mstateglfr 

You have to recognize that this request may be outside the sweetspot of brick and mortar retail shops.
A lot of what I want is outside the sweetspot of the shops around me. Its no fun, but its reality. I dont begrudge them for not carrying what they wont sell for a long time though.

I am 6'5 and finding long enough pants in stores around me is brutal. Its because my needs exceed the wheelhouse of what retail clothing stores know they can sell- so i just go online and often buy from the store's internet site since they can 'carry' less popular products there without the holding costs.

Its my own doing if I am upset a shop doesnt have something like a looseball bottom bracket or a clamp on cable stop in stock. They shouldnt be expected to carry something that is asked about 3x per year or is sought out by 1 in every 2000 customers.

livedarklions

I know what you mean. For years, I had to buy clothes at the high-priced "big and tall" stores, but now I don't have to anymore. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy losing all that height.

Rim shot.

tkamd73 

I’m kind of done building up bikes for myself, but seem to be redoing, and repairing a lot of bikes for friends, and family. Very happy to have a LBS, that will only charge me 20 dollars, their minimum, to open up a bottom bracket, or 30 dollars to service one. Also 30 dollars, plus parts to replace one. I don’t want to own all the different tools, or worry about what fits, and all the various options for replacement. Seems pretty cheap to me, and I’m supporting a local business.
Tim

himespau 

For some reason, I can never seem to get a FD adjusted. There are just too many axes of rotation/adjustment. Rears are fine as are most other repairs. I'm happy to pay $14 to get those FD working smoothly (though usually I only give in and do so after hours of cursing to myself quietly as I fail once again).

Darth Lefty 

That's called gouging.

Jrasero

That is true you need to have windows to "window shop" but as a retail buyer for 10 years I can tell you if your business doesn't have an eCommerce presence you are dead in the water and most bike companies should carry as little stock as possible IMO due to the thin margins. Selling high margin accessories, classes, and service is how bike shops will service. There are way too many types of bikes, parts, sizes, and trims to stock. That is why LBS wrongly pressure someone into the wrong type of bike or wrong size since they have their budget or credit line tied up in bikes.

Window shopping does't mean I buy elsewhere but it's on one of my original points that, there just isn't anything revolutionary with bikes year to year. I also love cars but everyone knows for most people they NEVER should buy a new car since it's a total waste of money. With a bike you a used bike a great option but you also can buy hold backs, closeouts, wholesale NEW with warranty at a fraction of the price. Again I think more and more people are starting to figure this out, but this doesn't stop them from window shopping.

Jrasero

That is true you need to have windows to "window shop" and that does take product and rent but as a retail buyer for 10 years I can tell you if your business doesn't have an eCommerce presence you are dead in the water and most bike companies should carry as little stock as possible IMO due to the thin margins. Point being huge window displays or an array of stock for a high cost rental space is simply stupid. Selling high margin accessories, classes, and service is how bike shops will stay a float. There are way too many types of bikes, parts, sizes, and trims to stock. That is why LBS wrongly pressure someone into the wrong type of bike or wrong size since they have their budget or credit line tied up in bikes.

Window shopping does't mean I buy elsewhere but, one of my original points is that there just isn't anything revolutionary with bikes year to year. I also love cars but everyone knows for most people they NEVER should buy a new car since it's a total waste of money. With a bike you a used bike a great option but you also can buy hold backs, closeouts, wholesale NEW with warranty at a fraction of the price. Again I think more and more people are starting to figure this out, but this doesn't stop them from window shopping.

Loose Chain

That was an example, one of many dozens. Okay then, how about bar tape other than black or pink? Maybe Presta valve tubes that are not hugely long, or even lightweight tubes? A chain, should not be hard huh? A bottom bracket for Octalink? Pedals, maybe, huh?

Look, I am not going to buy a new bicycle every year just so I can keep up with what is being stocked for the latest 40 speed drive train "sweetspot" of marketing.

rydabent

The overridding reason to support your LBS is they are always there immediately. If you need a part or something for a ride you want to go on now, thats where you get the part.

livedarklions

Really? Then why did you pay it?

You're paying for the convenience of getting it instantly. The 30 cents they paid for the part is only part of the costs they incur to provide that convenience.

Pretty good chance that if you tried to buy that part online without purchasing something else, you'd be paying that much for shipping and it would take a few days.

Sy Reene

I do wonder though if he wanted to buy spokes to perhaps build his own wheel, if a set of 24 of these would have set him back $75 or so.

downhillmaster

Not sure you know what the word ‘gouging’ means as it pertains to business.
You have never bought a $2 bottle of water?
You never bought a $16 pasta dish at a local restaurant?
How about a $5 cup of Starbucks coffee?
Good for you!

dedhed

Pretty much every time I hear, "We can order that for you"

Isn't this why N+1?

bcpriess

+1

livedarklions

Yeah, I'm not sure what the scenario was here, but I'm guessing they replaced a broken spoke, charged him $3 for the spoke and something else for labor. Whether the "overcharge" for the spoke is fair or not would depend on what they charged for the labor.

Stuff like that would probably cause me to shop around next time, but if this was a matter where they let me jump the line and get it done so I could do my day's ride, I probably wouldn't think twice about it. Then it's just like "overpaying" for something at a convenience store--I'm paying a small premium just because it's there when I need it.

Miele Man

One bike shop I worked at just loved the "Window Shoppers" who'd come in, spend a lot of time asking questions about this or that component or groupset or other item, handling that item or items, and then leave only to buy the item or items online. Then they'd return and want us to put the item or items onto the bike for them. Of course we charged them a premium. After all we spent a lot of an employee's time giving them advice. We had a term for such people but forum rules here prohibit its use.

Cheers

Jrasero

Listen I have worked retail for the past 10 years and know all too well about customers wasting your time, but never have we penalized them for it. Sure missed sale opportunities suck but imagine if you can't make up your mind at a restaurant and a server then taxes you 15% on your bill or you go to buy a car and you take 4 hours so the finance manager says you can't have any incentives and tacks on 10% extra just to spite you. That is really what it comes down to is spite. Money is money and the hustle is real and if that takes you talking up a few customers more than you would have liked and not ultimately getting the sale but making money for your bike shop then where is the foul? While you can learn a ton about bikes online and through forums nothing beats seeing and testing it in person. Frankly the last 4 cars I have bought were never test driven and I relied 100% on reviews but every bike I have ridden has been tested but not necessarily bought at a LBS in the end.


I also love building computers and Microcenter is like the Holy Land for me and others and commonly there is a handful of dudes who just love to chat and talk shop when all I am trying to do is grab a part and bolt. Do the employees get paid extra to answer questions and talk shop, NO? Countless people come in and do this and then literally say to the employees face, ah I will just go on Amazon or Newegg. Luckily Microcenter has price matching, has good stock/selection, and prices are good to begin with, and have a great return policy. You can't say the same about a bike shop. I have never been to a bike shop that price matches, has amazing stock, or know one that would allow you to return your bike as ridden even lightly.


Most people know dealer margins for cars are like bikes which are uber thin and a lot of the times they loose money and only make that back through manufacture incentives and sales goals, thus dealers rely heavily on parts and accessories. If someone got the bike at the price they deemed appropriate I guarantee you they buy more that day. Oh need pedals, helmet, rack, cages, oh and by the way we can install it here today. Bicycle retailer has the average profit margin of bikes at 36% and accessories at 48%. They found that high profits main reasons for success is smaller retail fronts averaging 2075 square foot, high profit stores generated at least 11% of their income from repairs and labor while low profit only registered sub 7%. Also high profit stores sometimes do fail to cover the cost of the bike, but make it up through higher margins, because dead inventory takes up too much space and eats at their credit lines

In the end if you want to be a dick and charge a penalty for a customer "window shopping" which has happened since the dawn of consumerism then at least be a proper sales person and don't tell the customer you are charging them "x" more due to circumstances that favor them or are not in their control. Sorry but I am not sorry the bike industry can't seem to get their crap together and this allows people to look at other avenues in getting bikes and parts cheaper

TiHabanero

When people come into our store collecting information to help them make a purchase online, we give it to them. They are not our customer anyway, so what does it matter? Eventually they will get it from somewhere.

In the past it pissed us off, but no longer. Do we go the extra mile and provide instruction? No. Do we try to sell them something we have that we believe in and know. Yes, but mostly it is a fail as the customer typically has a preset idea of what they want, and is simply looking for additional info to solidify their choice. We just give them the facts.

Interestingly enough, several of these "window shoppers" have become strong advocates of our shop and send their friends in for service work and purchases. Unlike the cigarette commercial, "...rather fight than switch." we'd rather switch than fight, and make a little bit of profit at the end of the day.

Banzai

I wish I knew anymore.

I'm like the OP, and prefer for a variety of reasons to support the LBS. I've lived a lot of places that didn't even have one, or if they had, it was one really bad one. So three years ago when I moved somewhere that had a number of very well regarded shops, some that had even made national publications, I was really, really excited.

I first went to shop 1 to get a significant part warrantied. It had already been to two other shops, and I had been unable to service it. (I'm a very good mechanic.) The shop told me they would, and a week later called me to tell me I could get my bike. When I got there, they handed me a bill for $100 for the repairs, and told me that no warranty was necessary...it had been serviced and was functioning correctly. When I said that wasn't what I had asked for, they basically said that if I wanted my bike back, I'd pay the bill.

The part didn't work though, so I took it to shop 2. That shop wouldn't give me the time of day because I'm not one of the regular "bar-flies" or hangers-on around there. When someone finally acknowledged my existence, the just said "well dude, guess you shouldn't have bought that." And that was it. Refused to help.

So now I won't spend a dime at the two most prominent shops in the area. Too bad for them, because I bought my wife an expensive bike last year. Online. But shop 1 basically robbed me, and shop 2 treated me like crap.

As for shop 3, I go there occasionally. They're nice enough, but their prices are astronomical, and make "Mellow Johnny's" in Austin (not a cheap place) look like Performance or Nashbar (RIP) by comparison.

SnowJob

Love my local bike shops. Only problem is, which one do I go to? Got a wealth of them around Minneapolis.

Amazon can suck my left one

Banzai

My experiences above were in Minneapolis.

taco2ewsday

THIS! A local Giant dealer tried to convince me that a medium he happened to have in stock on clearance was the right size for me, I'm 5'6" with a short waist I'm a S or 50/52 cm by any reasonable account and I'm likely never buying from that shop again.

dmanthree

I'm late to this thread, so here's my reason for supporting my LBS: My rear wheel developed issues. The rim was failing at the spoke connection points. The LBS hounded the manufacturer into replacing both wheels with a new, and better set for no cost to me. Second incident: I crashed in April and headset was a little loose as a result. I took the bike in and they fixed it free, under a recall warranty I didn't know about.

Service. Get that from the interwebs. BTW, my LBS is Riverside Cycles, located in Newburyport, MA.

pdlamb

My latest charge to get an FD adjusted was $20. Adding up all the time I spent pfutzing with it before I took the bike in, I was trying to save about half the minimum wage in my time (and I get paid well over minimum wage!). Why did I wait so long?

himespau 

Yeah, that's me every time. I have the tools to do it. Theoretically, I have the know how to do it, but I just waste a lot of time most of the time. When I have gotten it done, I'm definitely way less than minimum wage in the amount I saved.

Similarly, I have a toilet that is running intermittently. I've changed the flapper and the gasket. The next job is for me to pull the tank. The last time I did that, I tightened it back too hard afterwards and cracked the tank. Since it was a high flow toilet (for which I couldn't find a tank anymore), I had to jury-rig a solution with a tank for a low flow toilet (doesn't always get a great flush as a result). This time, I think I'm going to suck up my pride and call the plumber. Especially since I'm getting knee surgery tomorrow and won't be bending over for a while.