Possible demise of CRC / Wiggle

That's not good, not a nice way to be treating the staff either if that's true (not that I doubt it isn't).

‘That’s CRC’s own brand, probably reasonable value for money.’

+1. I've got heaps of Nukeproof, DHB and Fohn clothing, as well as the Lifeline spares. Huge amount of Nukeproof components across my bikes too. That's what I've associated Wiggle/CRC with for years.

I was just about to pull trigger on a Vitus until I saw the news.

Is it worth waiting to see if bigger discounts appear or just buy now as there is stock? Would you still have manufacturer warranty for any problems if retailer has gone?

Looks like the race teams are all officially over too. Post from Elliot heap saying he's now without sponsorship.

Same from Pagey. Sad times all round for the CRC family.

Would you still have manufacturer warranty for any problems if retailer has gone?

Who's the manufacturer?

To answer your question, no warranty, buy with that in mind.

rocco:
I was just about to pull trigger on a Vitus until I saw the news.

Is it worth waiting to see if bigger discounts appear or just buy now as there is stock? Would you still have manufacturer warranty for any problems if retailer has gone?

I suspect there will be bigger discounts on some items but once it's gone that's it and at some point the whole shop will stop trading. Highly unlikely there will be any warranty on Vitus. It's an own brand so when crc goes so does Vitus. Definitely buyer beware. I've bought a few things including a couple of frames but the price has been less than I can get something similar second hand so I'm happy to take a punt.

Would you still have manufacturer warranty for any problems if retailer has gone?

Best to go in with the assumption that you're buying a brand (assuming its an in-house one) that no longer exists from a shop that no longer exists. The adjust what you're willing to pay accordingly.

I would operate on the assumption that there will be no warranty support at all on anything own-brand that was previously part of wiggle/CRC

Best to go in with the assumption that you’re buying a brand (assuming its an in-house one) that no longer exists from a shop that no longer exists. The adjust what you’re willing to pay accordingly

With my ongoing luck I will look elsewhere, not that much of a bargain to sway me now with the potential hassle (albeit hopefully unlikely, but again, my current luck) of a frame cracking and having to source and replace.

So this popped up yesterday...
https://road.cc/content/news/wiggle-invites-bids-remaining-warehouse-stock-307269

Got me wondering if they will just pull the plug and stop before all the stock is sold. I don't see how you can submit a bid though when stock is still being sold so is out of date as soon as you've submitted?

nor do I. Also, what's the status of any returns sent now - they're still accepting them but are they just going to shutter and not issue refunds in a few days.

They'll be bids on a percentage of RRP or retail value. You take everything at 5% (a total guess) and then they go through everything and invoice you.

Ah, that makes sense woodster.

So if they're happy with the % bid after 15th submission deadline then they could just halt sales.

Does say for citadel warehouse...not sure how many warehouses crc/wiggle have so maybe not everything?

Does anyone know what's happened to St Johns Street Cycles?? sjscyles has been down for a few days

SJS site is up and working for me.

Their website is working for me - https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/

Hopefully just an IT blip.

ah yes, some sort of cookies issue

Has anyone actually received anything they have ordered recently? I bought a couple of tops and helmets dirt cheap for me and the lady. Ordered on Sunday, still showing as processing.

no big deal if it doesn’t arrive, I half expected it not to and it was only £30 quid. And given they don’t have any staff left I would expect dispatch times would take forever

no way I’d be spending any serious money with them now however, regardless of how good a deal it looked.

@mrbadger - there were posts on their socials earlier in the week saying they are processing orders still (and will continue to do so) but now on a skeleton crew so there is, predictably, a bit of a backlog.

Has anyone actually received anything they have ordered recently? I bought a couple of tops and helmets dirt cheap for me and the lady. Ordered on Sunday, still showing as processing.

I ordered on the 5th and received on the 13th, it was on 'processing' most of the time. Another previous order had two items that arrived a week apart despite being ordered together. Luck of the draw basically.

i ordered on Tuesday and it landed Thursday this week, all good for me

i ordered on Tuesday and it landed Thursday this week, all good for me

Highly unlikely there will be any warranty on Vitus. It’s an own brand so when crc goes so does Vitus. Definitely buyer beware.

Buying on credit card can mitigate some of this risk. The CC company is then on the hook for the same consumer rights you get from the retailer. Section 75

I was in a situation where some furniture became faulty, but the original retailer had folded. Another company bought the name. I had no claim with the new company, but was able to get money back from my credit card company. I needed a joiner to do an assessment of repair. The joiner took a look and said the item wasn't worth repairing. (If there is a cost to any assessment this will be covered). I had to show I'd disposed of the item (photo of it in a skip at the tip). I was then refunded the costs, less a bit for fair usage.

Has anyone actually received anything they have ordered recently? I bought a couple of tops and helmets dirt cheap for me and the lady. Ordered on Sunday, still showing as processing.

Yup, ordered a load of BB's and some bars on Tuesday, arrived Wednesday - my Wiggle+ is still working fine.

Buying on credit card can mitigate some of this risk. The CC company is then on the hook for the same consumer rights you get from the retailer. Section 75

IIRC the wording of section 75 is to the effect of you had to have expected to have a warranty. So it might be different buying something from a company that folds months later, to buying something from a liquidation sale of a company in administration.

i.e. if CRC are saying the warranty is now 28 days, then section 75 doesn't automatically put your CC provider on the hook for the next 5 months.

i.e. if CRC are saying the warranty is now 28 days, then section 75 doesn’t automatically put your CC provider on the hook for the next 5 months.

Any warranty will end when the company ceases to be (unless it's an insurance backed warranty). Consumer Rights Act still applies. That's what my claim was under in the example I gave. I did wonder what would happen if you paid money for a warranty separately. The Vitus warranty terms are essentially Wiggle/CRC will deal with your issue. If these no longer exist then I'm not sure whether the CC would do anything

buying something from a liquidation sale of a company in administration.

For consumer rights, the only reason this would matter is that the entity you bought from then ceases to exist. Hence if you buy with credit card you still have a party you can make a claim from, with the same rights and for the same period as if the original company still existed. Your rights are not diminished just because the company is shutting down. What it does mean is you will likely only get money refunded, no replacement or repair.

Just done my last ever order, dropper post for £30 a couple of the Nukeproof carbon side bottle cages and some tubless valves.

Definitely getting longer and longer for order fulfilment (unsurprisingly). Latest for me was ordered on 8th March and was 'processing' until yesterday (14th) when it was despatched with delivery due today/tomorrow.

I'm about to place what might be my final order - cheap cheep budgie smugglers and plenty other swimming stuff reduced.

I bought my bike in early summer when we didn't know they were going bust...  Ah well, it was extremely cheap even then so at least I still have a load of modern sized bits to put on a new frame if the old one dies.

something odd going on now, swathes of stuff out of stock when you click into it or page missing. Wonder if this is finally the end.

Ah yes. Is this how it all ends?

something odd going on now, swathes of stuff out of stock when you click into it or page missing. Wonder if this is finally the end.

I was keeping my eye on the price of the Nukeproof Giga's they had 5 complete bikes yesterday, today none. They didn't sell them all overnight. They have invited offers on remaining stock maybe someone is buying up in bulk.

I saw Vitus bikes for sale at Paul's cycles.

As of this morning the most expensive item they have left in stock in a 11 speed campag chorus rear mech for £188

Looks like they have removed a lot of stuff

Glad i bought £1200 (RRP) of Castelli riding gear for £340 the other week!

Yes- put a random order in yesterday afternoon. All little bits and bobs I'll live without and nothing worth more than a tenner. All now out of stock and one the hyperlink is broken.

No dramas either way if I get them or not but suspect it might be the end for the last of their staff any day 🙁

This is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a 404 page.

As of this morning the most expensive item they have left in stock in a 11 speed campag chorus rear mech for £188

They did seem to have a bit of a weekend purge and relist of stock a couple of weeks ago.

But I strongly suspect this may be the final end of things, I have a couple of things parked in my basket, but I'm not likely to check them out now TBH.

Their eBay outlet has stuff on but most things seem to be getting Bid up by FOMO sufferers.

Their eBay outlet has stuff on but most things seem to be getting Bid up by FOMO sufferers.

Folk have been paying over the odds in the eBay store for years

Yup

I have a couple of things parked in my basket, but I’m not likely to check them out now TBH.

Why not? Think the wind down has been handled well. I cancelled an order on Monday and was refunded via PayPal within a couple of hours. Have lots of smaller orders in and they're all trickling along. If they aren't dispatched by end of next week then i might suspect they won't be seen but as of now, I don't see why folk should be too concerned

Glad i bought £1200 (RRP) of Castelli riding gear for £340 the other week!

When I did my order yesterday I did think if you were the right shape for Castelli gear you could save a fortune. Unfortunately I've never been the right shape for Castelli gear.

Folk have been paying over the odds in the eBay store for years

LOL. I recall the morning I told my wife I'd just bought a new roadbike overnight. I'd put in a stupidly low bid (less than half RRP) for a bike which had a different seatpost to the standard model and woke up to find it hadn't been beaten.

Yup, been there too. Rageley Big Wig that didn’t have the best photos and must’ve put people off. After days of staring at the photos I realised it was just a bit grubby. On arrival, the tyres (and everything else for that matter once clean) looked basically unused. Did very well for myself there.

OTOH, noticed all kinds of stuff from cheap to expensive going for more than listed on the CRC/Wiggle sites, with postage then also being added on top.

I think on the final day they should send every account holder a grand total of all the money spent with them over the years…

I must be well into 5 figures..

I think on the final day they should send every account holder a grand total of all the money spent with them over the years…

Madness, think of the arguments, the divorces the long periods of angry silence over dinner or you are a divorce lawyer looking to meet 2025's billing target early.

The order that I placed yesterday has just turned up.

I imagine there's more than a few champagne glasses clinking at competitors up and down the country and we will see price increases for parts.

What's the verdict. Was there a viable business of stack'em high sell'em cheap. Is the liquidation a result of a badly run business, negative cash flow due to external economic factors, shady financial practices or a combination?

I think on the final day they should send every account holder a grand total of all the money spent with them over the years…

I must be well into 5 figures..

Just as long as they send me one with the amount that I've saved over RRP. I'm basically a cycling Warren Buffet...

Were Vitus & Nukeproof always on probikeshop? Full lineup and apparently in-stock from the dip sample of bikes I've just done

no i dont think so

Probikeshop are coming back in April according to their web page .