quick turnaround that way and I think people want that for a product like this.
Positioning in Miami isn't ideal for turnaround, somewhere more central or a courier hub (Memphis or Louisville) would make more sense.
As repair-turnaround time is no longer an issue, and Airpods are small, they can fedex them to a low-cost country for repair. Miami has tons of connections to S. America, so maybe somewhere there.
Just a Fedex SmallBox holds a couple hundred airpods (they're 0.75inches if they were a rectangle, and smallbox is 200sqin), so they can really take low-cost to an extreme. If China, well, the batteries were going to be shipped from there anyway and that's most of the bulk anyway, but cylinders do pack better.
Many of these steps are scalable - could pre-tin battery leads, find a better solvent than alcohol to soften adhesive, custom heat protection cap rather than kitchen foil, dip metal cap in ultrasonic solvent bath, etc.
Maybe they have some domestic gigworkers in case they get really busy, but otherwise, save that dollar.
My guess is that you're not getting your own airpods back, but someone else's. Quick turnaround that way and I think people want that for a product like this.
Positioning in Miami isn't ideal for turnaround, somewhere more central or a courier hub (Memphis or Louisville) would make more sense.
As repair-turnaround time is no longer an issue, and Airpods are small, they can fedex them to a low-cost country for repair. Miami has tons of connections to S. America, so maybe somewhere there.
Just a Fedex SmallBox holds a couple hundred airpods (they're 0.75inches if they were a rectangle, and smallbox is 200sqin), so they can really take low-cost to an extreme. If China, well, the batteries were going to be shipped from there anyway and that's most of the bulk anyway, but cylinders do pack better.
Here's a video of the whole process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE9aB5aPbMM
Many of these steps are scalable - could pre-tin battery leads, find a better solvent than alcohol to soften adhesive, custom heat protection cap rather than kitchen foil, dip metal cap in ultrasonic solvent bath, etc.
Maybe they have some domestic gigworkers in case they get really busy, but otherwise, save that dollar.