Local shop or tinternet?

Ibaz

I want to convert to tubless tyres but the price is putting me off.
My local shop has quoted £110 to supply and fit a set of schwable one with vales and sealant.
I've found same tyres in a tubless kit on the web for £70 from a shop in Holland.
So do I support my local shop my my wallet whe we can still get euro price gear from over the channel??

Anonymous

Do exactly the same as you would if buying clinchers.

I would always fit my own tyres personally.

Are the rims tubeless ready?

Ibaz

Believe it or not i've never bought tyres before.
I got a spare set of Duranos when I bought my new bike and a free set when I joined British cycling earlier in the year. On top of that I got the Mavic tyres when I upgraded the wheels on my first bike to Aksyums.so i've only just started wear the last pair out.
Yes the rims are tubeless DT Swiss R23's.

DavidJB

Internet...£40 is loads cheaper.

Tashman

If you're happy to fit them yourself, have you asked your LBS how much to supply only?

sheffsimon

DavidJB wrote:

Internet...£40 is loads cheaper.

This. You don't owe anybody a living.

fenix

If you're fine that you can do it all yourself - then internet. If you might need help then add in the cost from the LBS to work it out....

Midlands Grimpeur

How much business do you think you might put the way of your LBS in future? If it is a fair amount might be worth striking up a good relationship with them, regular customers tend to get preferential treatment and better prices which can save you long term. As a general rule any item under £50 that I can buy online with a decent discount I go Internet, anything above that amount or parts which need work I don't have the tools for goes to my LBS.

sloppyschleckonds

Ibaz wrote:

I want to convert to tubless tyres but the price is putting me off.
My local shop has quoted £110 to supply and fit a set of schwable one with vales and sealant.
I've found same tyres in a tubless kit on the web for £70 from a shop in Holland.
So do I support my local shop my my wallet whe we can still get euro price gear from over the channel??

I think that is a fair price, pay your LBS and have no hassle.

bbrap

Whilst I think the LBS price is fair I'm sure it would be worth learning to do it yourself. At some stage in the future you will have to be able to remove and replace the tyre/sealant so why not now. Plenty of videos on how to do it and its a useful skill to have.

JesseD

Depends on if your LBS will do you a deal?

I have bought my last 2 bikes from my LBS as I like to support local business where I can, but they also did me a deal and got close to the prices i could get from the internet. Personally I like the backup I can get from an LBS if something goes wrong which of course on occasion it does. I am a competent spannerer (not a proper word) but when parts break an LBS can usually keep you on the road by lending you a wheel etc until the new part arrives.

vinnymarsden

One of my local bike shops told me to use the internet when I asked them to price match!! Well established shop too, I was a bit non plussed, I was willing to give them the work for the difference, but it was clear they didn't need/want the job, I ended up saving £40 and taking 10mins to do the job, shop now off list.
There are some jobs you can't do, but thankfully I have a network of people who can.

pianoman

Well said JesseD, I know it's a good time to "pick on" the Big Two Who Merged but the fact is you might well get a 40% off deal on a pair of Reynolds Strikes, so hey lucky you just pay £800 or so.

Or get a set of Giant carbon wheels for the same price from your local shop, who then set the wheels up in the bike for you, and the brake pads, and will back you up if a spoke breaks, and have the spares on site for quick fixes. Now ask yourself (and this is nothing against Reynolds nor is it a plug for the admittedly awesome Giant wheels): do you need the extra 10mm rim depth and tiny aero/status gain or do you need peace of mind? Case closed if you ask me

cycleclinic

Your lbs is not over charging. Wiggle have the pro ones at £37. The trade price is about £30. Now factor in vat and you get the picture. The problem is there is not a level playing field. So buy of the web, shops have to find other ways of making money. The only problem with the pro ones is that may let you down buy going down so if it were me i would not spend £110 on them. At £70 they are sort of worth it but given my experience with those tyres i would either try any other tubeless tyre or stick with clinchers and i am a diehard tubeless convert.

I have a policy i dont support brands that dont support shops (that doea not mean price fixing by the way). Schwable does not support shops by allowing there tyres to flood the market and to bypass the distributors. I cant buy direct of schwable uk i would buy off a distribitor who has to put there 20% 30% onto the price before selling to shops. Schwable have many distributors in the u.k 16 in total for 2000 retailers all the distributors have the same price. I happily tell people straight when they ask can i price match that price of schwable or shimano bits - no i can't and i tell them why. I say buy it of wiggle have it delivered here and i will fit it for you but i wont give you price for selling it you as i know you can buy it cheaper than i can trade. I will give a price for fitting the parts though. Being honest with your customers about what you can and cant do is the best way to retain them giving them high prices is the best way to loose them.

Price matching normally means loosing money. I learnt a while back 5% of something is actuslly worse than 100% of nothing as you end being a busy fool (busy bit making nothing on each sale). Loosing money or selling at cost on the hope of a sale and future sales is false hope, trust me on this i have been down this road. I now have a far more sucessful business now i got out of selling many mass market items. If that is model you are working on then business model you have is faulty. To the poster above asking a shop to price match is fine but dont get offended when they say they wont. They should have been clearer with you about why though and be clear about what they do well.

londoncommuter

thecycleclinic wrote:

Price matching normally means loosing money. I learnt a while back 5% of something is actuslly worse than 100% of nothing as you end being a busy fool (busy bit making nothing on each sale).

Off topic slightly but does that extend across all parts? I was after a new frame and one of our local shops proudly displays "we price match" in the window so I was more than happy to get it from them. Mentioned Merlin had 25% off and they basically scoffed and said we wouldn't possibly offer that much off. This is a frame they don't have in stock so would just press order and hand to me when it arrives (maybe even get posted straight to me so they don't even have to see it!). No work, pure profit. Are margins really that low that they wouldn't make a profit giving a 25% discount on a £1,700 frame?

Ibaz

Thank Gents. Having never fitted tubeless I think I will wait and give my lbs the work.
I know its £40 (if I go for the schwable as opposed to another brand) but they gave me a bloomin' good deal on my bike, and I don't think i've paid tag price for anything since. On top of it all last week I snapped a spoke they fitted a new one and trued the wheel (the bit I can't do) there and then when I know they are booking work a week ahead and I got a coffe to boot. That means I got to ride last weekend - to me, worth£40.

cycleclinic

Pretty much londoncomuutor. I used to do alot of price matching and it always involved time checking the price you matching, then seeing how cheap you can buy it by phoning reps and trying to get a discount if you make anything at all the effort you have put in total including the time spent talking to the customer means you end up breaking even at best.

I look at every thing in business this way. I have a fixed amount of time and a fixed ammount of money to work with. With that i have to make the best return i can so i can pay myself every month and take my family out for a treat like bonfire night tonight. I wont pay myself by price matching all the time. You focus your efforts on what give the biggest return. If the shop need to get sell a frame quickly they do what i do stick it on ebay for a good price and wait. People may think they are helping there lbs by going in asking them to price match but they are not. If that shop is offering a price match service they have the wrong business model. They may get by with that but once a customer gets you into price matching you never actually make any money out of them as you are always selling to them at little or no margin. This is why i am happy irun an online shop. I get emails about price matching sometimes i politley decline. I instead focus my efforts on those items that sell and make me good money. I am still in business because i am not daft, my shop is online. If you find the item cheaper buy it there. I sell alot of kit because i sell thing other retailers dont, i provide information about the product others dont so i end up selling it even at a higher price or i privide a service that people like. You get the picture right. Had a call for a guy in aus this week ordering parts for a wheel build. He cant get them in aus so easily so i am his lbs. The world is global. The Internet is not a curse it is a blessing.If you are running a walk in retail shop then dont sell the same kit as wiggle dont stock shimano cassettes, order when you need for servicing, probably off wiggle, as no one will by a 105 cassete at rrp £51. And live sleep eat bike and pass the infectious enthusiam onto to your customers.

cycleclinic

As i said ibaz your lbs is not overcharging. So long as they are providing a service you like tyen it is all worth it. What's £40 these days. Blew more than that taking the family out tonight.

Garry H

Cycleclinic, were you on radio4 a few weeks ago?

cycleclinic

Yes. Inflation in the bike trade is high. It will feed through to everything else soon enough.

Garry H

thecycleclinic wrote:

Yes. Inflation in the bike trade is high. It will feed through to everything else soon enough.

Thought it was. You came across very well. Listened to it today, but had to switch off.