As the subject line reads. Do you let repairs affect your decision to buy a used kite. I think for me it does but very little. I do believe it can and should have an impact on price. But if the price reflects the repairs and the repairs are done properly does it still matter?
I have been rough on some of my kites as i have progressed over the years and have had MANY kites repaired. They always perform the same as they did before the repair. so i know first hand it doesn't effect the performance or flight of the kite if done properly. in fact most...ok all of my repairs have been done by Fixmykite and i can tell you. the repairs are always spot on and will most likely out life the rest of the kite. so do repairs matter? apparently to some they do. but it seems to me that it is for vane/petty reasons. This topic recently came up in discussion with a few kite friend and (I'm not trying to sell anything.) I am just curious as to how others feel about it.

I think it should definitely affect the price since, if nothing else it reveals the attitude of the type of person who owns and flies the kite. We all have accidents but I have kites that are 10 years old and have no signs of damage on them at all - not even dirt or staining even though flown on grass, sand and snow. Someone who sells a kite that has hit a tree or fence or been dragged across a parking lot or blown a cell, may have the kite repaired but demonstrates the kite has been hammered or flown roughly and may have damage not yet discovered and i don't know if I want any part of that. That being said, every used kite I've purchased has had sail damage (tears) and priced accordingly for what I knew I was getting. So it didn't stop me from buying but it did disappoint me.

Like John, I've had lots of repairs done over the years by Fixmykite. I too think they do great work and the performance seems 100% after repairs. Most of my damage has occurred on Ivanpah where the local belt sander can do a number on the tips of the leading edge even with just casual kiss downs.

I've always disclosed these repairs when I sell (yes, I've sold one or two) and often factor in a 10% further discount from list price (e.g., now offering at half purchase price instead of 60% list).

Repairs don't bother me, but poorly executed repairs do. If I am going to buy a kite with repairs, I need to see really good pics of all the repair that's visible from the outside.

Funny story that's not so funny: years back I bought a pair of used RTF kites: one with repairs, one without. I didn't ask for pics of the repairs. The price was right. When they arrived I happened to open the non-repaired kite first. It was pristine. You could tell from the sand that it had been used, but there was no wear or dirt anywhere on it, the bar, or the lines. I was pretty jazzed. So then I opened the second kite. The bar looked good and the lines looked good. I started finding the repairs as I inspected the kite. There were a lot of repairs. I mean a lot of repairs. Every single one had been done wrong. Patches were misapplied, patch corners weren't rounded, stitch lines weren't straight, stitch length was too short. Every single patch was done wrong.

Overall the price I paid was fair given the excellent condition of everything else. I fix my own gear, so I decided I would keep the bum kite as a repair project. Yet when I opened the kite a few months later, there was more bad repair work hidden inside. In hindsight, that was obvious given the rule of "where there's smoke there's fire", but hadn't thought it through. Years later, the kite's still not fixed. I take it with me on vacations. I'll listen to music or podcasts while I pick out bad sewing, peel off patches, and remove the glue left by the patches. It's the kind of mindless task I love to do on vacation. I still haven't removed all the bad repair work. It's the biggest repair project I've ever undertaken. It's totally non-economic, but someday I will fly the Undead Arc.

The moral of course is to get pics of the repairs before you buy. Always get pics. And please don't sell me your projects. I have enough projects.