banjaboy

hey folks, made a couple of purchases from Bike 24 in Germany. Their prices are awesome, good exchange for my Canadian dollar, even better for the US dollar.I got both orders in 2 weeks! First order was $240 Canadian, had to pay $30 duty, second order was about the same and paid no duty. Shipping is dirt cheap too, check them out, good solid business.

HerrKaLeun

+1
Bought a lot from them. Unfortunately they are not allowed to sell Shimano and DT Swiss to US customers anymore. Some artificial restriction to protect LBS. Not sure if that applies to Canada.

Not only great prices, also great selection and website. Jenson et al really suck in that department.

banjaboy

Interesting comment Herr, I havent had any issues, I did buy a Shimano disc rotor for my mountain bike from them. Jenson wont ship the oddest items so I dont even go there anymore. I live 1 mile north of the border with Washington in a little town called Whiterock, normal times I ship to mail swrvice in Blaine Washington but with the border closed that option is not open to me anymore.

Beach Bob

Shimano really cracked down on sales into North America a couple of years ago. I think Merlin is the only one still shipping Shimano to Canada. It looks like Bike24 will ship DT Swiss to Canada....

SpeedRanger

Shipping to Canada shows 19.99 EUR ($31 CAD) which I consider rather high. What was you dirt cheap shipping rate?

HerrKaLeun

They talk about freedom and free trade, and then all these restrictions.
I've had some luck with modernbike recently. And for Shimano I now buy OEM parts of ebay or Alieexpress. I don't even look at US sellers anymore at twice the price. They all want to forcefully become wealthy.

MarcusT

I've tried a number of German online shops and overall my best experience is with www.bike-discount.de/

HerrKaLeun

Same for US shipping. But US prices are almost twice than rest of the World. You just buy 2 tires or so, and already are ahead. And they sell almost every bike product. Jenson looks like a 3rd World village store compared to them.

CRC still has free shipping, but less selection.

It is incredible how that US distribution system keeps prices high. Too many distribution levels, too many artificial restrictions.

SpeedRanger

Shimano's N.American supply chain is a joke.....Too often I seen reduced selection, out of stock, available for order. I don't fault the LBS, but NA distrubution is lacking compared to the EU.

Russ Roth

I find their shipping to be a little high but just make up for it by buying 3-4 tubes that I'm low in stock of. The savings on 4 tubes is usually a touch more then 20.00 and it makes the tires a deal. I wanted rocket rons for my kids' bikes, 4 of those in 24" at a deal price in the US was still 60.00 each, paid less then 20.00 each from bike24. The difference is just too ridiculous on some things. I also think shimano and sram just like screwing over their US customers since we'll just pay. Its why I went campy on the last build and saved money.

Trakhak

If you were a U.S. seller trying to compete with foreign sellers whose selling prices for Shimano components are often at or below your wholesale cost for the same items, you might have a different attitude.

HerrKaLeun

You know the derailleur sold by a US dealer was made in the same factory as the RD sold by a European dealer. it has the same cost to produce. Made in Asia, so shipping cost is there for both distribution ways. But the customer in the US has to pay twice.

The obvious solution would be to cut out the many markups in the US to be competitive. European distribution is profitable, proven by the fact they are still in business.

But instead of actually competing and being more efficient (or less greedy) it seems easier to lock the competition out. This is done by crying to the government to implement trade restrictions, crying to the manufacturer to forbid foreign sales, and so on.

Sure, the old days where there was a Schwinn dealer that had a license to print money were great. Customers had no internet to gain knowledge and had to go to the dealer. there was no other way to buy parts, so the dealer always won and could charge whatever they felt. But the world changed.

Moe Zhoost

I, too, have taken advantage of the low Shimano prices from EU vendors while they lasted. The big savings for NA buyers was not having to pay the significant VATs. Even with the VAT it still looks like the EU market has cheaper prices. I just looked up the Bike24 price for a Shimano Ultegra FC-R8000 Crankset: $216 to Germans (with VAT). The Jenson USA price is $270. I've heard that EU-based shops can by directly from Shimano, but that shops in NA are compelled to buy from middleman wholesalers like UBS or QBP who seem to be in a position to control prices.

HerrKaLeun

And that is the problem that should be resolved. Not trade restrictions. Then at least large US retailers can buy at lower cost and hopefully have better offerings.

When I compare prices, I compare the prices excluding VAT or sales tax. on bike24.de, when you select your country and language, it shows prices without VAT. Bonus points for CRC, they also show the price in your currency (USD in my case)

Reminds me of the time the Ottoman empire was the only path for spices from Asia to Europe. Then someone found a sea route to Asia, and then QBP the Ottoman empire lost out. The solution shouldn't be to forbid sea travel. But if we can learn one thing from history, it is that we don't learn from history. Luddites and yesterday people will continue to try to force the old system on us.

If there was no internet, I wouldn't know the actual price is much less. But once you know you get cheated, you get mad.

The funny thing is, the US is pretty good with textile distribution (also from Asia). When I get visitors rom Europe, they buy bulk of clothing because here it is much more plentiful and cheaper. Unfortunately my hobby is biking, so I'm stuck with the opposite.

ChrisWagner

I agree with a caveat. A while back I ordered a handful of parts from Bike24. When the package arrived, it had a chunk of the corner torn out. Included within the order was a KLICKfix Oversized Handlebar Adapter which came in a loose box (not secure) with parts missing. The outer box was flimsier than most anything sent my way, especially for an international shipment. To their credit, Bike24 did reverse the charge but I was still disappointed. The shipping cost to buy only that one part was cost ineffective.

My best experience is with https://www.bike-components.de. The only thing is, since the pandemic, their shipping prices doubled. They do craft a box to fit your order which is USPS-proof.

banjaboy

THat IS dirt cheap! costs more to ship from the US to Canada and takes twice as long, 2 weeks from Germany to Canada. Lots of companies in the US wont ship to Canada as they dont even know where Canada is if you ask me lol!!!

banjaboy

I think the US wants free trade as long as it suits them and when it doesnt they want to slap draconian tariffs on products that you end up paying anyway because the seller wont absorb it. In this day and age, being a Canadian buyer that gets bent over every time we buy something and have it shipped? I dont care where it comes from, what the social ramifications are, I will buy it where its cheap, that capitalism isnt it??

HerrKaLeun

Just follow the trail of campaign contributions and you see which industry will get "protected" next. Has nothing to do with overall benefit of a country or the population, it is about who has the sway.

Now just wait till you ask question about installing what you bought online, the " support your LBS" crowd will come upon you.

rsbob 

No thanks to this thread I spent $250 on two sets of new pedals and two tires. I won’t open it again.

banjaboy

I do most of my own stuff, been riding seriously off and on for $55 years, yup Im a really old bastard. If I ask anything and they get pissed, so be it. I have a 25 year relationship with my "LBS", they tell me many times they cant get a certain part, I rarely shop for price, thats usually when I go online, I dont have to be lectured by riders whose nuts have barely dropped the importance of the LBS, thanks for the heads up. The Bike 24 purchases were made NOT to save money, they were made because I bought a couple of pairs of winter riding shoes, road and off road, there were none to be had in my size in Canada for one pair and simply not stocked in the other version. As it was cheaper to buy from Germany after I knew I couldnt get them in Canada, thats the way I went. Shipping was more from the US than from Germany and took an estimated 6 weeks to get them.Delivery time from Germany is 2 weeks. Jenson should go out of business, bought 2 items that showed in stock, paid and told days later they had none. What a way to run a business. They took my money and Im still out $305 Canadian until they decide to send me the money back, wankers.

Beach Bob

Never heard of these guys before, but they sure have some great pricing... been looking for a new wheelset and now I gotta add them to my watch list!

MarcusT

I've found the best wheel selection and price to be with Rose Bikes

Beach Bob

I see on this site that they will deduct the VAT for stuff leaving the EU... do you happen to recall if/how that happens? Dropping 16% off on some this stuff results in some insanely good prices....

ChrisWagner

The process is smart and efficient. The deduction is performed at checkout after they have your shipping address. I've had many orders sent to me less VAT and one gift sent to England with VAT included. It is streamlined and smooth. And yes, I've spent way more than I planned due to their fantastic pricing.

Note that the VAT is not included in the advertised price but added at checkout when required.

Harhir

If you complain about shipping rates, be happy you get it at all. Right now Deutsche Post in Germany and USPS here in the US have significant restrictions for international mail delivery due to Covid 19.
Lots of international flights have been cancelled which would normally haul mail. And local Covid 19 measurements prevent the acceptance and delivery of mail.
Here are the current restrictions from Deutsche Post to the US. Any packages over 500 grams and 2cm thickness are no going the old fashioned way via "steamer".... That means weeks and weeks of delivery time.
https://www.deutschepost.de/en/c/coronavirus.html#usa
Also private companies like UPS and Fedex have restrictions and they have always been way more expensive than the postal service.

I have bought lots of stuff from bikes stores in Germany and had it sent to my mom in Germany. I then picked up all the stuff then during my annual visit. But I am not sure when I can travel again safely.
I am buying mostly stuff which I cannot get in the US such as internal hub parts, dynamo powered light systems or Dutch bike specific parts.
I also hate any kind of trade restrictions. Same with the stupid region codes on DVDs. Not sure they still exist.