I need to find a job at a lbs
 

I was in my LBS today chatting with the owner who is a Friend, about another LBS who had sold me a set of Ambrosio Excellight Wheels. The rear was 8 Speed Dura Ace and the front had a specialized Hub that seemed to spin well and was straight but I found when it was under load it made an odd whirring sound. As we were discussing the problem an older Gentlemen entered the Shop with 2 Wheels in Hand. One was a mtb Wheel the other was a front Ambrosio Excellight Wheel with a Dura Ace Hub and Skewer that matched the rear I already had. The Gentlemen said he had found them... Long story short the Gentleman was very Happy with the $22 I gave him for the Wheel.

I think if I worked in a LBS I would make sure I always had Cash on Hand just in case.

I guess you never know what's going to come through the Door at any given moment

Did they burn your hand?

Well I would have thought that but he was an older Gentleman and his story seemed feasible.

You never do. I was helping a woman who brought in a little Flandria with 500A wheels that she'd dug up somewhere and wanted to fix up for her grandson. I gave her an estimate that was reasonable for the work to be done and she thought that too much, so offered the bike to me and I accepted. Fixed it up and later gave it to a friend for his nephew. Here's my buddy riding it at the Ashland Clunker Cruise last year.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=472032

OTOH, your job at the LBS probably wouldn't provide you with lots of cash to have on hand...

Yes, but food stamps help for eating.

Bike shops are a tough biz right now. Well, they have been for a long time, it just gets tougher. Trek and soon Giant will sell you a bike direct, ship it to an dealer and they will get a fee to assemble it. part of the reason for this is that bike shops don't have the cash to floor the whole line up, or even a decent percentage of it. Distributors used to give dating, where the invoice was not due for 90-120 days in full, but that only works if you move inventory. Too many niches now.
Guys are trying around here, one moved to a bigger space, but now is only making the new landlord happy. Another closed when the owner died suddenly, the place was losing money, a Specialized CONcept store, the owner bought the biz a few years earlier and hoped to generate a decent income, pretty store, a financial disaster. He joked that to make a small fortune in bikes start with a large one. I knew the previous owner, he made 45k a year, working 7 days a week with family helping.

Red Kite Prayer had a post about bike shop disappearance in the past couple days:

Where Have All The Bike Shops Gone? | RKP

he should try journalism next :P

I have had a few opportunities to get great deals from both customers and the store itself.

Not to mention, I really enjoyed every minute while I work at the Bike Shops.

I'm not sure I took any money home when I worked at the shop. When I purchased stuff on my account I could see what I spent. Ummm...whoa. Even at cost it I spent quite a bit for what I was bringing in. lol.

Loved cost ! Miss it now...