Buying from your LBS

flyer

Wondered how many people buy a bike from their LBS?

My LBS is full price on everything and at best when I was going to spend 3k it only offered me some clipless pedels worth £40!

The bike could be sourced on line or at some other Bike shops for upto £500 less, so I bought it from them.

Problem is that I really want to give local retailers the business but also dont want to pay over the odds.

I finished up buying Clipless pedels, helmet, tyres and a stem from my LBS, all because I feel guilty when I will have to take the bike in for repair/service.

How do others feel about buing local and discounts?

Flyer

mallorcajeff

I know how you feel I have bought bikes from the UK and shipped them here to spain and it still works out a lot cheaper. My local Shop is great for service and stuff last week I got him to chek it over true my wheels and grease the hubs etc and he charged me 5 euros? Brand new shop in my little town super stuff but just way too expensive to buy a bike from. Im looking for a secondhand MTB for winter and he had one there not exactly in the best shape but was told its only been out 5 times and he wants 1400 euro for it 1300 quid about went home googled it new in the uk on offer 1300 quid and there was one on ebay buy it now 750. Used bikes here are not much short from they are new. Yes be a shame they go out of business and have to go elsewhere but the retail world is changing look how much amazon sells and other retailers either have to adapt or close. with people going to shops trying shoes on etc then buying online is the norm for lots of people as at the end of the day most people only look at price rather than back up service but if the difference is so big Im always inclined to buy cheaper and go that route. Brave man to open a bike shop in these times

P_Tucker

Amazingly, this is the first time this question has ever been asked in the history of the internet.

Daddy2Coull

I buy from my LBS for convenience rather than price. But I did buy the bike there as it was a trek. But things like tyres are 30-40% cheaper online.

pedalrog

You just need to find a more amenable lbs then. I buy about 80% of my stuff from an lbs and only go online if I want something small and can't get out. My lbs has competitive prices, quite often match or beat online stores and come with a friendly and expert service.
I am prepared to pay a bit more for local help but it sounds like you are getting a raw deal

LazyLoki

P_Tucker wrote:

Amazingly, this is the first time this question has ever been asked in the history of the internet.

If people only ever asked original questions that had never been asked before then these boards would be mighty quiet. It's an open forum, nobody is forcing you to discuss the topic.

The internet is a great thing for the free exchange of knowledge but unfortunately it also provides cover for people to say things that they would never dream of saying in person...

kingrollo

Swings and roundabouts. People are buying over the internet - then finding they need professional expertise in setting the bike up. Bike fitting has grown because people are buying over the web - a typical bike fitting is now £100+

I look at how much your saving - I could have got my bike £300 cheaper mail order - but then you have the hassle if anything goes wrong. That said there are shitty lbs around - who never answer the phone, steer customers towards bikes they have in stock, sell ill fitting bikes.

I do a mix and match - big stuff and clothes\shoes\helmets tend to go to a shop and take the hit - other stuff is online.

P_Tucker

LazyLoki wrote:

The internet is a great thing for the free exchange of knowledge but unfortunately it also provides cover for people to say things that they would never dream of saying in person...

I see what you've done there, very good

LazyLoki

8)

ollyridesfirst

I personally don't see the problem with buying a bike online and then taking it into a shop to have it set up and checked. The LBS are still getting money for that.....and if more people did it, they may be inclined to offer better prices.

I got my bike from Hewitt's, but only because a good mate knows him and we bought 3 bikes at the same time to get a really good discount. Got my bike slightly better than i would have got online. I would have no problem in taking my bike into another bike shop for a service or anything like that.

shm_uk

I was going to spend 3k it only offered me some clipless pedels worth £40!

I'm always slightly bemused at the "I'm buying expensive stuff, therefore I am entitled to free things that I will decide the value of" mentality ...

t.m.h.n.e.t

They sell bikes in shops now? Times a' changin'

merak

shm_uk wrote:

I was going to spend 3k it only offered me some clipless pedels worth £40!

I'm always slightly bemused at the "I'm buying expensive stuff, therefore I am entitled to free things that I will decide the value of" mentality ...

It's called bargaining.

gilesjuk

Some local bike shops seem more interested in selling you coffee than bikes.

But anyway, your LBS can offer advice. If in your experience this advice turns out to be useful and correct then it is worth going there for total satisfaction.

If they are a bunch of clueless idiots then obviously go there when you are desperate.

More bike shops have a limited stock and the stock sits on shelves for quite some time. Internet and mail order businesses can advertise things their supplier has in stock and therefore not have to stump up the cash until a sale has been made.

MountainMonster

I ride with the people from my LBS, they are friends, and in the case of one person, family. Why should you get something for free just because you bought something from them. be happy with 40£ as they didn't technically have to give anything for free.

mouth

flyer wrote:

My LBS is full price on everything and at best when I was going to spend 3k it only offered me some clipless pedels worth £40!

The impression I got from this was that the £40 were the only ones they were able to offer ie had in stock.

As for personally buying local etc, I buy what I want from whoever has it in stock when I need it including the internet. When I bought my actual bike I went to a store to make sure I knew what I was getting and ended up buying it there anyway. I have yet to find a LBS that I trust fully for repairs etc and when I do I'll let you know where it is.

From where I am, we have Decathlon, Evans and Halfrauds all within a few minutes drive, or a few more minutes ride depending on traffic as well as a smattering of LBS so am spoilt for choice even without wiggle etc.

garnett

Does anyone care about taking a bike bought online into an LBS for a service?

Surely the LBS doesn't give a damn?

merak

MountainMonster wrote:

Why should you get something for free just because you bought something from them. be happy with 40£ as they didn't technically have to give anything for free.

As I said, it's called bargaining. They technically don't have to give anything for free, and you technically don't have to buy from them if you're not happy with, in effect, paying £2960.

I am puzzled by this idea that LBS should be treated like charities - they are businesses and if they provide a service and products that people want at competitive prices they will survive, otherwise they won't. If you need to have an LBS near you to "service" your bike and repair your tyres than it might be in your interest to pay 30% over the odds to buy a bike from them and keep them in business. If your need for an LBS is minimal then, if they can't comptete, why shouldn't you take your business elsewhere?

Actually given the rise in people taking up the road and transferring from mtbs and who want someone else to look after their bikes, then I'd think it's bumper time for LBS's who have mechanics who know something about road bikes.

merak

Garnett wrote:

Does anyone care about taking a bike bought online into an LBS for a service?

Surely the LBS doesn't give a damn?

I assume you mean the LBS shouldn't give a damn whether they sold you the bike or you bought it on-line, and I agree with that. Maintaining your bike is not a favour that the LBS is doing you but a paid-for service that is part of their business, and possiblty, given the quantity of people who appear unable or unwilling to carry out the simplest repairs, quite a big part of their business. If they refuse to maintain bikes bought elsewhere then they are being commercially naive, and if they agree to do it but do it badly becuase they didn't sell you the bike then they are being unprofessional and don't deserve to survive.

mouth

Yeh they wouldn't give a damn if you bought a bike somewhere else. If anything a bonus as they wouldn't have to deal with warranty claims. One shop I wentto, the guy was great at building bikes bought from Argos and Asda, but a problem with your road bike? Find somewhere else.

morstar

I personally wouldn't give two hoots about where my bike originally came from if I used a LBS to do my servicing in exactly the same way my car gets serviced where I choose. I assume most businesses want the custom.

As for the shop not offering much discount on the 3k bike; there could be many reasons for this. The retailer may already have one or two interested parties and may know that the supplier has no more stock. Similarly, he may know stocks are very low and it is an in demand line that will be easy to shift.

Sometimes in retail you are virtually pleading with customer to buy whilst in other situations a very determined negotiator is pushing really hard but you simply have no interest in budging.

I spent a good few years in outdoor retail. Once, we had a very specialist mountaineering tent in stock. The supplier put a customer in touch with us having established that we most likely had the only available anywhere in the UK. The supplier told us as much. Customer comes on the phone and starts negotiating telling us all the great prices he has found on-line at e-tailers and retailers alike who don't hold stock.
I never budged on price as I simply didn't need to. If that sale didn't go through, I was confident another would.

In my mind all retail shopping comes down to this: If you are led by price, then you have to go where the retailer leads with the best offers and be flexible, this gives you the best opportunity to negotiate hard where the retailer either has a need or opportunity to discount. If you are product led, you need to be prepared to pay what the market dictates. If you are service led, you should be preparded to pay a premium for it.

merak

+1 on this. Great summary.