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Anyone else frustrated with Loose Screws

Old 10-13-18, 07:27 AM
  #1  
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Anyone else frustrated with Loose Screws

I used to enjoy going to the Loose Screws website to order small parts for my bikes. The website with the prior owners was broken down by category and it was relatively easy to find parts. The new website is a royal pain in just scrolling through page after page or hoping to get lucky in a search. You would think that an owner of parts from the original Loose Screws site who had reported ecommerce experience would have a more user friendly website. As such, I continue to use the ISO thread here and hardly ever use their website. Anyone else have this frustration?
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Old 10-13-18, 07:34 AM
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never heard of them but I certainly have a cpl screws loose! thanks for the negative referral, guess we won't be checking them out! other BFers know of other on-line screw, bolt & small parts suppliers. maybe they will chime in. anything in particular you are looking for immediately?
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Old 10-13-18, 08:54 AM
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I agree that searching through the current Loose Screws website can be challenging. Having said this, Loose Screws has been my go-to resource for Dura-Ace 7400 Uniglide free hub small parts......cog spacers and 32mm first position cogs. Amazing communication throughout the sale process. Many (most?) eBay suppliers could learn a thing or two from Loose Screws.

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Old 10-13-18, 09:12 AM
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It is not quite the same, but I have found https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi to be useful for some of the stuff that used to be available on Loose Screws and/or The Third Hand.
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Old 10-13-18, 12:14 PM
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I was there recently looking at hub axles and cones. They have a pretty good selection.
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Old 10-13-18, 12:41 PM
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The change in Loose Screws ownership was a real loss. I used it frequently on the past, and then got to know the owner and his wife when we were considering a bike tour in his area (southern Oregon), even doing a ride together and enjoying a lunch together at their home. But he was getting burned out back then, and I understood his desire to sell. The buyer maintained the site and its capabilities for a while, then seemed to change interests and products.

Maybe I should check back if it’s back to bike parts.
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Old 10-13-18, 12:50 PM
  #7  
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After the company was sold, I seem to recall a big reduction in listed inventory from the original owners and the website went down the tubes. You couldn't easily easily find things and it didn't lend itself to browsing, like the original site did. Then the whole thing became firearms oriented, with bikes as an afterthought.

The current site seems slightly improved from the 1st post-sale site, if you're looking for something specific and can use the search function. But it still lacks the ability to browse broad categories of parts that the original owner's site had.

I don't know if they still list on eBay, but at one point their eBay store generally had free shipping, unlike their website.
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Old 10-13-18, 04:01 PM
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Things are not really categorized
i did have some success using google and the web address

locally there was an art supply store that morphed quite a bit- last version a " tactical supply store or as my wife calls it -war world.

​​​​​​​my guess the current owner does not really know how to give placement to things - parts are parts.
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Old 10-13-18, 05:39 PM
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Perhaps the margin is such that spending a ton of money on the site does not make sense. Not every company is Apple.
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Old 10-13-18, 09:47 PM
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So he has included bike parts back into his gun parts inventory now?
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Old 10-13-18, 11:11 PM
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What could go wrong?
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Old 10-14-18, 12:00 AM
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Are we seriously going to go down this rabbit hole again?
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Old 10-14-18, 09:40 AM
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Used to be awesome, got sold, now meh.
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Old 10-15-18, 05:41 AM
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Loose Screws Toulouse

The original Loose Screws Bicycle Small Parts was located in Ashland, OR, near Bike Tools Etc. NOT in Washington state or Irvine, CA as the current proprietor claims!

https://16incheswestofpeoria.wordpre...-future-again/

Mo betta history:

https://products.kitsapsun.com/archi...cycle_hub.html

As I recall, In 2012 the original owners of Loose Screws decided to hang it up. There was a period of time when they tried to sell things off at clearance prices. After the takeover clearance sale in 2015 ??? most of the left over bike stuff was sold off en mass. I'd heard that Bike Tools Etc. bought the remaining inventory, also Mike Kone in CO and Barry at pb*bikes on eBay. Who knows?

https://www.biketoolsetc.com/
@nesteel Yes no more rabbit hole! They're a done deal!

EDIT
There are a few left overs on the new Loose Screws website. If you don't see what you are looking for don't waste your time! They also offer NOS items with 2-4 weeks delivery that they [may] buy from wholesalers. Any LBS can do better than that!

I'm always wary of buying hard to find items from someone that doesn't have it on the shelf for immediate shipping.

A 1911 is a Colt 45 Auto pistola....

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Old 10-15-18, 09:25 AM
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I'm not so sure they're ordering NOS stuff from wholesalers. When they were selling a few years ago I actually contacted them and got details because I was interested. I got photos of their inventory and it was an incredible amount. I have no doubt much of the NOS stuff they list was in those photos that I saw.
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Old 10-15-18, 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by michael k
What could go wrong?
​​​​​​Now that's biathlon for real men... Or maybe bicyle polo? Glad to see he's wearing a helmet.
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Old 10-15-18, 09:41 AM
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Originally Posted by verktyg
I'd heard that Bike Tools Etc. bought the remaining inventory, also Mike Kone in CO and Barry at pb*bikes on eBay. Who knows?

https://www.biketoolsetc.com/
Thanks for the tip! They had the 9.3mm cotter pins I have been searching for

Update: And now my credit card has been 'restricted' for 'irregular activity'... @verktyg, is this site legit?

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Old 10-15-18, 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by scozim
I'm not so sure they're ordering NOS stuff from wholesalers. When they were selling a few years ago I actually contacted them and got details because I was interested. I got photos of their inventory and it was an incredible amount. I have no doubt much of the NOS stuff they list was in those photos that I saw.
I think that was BEFORE the sale and BEFORE he turned it into a gun parts site.

I think after he established himself in Loose Screws, he divested the majority of the bike stuff. I seem to recall he said he had a whole, huge U Haul filled to the limits full of parts. After he established Loose Screws as a gun site- it seems the majority of the bike stuff was scattered to the four corners of the globe.

So now, if bike stuff gets ordered thru him, I’d guess he has to acquire it from somewhere.
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Old 10-15-18, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Last ride 76
​​​​​​... Glad to see he's wearing a helmet.

Safety first!
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Old 10-15-18, 10:33 AM
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Put some Locktite on them before you retighten?
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Old 10-15-18, 11:21 AM
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I gave up on Loose Screws too. Or I should say I too gave up on Loose Screws. The gun focus seemed stronger than the bike focus, and the user interface for finding bike parts was ridiculous. Yes it is a real loss.
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Old 10-15-18, 11:29 AM
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Outsourced Stuff with long deliveries

Originally Posted by scozim
I'm not so sure they're ordering NOS stuff from wholesalers. When they were selling a few years ago I actually contacted them and got details because I was interested. I got photos of their inventory and it was an incredible amount. I have no doubt much of the NOS stuff they list was in those photos that I saw.
I wrote: "The original Loose Screws Bicycle Small Parts was located in Ashland, OR, near Bike Tools Etc. NOT in Washington state or Irvine, CA as the current proprietor claims!"

Maybe not wholesalers but the current owner bull shat about the company's origins on the new website....

Also here's what he says about the 484 items in the "Special Order" section:

"Special Order NOS Bicycle Parts"

"Parts in this category are in deep warehouse storage, so please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. We batch orders together when pulling from the warehouse. "

Different seller but similar MO:

There was an eBay seller down in SoCal by the name of Barron something or other who went by half dozen different handles including his wife's nick name "Banana Brain". He and his wife used to go to Europe several times a year and clean out old bikes shops. They had shipping containers full of classic cycling stuff. Eventually they had a storefront business in Santa Barbara but it faltered too.

Prices were great but sometimes you had to wait for months to get your order! Sometimes you would get a refund with no explanation. Last heard of, his son was selling out of Paso Robles, CA,.

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Old 10-15-18, 12:17 PM
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Credit Card Restricted

Originally Posted by SeanBikes
Thanks for the tip! They had the 9.3mm cotter pins I have been searching for

Update: And now my credit card has been 'restricted' for 'irregular activity'... @verktyg, is this site legit?
Sean, which seller did you try to buy from?

You should probably contact your CC company. Some card issuers have their fraud detection programs set for very narrow parameters. I'd call them and find out what's going on.

Recently one of my cards was "restricted for irregular activity" too. That meant I couldn't use it at all! It can be embarrassing when you go to pay for something and your card is declined!

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Old 10-15-18, 02:18 PM
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Originally Posted by verktyg
Sean, which seller did you try to buy from?

You should probably contact your CC company. Some card issuers have their fraud detection programs set for very narrow parameters. I'd call them and find out what's going on.
Ya, it's probably just being over protective... I bought from here and got the security alert email 20 mins later. We shall see what they say when I call.
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Old 10-15-18, 02:35 PM
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I knew Steven (Mr. Loose Screws) when he lived down here in Irvine. I bought some stuff from him and we did a couple rides.

He bought out the original proprietor's stock and relocated it to socal, hoping to make a go of it part time. (being a manufacturing engineer full time - hence the time delay for him to go to the storage unit and dig out the parts).

He's younger, by our standards and we spent quite a bit of time talking about how to get the younger folks into vintage bikes - he didn't hold out much hope, but was trying to do his part.

He got into branding parts (sand canyon and swift 27x 1-3/8 and some similar experiments) plus I believe he bought out a manufacturer of racks and such - looking for a line to allow him to transition to full time bike-related work.

Eventually, he decided to move back north and cleared out quite a bit of his inventory, so he wouldn't have to haul so much. I can't comment on the guns.

If you have any issues or questions, I'd suggest you shoot him an email from the site. He usually gets back to you, maybe give it a few days.

Joe
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