Trying to buy local

MountainMonster

I love local shops, i'm not such a tightnut when it comes to money, and i'd rather keep somewhere with a face open, somewhere when I do something stupid or need some advice I can walk in and get help. Somewhere I make friends with, rather than being just a customer.

Saying that, I do order some things online, but those are mainly things that can't for some reason be ordered into here. I love having friends at the shop.

diy

I know evans doesn't count as local, but I stood in evans the other day with my phone logged in to merlin vip and got them to price match.

I was buying small stuff - lubes, grease, tubes, but I still walked £20 extra discount. They didn't bat an eyelid.

My LBS wont haggle as a policy, yet other times I have been there after small spares looking to pay and they have just given it to me. I don't mind paying a little over the top, but 30-50% is a bit much.

I can't understand why shops give discounts to people with the product in their hand and their wallet in the other. madness - they have clearly made the sale already.

GSP1984

MountainMonster wrote:

I love local shops, i'm not such a tightnut when it comes to money, and i'd rather keep somewhere with a face open, somewhere when I do something stupid or need some advice I can walk in and get help. Somewhere I make friends with, rather than being just a customer.

Saying that, I do order some things online, but those are mainly things that can't for some reason be ordered into here. I love having friends at the shop.

Exactly this, a couple of weekends a go some friends came up to Sherwood Pines on a Friday from Birmingham, we were then heading to Dalby for the rest of the weekend.

They got to Pines and one of them had left their Maxle skewer on the wall in Birmingham, a quick call around and a 30 minute drive to Freewheel in nottingham and the weekdn wasn't ruined. They even took the maxle off a demo bike as they didn't have one in stock.

Hooray for LBSs

Weekends would ruined without them.

Northwind

The bottom line is, LBSs thrive when they do things a mail order shop can't. This LBS wants you to accept all the drawbacks of the LBS, without any of the benefits, and is offering a worse service than CRC or similiar would give and expecting to be taken up purely because they're an LBS.

My old place liked to say "Use it or you'll lose it" but never asked themselves why anyone would care if they lost it.

blablablacksheep

MountainMonster wrote:

I love local shops, i'm not such a tightnut when it comes to money, and i'd rather keep somewhere with a face open, somewhere when I do something stupid or need some advice I can walk in and get help. Somewhere I make friends with, rather than being just a customer.

Saying that, I do order some things online, but those are mainly things that can't for some reason be ordered into here. I love having friends at the shop.

If only that happened in the real world.

End of the day, its hard earned cash and if you have money to throw then sure keep a local shop going.

But for most people you want good service no matter how much you spend and a good deal.

Point is, if a LBS isnt doing something "extra" or "speical" that is actually usefull ie giving good advice/workshop help /good community projects ect, then why should they not fail?

Anonymous

diy wrote:

I know evans doesn't count as local, but I stood in evans the other day with my phone logged in to merlin vip and got them to price match.

In one of my local Evans they went up to the terminal and looked up online. They had a price match system and all the main stores already in there.

This after I did the old "hmm, don't know, it's more than I want to pay really", so he offered to price match.

New store in Guildford though and still got enthusiastic staff there.

MountainMonster

blablablacksheep wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

I love local shops, i'm not such a tightnut when it comes to money, and i'd rather keep somewhere with a face open, somewhere when I do something stupid or need some advice I can walk in and get help. Somewhere I make friends with, rather than being just a customer.

Saying that, I do order some things online, but those are mainly things that can't for some reason be ordered into here. I love having friends at the shop.

If only that happened in the real world.

End of the day, its hard earned cash and if you have money to throw then sure keep a local shop going.

But for most people you want good service no matter how much you spend and a good deal.

Point is, if a LBS isnt doing something "extra" or "speical" that is actually usefull ie giving good advice/workshop help /good community projects ect, then why should they not fail?

That happens each and every time I go in my LBS, i'm great friends with them, and have all their numbers just in case I find myself on the trail or out on some road and don't know how to fix something. Tell me you can call CRC up at 9pm at night, and ask about how to do a repair,and theyll even answer. If you call that service worth of failing, then you need your head put backwards.

cooldad

I hate shopping and can't be bothered to drive around, so buy everything online, even clothes. Just buy fat bastard size.

cooldad

Although I did forget my helmet a few weeks ago and LBS lent me one. deadkenny was testing a blingy bike as well though so that might have helped.

Anonymous

And I did end up supporting the LBS as a result.

But likewise I can't stand shopping normally. Means making decisions on the spot for a start and I can't be doing with that!