I am pretty cheap when it comes to replacing stuff... I would rather patch it than replace it in a lot of cases of hardware falure.
A tip for all of those people out there with headphones that only work when you move the jack to the left or right or tape it to the back of the CD player... or what ever. You can cut back everything behind the metal and cut back 2 inches or so off the cord behind the end of the bendy part (you know what I mean).
Then it is easy enough to soder it, or bend the wires over enough to tape it together and make it work like new, don't be shy with the electrical tape. You want it to be strong and not break like before.
