The deed is done, gentlepeoples. Down payment today, rest of the payment next week when I do my pro fitting. Opted for the Black Inc Thirties over the SLR-1s. They have Mavic Yksion Pro USTs which...get mixed reviews...but heck, I'll ride em down and then slap my Conti 5Ks on em later.
I know people were saying to try and get 20% since it's last year's model, 2020s expected in September...but my math came to this (and I'm using MSRPs; not lowest available on the web):
$5575 - TCR Adv SL1 stock
$779 - Black Inc Black 30 cost difference from Giant SLR-1 wheelset ($2249 - $1470)
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$6354 (total MSRP)
$4989 (my selling price before CA tax)
78.5% of cost, or 21.5% off
Could I have haggled and fought for more, yeah. But I came out of there with a very positive experience, unlike say a car haggling experience which makes me never want to go to the dealership again. Elon and Willie were great to work with. And yes, I know they're salesmen and need to be nice to customers, but how many subpar sales experiences have we all had in our lives? I never take a pleasant experience for granted. And I still have my pro fit coming up, so if they really do deliver on the pro set-up, vs. just a seat height/bike fit quickie, that's usually a $100 - $150 cost (in West LA) so that's another value-add.
Bottom line: I came out feeling like, although I didn't get a bargain basement deal, I felt like I got a good deal and was not taken advantage of.