Bike Forum
Halfords vs CRC - what a rip off
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Posted 2 years ago #
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postage v pick up
Posted 2 years ago # -
£5. Hardly the end of the world.....
Posted 2 years ago # -
And Halfords have to cover their overheads like knowledgeable and helpful staff!
Posted 2 years ago # -
CRC have huge buying power and lower overheads. Is it really so hard to work out?
Posted 2 years ago # -
lol @boxelder
Posted 2 years ago # -
Didn't actually look at the links then Boxelder
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've got growing respect for Halfords, half the time it's as cheap to nip in there and buy something for the bike as it is to order it offline. Didn't use to be true...
Posted 2 years ago # -
boxelder:
CRC have huge buying power and lower overheads. Is it really so hard to work out?The dangers of being too keen.
Posted 2 years ago # -
What rip off? So one retailer has something priced higher than the other. Happens all the time. Hardly a 'rip off'. Halfords could be clearing redundant stock or really nailed down the supplier on it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
CRC have to cover the cost of their flood insurance...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Buy it from Halfrauds then? What's to discuss?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Nice one boxelder. Field dressing for that gunshot wound in your foot?
Posted 2 years ago # -
errr.
vote with your wallet then? it's pretty simple innit? it shows that price fixing ain't happening in this industry, (at least in this instance) which is great news for the consumer. I would be seriously worried if everything was exactly the same price everywhere you look.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Huh? That's nothing!
SID Team
SID TeamMost LBSs will be £640 too!
oos at merlin. It's easy to put these prices up if you've not got anything to sell. cf JEJames
Posted 2 years ago # -
ChrisE - Member
CRC have to cover the cost of their flood insurance...
Funny
Posted 2 years ago # -
vote with your wallet then?
I did - bought from Wiggle instead. You may be missing the point of this thread though. Also, why is tomhughes getting off so lightly compared to boxelder?Posted 2 years ago # -
don't knock Halfords - I bought f+r LX disc calipers and rotors for £10 in their sale bin.
Posted 2 years ago # -
CRC, Wiggle, Merlin, Halfords = Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons
They'll all have loss leaders, overstocked items to clear, higher margins on items they think most folks won't notice'
Posted 2 years ago # -
Also, why is tomhughes getting off so lightly compared to boxelder?
Good point.
tomhughes46:
And Halfords have to cover their overheads like knowledgeable and helpful staff!
Click first, read the links later eh?
Posted 2 years ago # -
"CRC, Wiggle, Merlin, Halfords = Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons"
so who's Waitrose then?
Posted 2 years ago # -
CRC pretty much price match any genuine deal anyway. If you find it cheaper at Halfords, then just buy it and be thankful that you can actually buy something on the high street cheaper than on the net!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Crikey!!! Stuff for sale at different prices from different retailers? SHIT THE BED!!!!
So does this apply to other stuff? If I go and buy say an apple at the ASDA round the corner I may not be getting the same price as I would from the Tesco across town? It could be more it could be less?
Shit I’m going to have to go round the lot and compare all of their like for like prices before I buy anything or I may not get the absolute best possible deals on everything I purchase!!!!
Bloody hell if only there was some way I could compare the cost of things from different retailers without visiting them all individually something like Google but where would I find such a useful service?
Posted 2 years ago # -
cookeaa, you know what they say about sarcasm !
Posted 2 years ago # -
It really depends who "They" are...
If it's the voices in my head then they say a lot of things, some of them scare me to be honest, but they do chuckle when I'm facetious; I assume that translates to universal approval when mocking bed wetters who baulk at the price of everything.
Still we could all hold hands and tell one another we’re “special” that’d make for a barrel of laughs…
Posted 2 years ago # -
What a
fabpointless thread.......
Posted 2 years ago # -
The entire idea of scrabbling around trying to get the very cheapest prices at all costs just seems a but desperate and unseemly to me. FFS does a saving of a couple of percent really matter?! Those "where's the cheapest" threads get right on my tits as well - stop being so lazy and look for yourself if saving £3.72 or whatever is so **** important...
Posted 2 years ago # -
YOu know what they say about looking after the pennies and the pounds will follow!
Posted 2 years ago # -
Well I bought some shorts for xc from crc and found same in Halfrauds for half price 2 weeks later.
Cheaper turbo trainer in Halfrogs.
Depends what you buy/need and cost of postage etc.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I compared this recently
Brooks B72I presume they rely on their general reputation and our apathy with none fast moving bike comsumables and products that are not on promotion. I don't have any complaints, it's up to you to shop around.
Posted 2 years ago # -
CRC - sells in the majority to dedicated cyclists who troll forums, buy mags etc.
Halfords - sells in majority to the family cyclist who wants general gear rather than very dedicated cycle products.
Therefore Halfords are probably likely to sell more of this type of product than CRC. If you looked at Halfords as a single entity to compare directly with CRC and you could see how many of these Halfords and CRC sell in a year, I suspect that Halfords would sell many more of this item, thus they can get a better price from the supplier and so sell cheaper.
If Halfords say sold XTR cranks I suspect that the price differential would be reversed as very few Halfords cycle customers are likely to be looking for anything so high end. So in this case CRC would get the better wholesale deal and so retail it cheaper.
IMHO
No rip off involved, economies of scale.
Posted 2 years ago # -
You may be missing the point of this thread though.
Well, I certainly am.
Is it to burn off excess internets?
Posted 2 years ago # -
It's a bracket for a childs seat. I'm off as I don't give a ...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Is this just a thread to demonstrate how database programmers know the cost of everything and value of nothing?
It was only about 6 months ago that people were making disapproving remarks about one of those two companies' business practices when they unilaterally cut a fairly hefty percentage off all their suppliers prices.Posted 2 years ago # -
So does this apply to other stuff? If I go and buy say an apple at the ASDA round the corner I may not be getting the same price as I would from the Tesco across town? It could be more it could be less?
support your independant retailer! it'll be fresher (as they keep less stock so quicker turnaround) it'll be better quality (indy shop lives or dies by it's reputation) and you'll feel all warm inside as you engage in a bit of banter with probably the owner of the business rather than some bored teen/chav on the checkout*
*yes i used to have my own greengrocer/florist empire
Posted 2 years ago # -
What I find interesting/annoying is the price comparisons with the SID's. To be fair it's been a few years now since I've seen a Fishers trade price list, but if I remember right an LBS can get RockShox forks for about 30% less than RRP, it may even be less than 30%. That obviously means that an LBS buys in that fork for about £450, Merlin Cycles were selling them at £369.95 and obviously making a profit, but even more annoyingly that means that for Merlin to make just 10% profit (I'd imagine they make more) they bought them for £333.
If a manufacturer/distributor can sell a product and still make a profit on it for £333 (remember they probably sold it to Merlin for less than that), why are they taking the pi$$ out of LBS's and us with trade prices of £450, and RRP's of £640?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm sure if your LBS rolled up to Fishers and ordered 300 pairs of forks they'd get a better price than they woudl for just the one.
Merlin CRC et al buy big and pass the saving on (just like Tesco's vs your local corner shop). It may not be palatable if you're the small guy but it's the way business works.
Posted 2 years ago # -
wwaswas - Obviously in business there will be quantity discounts offered to customers. I work for a business that supplies coffee to every size of business, from Tesco's to your cafe at the bottom of the street. The difference in margin between our biggest customer, a supermarket, and our smallest customer is 11%.
A conservative estimate on the difference between what Merlin pays and what an LBS will pay is 26%.
Now if we don't rip off the little business just to keep the big business happy then why do they do it in the bike trade?
LBS's are the life blood of the bike trade. As far as I'm aware it's one of the few remaining retail sectors where the independent traders still have a significant percentage of the market. If manufacturers/distributors carry on taking the pi$$ with LBS's then they will cease to be. I don't know about you but I get a shiver down my back when I think of a future where the only place where you can throw a leg over a bike before you buy it is Halfords.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ive just had a cup of coffee in my lounge- I bet it would have cost more at Starbucks
Posted 2 years ago #
Topic Closed
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