The fastest way to build a profitable repair shop in ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs is to focus your initial yen on two key upgrades: the screwdriver and the tip jar. These tools directly increase your speed and income, creating a powerful feedback loop that will fund everything else. In a game about careful resource management and a looming rent payment, every yen counts. Wasting it on flashy but inefficient tools early on is a surefire way to slow your progress. Everything else, from fancy cleaning gadgets to cosmetic kits, can wait.
This guide breaks down the essential early-game purchases that provide the best return on investment, and which ones are money traps you should avoid until your shop is well-established.
The Must-Have Upgrades for Max Efficiency
Your first few hours in mid-2000s Tokyo should be dedicated to building a solid financial foundation. These three upgrades are the pillars of that foundation, directly boosting your income and the speed at which you can earn it. Prioritize them in this order.
Max Out Your Screwdriver Immediately
The single most impactful upgrade you can buy is the screwdriver. It has two upgrade levels, and you should aim to purchase both as quickly as possible. The final upgrade is a game-changer: it makes screw removal and insertion instantaneous. You simply click, and the screw is handled.
Considering nearly every device that comes across your workbench is held together by multiple screws, the time saved is immense. Shaving seconds off every screw adds up to minutes per device, allowing you to complete more jobs each day. More completed jobs means more money and a better shop rating. Don't hesitate; make this your first major purchase.
The Tip Jar Pays for Itself
This is the easiest passive income you'll ever make. Once you purchase the tip jar for your counter, every single completed job—both walk-in and online orders—has a chance to give you an extra 200 to 500 yen. This bonus cash appears automatically upon job completion and requires no extra effort.
It might not sound like much at first, but it stacks up incredibly fast. If you complete five jobs in a day, you could be looking at an extra 1,000 to 2,500 yen. Over a week, that's a significant portion of your rent covered by tips alone. It's a pure profit machine and an essential early investment.
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs in-game screenshot
The Shredder: Your Next Best Investment
Early in the game, any broken part you remove from a device is simply destined for the trash can. That's literally throwing money away. By purchasing the shredder, you unlock the ability to recycle these broken components for cash. Each part you shred will net you between 200 and 500 yen.
Given the sheer number of broken capacitors, cracked screens, and fried chips you'll encounter, the shredder quickly pays for itself and becomes a consistent secondary income stream. Instead of being a nuisance, a device full of broken parts becomes a small jackpot. This is the third upgrade you should buy, right after the screwdriver and tip jar are secured.
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs in-game screenshot
Money Sinks: Which Upgrades to Skip Early On
Just as important as knowing what to buy is knowing what not to buy. The shop catalog is full of tempting gadgets that offer new capabilities, but many are inefficient, situational, or provide zero financial return, making them poor choices for an up-and-coming technician.
The Canned Air and Brush Trap
Dust is a common problem, but the canned air upgrade is a trap. It's a consumable with limited uses that you'll have to keep buying. A far better investment is to simply upgrade your cleaning brushes. The brush upgrades are cheap, permanent, and more effective at dislodging stubborn dust. Stick with the brush and save your yen.
The Sonic Bath is a Mid-Game Luxury
The sonic bath sounds amazing on paper: drop in up to three dirty components and let the machine do the work. In practice, it's highly inefficient in the early game. The base model takes a full 30 seconds to clean the items, during which you're often just standing around and waiting.
Its utility is entirely dependent on when you discover the dirty parts. If they're the last components you remove from a device, you're forced into a 30-second waiting period before you can reassemble. It's almost always faster to just clean them manually with your brush. The sonic bath only becomes worthwhile much later in the game, once you can afford the expensive upgrades that reduce the cleaning time and increase its capacity. Skip it for now.
The Airbrush and Reprogramming Kit Are Purely for Fun
Two of the more expensive toolsets are the airbrush, for custom paint jobs, and the reprogramming toolkit. Unless a specific job explicitly requires them, you should ignore these completely in the early game. Using them does not increase the value of the item you're repairing. Their function is almost entirely cosmetic or for personal creative expression.
The reprogramming tool, in particular, involves a tedious key-tapping minigame for no financial reward. While making a custom-painted device can be fun, it's a time-consuming activity that doesn't help you pay the bills. Wait until you're financially secure before investing in these hobbyist tools.
Other Smart Moves for Your First Week
Beyond your workbench tools, a few key decisions in the first few days can set you up for long-term success. These choices revolve around managing your shop's broader operations and supply chain.
ReStory: Chill Electronics Repairs in-game screenshot
Always Buy the Best Internet Plan
Early on, you'll be prompted to choose an internet plan, with options costing 500, 1,000, or 1,500 yen per week. While there's no immediate, obvious difference in gameplay, you should absolutely pick the most expensive 1,500 yen plan. You make more than enough money to cover the small price difference, and the developers have hinted that this choice may have consequences later in the game. It's a small price to pay for future-proofing your playthrough.
Buy Licenses to Progress the Story
Licenses are the main gatekeeper for story progression. When a walk-up customer brings in a device you don't have a license for, you'll be forced to set it aside, unable to work on it until you purchase the corresponding license from the online store. These licenses also unlock the ability to buy new, pristine parts directly from the manufacturer, which is often more reliable than scavenging from the marketplace.
If you ever feel like the story has stalled, it's almost certainly because you need to buy a new license. Use the money from your efficient online order grinding to buy every new license as it becomes available.
Hunt for Spare Part Boxes
The online marketplace is your primary source for parts. While you can buy specific components or whole broken devices to cannibalize, keep a sharp eye out for Spare Part Boxes. They come in small, medium, and large sizes and contain a random assortment of components at a much better price than buying them individually. You won't know what's inside until it arrives, but the value is almost always excellent. Check the market for these boxes every single day—they are your best source for building a healthy parts inventory.