There eventually will come a time when you need a part to repair your home appliance.  Most do-it-yourselfers who look for savings on eBay will do a lot of the diagnostic themselves and eventually identify the faulty part.  This is a great way to save a lot of money.  Although some sellers are able to help the do-it-yourselfer in the diagnostic process, most will not because an 'over the phone' diagnosis can sometimes result in confusion and a mis-diagnosis as a result.  Parts counter representatives are not trained technicians (otherwise they would be out on the road doing service calls), therefore, a do-it-yourselfer needs to use the information they receive over the phone very judiciously.

However, once a part has been identified as being faulty, getting the proper replacement will result in a satisfactory repair.  Ordering an improper part, especially over the phone or over the internet, can have disastrous consequences, and will likely result in financial loss for both the seller and the buyer.  The key to ordering the correct part lies in identifying the correct appliance model.  Most, if not all parts sellers need the correct and COMPLETE model number in order to sell the correct part to you.  To help them in this endeavor, keep these guidelines in mind:

- Most people think that to get the model number of the appliance you have to pull out, or physically move the appliance.  You do not.  Appliance manufacturers have made model numbers very accessible, and they can be found usually by simply opening your appliance's door (something most people do countless times but never really look) and looking on the frame. 

- You owner's manual is NOT the best source to get the appliance's model number.  Owner's manuals often cover a range of models, and trying to identify yours out of the range is like shooting in the dark.  Get it from your appliance.

- Your MODEL AND SERIAL tag is the ultimate source for your model number.  Yes, often times you'll see other numbers written on assorted tags in your appliance, such as the lid, control panel, knobs, etc...  These numbers are usually the part number for that specific component, not the appliance.  You MUST identify an actual tag that says "model" followed by the number, which can be a sequence of letters and numbers.  Write them all down, and make sure you can differentiate between a "0" and a "O",  a "Z" and a "2", this is vital.  Also, often you'll see some model number codes, or "faux models" that will be somewhere in the appliance.  For instance, on your refrigerator door you might see a sticker that says "Model ED25DQ", but no serial number.  You have to LOOK for the model and serial tag and you will see that the actual COMPLETE model number for your appliance is actually "ED25DQXXN00"... this is the info your seller needs.

- Last, but not least, if the model is not visible or the tag is damaged, you can still get the correct part by taking the faulty part off and looking for a part number on it.  More than likely, the part number will be substituted for a different part number, and the replacement part will often look slightly different, but the fit and operation will be a proper one.

And if you have any questions, feel free to write to us at Appliance Care Store, or visit us on the web.  Yes, we are your appliance care professionals with over 20 years combined appliance care experience!