[Closed] LBS - bit of a rip off?

Ah innertubes. The biggest mark up on any product sold in a bike shop. Last one I had to buy was a long valve one; trade was £1.60 inc vat. Standard ones were £1.2o or so.

And they're made in the same massive factories in China/Malasia/Bangladesh etc. There ae lightweight ones and there are heavyweight ones and all sorts in between. They all cost pennies to make. £7.50 is taking the piss.

About 4yrs ago I had to buy a £10 one in the Lakes as I forgot my spare.

£10 for a Maxxis tube.

Their car tyres were only 30 morr for substantially more rubber..

Hobby cyclists are royally ripped off by shops and manufacturers alike.

[url= https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#nfpr=1&q=26%22+inner+tuber&safe=active&tbm=shop&tbs=vw:l,p_ord:p ]£1.77 plus here[/url]

Why not seize the gap in the market then? Source your own tubes from China or wherever and sell direct to the public at a price you feel is fair. You could be the Superstar of innertubes.

£9.99 for five of any size/valve currently at Halfords (own brand tubes; web link wouldn't render properly)
Not lightweight, but minimally packed (and convenient for me to be able to get a mix of 26", 700 & 24" - offers tend to be multi-buy of the same tube type).

For those of us with an out of date wheel size and middle aged enough to still put a tube in.
[url= http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/schwalbe-sv19a-xlight-presta-tube-28-tyres-57-584-40-622-to-62-622-and-40-635-prod26674/ ]SV19A[/url]

Their car tyres were only 30 morr for substantially more rubber..

By that logic, a lorry should cost a lot more than a Ferrari - there's lots more metal in it.

You're not paying for the rubber, you're paying for the mould the rubber is cast in. That's the expensive bit, and since car tyres are made in considerably larger numbers than bike inner tubes, the cost of the moulds is spread out a lot more.

Doesn't help that wheel sizes keep changing of course.

lightweight unbranded 700c, trade cost about £1.15p from Asia bought in hundreds. Any shop who doesn't bulk buy their own direct are just idiots.

When I worked in a shop, I remember the mark up on tubes being pretty big (we only stocked one brand and sold loads of them so bought in big quantities).

A fiver is my cut off point, but am tubeless now so not that fussed. I have a few spare ones which should see me through for a while.

You're not paying for the rubber, you're paying for the mould the rubber is cast in. That's the expensive bit, and since car tyres are made in considerably larger numbers than bike inner tubes, the cost of the moulds is spread out a lot more.

Because of course, innetube moulds are all carved by hand by one man in a cabin in Nova Scotia, and only 300 innertubes are produced worldwide every year. 🙄

I'm wiling to bet that no car tyre is produced in larger numbers than a generic 26"x1.5-2.1" mtb innertube by a company like Cheng Shin. Even accounting for difernt wheel sizes and vales etc, I'd bet there are still many times more models of automotive tyres being produced.

The single reason that innertubes cost so much relative to their trade cost, is that bike shops know customers have to have innertubes, whereas they don't necessarily need a fancy seatpost etc.

No, I was giving one reason why. The other reason is that cheap items are always marked up a lot more than big ones. The profit margin on a loaf of bread is much larger than that on a cruise ship.

If a bike shop was only making 20p on an inner tube, it wouldn't be worth the bother to order, store, stock, price and sell them. There's a certain minimum amount of money you have to make before it's worth the floor space and shop staff time to do it.

The trouble with the bike industry is that all the experts and business gurus are outwith it and on forums.

If there is sooo much money being made on inner tubes then surely you should jump in and rake it in too.

Except there isn't. Weird huh.

Why not be the superstar of tubes?

Why? Loads of places on the internet sell them cheep.

If a shop cant source at massive markup they are either idle or stupid. Otherwise they are exploiting customers.

Lorries do cost more than ferraris. Bad analogy.

Absolutely, there's obviously a big demand out there for a chain of inner tube shops, selling inner tubes imported from China direct to the public at discount prices 🙂

[b]Poundland[/b]. Can't remember how much they are though.

[url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-quality-road-pack-of-5-inner-tubes/ ]Here? [/url]< £4 and the kind man even brings them to your house.

Lack of foresight means you pay more.

Decathlon twin pack of tubes. Cheap as chips and do the job.

worth the floor space and shop staff time to do it.

Sadly tubes don't sell themselves - they take up space in the shop and for every customer who walks in and picks up what they want, and brings it to the counter, there's another who hasn't a clue what size and/or valve type they require. Helping those customers is part of our role as a shop, of course, and we're more than happy to do so - but the cost has to be built into the margin.

The alternative would either be to charge a "consultation" fee on top of the cost of the tube for every customer who needed help getting the right one, or give a bit of a discount to people who support the shop regularly and know what they need - which is what we do.

And I can tell you for sure that the Schwalbe tubes Adam, ourselves, and Ben sell at £5-£6 cost us a lot more than £1.15 or whatever. We choose to stock and sell a quality product which comes at a bit of a premium, rather than buying the cheapest possible direct from source - and none of us are idiots IMHO.

For what it's worth, I'd consider any shop owner importing their own tubes for £1 each to be missing a trick - there are budget options available through existing supply chains already - which we might just start looking at in order to offer a bit more choice.

Aahhh...the beauty of mtb tubeless tyres. 2 inners cost the price of 1 bottle of stans and lasts me 12 months...and no punctures in 3 years 🙂

Sorry innettubes take up how much space?

Need tailoring/selling/describing for exactly how long?!?

For their boxed volume they are good profit items.

Essential items arent browsed only or need a hard sell. Lol

there are budget options available through existing supply chains already - which we might just start looking at in order to offer a bit more choice.

I used to do this - "You can have a cheap no-name tube for £3 or a quality Schwalbe one for £5". Never sold any cheap tubes.

there's another who hasn't a clue what size and/or valve type they require.

The number of people who, when asked what size of tube they need, will hold up two hands about 2ft apart and say "this big" 😀

You can have a cheap no-name tube for £3 or an identical one with Schwalbe branding and a fancy cardoard box for £5

😉

And there's another thing; innertubes don't need to be in cardboard boxes. That's just more material wasted.

And I can tell you for sure that the Schwalbe tubes Adam, ourselves, and Ben sell at £5-£6 cost us a lot more than £1.15 or whatever

So, your suplier is rippin you off then. Or Schwalbe are. Someone, smewhere is.

If a bike shop was only making 20p on an inner tube, it wouldn't be worth the bother to order, store, stock, price and sell them

No-oe's saying you shouldn't make a fair profit on them, just why does it have to be so much?

Some strange comments here. Some shops sell certain products at a loss in the hope that you also buy other things with a larger profit margin. If I thought I was getting ripped of at an LBS for the small things am I likely to return for the bigger things ?

And there's another thing; innertubes don't need to be in cardboard boxes. That's just more material wasted.

Boxes stack much more neatly, and they have writing on them to tell you what size they are.

So, your suplier is rippin you off then. Or Schwalbe are. Someone, smewhere is.

Or, perhaps, better things cost more money to make.

So, your suplier is rippin you off then. Or Schwalbe are. Someone, smewhere is.

No-oe's saying you shouldn't make a fair profit on them, just why does it have to be so much

Ah, the Schwalbe/Conti/Specialized inner tube cartel?

Bike shops are not money-spinners, and most staff earn around minimum wage. Consumables are high marci for the reasons above.

So, your suplier is rippin you off then. Or Schwalbe are. Someone, smewhere is.

Why does anyone have to be getting ripped off? We don't feel that the manufacturer, or their importers, are ripping us off because we're happy to pay a bit more for quality branded tubes, which we then sell to our customers at a fair markup (much less of a markup than has been suggested here). Those customers are happy to pay the price we ask. In my world, no-one is being ripped off there.

If we wanted to buy cheaper tubes, we could. We could then choose to sell them for a little bit less, or we could sell them at the price we currently charge for Schwalbe, and make a bit more profit. If we lied to people and said that the quality was the same, perhaps we could be accused of ripping them off.

If you believe that the quality isn't worth the premium over an unbranded tube, don't buy them - buy from a shop which sells cheaper tubes, or online, or direct from China. As Ben's example illustrates, most people are actually happy to pay a little more for a quality tube. If you're not, that's fine. But please don't accuse every shop that sells inner tubes at their recommended retail price of ripping you off - we're really not.

Just go tubeless and you'll have 99 problems but a tube won't be one

I've never had an issue with Decathlon tubes, either in use or with their price: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/26x175-21-schraeder-x2-bike-inner-tubes-id_3314575.html

As for patches and glue, it's gotta be TipTop every time for me. Carry a small tube of Tescos glue with me for emergencies, but always TipTop patches. Big tube of their glue at home has lasted me years.

Tubes? How quaint.

As for the OP's question, a rip off is when a vendor exploits the customer or artificially manages the market. You were free to say no and walk away so you were not ripped off.

Hora - you seem to know a lot (two words) about the cycle industry but remain a consumer rather than a supplier. Why not use your superior knowledge to become the Superstar of the entire bike trade? Or continue to pay £10 for an innertube because you are too much of a ****wit to remember to pack a spare tube.

Superior?

Or google.

Like most stw'ers I dont earn big bucks. So in todays economy wage has to go along way.

Having children makes you want a fair price more important.

End point.

Unless a seller covers all costs plus an allowable profit the seller ceases to trade. It's that simple. Be it inner tubes, ipads, mclaren p1, whatever.
No cash coming in no business.
Do some of you guys go to work and receive money for it? It's the same for bike shops. They need cash. No cash the shop goes. You get no wages goodbye house.
If you can get inner tubes from the germans/irish/ironmonger down the road please do.
In the meantime please let the lbs get paid. Without them it will be a desperate place.

I don't understand why people don't repair innertubes. I use park patches as above and I can't fault them (as long as they don't get wet)

I also have gone tubeless on my mtb and i run conti gatorskin hardshells on my road bike so (touch wood) havent bought a tube in years.

In my opinion if you don't use your lbs you will lose it. Then, next time you are desperate for a last min bike fix or spare part you will be adding a bike hut part to your 3 grand Santa Cruz.

Also what's wrong with asking if they will do a deal on 2 to bring the cost down?

I don't understand why people don't repair innertubes

I understand that bike shops need to make a decent profit on what they sell to keep them going, but sometimes it does leave a bitter taste inn your mouth when you feel as through you are being charged a premium for needing something there and then and not shopping online. I was at a trail centre a while ago and needed a new set of brake pads and was changed £20 for one set! I could have got the same ones online for half the price, or a little more in a shop. From that experience I would be unlikely to look at buying anything from that shop.

Anyway, I didn't get a puncture yesterday on the Dartmoor classic so didn't need the tube!!

Poundland. Can't remember how much they are though.

Hate that shop, they never put the price on anything.

And there's another thing; innertubes don't need to be in cardboard boxes. That's just more material wasted.

So how do you propose putting a barcode on them? That'll increase costs.

Boxes stack much more neatly, and they have writing on them to tell you what size they are.

You can get more loose rolled tubes intoa box than boed ones. Would save on shippong. And a bit o paper under the rubber band, ith the details on would work just as well.

So how do you propose putting a barcode on them?

A bit of card you can have by the till, or print them out ont a sheet of a4, laminate it nd have it by the till. Easy. Or just doe a manual price input.

I understand that bike shops need to make a decent profit on what they sell to keep them going

Granted, but marking up innertubes is quite cycnical and exploitative. I fully understand why it's done, but don't go along with the excuses and attempts at justification.

Or, perhaps, better things cost more money to make.

I've used countless innrtubes. Schwalbe are not noticably or measurably 'better' than many other brands. And I doubt they cost all that more to manufacture. Sorry, not buying that. It's the amrketing that you're paying for.

Unfortunately it's not just inner tubes where bike shops take the proverbial. Just before Christmas i was offered a pair of 150mm Rockshox Sektor coil forks by my LBS for £360, only to find they were going for £250 new online (a 44% increase).

Fortunately some bloke on here sold me some Reveleation RLTs for £200 🙂

Takes the p1ss doesn't it?

I understand they have overheads but that kind of mark up is out of order.

Err bomberman, I think £360 is the RRP, not a p1ss take, the £250 was an online price.

I think you have to accept you pay a premium for buying in an LBS because you are paying for expertise, for service and you are paying for the convenience of having it now. As individuals we make a decision as to what that premium is worth and whether take it. Myself, I buy most stuff on line as I can do my repairs myself, this saves me a couple of quid but I get no real service, just a product to fit (and sometimes break due to lack of skill). There are occasions that I need something now or I need some advice on which product to go for, I accept it will cost me more money, that is fine and indeed accepted, I consider those extra £££ worth it.

I guess what I'm saying is, if you don't like the LBS price, fine, go online, it's easy. If not, go to the LBS. Either is good, but don't knock the LBS for charging more.

I honestly can't believe this thread.

Have you noticed that in a restaurant the burger and chips is £10 instead of £5 for the stuff I could make at Tescos.

You'd think they have furniture, décor, staff, buildings, electrics, gas etc to pay for.

Of course the stuff in the LBS is more expensive FFS.

Ah but weeksy, you don't see Tesco managers driving round in cars as big as your local LBS owner...

lunge - Member

Ah but weeksy, you don't see Tesco managers driving round in cars as big as your local LBS owner...

LOL from what I've seen, the LBS owners round here are far from being rich.

LOL from what I've seen, the LBS owners round here are far from being rich.

My LBS owner doesn't even own a car, therefore he must be getting chauffeured everywhere. It's a bloody outrage I tell you.

What still amuses me- a bikeshop owner won the lottery and said he was poor/great to win and he was looking forward to buying a bigger field/stables for his wifes seven horses.

I 😆 at that line.

Bikeshops can range from anything of a small clothes shop size/turnover to CRC/Wiggle etc size.

Its not just lay back and rake it in- you've got to deal with reps and buy/hold the right stock for your area.

The KEY difference is investment and risk, most are happy as they are. Others will invest and take a massive risk on increasing/improving web portal etc.

By a long stretch I don't begrudge bike shops but they are shops. They aren't social hubs or scout huts for adults. They are a £££ business.

I couldn't do it- I don't have the skill or talent.