I’ve seen a bike that I want on a website. It’s already quite heavily discounted because its a 2012 model. With all the 2014 stuff coming out soon would you ring them and put an offer in on the bike, or is that just considered as been tight?

I suppose all they can say is no, but would you put an offer in or just be happy that it was already a fairly discounted price?

don’t ask you don’t get

Shy bairns get nae sweets

Bought a road bike for half price from my LBS earlier this year. Didn’t ask for any further discount.

Bought another road bike at Halfords a few years back with £100 off and negotiated another £100 because it was the display model and end of year.

So, it depends whether you feel the price is fair already.

If it’s a £3,000 bike with 10 per cent off and the now obsolete 26″ wheels then I’d say there’s definitely room to look for a much bigger discount.

now obsolete 26″ wheels

Sucked in by the marketing machine 😉

I was subtly suggesting a possible negotiating position.

Yes 😉

MTBs do drop off a cliff in value, it’s amazing. I sell bikes second-hand for people – trade-ins and the like. A 2-year-old recumbent in good condition will fetch 2/3 to 3/4 of the new price. A MTB of the same age, 1/4 to 1/3.

From the other side of the transaction, I don’t mind in the slightest if people ask for a discount – what does get annoying is people who think they’re entitled to a discount.

bencooper – Member
now obsolete 26″ wheels
Sucked in by the marketing machine
POSTED 4 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Not really, the bike industry have created the obsolescence, they have to suck up the fact that they have devalued their older stock as a result.

I’m terrible at asking for money off, but a mate of mine always asks for money off, for everything and more often than not he gets it, sometimes a little, sometimes alot. I need to man-up on the negotiating stakes. Give it a go, you’ve got nothing to lose.

Well, i tried. Phoned them up but no further discount offered unfortunately 🙁
The bike was originally £3000 rrp, and is just under £2,200 now.

Even tried the ‘older’ 26″ wheel tactic, he was having none of it. Bugger!

The trick is to have a decent justification for asking for a reduced price (which it sounds like you did old model etc) and not just take the biscuit asking for a reduced cost just for the sake of it.

It could be worth asking if they could include some other items in the sale of the bike at the asking price, even if it was just a different pair of tyres or anything else you might not like on the original spec. That is getting towards cheeky but you never know if you don’t ask!

Are you absolutely sure you’re from Yorkshire? 😆

I’d usually be asking for a better deal on any purchase, personally.
It might not be “discount” per se, but there’s often a better deal to be had.
They might not be willing to do anything further on the price but you might get other stuff or services thrown-in or reduced.

Negotiation is a real life skill that appears to be on the decline.
Best done face to face rather than over the phone.
Keep it all nice and personal and friendly so that they feel they’ve got a “relationship” with you and are willing to invest something in that.

You are more likely to get something thrown in for free such as a lock or lights. The margin on bikes is low compared to some accessories so by giving you a product of the same price as the discount you want, the shop is actually giving less away.

I’m too middle class to haggle 😉 But when I got my Soul, everywhere sold them for £470. So I phoned up my preferred shop and said “Any chance of a discount?” They said “Nah, everywhere sells them for £470”, I said “Exactly- so give me a reason to buy it from you not one of these other £470 places”. Everyone happy, they got a very easy sale and a profit they were happy with, I got a discount, sorted.

Ecky-Thump – I know right, why did I even ask on here 😛

There’s 2 left in the size I want by the sound of it. One was an ex-display and the other is boxed up, was hoping I would get a bit of the ex-display atleast 🙁

Still interested in the bike, might finish it off asking for a free set of pedals then since it doesn’t come with any.

Have bought my last four bikes from the same two shops. They automatically give me 10% off so I feel compelled to haggle for more just to make the sale more interesting 🙂

Definitely do it face to face and say you are prepared to buy there and then if….

The justification for the reduction/ extra goodies is key. You have to give them a reason to do the deal you have in mind. How does their price compare to others/ online/ similar brands and models?

I would expect a bit off an ex display, some shops do as much as 10% off but if there really is very little margin in it for them at the reduced price then I can understand why they might not be able to do anything for you on price. Accessories are the way to go in that case. Pedals are 1-2% the value of the bike even at the reduced price, so if you are keen to get a good deal I would be tempted to ask for a bit more. You are spending 2 grand after all

No harm in asking…

Do I ask?
Not often, does it come up in the conversation? Yes
If you are a regular at the shop then it helps

Now if you expert hagglers want a real challenge- go to Icycles in Innerleithen and try and buy anything over £20 for the marked price. I’ve never managed it yet.

Pedals? You’d be better off asking for a good price on a reverb…. 😉

😮