BostonFixed

Anyone have any predictions on what will happen?

It seems like many of the larger online/store retailers are digging their own graves. Look at the Performance Bicycle thread by twahl. Performance lost a large bicycle line, to be replaced with a much lower product line. Also in the same thread, LordOpie details why he will no longer frequent performance store locations. I can't understand how people can deal with this.

Can people really put up with this BS?

What do you see for the future of LBS/online retailers/large chains i.e performance/nashbar?

amahana1

I think the current balance will probably prevail in my opinion. The local LBS' might find themselves as more of niche market with a focus on selling complete bikes and selling maintainence. I dont think either are and endangered species by any stretch.....unless the gov starts taxing all transactions of the internet. Maybee then you will see the online shops shrink considerably.

Large franchised LBS' arent as likely to go under simply because they have a little more buying leverage than a local LBS' and can compete with online retailers as far as price is concerned. Thus they will attract as many new customers as they lose. For large companies (in the bicycle world) losing a customer here or there or alot here or there doesnt bother them as long as they can continue to sell their bikes to new customers....pretty much the story of the U.S. economy....!

End of rant.

BostonFixed

Sure, but I can't see consumers putting up with the amount of hassle and BS that many online shops have, not just cycling related.
I think there will be a trend in the future of people moving back to traditional stores and away from online shops. Online will always exist, but in a reduced amount than current.

I just can't see things continuing to exist in their current condition.

amahana1

Sound reasoning....but there is always the lure of the almighty dollar and those who will put up with the shody service some OL shops to save a buck here or a buck there. I dont think that poor service from an online shop is a recent trend. Thats why I think the current balance is likely to stay...I could be wrong, but it would be the first time.

BostonFixed

Sure. There will always be the cheap asses, myself included who will go out of their way to save a dollar or two. But when they look at in the long run, they are actually not saving themselves money. Shipping, labor costs for installing the new king headset that they got a great deal on, returning the part that didn't fit, etc.

Take for example a recent anecdote about a family member rodering from an online retailer, not bike related, but outdoor/camping. They ordered a few items, got a good deal, etc. Items arrive and 1 item dosen't fit, 1 is wrong size. Return items and pay return shipping. Re-order correct items, and pay shipping a 3rd time. Finally everything is right, after paying shipping 3 times, and an elapsed time of almost 1 month. I guess in the end they were happy, and the itmes were still a little cheaper than buying from a local source, but was the hassle really worth it? These were just clothing items, not a technical and specific bicycle part.

Whatever. I'm just an idiot talking **** on the internet anyways.

amahana1

Cant argue with that. Damn, I hope that doesnt happen to me....I buy almost everything from OL sources.

supcom

Many, if not most, mail order suppliers will reimburse you for return shipping for an item exchanged for size or defective. The exchanged item ships back to you at no charge. If the item is large, a phone call will often get you a pre-paid FedEx or UPS return label with free pickup.

KingTermite 

My prediction for all online retailers in general is this.

Right now they can just keep low/no overhead, low/no staff, etc... and therefore offer huge savings. This will drive many places out of business because a local retailer with a "real shop" can't compete.

Enter the goverment......mark my words, within the next 5 (maybe 10) years, the goverment will put some kind of special tax or overhead fee for shopping online to try to "even out the playing field". The goal will be to make online retailer prices around equal to local shop prices so that people will begin to support local business again.

That's just my prediction. Short term = bad for local businesses. Long Term = will be equaled back out.

As You Like It

I would choose a small LBS that carried interesting lines over a big-box store (Trek, I'm lookin' at ya) over an online store. I have to ride it first. I like to compare things against one another. I like to feel fabrics. I like to talk to the staff and find out what they use and what their impressions of products were. If a shop only carries Trek or only carries Giant, then my options for shopping around are limited. I don't like to buy most thing sight-unseen, so shopping online is out, unless it is a direct, exact replacement for something I already know is good. Like boots for example. If I know I want a pair of Doc Marten 1949s, then I can order them online and know what I was getting. If I were buying some cycling shoes, though, since I have never had a pair, I wouldn't buy them online, I'd have to go to a shop and try on several different pair and see what fit and felt all right.

This has been my preference for quite a while now, but in general, I'll buy at a local shop before I'll buy online or go out to the suburbs to a large chain store.

Longhorn

I've been an online shopper since the beginning of internet shopping. But I would only buy clothing and accessories online and even then, if I actually need to see it, compare, etc., I buy at the LBS. I shop online for the convenience and to save the gas and miles driving into town, since the nearest LBS is about 15 miles away. If I don't need it right away and I've been able to get recommendations from this board, click, click, and it's ordered.

The few times I've had to return items in all my years of shopping were no hassle at all. In fact, I bought a microwave from amazon.com that arrived damaged. I went online, filled out a little form, and two days later, a new microwave arrived while the old one was picked up from my porch, no charge. Had I bought it from a brick-and-mortar store, I'm the one who would have had to load up the microwave and return it to the store instead of simply carrying it out to my porch! Now, amazon has made online shopping an art but others do a good job, too. I returned a couple of items to Nashbar -- not their error -- and the credit appeared within days of mailing the items. I had to pay but only a few dollars.