Last week I was in Halfords with my son looking at bikes for his imminent birthday. One of the Carerras looked a decent spec for the money. It was priced at £270. It wasn’t specifically marked as being in a sale, but did say £100 off.
The guy in store wasn’t particularly helpful, and suggested I’d better ordering on line, as I’d more easily be able to see the sizes and colours available.
I checked the web site and they had the same bike for the same £270 instore price.
Today I looked line again, the bike price has jumped to £350.
I need to order the bike within the next couple of weeks, so I’m a bit peeved if I’ve missed the lower price – I didn’t realise Halfords prices varied so much.
Does anyone know how often Halfords change their prices?
Thanks
Does anyone know how often Halfords change their prices?
Probably even the staff don't know that. As you've experienced they're not too clued up. Still at that price you can't expect experts. You pays your money etc
They have to advertise it at the full price for a set number of days to claim the it has £100 off.
Just a guess but April is the end of the financial year, some companies figure out their new pricings and apply these over the following couple of weeks. Which takes longer for larger companies. I bought some music gear from a national store end of April, waiting a week would've added £100 to the price on the ticket.
If you do buy a bike from Halfords. Make sure you check everything is tight. I know 2 people that were hospitalised by Halfords " mechanics" being bloody clueless. When we picked up our little uns bike from there,"ready to ride" . The front brake was loose, as was the front mudguard & front wheel , plus the handlebars were at 90°to where they should be.😞🤣
Does anyone know how often Halfords change their prices?
When I worked there (9 years ago now, so info may be out of date) it was like clockwork. Prices went up (to in some cases silly numbers) and once the legal minimum time had elapsed (12 weeks? can't remember) they would go on 'sale'. Once you knew the cycle you could advise any particularly pleasant customers to come back in x weeks to get it cheaper.
If you need one in the next couple of weeks, you're unlikely to get another one reduced in time - unless you speak to the manager and see what they can do. You never know, if you ask nicely and they've got a target to meet you might get a deal.
I reckon they'll have 20% off Boardman's if not all bikes at the next bank holiday.
Tends to follow a 'price rise'
Having had a similar issue with another product a couple of months ago, I do remember they price match their own prices by a week I believe. I rang up to price match and they explained such. Worth a shot.
Thanks for the replies. I phoned Halfords this morning, and the manager from the bike department agreed to match the previous price. He did warn that prices often change.
Out of interest, I'll keep a eye on the web site and see if/when the price next changes. Knowing my luck, next weekend it will have dropped by £100!
Cheers guys.
I recently purchased a Voodoo Nzumbi for my lad (great bike btw).
The incompetence of the staff was quite remarkable. This was both a good and bad thing. It was bad because they didn't know if the bike had been delivered or built, I was given a collection time but they couldn't tell me if it would be ready. Whn I did collect it the forks were dangerously loose, the rear mech was loose and the handlebars were loose. The tyres were inflated to 65psi! Be careful, go over the bike and tighten everything.
The good news though was that they were doing 20% off for trade in and he couldn't work out how to put through the till and appeared to apply it twice. So I ended up paying £256 for a £400 bike! I checked with him that the price was right, he said it was so I paid and legged it before anyone noticed the mistake!
I've been to very good Halfords stores, with very knowledgable staff, for balance.
The same happened to me last year. I found the same bike on ebay being sold by Halfords at the lower price. Worth a look!
I’ve been looking at a bike for our lad for about a year. Price fluctuated from £330 to £500
At Christmas it was on ‘offer’ 10% off and £420
Last bank holiday it was £330 if you handed in an old bike/scooter
Just like anything these days prices go up and down, keep an eye on prices and buy when cheap
I had the same with a lock i bought in store for £75, was £59 online, took it back and re-bought it, sorted.
Last Boardman I bought I asked to collect it in a sealed box.
Lad at school had a Voodoo that I put the forks the right way round on for him.
The "fresh out of the box" Boardman required very little work to make roadworthy, I wonder how they can make such a mess of it.