Successful tactics to negotiate a discount on a new bike?!

twocups

Would appreciate some words of wisdom on how to achieve a discount on the list price of a new bike I want to buy at my local bike shop. I'm told that as the winter approaches, there should be some scope for movement, but I'm honestly at a loss as to how best to go about it (short of bluntly asking!). The thing is, the list bike for the particular bike I have in mind is a little bit beyond my budget, so even just £40 or £50 off would be a big help. TIA.

markhewitt1978

You can usually realistically expect 10% off and most decent bike shops will do about this off the RRP. So that's what I would aim for.

The best way is just to straight out ask them, what's your best price?

daddy0

1) Go in there and covertly take photos of the shop workers
2) Go home and photoshop their heads onto someone doing something bad, such as riding a micro-scooter
3) Bribe them

Or you could just ask "is there anything you can do with the price?". They should be able to take 10% off straight away if you're not going through C2W. That is how much shops have to pay when you get a bike through the various schemes.

The Rookie

Most shops are using around a 33% markup to RRP, so use that as a basis for how much room they have to manouver.

night_porter

Of course the shops do have to make money, after all do we go to work for free?

As has been suggested earlier just ask them what is their best price by saying something like "my budget is £xxx but the bike you have is £yyy can we do a deal?" They do need to make a profit but they should not want to lose your business to someone else. Make sure you ask the owner or the manager of the shop though as they are the ones likely to do a deal.

In Oxford if you tell someone you work for the University they will normally give 10% on bikes and 15% on accessories but that is probably because they know we are all paid peanuts.

gazza1000

If you are not set on your local shop you can probably get at least 23%ish discount at Halfords on the Boardman range. 10% discount via British Cycling membership another 10% if you buy the vouchers online (see hotuk deals for Halfords voucher site and codes). Finally 3% cashback via click and reserve on topcashback.

Long_Time_Lurker

What bike do you have your eye on? It may help if you can pick it up easily elsewhere.
(Could you find it cheaper online from a large/reputable dealer and then ask if they can throw in a sweetener as you want to buy locally?)