i just called evans at waterloo,

me: i need a 15″ hardrock disc for my nephew, do you have one there? if not can you get one there by tuesday? need to check that it fits him, if it does then we’ll buy it and take it on tuesday.

evans: no we don’t have one but i can get one here by tuesday. i’ll need £50 deposit!

me: you need a deposit?

evans: yes we need a deposit but it might be refundable?

me: i call you back…

wtf? they don’t have what i want in stock but want me to pay £50 to get it there! that i might get back 😯

is this usual practice for a bike shop?

http://www.evanscycles.com/help/test-ride-policy

Any bike that is shown on our website and is “in stock” can be ordered into the store by placing a refundable £50 deposit*. If the bike is not shown as in stock on the website the store will require a 25% non refundable, but transferable deposit to order in the bike.

thanks wwaswas,” the might be refundable” put me off.

so the deposit is refundable, maybe the fella should of said that instead of might.

anywhere else to buy a specialized in london?
maybe i should wait for the concept store to open in covent garden…

I did it in Reading, it’s basicly the cost of taking the bike off the shop floor, shipping it across Londong/The country and re-assembling it. They refund it if you turn up to try it out for size. No comitment to buy it, just turn up and try it.

Saves them shipping bikes here, there and everywhere for people who are never seen again.

Saves them shipping bikes here, there and everywhere for people who are never seen again.

That’s it in a nutshell. Loads of people order bikes (sometimes 3 or 4) then never turn up, it’s a massive waste of time and resources for shops. The deposit just cuts out the timewasters.

Turn up and try out the bike, get the deposit back. If you’ve ordered in an out-of-stock bike then it’s come direct from the supplier, it’s not existing stock so they require 25% non-refundable deposit but they can transfer that deposit to any other bike should you not buy the original one.

if the fella on the phone had said the above, they wouldn’t of lost a sale.

thanks for your replies