Local bike shop screwed me!
 

Last fall I had a Specialized Hot Rock bike sitting around my garage. Grandson outgrew it. Excellent shape, $500 new. So I took it to a local bike shop to see if they wanted it. I would've sold it to them for almost anything since I had no use for it. They didn't want to buy it but said they'd put it on consignment. I said sure, whatever. I filled out a form and that was that.

Over the winter I almost forgot about it. They never called and I didn't give it any thought since it was snow and ice outside and not exactly bicycle weather. Today I was in that section of town and I stopped in. The bike isn't in the showroom and the guy tells me he doesn't have any recollection of the bike and has no sales records from that long ago. I (stupidly) don't have a copy of the form I filled out.

Here's the thing: If he'd told me when I brought the bike in that they were struggling and couldn't give me anything for the bike but took donations, I would've gladly given him the bike. But instead he chose to lie and effectively stole the freakin' bike. I don't care about the money but it's the principle of the thing.

Talk about making it hard to support your local bike shop.

Screwed yourself by not keeping a copy of the consignment paperwork.

And if you were OK giving them the bike, well, you gave them the bike. Whats the problem.

You think the shop intentionally stole a bike that was likely worth less than $100?

I put the key elements of your post in bold font.

Hmmm. Admittedly a dumb post. Too late to delete. Forget I said anything.

Hm, no sales records from a year ago. Sounds like the shop needs a friendly visit from the IRS.

It's the Internet. If you show any sign of weakness, you will be attacked.

You can edit your first post to say only "please delete thread" and a mod may do that for you.

locate your copy of paperwork & present it to the BBB along with your statement.

bad business is not & should never be tolerated.

No, it's not really a dumb post. It reflects very poorly on the integrity and/or business practices of the shop.

Sometimes you just have to vent @Thulsadoom . I got to agree with you that this didn't go down right. If you knew you were going to give it away, you probably would have chose a way that was different or even donate it to the bike shop, but you would know up front it was a donation. Bike shops sometimes change people and people forget. They probably forgot and assumed they were selling a bike that a customer hadn't picked up in a couple of years. There is no way of telling for sure.

It is best to forgive and forget in this case. I'm saying that because I think you are right. Although you weren't going to make a lot on it anyway after consignment fees. And it is healthier to think about good things.

By the way, I didn't know were Cape Vincent, NY was so I looked it up. That is a beautiful area. Get out and enjoy while the weather is good. I have gotta add that to the places to see someday.

Did you talk to the shop owner? If so this is a dishonest shop.
In any event, next time just put the bike up for sale on Craigslist. I've bought and sold 6 of these Specialized Hotrocks on Craigslist while the kids were growing up, going through the 12", 16", and 20" versions. There is a steady market for these as long as you are not too greedy.

Nope.
 

I have to run out of stuff to sell before I steep as low as to get into flipping kids' bikes.

Paying $500 for a Specialized HotRock? That's the original buyers' problem.

I honestly believe the shop got rid of it rather quickly shortly after it was dropped off.

I can't imagine any shop wasting valuable space that could have used to store perhaps a vintage 80s Specialized bike instead, which too is only worth about $50, but may retail for a bit more if it's clean up with colorful handgrips.

Since the OP never followed up with the sale, I believe it just got forgotten. Lost in time.

The shop isn't going to prioritize record keeping to get $20 over to a consignor. Honestly I would have just asked the shop for bottle of chain lube of their choice and not waste time returning there.

OP could have used their phone to take a picture of the paperwork, and a picture of the bike in the store.

It's a no from me. The shop didn't screw anyone over. There are bigger ticket items for them to do that on. Not something as silly as a kids' bike.

https://www.twowheelingtots.com/wp-c...riprock-16.jpg

You were not treated badly.

I know a guy who set up a consignment with a shop and had a similar experience. His was a collectable Boss 26". Seems the employee that set it up no longer worked there and the bike went missing. He never pursued it.

Is that the perp that stole the bike?

Folks that get common bikes stolen must go nuts when they check Craigslist/fb and see dozens of the same for sale.

But it also reflects poorly on the poster for not keeping the receipt, then he says he would have given them the bike, but now wants an accounting of the bike. None of this makes sense to me.

But as the poster said, let it be, forget about it.

The other side of this argument is the bike shop had an old bike in their shop that they couldn't move. They may have mis-placed the paperwork and couldn't get ahold of you. You should have kept the paperwork in a desk drawer and checked in with the shop once a month or so. It's your bike, not theirs. They were sort of doing you a favor.

I did the same with my old Pinarello in my local shop. After a couple of months they couldn't find a buyer for the whole bike (some wanted to part it out) and I usually go to that shop every other week just to say hi when I'm on a ride.

After two months I went in to see them and they said they'll keep trying but I could tell they wanted the bike out of the shop. I obliged and decided to not sell the bike. I STILL have that receipt in my desk drawer, not sure why, it's been two years since I brought it back home.




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First world problems

My takeaway from this relates less to a bike shop or personal recordkeeping/legalities.
It reflects on dishonesty from essentially a handshake deal. Geez...can't trust anybody nowadays...

P.S. The OP's copy of the paperwork might not say anything other than the shop shares in the sales proceeds.
50% of zero (like if it got stolen or donated) equals zero. The LBS likely does not absorb any financial responsibility.

If you feel you were mistreated or lied to name the bike shop to prevent a similar situation.

Should you have kept the paperwork? Sure.
Should the shop have records? Sure.

I know the aggravation of feeling they stole something from you. I presume it's about the principle than the money.
Since you're technically not out money, because you would have donated it otherwise, make it a learning experience and move on.
Save paperwork. IMHO, consignment sales blow. Either the price is set too high or after the fee, you don't get much.

This ‘issue’ has no impact on supporting my LBSs.

My take on your story is that the shop didn’t go out of its way to screw anyone, especially for that amount of money. To me, the shop had a poor business practice, and the bike got lost in the shuffle. But I don’t think they had a personal vendetta or were out to purposefully rip you off. Poop happens and you were the unfortunate recipient.

If it were me, I would have donated the bike to a charity or someone less fortunate.

Don’t you think he has looked for the paperwork?

That's a bummer and I, too, would be hesitant to support that shop again after something like this.

Out of curiosity, how long passed between you giving them the bike on consignment and you asking about it? You mention forgetting about it and winter, so I'm assuming we're talking about about 6 months here?