MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
A mate of mine runs a bike shop, gives good service, and as it happens I'm after a road bike - not sure why but I am.
Anyways, after doing a trawl on the 'web I've found the same bike for £150 less, and Topcashback are offering 3.15% cash back.
So do I support my LBS or look after my wallet?
Same bike maybe, but same [i]service[/i]? Nope.
Speak to your mate, tell him what you've seen. Ask him what he can/will do. If he's a mate, why would you consider anything else?
How much is the bike? Most LBS will give you 10% if you ask nicely. Which would equate to the saving you're getting elsewhere.
Although, I recently went for LBS over online, and the service was 'meh' enough to make me think I might as well have gone online,
So do I support my LBS or look after my wallet?
See if one of the Utility companies will reduce your winter fuel bill?
Speak to your mate, tell him what you've seen. Ask him what he can/will do. If he's a mate, why would you consider anything else?
Absolutely. Even if he can't match the price at least you'll have told him and you won't have that awkward moment in the future when he sees you on it.
Not as if its £20 is it?
Speak to your mate, tell him what you've seen. Ask him what he can/will do. If he's a mate, why would you consider anything else?
If he's a mate, I wouldn't ask for a discount. Just buy it. I'm sure he's seen you right in the past, and will in the future. Life's too short to try and squeeze friends.
Did you already ask him how much the bike would be for you? Or you just looking at RRP?
How many free bike repairs have you had?
Proper mate or acquaintance mate?
I R IDIOT.
😉
Yep, way better to find a way to make sure your friend makes zero money from the sale rather than a small amount.
Stop being such a LBS-hugger. We all know LBS owners, like yourself, are minted.
Yep, way better to find a way to make sure your friend makes zero money from the sale rather than a small amount.
I meant for the op to buy it from his friend, should be obvious from what I've written. I might be a foreigner, but my English isn't [b]that[/b] bad. 🙂
Most LBS will give you 10% if you ask nicely. Which would equate to the saving you're getting elsewhere.
The bike is £599 in the sale with £100 off, so would feel awkward asking for more discount.
Think I may go for Darren's solution....
We all know LBS owners, like yourself, are minted.
OK, so my bike shed may currently resemble a concept showroom for a well known California based bicycle brand, but....! 😀
How many free bike repairs have you had?
None, always do my own repairs or pay when he's serviced the forks.
Many factors
Can yo afford the mates price?
Doe she really need the sale?
If yes to both of these then take a hit for a mate.
I would also factor in free advice, borrowing tools etc in all of this as well.
my mate runs my LBS. I generally ask him if I'm thinking about buying something big to see what he can do.
although on stuff like shimano drivetrain I don't anymore as he can't buy it in for what merlin etc are flogging it for.
ask for a price match.
bikes before mates.
Just ask him what he can do against the price you have seen. I was looking at a bike with 20% off, went in to the lbs I used at the time, they told me tbey could only give 10% off and I should get it online. We stayed friends over it.
Make sure the online place has your size though....
[i]If he's a mate, I wouldn't ask for a discount. Just buy it. I'm sure he's seen you right in the past, and will in the future. Life's too short to try and squeeze friends. [/i]
This if he's the owner. If he's just the manager then point out the offer and see what he can do. If he can't match it though I'd probably still go with the lbs as above.
Just buy it online, OP.
You get a cheaper bike, and I'm sure the LBS will sell the bike, to someone else.
Be honest OP you are scared to be seen with the bike post internet purchase arent you.
in a liquidation auction....you heartless bastard
Just be open and honest with him, you've had a poke about and discovered a Web-discounter, plus Top cash back deal that saves £150 over what he's offering, but you're aware you'll not be getting much aftersales service or technical support, could he meet the discounted price halfway?
Or perhaps simply pay (with money, not biscuits) for an hour of his workshops time to get the bike setup properly for you?
friendship shouldn't be about money, being mates shouldn't be contingent on you throwing cash at his business, if he's an actual mate He'll understand, £150 is still a significant sum to some people...
end of the thread really if he's a mate.A mate of mine runs a bike shop
A mate of mine (of 20yrs) runs a LBS and he's a bit more expensive for bikes/parts than the net but he's a mate.
the only part that would grate me if you showed up on a shiny new bike - is if you hadn't given me the chance to give you a price.
so ask him what he can do , but don't expect - then if i was the lbs owner id totally understand if you went on-line.... I would as well for 150 quid.
Have you used the fact that he is a "mate" to your advantage in previous circumstances? If so, you at least need to let him.know your thoughts on this and give him a chance to respond. If he really a mate then he'll understand where you're coming from. If he can't match it then you need to weigh up the value of any previous benefits.
end of the thread really if he's a mate.
Not really.
On the flipside, if the mate cannot get near the price, he should tell the OP to get it online.
OP needs to ask him first, of course.
If he's a mate, I wouldn't ask for a discount
Has this place never heard of "mates rates"??
Like many people on here I have friends. I wouldn't expect a friend to use my business if I wasn't the best on price. Why should they? I'm friends with them they aren't my piggy bank and vice versa. business and friendship doesn't really mix but if it does, the odd bit of business is fine- expecting to do all your business with them and worrying that you aren't- you are not really friends OP. Hes running a business to make a profit.
Keep friendship and business separate. They don't mix well. You'll sacrifice 100-150 out of pocket because you are worried you might offend a 'mate'. Just how much a mate is he. Really.
Like many people on here I have friends
Which ones of us dont have friends then ?
Have you used the fact that he is a "mate" to your advantage in previous circumstances? If so, you at least need to let him.know your thoughts on this and give him a chance to respond.
This is it really.
I'm sure the OP already knows the answer to his question, and is the only one in a position to know really.
Just don't look for our permission to do the wrong thing!
Just tell him you've put a price on your friendship and it's £150, anyone would understand.......
Buy the bike online and use the savings to spend in his shop.
Ash!!
🙂Just tell him you've put a price on your friendship and it's £150, anyone would understand
If he's a mate then it will come around and you'll benefit in the long run.
I used to work in bike shops and if my mates bought elsewhere provided they asked then it didn't upset me. If you can get a better deal then try him. We would tell people.to go online if we couldn't get near the price. £150 is a lot of money, food for a month, the budget for my wife's Christmas presents, two new car tyres. If he is a good friend he will understand and either cut you some kind of deal or tell you to buy online.
You're buying a bike not donating to charity
As somebody who makes stuff that people I know buy (wardrobes etc.) I think the thing to do is tell him what you're thinking of doing. Not to "see what he can do" but to see what he [i]would[/i] do.
If somebody tells me they're looking for the kind of furniture I don't make or their Mrs has got her heart set on a particular piece, fine. And if they tell me they can get something at a price that I can't get near, when even I would buy it rather than make it, that's fine too.
What's not nice is if they feel they can't tell me about it. Because as anybody who's been in business for more than a year (and who's still in business will tell you - Mates Rates - they don't exist.
Well if all the LBS go out of business we're all going to be foo-barred.
Is the price differential £150 on a £600 bike, if so that's a lot and hard to ignore. I'd speak to the LBS and see what they can do.
The LBS has rates and wages etc to pay. By buying online you are saving in the short term but losing out in the long term as businesses fade away, more unemployment, less tax revenues for you local authority and for the government. They have to raise that from somewhere so ultimately they come after you for more income tax, vat etc
Jambalaya - Or the online shops are successful and employ more people and pay more taxes than a few now closed lbs'? Not sure I concur with your long term economic predictions.
Look at it the other way round... what about the moral dilemma your mate faces?
Does he recommend to you that you pay more for a bike, just so that he can pocket some profit, or does he tell you to go and buy online even if he ends up losing a sale.
If he is really a mate, and it really is such a good (like for like) deal, then he ought to be giving you the correct advice.
However, if you don't even talk to him about it, then he has every right to be hacked off.
This being a mate thing is a two way deal aye?
Buy three online and get your mate to sell them full price in his LBS. Share the loot 😀
Give the LBS a chance to sell you the bike, at the price you have seen it on-line.
At this time of year in the bike industry things go quiet, and cashflow is key to the survival of a business, not profit as many assume - profitable businesses have gone into administration because of cashflow problems!
Speak to your mate, let him know the situation, they may actually be glad to clear that bike from their stock, and it might help pay that outstanding bill or the next payroll cycle 😉
jambalaya - how much do you think it costs a business owner to stock a shop?
How much do you think it costs a online retailer? Each business has to buy in the stock, hold it and mark it down. All the time its depreciation in value.
A shop has X footage, a online business can have unlimited 'virtual' square footage to fill.
Both employ staff.
Both pay rates and rent on a building.
Online retailers have to factor in postage in their prices.
Online retailers have to keep their prices very very keen.
Both have plus's and minus's however its far from being a computer in someones bedroom with the stock held in the spare room isn't it.
All those displaced LBS employees?
absurd but pragmatic.righog - Member
Buy three online and get your mate to sell them full price in his LBS. Share the loot
FWIW, rent and rates on a crinkly tin shed (a.k.a. by Estate Agents as an industrial unit) will be a good deal less per square foot than on a decent retail premises.hora - Member
Both pay rates and rent on a building
I think the OP cuts to the heart of the dissonance between LBS and online. There almost is no 'right' answer.
FWIW, rent and rates on a crinkly tin shed (a.k.a. by Estate Agents as an industrial unit) will be a good deal less per square foot than on a decent retail premises.
They'll also be a great deal bigger, be quite tempting to break in as its easier the more rural/out of the way you are maybe and require more lighting/heating and staff to pick/pack and handle/restock returns and deal with suppliers on a more frequent basis.
staff to pick/pack and handle/restock returns
Retail staff do all of that as well. And deal with the public directly. And, more often than not, have a mass of experience and knowledge, not to mention interest, in the product they're selling. Rather than it just being another stock code on another box.
Retail staff do all of that as well. And deal with the public directly. And, more often than not, have a mass of experience and knowledge, not to mention interest, in the product they're selling. Rather than it just being another stock code on another box.
They also have to handle emails, order chasing, phone calls etc etc.
Its not just the owner and two blokes and a Saturday lad in a shop is it.
People who expand into online/mail order are bike/business owners who take a gamble, put their house etc and loans on the line.
Before it was made public - no one knew really how big CRC and really Wiggle were/are even years ago. 5,000 orders a week I think for CRC. Of course they are the top of the pile but there are many more.
The likes of Planet X knock out hundreds of bikes a week don't they.
They also have to handle emails, order chasing, phone calls etc etc.
Retail staff? Yes, they do.
Its not just the owner and two blokes and a Saturday lad in a shop is it.
In a good many it is, yes. Someone's opened a new one not far from me recently, Anna Valley Cycles, with three full timers and a Saturday boy. (Not sure how they're doing, though, as I've not popped in to have a look yet)
Stock pickers in a warehouse could be picking any stock item. Yes, there are myriad other support roles, but for the stock side of things, there's no real knowledge or experience required beyond shifting things from one place to another.
Retail staff? Yes, they do.
Their role is mainly selling what they actually have (or best alternative in stock), online staff is mainly reactive, order fulfilling- therefore more staff for online with a far bigger stock investment/holding/risk.
If you claim it's your mate but you are asking on here then it's not your mate.
Their role is mainly selling what they actually have (or best alternative in stock)
Or, helping the customer to get what they want/need as far as is possible. Y'know, like my LBS getting in a spare part for one of my helmets, something they don't stock, but did get for me.
Or, increasingly, dealing with asshats showrooming them.
Or, helping the customer to get what they want. Or, increasingly, dealing with asshats showrooming them.
Or shoe-horning them into buying something they have in stock even though they know it'll be cheaper elsewhere and probably a better product elsewhere but they can't say that even though they know it to be true. Instead they play the fuzzy, loveable LBS shop that is the hub of the community and the customer takes the 'take what you are given sales service'.
Lets not forget, LBS staff work in sales. Its not a charitable service is it.
LBS staff work in sales. Its not a charitable service is it.
Indeed. Which is why those shoe-horning, as you mention above, tend not to do well. Those that give good service and advice are doing rather well these days.
There's a lot more to bike retail than "Where's the cheapest for a Reverb? Germany? France? Etc?" and STW customers you know!
TBH those that don't give good advice still do really well. More often than not the customer doesn't know better, goes for advice from someone they think will know more. Not realising the advice is based (biased) to what is in stock/the next best thing- its a dilemma. If you said 'look this is good but Raceface has a much better one but we don't have that in stock/we don't deal with that distributor' then you'd lose a sale/more business.
I'm not a detractor of bike shops. I'm just very very glad that the internet came along as it now means I can afford to mountain bike.
Yep, way better to find a way to make sure your friend makes zero money from the sale rather than a small amount.
Well, if I was a business I'd not expect friends to just give me money.
Having said that I just had to fork out £1500 for some new sails, the guy who owns the design rights for the class is a friend, asked for a discount, didn't get one 🙁 No harm in asking, but did get the sail numbers applied for free which saved about £40 and will be far neater than doing it myself!
Out of interest how much profit would the LBS expect to make on a £600 bike?
Would he actually make more of a profit if you bunged him some cash to build the bike up so you get no hassle, he gets a profit for nothing more than labour and your both happy?
Usually about £200 if that's RRP. Mention of cashflow above is very pertinent.
quite tempting to break in as its easier the more rural/out of the way you are maybe
whereas you don't have to break into an LBS, the door's open and the public can just walk in, handle the merchandise and, in some cases, pop it into a bag and walk out the door. I don't think you can carry an argument that security against theft isn't a problem in (bricks and mortar) retail settings..
£200 in a £600 bike? 😯 I doubt its that much?!
He's a mate - whole debate stops there for me. Look after your mates - rule #1.
AT RRP it should be between £150-200 Any discount comes straight out of that.
So a 10% discount off RRP (£60) really eats into that gross margin.
That's why you see 25% off at end of year, cashflow.
It's a rubbish business really, selling bikes.
Usually about £200 if that's RRP. Mention of cashflow above is very pertinent.
Stop being such a LBS-hugger. We all know LBS owners, like yourself, are minted.
😀