Wiggle expensive?

dbg

There was a time when if you went to Wiggle, their price was usually the cheapest - what happened? I can't remember the last time I used them for anything, there are no end of cheaper places to shop now. Its virtually got to the point where I don't even bother looking at the site anymore - yeah I know the service is great but price is pretty important too.

gabriel959

Indeed - they are bloody expensive.

I only use them when I get some of the money off vouchers - otherwise avoid.

Le Commentateur

We're in a recession. Maybe, like many small businesses, they haven't got the overdraft facility they had before and have to be more careful about taking a short term loss by playing with loss leaders and sales.

mgcycleguy

I was wondering if they bring alot of their stuff in from Europe ... their prices seemed to increase dramatically at the same time as the £ lost value against the €... if there suppliers were pricing in €'s instead of £'s it would make sense.

... also it seems strange to me they never carry any Specialized kit (nothing at all), seems a bit strange

Surf-Matt

CRC don't do Specialized either. If I need Spesh kit and my LBS hasn't got it, I use Evans.

Special K

Weak pound as mentioned might have something to do with it.

However, they are big enough now that they ARE the market - if you can get better prices elsewhere then good luck to you. The way I look at it, I check wiggle for available options, then enquire at LBS to give them first chance at supply. I then use wiggle if they can't supply. I don't bother with a wide array of online suppliers because of

a) potential fraud by competitors
b) potential poor service by competitors
c) wiggle are good to their loyal customers

It's not all about the price.

Stuck on a Giant

LBS - it's not about the price.
Online - it's (nearly) all about the price

CRC, Ribble, Parker International and Wiggle - those are the ones I usually check, although for Shimano kit I rarely go anywhere other than CRC. Have to agree though that I use Wiggle less than I used to.

spen666

Special K wrote:

...
c) wiggle are good to their loyal customers

....

In what way are they good to loyal customers?

I use them for convenience, but don't seem to get anything for being loyal

Nadder

I usually go to Wiggle first then maybe Parker International - LBS for little bits and pieces - their big bits are very expensive (assos etc)

I like Wiggle as they sent me Haribo last time I ordered something, easily pleased

passout

Yes, compared to CRC or Merlin Cycles they are expensive. Even the discounts at Evans are often better than Wiggle. Their customer service is good to be fair.

antfly

They only send me a voucher when I haven`t shopped with them for a while, what`s that got to do with loyalty?
They are ridiculously expensive for chains and stuff, you`ve got to be a bit daft to pay those prices. I like Wiggle BTW!

dbg

I wanted some Ultegra SPD-SL pedals, Wiggle £89.99 Ribble £68.81 that's £21 difference - not inconsiderable. So why so expensive? Have they grown too big and have too large an infrastructure to fund?

antfly

There`s a few places selling those pedals for under £70 and quite a few selling them at up to £120 :shock: That`s a massive difference. I`m not sure how they can explain that.

Dunkeldog

Wiggle might help their cause a little more if they actually had things in stock! The number of times I'm ready to click 'buy' only to find they have no stock or are showing a discontinued item.

MrChuck

Funnily enough I think I've started using them more in the last couple of months. With the odd glaring exception (XT chains anyone?) they have tended to have what I want when others haven't, and/or had it at a price close enough to the cheapest competitor (when you include postage) that I'm happy to go with the easy/reliable option.

Tempestas

I was looking at pedals too, but only see a £9 difference £78 at Wiggle and £69 at Ribble.

I would still prefer to pay the little extra and receive them quickly, than wait for the 'sorry we had a stock error' email from other companies and then wait for them to 'get more in'. But then again, I always need stuff yesterday as I buy once something breaks :oops:

MrChuck

Tempestas wrote:

I was looking at pedals too, but only see a £9 difference £78 at Wiggle and £69 at Ribble.

I would still prefer to pay the little extra and receive them quickly, than wait for the 'sorry we had a stock error' email from other companies and then wait for them to 'get more in'. But then again, I always need stuff yesterday as I buy once something breaks :oops:

Apparently Ribble will charge £2.95 for delivery too, so in that case I'd probably stick with Wiggle.

I've also used a couple of new places in the last couple of months and had problems (items posted but never appeared, and item not actually in stock) which has made me less inclined to swap a few pounds for maybe more hassle.

ExeterSimon

I get better prices at my LBS that at Wiggle....but nothing compares to Merlin...cheap and very fast (and free) delivery.

ExeterSimon

I get better prices at my LBS that at Wiggle....but nothing compares to Merlin...cheap and very fast (and free) delivery.

Headhuunter

spen666 wrote:

Special K wrote:

...
c) wiggle are good to their loyal customers

....

In what way are they good to loyal customers?

I use them for convenience, but don't seem to get anything for being loyal

When I bought my Focus Cayo through them + a load of other stuff I became a platinum customer and qualified for discounts on some stuff

fatandwheezing

Maybe the prices are higher to pay for the product placement advertising in the latest issue of C+. only read a couple of things in the latest mag so far, but already noticed a couple of strange mentions of wiggle in there.

APIII

Some of their monthly specials are good. Last month they had 20% off most of their wheels and helmets. You still need to do a comparison against CRC, Ribble, etc. as they can still be cheaper. Some of their prices do amaze me though, I mean their Campag Boras are approx 600 quid more than Ribble :shock: (not that I'm looking to buy any), but it does make me wonder who buys those kind of items.
I do like them though and still order stuff from them. They were the only place I could find Kreitler rollers for example.

Tempestas

I bet those Bora's become 'unnavailable' once Ribble realise they haven't upped their price with the price hikes yet. Look at the RRP difference!

But I cannot afford to test that theory

Red Rock

gabriel959 wrote:

Indeed - they are bloody expensive.

I only use them when I get some of the money off vouchers - otherwise avoid.

I've passed up two of their money off vouchers simply because even with the discount it's cheaper going to Paul Hewitt's and actually seeing what you're buying first.

Wiggle has had it's day - long live the local bike shop

Surf-Matt

I've just had my third and last pain in the butt mishap with internet shops.

I buy from them occasionally for convenience - my LBS in only two miles away but I often don't have time to whizz in. When internet buying works it's fine. When it goes wrong it goes VERY wrong and becomes as convenient as a VAT inspection.

Gazzaputt

If you ask Wiggle to price match I usually find they do.

antfly

Really? That`s interesting, do you ring them up or can you e-mail them to get a price match?

Headhuunter

What's the point of asking for a price match though? I never understand that. Just go with the place that sells it cheapest, if Wiggle can BEAT the price then fair dos, but a match is no use to me....

MrChuck

Headhuunter wrote:

What's the point of asking for a price match though? I never understand that. Just go with the place that sells it cheapest, if Wiggle can BEAT the price then fair dos, but a match is no use to me....

Handy maybe if the cheapest place is someone you've never used before and you have a history with Wiggle (or whoever). All things being equal price-wise I'd sooner go with somebody tried and trusted.

alfablue

I got them to price match some Shimano MO76 shoes a couple of weeks ago, cited Merlin's £49.99 price. They agreed, I then changed my newsletter preferences and got the standard £5 off voucher on £50 spend you get every time you change preferences. Spent a couple of quid extra on something else I needed to get over the £50, but I ended up paying £45 for the shoes, cheaper than anywehere else, and the initial screen price was £58 (with my platinum discount), so I would say it was worth it getting a price match, because I got the best price less a fiver!

It is also worth getting them to price match if the best price is with an e-tailer with which you have had bad service, as Wiggle service will be the best. (Not saying I was avoiding Merlin because of service, they have always been very satisfactory!).

Oh, and this week my son bought a focus bike from wiggle, I referred him (I get 10% of his spend), he gets free DHB triple lens glasses. He emailed them asking for a second pair seeing as he was spending so much, they said no problem

nicensleazy

I don't use Wiggle that often these days...just to expensive!