OP is in a bit of a unique situation in that the bike shop made a bad bargain about labor costs. Most shops make most of their profits off of repairs. Doing it for free turns you into a charity. I can see why they wouldn't want to order parts online at retail, even if the OP agreed to pay labor. That could easily turning into a no-win situation for the shop. Depending on how many customers they made this deal with, I can foresee that their future isn't particularly secure.
It's not like running a bike shop with more mainstream business practices is a lucrative business. If you start giving away margin on parts, it just makes it worse. But I think most shops are probably ordering parts online at retail just to keep customers happy.
Most shops sold through their inventory in the first few months of the pandemic, and then business just dried up because there was nothing to sell. They were busy with repairs, but getting parts was a huge struggle. Bike companies have been very harsh with their dealers, and terms have been awful. Now shops are being forced to buy bikes they probably don't want. Increases in bike costs didn't really flow through to the shops. It's no wonder so many shops are folding. It's not worth it for people who can work a regular job for more money and not face a stream of ungrateful customers.
The thing about QPB is that there are a lot of shops out there that buy parts as soon as they are available. A lot of smaller mail order companies are also ordering through QPB. QPB isn't doing that well either, they just laid off a significant number of employees.
Last edited by unterhausen; 10-22-22 at 09:15 AM.