Its possible to replace common electronic parts like LCD's yourself.. and possible to source them at local electronics stores for very little.
A Fuji Finepix F31 with a broken LCD was estimated at 800 baht (about $25) for repair at Fuji Thailand. I found the exact same part number LCD (same manufacturer, same part number, same everything) for 150 baht ($5) in one of the many electronic stores in Chinatown. Installing it wasn't difficult.
Every city I've ever lived in has had electronic stores. Often you can find switches, LCD's, and even sensors for next to nothing. Some examples of repair estimates and actual fixes.
Fuji F31 above..
Epson Photo Scanner. Epson wanted 2000 baht ($70) just to provide an estimate, of course which then applies to the repair. They get committed with the estimate fee. The fix? A 50 cent fuse in line with the DC out of the transformer.
Viewsonic VP211b. I had to keep these going way past their prime. Same symptoms with two monitors. They'd turn off after 15-30 minutes of use.. or once they reached a certain temp. Disassembly revealed one had a very iffy cooling fan that was designed to blow air over the PS rectifier circuit (a good indicator of what will go bad, is if they need to cool it). Replacing the fan fixed the problem. $3 in Chinatown. The other, had a bad rectifier. $19 in Chinatown. I replaced the fan too. Viewsonic estimated $150 minimum for each one.
Samsung DLP 50 inch. Had a small explosion, color and picture gone. These are entirely modular. After 5 years of use the color wheel plastic lens got brittle and shattered. This was more difficult to track, ended up ordering the entire assembly from Samsung.. $35
This is just in the last 18 months. I've since replaced my Viewsonics and DLP television.. but the repairs kept me going for not much.. and I was able to get the items running the same day vs. waiting. This sort of thing isn't for everyone, but often a good visual inspection with the covers removed and a $10 multimeter is all it takes. If you can handle a screwdriver and read a meter.. and be careful.. you can accomplish quite a lot. In this part of the world power surges (even in Bangkok) are a 2-3 times weekly affair, so while you use UPS devices on the pricey stuff, you still have many small power supplies (like you use to charge your phone, power a phone, power a router) that might take a hit.. and sometimes the surge makes it past those and takes out a fuse.. Even if it takes out an entire power supply they can be replaced.
Other things I won't touch.. they're so small and so specialized I'm sure I'd do more damage trying to open them. But a lot of what we use can be self-serviced.
Speaking of which.. if anyone knows where I can find instructions or a youtube video to disassemble a NP-E3 Canon battery.. would be appreciated..