[Closed] Supporting LBS - How much more to pay over and above internet prices?

My LBS will price match

So do mine 😀

As bike lovers I bet many of us would love to run a bike shop for a living. I certainly would rather than sitting at a desk all day.

So why would I pay extra purely so someone else can enjoy a better lifestyle than me in an industry that is out of date and can't support itself without my charitable donations.

Sod that

So why would I pay extra purely so someone else can enjoy a better lifestyle than me

So you have never worked in retail then....

I have. The company owner tends to be better off than the shop floor staff (unless its a small or start up business of course).

Just buy the Campy chain, cassette, and rings and you're done without all of this messing around. You get to keep the lovely Athena groupset rather then the 105. 🙂

Next time buy Ultra Torque not Power Torque when it comes to Campy chainsets.

If you do buy a 105 groupset online, crc is part oem doesn't include brake cables or outters. I sent it back and went with merlin, fully boxed up, everything you need to fit, and they included the new 105 pedals too (which is nice, but don't need them..)

with one of their 10% off offers it was around £290ish. Yet to build but it looks great.

Nothing, they offer me nothing but more expensive prices and less choice.
Other businesses have embraced and used the internet but for some reason people think an LBS should stick with the old ways.

As bike lovers I bet many of us would love to run a bike shop for a living. I certainly would rather than sitting at a desk all day.

God no. Hard work long hours, very few make any kind of real money I think.

God no. Hard work long hours, very few make any kind of real money I think.

That's what I meant
Like the idea of it but understand the reality of it in this day and age would be very different

Same old arguments really. a bikeshop owner/employee might complain about 20mins of their time 'wasted' by a customer who looks but decides not to buy. Whereas in a 'office' job you can pitch/work on a project for months/drive for 6hours to be unsuccessful and thats part of your job. It happens. So when a LBS complains about timewasters/internet shaggers it rankles.

Long hours- shops close rigidly and open rigidly at the advertised times. Office work- you aren't expected to turn up at the time on your contract and you sure aint expected to leave on the dot either.

You rarely see a shop staff person eating their lunch leaning against bikes either. In an office you often do it at your desk/dont get out.

Most shops have websites too- some even sell from them as well. So its all blurred lines.

I tend to shop for parts online and try to fit myself, i then take it to the LBS when i get stuck or mess up somewhere along the way...bleeding brakes is something i dont seem to be able to do no matter how many videos i watch...they know the deal, it puts money through the workshop and yes they probably think i'm a dickhead but i havent abandoned the LBS completely and their prices are actually pretty good for building and maintenance.

I tend to use mine like a garage specifically for the stuff I cant do, book the bike in for a specfic service/fix etc. I dont expect them to stock a whole 1 x 11 chain set. Their very good if you talk to them, agree what you want, price and time in advance. On occasion they have said you buy it on line as its cheaper and we'll fit it for you. Once you put regular business their way a good shop will develop a good relationship with you.

I'd personally have a word with them and see what they could do. Would be happy with £50 over the internet price fitted.
Although I buy plenty of stuff over the internet I always try to spend money with the local bike shops.
Don't use them very often but every time I have needed something fixing-replacement spokes, BB pressing ( and mainly in a rush) they have always jumped all over it and made sure I was sorted.

[quote=Pawsy_Bear ]I tend to use mine like a garage specifically for the stuff I cant do, book the bike in for a specfic service/fix etc. I dont expect them to stock a whole 1 x 11 chain set. Their very good if you talk to them, agree what you want, price and time in advance. On occasion they have said you buy it on line as its cheaper and we'll fit it for you. Once you put regular business their way a good shop will develop a good relationship with you.All of that. They are running a business and won't turn away work if they can make a living from it. If that means fitting customer-supplied parts then that's all good. However, be aware that (especially given todays lack of standards) a shop could spend more time trying to resolve an incompatibility problem than they might do if they'd supplied the part.

My LBS is Bass Ass Bikes and they seemed to understand where their value add is and have recently moved their workshop to front of house, presumably to highlight that's what they are about.

For example my Anthem 29er, needed a new chain. I counted 116 links on the factory fitted chain but could only find 114 link chains from the internet stores. So I ring bad ass for their advice, they were surprised it needed 116 but if I bought the chain from them they would throw in any extra links if required to make a 114 up to 116. Their chain was about 30% more expensive than the same I could find online. To be sure I got the correct length chain fitted I called in with my bike. Ten minutes later was walking out with a new chain, fitted and with the extra links required just for the price of the chain. Saving me time and hassle making it worth the extra cost even though I am perfectly capable of fitting a chain myself.

Every time I use Bad Ass they do something to add value that I cant buy on the internet.

Oh well, I asked whether they could drop their price and unfortunately they couldn't budge at all. Their argument is that you're getting something with a guarantee and the advice about fitting etc. That's fair enough I guess if that's their business model that's up to them and to be fair they seem to be doing ok out of it. It's obviously not worth their time and effort. I'll buy online and get them to remove the crank for me and save myself about £80. Sorted.

Long hours- shops close rigidly and open rigidly at the advertised times. Office work- you aren't expected to turn up at the time on your contract and you sure aint expected to leave on the dot either.

You rarely see a shop staff person eating their lunch leaning against bikes either. In an office you often do it at your desk/dont get out.

Not exactly them and us stakes there....

I went back to sailing last year after a geographicaly enforced 10 year break and a broken arm enforced break from cycling. Frankly I was amazed that I could go into a Chandelry and buy bits at near internet prices, have access to their tools, bits from the spares bin, a hand with heavy jobs and occasionaly actual freebies, and never have to cross the owners palm with a packet of hobnobs or spend years buying parts exclusively from him to reach that point. Last week I turned up with the boat on the trailer the day before a race, went in for a bit, fitted it, realised I neeed a few more bits, borrowed their drill, a few ft of rope from the spares bin, etc etc etc. Can you imagine an LBS being that accomodating!

LBS you're paying for someones laminate floor and well lit showroom.

If a spit'n'sawdust LBS opened up and sold brake pads for superstar prices I'd shop there all the time. But all those overheads are useless to me, I want to enjoy riding my bike, 'shopping' is a purely functional activity to facilitate that!

Never ever going to happen these days. Theres a place in Croydon that was very similar (interms of cost of service/helpfulness) to your sailing experience but that was an old school roadie place not one of these 6k carbon, £100 shorts establishments that you get now. With the shift to mega price tags it seems the places seem to think its a premium service/premium everything. I wager that alot of shop staff that pop up defending their employer aren't told (or understand) the full story. i.e. do they really know the cash flow the shop generates and the cost prices etc or are they spieling what they think is right?

No bikeshop would stay in business long if it wasn't making money. I heard one bloke moaning about his business yet when I went in last he had about 5 staff. If hes that quiet he'd be bloody down to just him.

Then theres the bikeshop owner who won the lottery/said he was skint - he said he'd buy another field so his wife would have more room for her 6horses. Not sure what his idea of struggling/skint was because horse cost a serious amount to buy/keep/vets/insurance etc etc. I'll try and dig the story out.

todays purchases:

online v lbs

105 cassette £22 v £40
ultegra chain £13 v £26
cleats £9 v £15
brake pads £4 v £20* different brand.

Which is a £53 saving that I may well spend in the lbs on something else or put a tank of fuel in the car but you'd be bonkers to say I should have paid the higher prices.

[quote=hora ]You rarely see a shop staff person eating their lunch leaning against bikes either. A lunch break? That would have been a complete luxury. Lunch time is usually the business time for a city centre shop so it's all hands to the pump. A quick sandwich might be snaffled "on the go" if time permits afterwards.

Sounds like working in any non council job then.

🙂 LOL Hora....

Working in heaps of places that were non council, plenty of people cruising if you look closely. Worse still are those insisting how busy they are and how they never have any free time. What time do you knock off on a Friday hora?

4. But then I don't see bike staff starting at 7am

Do you stand in bike shops at 7am? Perhaps they work different hours but just as long as you?

Hora - I don't know what it is you do for a living but you're obviously in the wrong job. You know all there is to know about running a bike shop, how much the margins are, how much profit you can make and the very easy hours you have to work. Why would you possibly bothering doing anything else? With your inside knowledge you could be a competitor to Halfords within 12 months. Not only that but you could chop and change your forks even more frequently as they'd obviously cost you almost nothing at all.

Of course you know better sat on here all day too

Well, I've only worked in two bike shops (so far) but I was obviously doing it wrong. Seriously, why aren't you running your own (chain of) shop(s) by now?

FWIW, just back from a ride. It's pretty cold out there but worth it!

and I'm just enjoying the last few days of my holiday passing time on the train waiting for my next beer to arrive 🙂

Question to you why aren't you running your own? To take the higher ground you'd need to have worked on the P&L not as a shop manager given targets to work to. Costs/full utilities and discount and cost prices?

In a previous life I worked on the non shop floor side of retail. Costs/operations/product cost/calculate margins/profit and adjust in season etc.

I've been to 4 bike shops in a 20 mile radius today,3 were not even open,the one that was open didn't have what I needed,didn't seem bothered in ordering what I wanted so I came home and ordered online,my lbs shut down so I have to travel,I remember I started a thread a while back where I was slated for going into a bike shop and then "prasumebly" by STW'ers accused of using bike shops to try gear on for size then going online to buy cheaper,after this I genuinely went out of my way to go to bike shops and get my gear,but all the shops are closing now,the ones that are still open just open when they want and never advise on their website iff the are not open,I need by bike servicing so iff anyone knows of anywhere around Blackburn skipton area where I can get it sorted thank you in advance.

[quote=hora ]Question to you why aren't you running your own? Self-employed - who needs the hassle of that? LBS owners I've worked with never seem to switch off from work. Anyway being semi-retired now I at least get to pick and choose what I do for pocket-money. 😆

Well just bought some 3/4 baggies at LBS - £73, £69 at Chain Reaction which is about 5% difference.

I'm on the boundary between M & L in sizing so being able to try them on meant I knew that they'd fit. OK I know that I can return stuff to CRC but it's a hassle - clothing tends to need to be right.

I need my bike servicing anyone knows of anywhere around Blackburn skipton area where I can get it sorted thank you in advance.

Stuart Rider in Skipton? (Riders Cycle Centre) I think he posts on here occasionally

+1

http://riderscyclecentre.com/

hora, my mate owns one - keeps asking if I want to buy it. Very few days off, not much down time when you want it, constant issues with the internet undercutting his trade prices but he does a great service, sponsors events and fixes bikes really well. Really shows up the home mechanic.

My points earlier were about you suggesting that office workers (in non council offices) work themselves to the bone every day where as bike shops are placid easy places to work and more of a lifestyle choice...

Went to Stuart's today,not open.

Went to Stuart's today,not open.

Might be ill, worth giving him a ring Mon to Fri.

Yes I thought he might be ill,the guys in the next unit said he wasn't there yesterday either,yes I'll ring him next week,very helpfull Stuart,you know your bike is in good hands.

I carried 15 days holiday from the previous year into 2014. Sometimes asking mere customers to stomach paying prices is hard to ask. I worked 3yrs on woolies shop floor regularly giving really good customer service on £1.00 products so to hear or question time wasting customers on 50quid-5k products rankles. Some people need to sort out their misplaced arrogance about customers. Reality check.

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Nice one cloud 9 🙂

Had one in Oz that was
Want it done quick? Bring a 6 pack,
Want to watch? Bring 2
Want it explained? Bring 3
Want me to teach you? Bring a case 🙂

That's funny 😉

Though I don't mind in the slightest if people want to watch - i've got an open-plan workshop. Though some more nervous owners prefer to step outside when I get out the BFH.

bencooper - Member
That's funny

Though I don't mind in the slightest if people want to watch - i've got an open-plan workshop. Though some more nervous owners prefer to step outside when I get out the BFH.

The only bike shop I enjoy visiting is pedalon in Tadley.

They're probably 25 miles away but they have a good range of stuff - bikes - components - coffee - clothing - etc
They're helpful, really helpful. If they say they'll call you back, they'll call you back.

They have a discount card so you get online prices in store & you get loyalty points.

Thinking about it- I can't think of one that stands out.