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3. LBS will have to evolve from being suppliers to service centres to fit, service bikes and parts bought elsewhere for those than either do not have the time and/or skill to do their own spannering
That rather depends on a service centre being a viable proposition. I remember Johns Bikes in Bath running a separate premises for repairs, but can recall no others. Could be viable as a mobile operation maybe? I remember fondly the time that Salisbury had 6 record shops. Now it has HMV, which sells music as an afterthought and a Classical and Jazz specialist bucking the trend. It would be a shame to be reduced from 5 cycling outlets down to Halfords in the same timeframe, which was about 4 years IIRC.
I remember fondly the time that Salisbury had 6 record shops
And that awesome Classical selection in the place upstairs by the bus station....! Sadly missed.
Nope, that's the specialist I mentioned above, still there 🙂
Is it? Fleck me sideways, I thought it had closed down! Wooo! Great news! (shows how often I head down that way these days!)
On a Sarum note - Good to see Goomama in their second year! Good luck, chaps!
Isn't on-one owned by hotlines that's owned by crc? Irony...
Seems Specialized are getting in on the argument. Sorry if this link has already been posted.
[url= http://www.dirtragmag.com/webrag/specialized-warns-dealers-new-price-checking-app ]Specialized warn retailers about Amazon App[/url]
For what it's worth I come down on the retailers side. A good LBS offers a value added service and this in tern justifies a little extra expense. I think this argument is as much about honesty and standards in a new age of shopping. We all like to browse the LBS but we also like to get best price. If you know what you want then go buy it wherever, but i draw the line at using the resources of a store to then purchase on line. Someone had it right earlier, if you feel justified in this sort of activity at least tell the staff up front. Give them the option to throw you out for the penny pinching gutter wrench you are!
I used to work in retail so a little opinionated on this one.
No. That would be Ragley.bobbyatwork - Member
Isn't on-one owned by hotlines that's owned by crc? Irony...
I don't think it's acceptable to do even if you tell the staff. They will be aware that if they say no it is unlikely that they will see any more of your money. Telling them that you're taking the piss doesn't make it right.
Actually, I think it might make it worse.
Telling them that you're taking the piss doesn't make it right.
Actually, I think it might make it worse.
Agreed.
Buy it as cheap as possible, learn how to fix it all your self, sorted.
i dont do d.i.y either.
thats what the yellow pages is for 🙂
There is another side to the traditional distributor and dealer network LBS vs online brands .
Back in the day in the mid 90s before on-one was born , we were a distributor of many brands - Rocky Mountain , Powerbar , Hed , Lemond , Odyssey etc etc - and being a smallish distributor in the mid 90s when the cycle market was undergoing a distinct consolidation . Small dealers either going out of business or being swallowed up by bigger ones getting bigger, and bigger ones are not interested in niche products or small suppliers , the business back then was about consolidation and the arrival of the corporates .
Couple this with the inward invasion of big powerful brands like trek , specialised , giant - offering huge long credit lines and massive dealer support , what happened to smaller distributors like us , the LBS literally told us to f*** o** , so despite being a long established distributor albeit a small one we were left in no mans land with no dealers wishing to commit to our stock .
So forgive us for moving with the times , we have to sell our stuff and pay our staff , and when one door gets closed you have to open another, the door that opened was the online market and it revolutionised the way we all do business .
Many , in fact , most of the LBS from the early 90s that we did business with are long gone , and the wheel has turned again.
See, the thing you've missed (and it's a big one), is that whether I spend my money in a LBS or online, it's still going into the economy.
Well basically I stopped here, you're just so wrong. I appreciate you a lot, but I think that what you've done makes you no better than stoner or Z11 or CFH. You don't just walk in a shop try stuff and buy it somewhere else because it's cheaper. How would you feel if someone asked you about what kind of design you could do for a website, you did a sketch and with this sketch they'll go and get it done somewhere cheaper. You won't be a happy bunny will you. And you'll be right. People in the bike shop are not only part of the economy, but more important they are part of the community. You know the guy next door, the butcher down the road, the baker, the small hi-fi shop. All are more likely to but back in your community what you gave them. And most important they are more concern about you enjoying your bike than CRC or some bloke on a forum. I suspect, most of your local bike shops pay taxes, to both government and city council, and the more you spend in the shop, the more taxes they pay. These local taxes go toward local child care, road maintenance, bin men, local police forces and probably the local branch of the FC. So basically your local community of shops subdivides your riding. We can't really have it both ways. It's either you think it's YOUR money and you must enjoy it the WAY you want, get the best value for it. And that makes you a capitalist, whether you like it or not and all your nice talks about NHS, pension and all is just smoke and mirror. Or you accept to get less value for your money but somehow help your community and that is called socialism and yes a pair of shoes and a rear mech might not be as cheap as you get them on-line. But you do get a lot in terms of services that you don't get on-line.
Juan, why the comparison?
I'm not a socialist, should I avoid my LBS?
Just showing his personal bigotry I guess.
Well you don't strike me as a socialist Flashy 😉
Hmm, OK. So, Stoner, Z11 and I are somehow "bad" because we don't subscribe to your view?
Seems allthepies was right.
Juan. Are you saying buying from Evans is a socialist activity? That's very strange. Actually, your whole post is a bit strange.
Well basically I stopped here, you're just so wrong. I appreciate you a lot, but I think that what you've done makes you no better than stoner or Z11 or CFH.
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You don't just walk in a shop try stuff and buy it somewhere else because it's cheaper. How would you feel if someone asked you about what kind of design you could do for a website, you did a sketch and with this sketch they'll go and get it done somewhere cheaper. You won't be a happy bunny will you. And you'll be right. People in the bike shop are not only part of the economy, but more important they are part of the community. You know the guy next door, the butcher down the road, the baker, the small hi-fi shop. All are more likely to but back in your community what you gave them. And most important they are more concern about you enjoying your bike than CRC or some bloke on a forum. I suspect, most of your local bike shops pay taxes, to both government and city council, and the more you spend in the shop, the more taxes they pay. These local taxes go toward local child care, road maintenance, bin men, local police forces and probably the local branch of the FC. So basically your local community of shops subdivides your riding. We can't really have it both ways. It's either you think it's YOUR money and you must enjoy it the WAY you want, get the best value for it. And that makes you a capitalist, whether you like it or not and all your nice talks about NHS, pension and all is just smoke and mirror. Or you accept to get less value for your money but somehow help your community and that is called socialism and yes a pair of shoes and a rear mech might not be as cheap as you get them on-line. But you do get a lot in terms of services that you don't get on-line.
Oh whell.
I think you've got me all wrong on this one, as have quite a few people. But if you want me to be a villain, then I spose that's up to you.
Happy New Year! 😀
X
Jeez, is this crap still going on? 4 pages ago the children were asked to take it to PM but couldn't help themselves
Jeez, is this crap still going on? 4 pages ago the children were asked to take it to PM but couldn't help themselves
Vanity dictates you cannot 'win' if no one see's you, the joy of the internet.
I've just trawled through this and there are a couple of very interesting and insightful posts, still don't know what happened to the OP did he or didn't he, what bikes were they?
I wish a lot of you would ignore that ego maniac, then threads would be left with more of the interesting stuff and we might learn a bit more.
IMV a discussion with the bike store ought to take place, lot of em going out of business right now I guess 900 sounds like a panic cash-flow situation, lot of it about.
There are far too many bike shops to serve what has become a real recessionary market so expect a few less this time next year, so the answer must be if we value one in particular an element of 'service charge' must be considered in the price I guess, but if you are a bottom feeder like our left of centre argumentative friend then there is the inter web and on-one, it does after all take all types to tango.. Just wish he'd do it on other threads that are not as interesting.
think also LBS might have to evolve to cater for the non 'sports' cyclist.. you know a shop that sells bikes for getting to AtoB that have racks, lights, mudguards.
http://issuu.com/mark77a/docs/imagine_-_bicycles_as_consumer_products_article/1
I wish a lot of you would ignore that ego maniac
If by that you mean me, I'm loving the irony of you calling for people to ignore me, but that you've obviously read my posts enough to read what I've said, and then react in quite an angry manner. 🙂
And my ego has bin boosted just a little touch more by your attention. Thanks. 😀
I'd be interested to read something by you that's actually interesting, rather than your frequent piss-poor trolling attempts.
Happy New Year.
People might not agree with or like what I say, but I know for a fact I'm not alone in my villainy, but I can at least say, with complete truth, that I've never driven above the speed limit, used a mobile whilst driving, or indeed committed any driving offences. Things which all of you who drive have done. Things which have far more serious potential implications (not to mention actually illegal unlike my heinous crimes...).
So, before you fall off your armchairs with self-righteous indignation, have a look at yourselves, recognise that you aren't so perfect, and don't be so quick to judge others.
What about if I use information about a product on an online dealer's website, then use that to go and make an informed purchase at my LBS?
Is that the same, or different?
X
What about if I use information about a product on an online dealer's website, then use that to go and make an informed purchase at my LBS?
A fair point, though you could argue that the LBS has that info as well, whilst I cannot walk into CRC and try on a pair of shoes. People of our generation will often see information as a free resource, whereas the physical product is something tangible and therefore has value.
How many people shop in a supermarket? everyone?
How many people think supermarkets are damaging to the local high street and small businesses butchers, grocers etc? Everyone?
I don't mean this narrow margin of affluent types on here, I mean everyone in general. I read 1 pound in every five is spent in Tesco. That is the reality in the world outside STW.
for the record, I have to confess I am an evil bastard. I once had the sum of 50 pounds to get a bike helmet. I wanted the best bike helmet for the money. read a load of reviews and decided on a giro xen top of list but a bit pricey. looked em up - 50 quid in crc sale. brilliant. how do I know it's gonna fit? well I have to try one on. I tried one on in Evans. It was 99 pounds. I bought it from CRC for 50 pounds. It's a strange logic, but I bit the bullet and went with my mercenary instincts.
Last year I needed a jacket. Decided on a gore phantom. I wanted the grey one. Went to Bike shop to try one on AND buy one, as they were much the same price everywhere. Tried one on, nice. Got one in grey? No. Bought it online. So shoot me! 😕
My LBS is run by a surly bunch of monosyllabic shoegazers, you've gotta poke and prod them a bit or slap em with a fish to get the kind of customer service you would in ASDA.
EDIT: That last bit. bit too much. fair do's, They're OK 😀 I am now going to ride my bicycle dressed in my my ill gotten gains...
My LBS is run by a surly bunch of monosyllabic shoegazers, you've gotta poke and prod them a bit or slap em with a fish to get the kind of customer service you would in ASDA.
They might just be like that with you because you keep trying stuff on and not buying?
😉
I've never done that in my LBS chakaping. Just Evans lol.
How many people shop in a supermarket? everyone?
Try as much as I can to buy from the greengrocer, baker and hardware shop on my high street. Meat will come from the market if possible, and is sourced locally. Happy to pay a bit more to support these local businesses. Happier when the quality of the product is better like the meat and fruit and veg. Still spend some money in the local co-op though, and in Tesco/Sainsburys when they offer stuff I can't get here. Wife is off the wheat/lactose free diet now though so that should ease off 🙂
Last year I needed a jacket. Decided on a gore phantom. I wanted the grey one. Went to Bike shop to try one on AND buy one, as they were much the same price everywhere. Tried one on, nice. Got one in grey? No. Bought it online.
Nothing wrong with that at all. If LBS want us to pay more than we could, they [b]must[/b] have it in stock. That's part of the deal. I get pissed off with the offer of "we can order it in, it'll take a couple of weeks".