[Closed] Chain Reaction - plain packaging - acceptable?

Lots of CRC/Wiggle is grey import or OEM - hence the price and the packaging.

You didn't pay close to RRP I suspect?

you just prefer to play with the boxes than your bike don't you? 😉

You wanted cheap. You got cheap.

Caveat emptor.

You want retail packaging......start paying retail prices (it's cheap for reasons).

You didn't pay close to RRP I suspect?

I knew someone would point out it was cheap. I wasn't told it would be OEM/grey import though. Or at least it wasn't made clear, it may be buried in the terms and conditions of sale.

Yes I do Andy. Have you got one? I'll swap you it for a mech.

Got lots, if I send you enough to build a fort can I have your bike?

I wasn't told it would be OEM/grey import though

This might be a valid point if the OE versions were different from retail ones.

If you accept it for x you should for y in my opinion. All drivetrain parts are consumable.

Just get Evans to price match then you'll get your boxes.

Really can't see the issue here. More than happy with oem myself, far less packaging wasted that just fills up my bin.

The parts will be the same, unless you have reason to believe they are not?
It's the same with computer components, buy a cpu in a brown box oem style, save yourself a few quid, unless you want a fancy box that you can open and throw straight in the bin.

my merlin mech came in bag who cares as long as it works tbh

As notd we buy for the price point

if you need a nice box for it then pay the extra money for the lovely packaging you wont use/need

You can send it back for free if you find it unacceptable.

You have little to worry about, go and ride your bike 🙂

For balance, I ordered a cassette from Merlin a few days ago. I fully expected it to be OEM for the price I paid, but it turned up in the full blue Shimano retail box.

Would you like me to send you myblue box ? I'll probably only throw it away 🙂

Anything not hanging on a rail in a shop, and sold via shiny pic on a website, should come in minimal packaging.

It's absolutely fine - you bought the product not the packaging, and made a saving.

And can STW users please stop asking "is X acceptable?" What a stupid and uptight turn of phrase - if we were in 1847 and discussing the conduct of our manservants it would be just about OK, but we're talking discounted bike bits in plain boxes, some 170 years later 🙂

Produced for OEM, should have gone here

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Ended up here

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Nothing to worry about, in terms of your product.

Lots for the bike retail trade to worry about; its causing a paradigm shift (the rumour is Shimano will start selling direct to retailers to give price parity) and the dust is yet to settle.

I've knowingly bought grey import stuff before, and saved myself some cash, but the key word there is knowingly. If I was buying it from some bloke selling stuff on eBay out of his bedroom, I would have expected it, but I bough it from (one of at least) the largest bike retailers in the country. If that's not retail, what is?

I'm not going to go and have a cry in the garage, I'm just going to stick it on my bike and go for a ride.

And I agree about less packaging being not a bad thing, as per my OP. I once swore not to use CRC again after they sent me a pair of brake pads in a box that could have held an entire groupset. My one-man boycott didn't last very long 😳

And can STW users please stop asking "is X acceptable?" What a stupid and uptight turn of phrase - if we were in 1847 and discussing the conduct of our manservants it would be just about OK, but we're talking discounted bike bits in plain boxes, some 170 years later

I don't understand why we're not allowed to discuss trivial matters? Surely that's what STW is for? If we were only allowed to discuss the middle east peace process because it's more important it would be pretty dull. Probably less what tyre threads though 🙂

In the olden days of Internet shopping, didn't all Shimano parts from CRC and Merlin come in plastic bags? I was surprised when they started coming in boxes.

A friend of mine was miffed at the development and felt they'd stopped trying hard enough to source cheap kit. He was joking by the way.

Last couple of dirt cheap 9sp bits from wiggle came nicely boxed up. Perhaps they just don't get them oem as much now. Fun to be niche again though.

I'm miffed that the standard of trolling has dropped to such depths 😡

Wgaf? It's only cardboard, the scandal is the amount of packaging you get for non OEM stuff in the first place..
Company's that play the 'we're so green' card and then use tons of superfluous packaging for things that aren't that fragile should have their marketing/packaging departments shot!
preferably in front of their families while outside the local primary school with dolphins and baby robins forced to watch..
Bastards!

OP, if that's pissed you off, you are in for a whole world of anger when you see that the serial number has been removed....

pissed you off

just a tiny bit miffed

just a tiny bit miffed

then it should be easy for you to get over it and realise there's nothing to be miffed about 🙂

the scandal is the amount of packaging you get for non OEM stuff in the first place..

^ this, and not just on bike stuff, in general the amount of packaging material that is wasted is appalling.

If not oem or grey imports then perhaps returns. That's a bit shady though so probably not.

Wonder if those lads realise they've built all those bikes upside down

I was just going to say I expected better of Northwind...

Anything not hanging on a rail in a shop, and sold via shiny pic on a website, should come in minimal packaging.

This.

TBH I was more shocked when I ordered a full groupset from merlin and received a box full of yet more boxes of fully retail packaged parts, plus some spare, empty retail boxes (all for cleats?) to take up spare volume...

While I belong to a generation that grew up with products and their packaging being seen as important, that even invented the term "unboxing" and has weirdos making a living from such ****tery on YouTube, it's not a particularly attractive aspect of consumerism when you think about it.

Sort of sad that the OP didn't think his carbon footprint was big enough and feels entitled to generate a bit more landfill off the back of his cut price purchases...

Less packaging not more! Got a couple of SIS tubes from CRC in a box 25x the tube size yesterday. It just causes strife when my girlfriend sees the box and thinks I've ordered more bike bits to feed my dirty habit. Which I have but they're being sent somewhere else.
Worst one was some grips bought on here in a box large enough for a crankset.

Lol, i got a pair of presta dust caps from CRC which arrived in a shoebox size box.

CRC's boxes are all a standard size now and have been for a few years, bits go in and a robot folds the top over the bits, so the minimum size is like a shoebox, but flatter.

Makes it easier to sort by machine rather than Royal Mail having to dig through a sack of odd shaped jiffy bags.

I once ordered a reverb stealth from CRC and it turned up just wrapped in bubble wrap!? no box !

ordered F7R saint brakes for my transition suppressor build. rear came in a blue shimano box while the front was in a OEM bag, still had all the bits in it. couldn't care less if it came in a box or not so long as its new, not damaged and has all the bits it should. I don't keep the box so whats the big ducking deal.

Whilst we're on the subject of packaging... my carbon bars came packaged in a plastic courier bag today. Not best happy about that.

I kept the box my XTR pedals came in. It's a nice thing.
They were from CRC.

I bought a mech from my LBS on Friday. It cost £59.99 (CR price £32.99), came in a box covered in oil, in a plastic bag that had been opened, and had oily fingermarks on it. I think it had been fitted, but probably not actually been used. I usually suggest the shop splits the difference with the online price, but for some reason this time I just paid up. On the way home I justified this to myself on the grounds that if the LBS closed I won't be able to find stuff when I'm in a hurry.

Nah this mech had one but my X0 had it removed

acidtest - Member
Whilst we're on the subject of packaging... my carbon bars came packaged in a plastic courier bag today. Not best happy about that.

RSP ones from a bike shop on ebay by any chance? I had that. Emailed them about it a couple of weeks ago to point out it was not good practice.

RSP ones from a bike shop on ebay by any chance? I had that. Emailed them about it a couple of weeks ago to point out it was not good practice.

Na, this was came from ubyk which have been really good in the past. Obviously no brain engagement from their warehouse staff at the time.