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Best Time to Buy a Brompton?

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Best Time to Buy a Brompton?

Old 07-23-19, 02:29 PM
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Best Time to Buy a Brompton?

Pound is down 3% this year.
Anybody have a lead on tracking their price over time ?
Brexit is in Oct 31 and I am trying to time my purchase.
Pound went to 1.22 in Oct '16, from its recent 1.69 high in '14.
On $1500 bike that's $15 per (0.01) fall.
That makes the 0.47 come to a $705 difference from currency alone.
They say they are gearing up production , so I don't think scarcity will be an issue.
May not be VolksVelo but, I may be able to afford titanium, after all.
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Old 07-24-19, 02:25 AM
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Originally Posted by bikebikebike
Pound is down 3% this year.
Anybody have a lead on tracking their price over time ?
Brexit is in Oct 31 and I am trying to time my purchase.
Pound went to 1.22 in Oct '16, from its recent 1.69 high in '14.
On $1500 bike that's $15 per (0.01) fall.
That makes the 0.47 come to a $705 difference from currency alone.
They say they are gearing up production , so I don't think scarcity will be an issue.
May not be VolksVelo but, I may be able to afford titanium, after all.
i guess if you wait till october 31 you can have better deals.
if no deal prevails, the uk economy will collapses and may fall 8%.
so, huge disconts and deals are expexted, to keep the economy running.
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Old 07-24-19, 06:31 AM
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With many dealers you get a discount for bikes already in the shop during winter season (~Nov-March), often around 10%. If you are outside of the EU I would not expect a massive change regarding list or regular market prices through Brexit. Brexit doesn't change anything in terms of taxes or duties for customers outside the EU plus Brompton have created local distribution daughter companies i.e. in the US, in Hongkong (for Asia) and in Benelux. Those may be able to stock bikes in advance to Brexit and will buffer price changes and currency risks or changes to a degree longterm. So short hand I would not expect relevant changes for end customers. Other than that the Brompton factory seems to run at it's maximum pace currently - at least here in Germany stock of the distribution is close to non-existent and custom orders take many weeks to be fulfilled. So if you want a new Brompton you either wait for one that is built custom for you or you take from the very limited selection of what's instantly available. Has not been like that for many years. no reason for dealers to discount bikes other than older models.

As far as foreseable there will be no massive technical changes for next year, so no massive rebates for soon out-of-date-bikes to be expected. As prices are likelier to rise than to fall as Brompton tends to rise the price each and every year a little bit I'd assume it is not worth waiting for a speculatively cheaper price other than a possible off season one. The latter may be of interest if you are not already bought into a certain combination of model and color but will still be a bet.

In the EU Brompton prices may rise a bit after Brexit but that's again a bet and nobody knows what will really be happening.
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Old 07-24-19, 12:22 PM
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My experience with this suggests any drop in the value of the pound vs your local currency will merely augment your country's distributor's profit margin for a considerable time to come.
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Old 07-24-19, 05:27 PM
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Thanks. I had not thought about the effect of the tariffs and Asian market impact.
Currency fluctuations are going to be the least of their problems, but this may make a trip a better deal, as well .
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Old 07-24-19, 10:20 PM
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For the incurably thrifty there's the B75.
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Old 07-27-19, 04:27 AM
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I found the best price at REI of all places. With a REI membership you get 10% back at the end of the year and 5 more % if you put it on their Credit card. I looked in to two deferent states of dealers they all wanted MSRP to 25% over MSRP.
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Old 07-28-19, 08:07 AM
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Originally Posted by tim24k
I found the best price at REI of all places. With a REI membership you get 10% back at the end of the year and 5 more % if you put it on their Credit card. I looked in to two deferent states of dealers they all wanted MSRP to 25% over MSRP.
REI often waives the end of year on some products, so be careful, noting this, and they stock limited models (? use customizer)
In Texas we have an 8.5% sales tax, which eats up a lot of the rebate as well.
Free shipping is offered elsewhere, as a "discount", and REI is more a "big box" that drop ships, than LBS, if that is an issue.
The credit card rebate is a good tip, vs my current 1%.
I find their people very nice, but their corporate structure and online system requires, um, patience.
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Old 07-28-19, 09:18 AM
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Originally Posted by bikebikebike
REI often waives the end of year on some products, so be careful, noting this, and they stock limited models (? use customizer)
In Texas we have an 8.5% sales tax, which eats up a lot of the rebate as well.
Free shipping is offered elsewhere, as a "discount", and REI is more a "big box" that drop ships, than LBS, if that is an issue.
The credit card rebate is a good tip, vs my current 1%.
I find their people very nice, but their corporate structure and online system requires, um, patience.
You can order it on line then have it free shipped to a TX REI. Or order it and pick it up in Portland OR. That way you get a Holiday out of it. :-) I should add Oregon has a $15 bike sales tax on all bikes over $300 I think the number is. I’ve heard good things about the Brompton dealer in Austin TX. Have you checked them out?

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Old 07-28-19, 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by tim24k
I’ve heard good things about the Brompton dealer in Austin TX. Have you checked them out?
If you mean https://cycleast.com/brands/
I like them. Good folks, and when they can't help, the folks at Clever have been great.
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Old 07-28-19, 01:30 PM
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Just put one up for sale if that is of interest.
-Jim
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Old 07-29-19, 03:14 AM
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Originally Posted by bikebikebike
If you mean https://cycleast.com/brands/
I like them. Good folks, and when they can't help, the folks at Clever have been great.
If you are talking about Clever in Portland, I’ve tried over the last ten years to do business them. Last week was strike three!
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Old 07-29-19, 11:41 AM
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Do share...
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Old 07-29-19, 11:48 AM
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If you don't have an REI credit card, then you can take advantage of their promotion and get a $100 REI gift card when approved. Add that to your rebate and the 5% end of year.
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