Long story short – I’m lucky enough to be in the position to be looking at buying a new bike. Budget of £3/3.5k, depending on how much i get for the bike i have right now… (ouch 😯 )

I’ve always built bikes up before, searching round for the best deals, so having never bought a new full bike before i have no idea what to expect in terms of discount?

Oh, I’ll be paying in cash / debit card if that makes any difference? I don’t like messing people around but know I’m going to have to shop around & try price matching on this occasion.

any help or advice would be great…

Stop thinking in terms of “discount”. RRP is not of any significance.
Ultimately, it just boils down to – Can the two parties come to an agreement. If not, no sale.

out of curiosity why would you expect a discount?

You should get 10% if not shop about.Alot of shops these days are not very helpfull.

You should not expect a discount at all. Would you expect one when buying a pint of milk from your corner shop?* No. They’re not there as a charity, they are there to earn a living.

That said, if you’re a good customer, spending good money, they might want to sweeten the deal to you a little. If they do, great! Buy them cakes and smile contentedly to yourself afterwards!

*I owe my cornershop or a pint and a paper at the moment. Forgot to take any money with me on Sunday morning! 😳

Dont expect s set discount negotiate for what you can.

We have customers who really go for it, wanting all sorts thrown in.
But as one of the lads who worked in the shop once told me, having given a few hundred quid off a top end bike, but still returning a few hundred quid profit.

“you’d have to sell a f*@k of a lot of inner tubes to make that amount in cash”

so see what you can get away with.

For any big ticket item you don’t have to buy and they don’t have to sell.

I find negotiating in this sort of situation quite fun. Be friendly, be quite open about wanting to buy it but not wanting to spend the asking price. If you want any extras then mention that as they often have a lot more room on them than the main item.

Above all, treat it as a bit of fun, never ever make it personal on either side, and never make an offer you won’t follow through on. Also, it can always be worth a go making a derisory offer early on. It won’t work, but it may adjust what they think of as reasonable.

Oh, and make sure you’re negotiating with someone that has the authority to do so, otherwise it’s a big waste of time.

Yes, you should get a discount and/or some other freebees thrown in. You’ll get the biggest discount on a bike in stock particularly last years model but do check the spec. You should find you get a lot more bike for your money than building one up from components.

What I would say it don’t try and chisel the LBS down to an on-line price, the LBS should reward your custom with quality of service.

Argyle – This is my point. I come from a kayaking background and when people go into a kayaking shop almost everyone expects a 10% discount for what ever reason. If you buy a new car you expect a discount. Reading a few posts on here people elude to getting a discount when buying a bike – I never really fathomed out why you would expect it?

Now I’ve learned my lesson with this – of course I’m going shop around as I don’t want to pay over the odds, but expect a discount? Never, in the end I’m old fashioned and going with the shop that offers what I perceive to be the best customer service…

I used to work for a guy. Amazing negotiator – he sold Mercs in a previous job.

He used to say when asked for a discount ‘why is it my job to make it more affordable for you out of my pocket – it’s not my fault you can’t afford it, buy a cheaper one’.

Always stuck with me that.

thebikechain – Member
I used to work for a guy. Amazing negotiator – he sold Mercs in a previous job.

He used to say when asked for a discount ‘why is it my job to make it more affordable for you out of my pocket – it’s not my fault you can’t afford it, buy a cheaper one’.

Always stuck with me that.

doesn’t carry quite the same weight when the customer can quite easily try his luck at countless other retailers, though?

why is it my job to make it more affordable for you out of my pocket – it’s not my fault you can’t afford it, buy a cheaper one’.

I like that^

why is it my job to make it more affordable for you out of my pocket – it’s not my fault you can’t afford it, buy a cheaper one’.

When I’m negotiating it’s not that I can’t afford it, it’s that I want to pay the minimum I can. As others have pointed out the shop doesn’t have to sell – I can go to another shop and settle at a price acceptable to both parties.

To the OP – the smallest discount on any new bike i’ve brought has been 10%, i’d start at 20% and settle for 15%.

It’s all about understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of your position. If you want something totally bespoke that the shop will have to get in and build to your spec then the chances of a substantial discount are rare. If it is “off the peg” and even better in stock, then chances are that the shop will be happy to sell it for a lower profit to move the cash without too much work. Timing and knowledge are key, if you know there is a model change imminent, however cosmetic, you can haggle. If the bikes are like hens teeth and in great demand, your options are limited. If you want after sales service which isn’t given grudgingly and everything charged for, then be prepared to pay more in the first place. If the salesman has the attitude of the Merc guy, tell him to shove it whatever the deal!

‘why is it my job to make it more affordable for you out of my pocket – it’s not my fault you can’t afford it, buy a cheaper one’.

It’s not, any more than it’s mine to line his pockets. The art of negotiating is to find someone who is happy to sell at a price I’m happy to buy.

As a non bike related example, I did the negotiating for my gf on her car a couple of years ago. She test drove a load of cars and eventually knew exactly what she wanted. So, I hit the phone, explained precisely what I wanted, what I knew the list price would be, and how much I wanted to pay. I found a dealer principle or two who were happy to negotiate, then sealed the deal on the phone (having given the dealership who gave the test drive a chance to match the deal should they wish to).

We got a bargain, the dealership that sold it got a lower margin but had almost zero cost of sale, and the dealer that did the test drive still got the ongoing servicing revenue despite having chosen not to match the price. Everyone’s happy and to my mind, nobody has lost out.

thebikechain – Member
I used to work for a guy. Amazing negotiator – he sold Mercs in a previous job.

He used to say when asked for a discount ‘why is it my job to make it more affordable for you out of my pocket – it’s not my fault you can’t afford it, buy a cheaper one’.

Always stuck with me that.

Thats not negotiation, that’s being a condescending twonk. He probably felt that he was in a strong position as Merc follow the strategy of keeping supply tight and aspiration levels high. I used to work for BMW and they had exactly the same approach, make the customer feel they are doing you a favour by allowing you to supply a car to them. Also the options list was almost endless and the waiting list was about 3 months so you could give the sales pitch about the car being personally built for the customer.I always tried to make the customer feel as though they had made the right decision but then again I was dealing with BMW owners who know they are right.

Just bear in mind that margins in the bike trade are never as big as the public think, particularly on high end kit. CRC+others make it look like the trade must be on atleast 40% margins with their comparatively low prices, in reality to a LBS, margins will be a lot less. I work in a bike shop and still buy from CRC because some of their prices are lower than staff rates (trade-little discount from supplier).

Go easy on the bike shop, trust they will be doing the best they can for you (unless the salesperson you’re dealing with is a penis).

Consider that the bike shop is there to sort any warranty issues you have, offer a free 6 week check, ask questions about setup etc, will no doubt give you discount on any accessories to go with the bike. If you build a relationship with them, any good bike shop will/should look after you.

There’s nothing wrong with negotiating prices, just bear in mind that you will/should be getting more from a LBS than just a new bike, surely that’s worth some money?

You should not expect a discount at all. Would you expect one when buying a pint of milk from your corner shop?* No. They’re not there as a charity, they are there to earn a living.

Buying a pint of milk has as much to do with buying a 3.5k bike as making a sandwich does.

Don’t expect it, but go into the shop expecting to barter. you should be successful.

‘why is it my job to make it more affordable for you out of my pocket – it’s not my fault you can’t afford it, buy a cheaper one’.

Or go elsewhere. If someone said that to me, I’d never go back in the shop except to waste peoples time.

I think regular custom can go a long way to help in this situation. If the seller knows you, and that you’ve already put alot of business through the tills, then they may recognise that a few quid off your potential bike purchase may encourage you to keep coming back.

I think it’s a bit much to wander into a shop for the first time and expect a sizeable discount. Good luck whatever!

It stuck with me as i said, because we parted company.

Not the easiest guy to work for.

Just be nice when asking, I got about a grand off my last full-bike purchase (custom build job, so saving compared to RRP of buying all the bits myself) so I know it can be done. Have spent a further £1,500+ at this shop since so it’s in their interests to do a deal too.
Depends on circumstance though, I bought a wheel from them, £400 and needed it at my door within 3 days before I left the country for a big race, they had to drop everything to get it built and courriered in time, I didn’t push for a discount on that!
I find the ‘I really like it but it’s right at the top of my budget and I still need a new set of lights, if you could throw those in I’ll take it’ approach works better than the ‘I could get that cheaper on the interweb’ approach.
Also, I find negotiating with stuff easier than price, eg my last car, only got £150 off but got new tyres and the warranty upped from 3 to 12 months included as well.

No, you shouldnt expect it, but then again, its always worth trying.

Having said that, I tend to get discount in the shops I buy from but that’s because I’ve spent ridiculous amounts there in the past. The way I’ve obtained discount is by narrowing the choice down to the one I want, doing my homework about prices elsewhere (even online), and simply asking “is there anything you can do on that????” If you know how much it is elsewhere and availability etc. it always comes across better because you’ll be taken seriously – i.e. someone who has done their homework is more likely to be a serious buyer than a dreamer.

One thing worth considering is that prices are often fixed on some manufacturers such as Specialized, and you will not generally get it any cheaper elsewhere.

EDIT: Oh, and don’t be afraid of walking away from something if you don’t get the deal you want (be realistic), it’s a buyers market – weigh up relative benefit of getting a discount, freebie parts etc. against the hassle factor of warranty claims against mail/internet order.

On any big ticket item I do my research and then try and buy locally.

Once you’ve worked out everything you want to buy, as the Manager/Owner (not the ‘boy’) what price he can do for you. If its within a few % of your ‘best price’, thank him and shake on it.

If you feel its too expensive, that mention where else you can get it, and at what price – but do be prepared to walk…